Authentically reviewing Newcastle’s restaurants since 2011.
Hiya, I’m Jeff, the founder and writer at Newcastle Eats, and Content Strategist at Spearmint Copy
Thanks for stopping by my little slice of the internet. I’ve been writing about Newcastle restaurants, North East food and drink producers, and food events in this city since 2011 — and somehow still going.
Newcastle Eats exists to share my honest experiences of eating out, and hopefully point you towards somewhere great that you’d never have tried. The restaurant landscape of this city has improved enormously over the years, and some of the older posts here are testament to that.
It’s a passion project that’s become its own beast over time. Just me writing about food because I love it. Every word on this site is and has been written, designed, and published by me. I don’t like to follow the crowd, so here’s a little bit more about the who and the why behind the site.
— jeff
Help me to Keep the reviews honest?
why you can trust newcastle eats
I’ve been running this site since 2011. That makes this the areas longest-running dedicated restaurant review site, with continuous coverage of the city’s shifting food and drink scene. I am Newcastle born and bred, and since starting this, I’ve written about hundreds of restaurants, bars, cafes, and everything in between across Newcastle, Northumberland and occasionally beyond.
On sponsored content: I pay for the vast majority of meals myself. I don’t announce my visits and I’ve never asked for a free meal. I decline 99% of press invitations. I don’t comment on restaurant posts like this 😍. Get In The Bin. People don’t seem to give a shit these days, but it’s the foundation of everything on this site. No-one has ever controlled the narrative here other than me. If somewhere is shit, I’ll say so. I’ve built my credibility, authenticity, and trust on that, and I’ve published plenty of negative reviews over the years. They’re often the most popular ones, sadly. For the full picture on how I approach reviews, sponsored content, and editorial independence, I took the time to write an actual editorial policy. I think there’s been 2 sponsored posts in 4 years. Integrity means a lot to me, so let’s discuss, and I love to talk about it.
On funding the site: As of 2026, I’ve added some display ads. I’ll also occasionally take post sponsors from outside of the hospitality industry, like you see on YouTube etc. The reason for this is running this site (and paying for meals) is expensive, and these advertising opportunities do not impact my editorial judgment.
AI: nope, not here. I have to deal with this beast a lot in my day job — see below — and never using LLM-generated text or images is a conscious decision I’ve decided to take.
On internet culture in general: As an elder millennial, I feel like I’ve seen the internet flourish, and now begin to rot, with fake content, misinformation, clickbait, ragebait, etc. Not only is this just bad content, it’s turning out to be bad for humanity — see: Cambridge Analytica, election interference, etc. With this in mind. I won’t ever employ any form of clickbait, social media tactics, deceptive thumbnails, etc. I’m actively trying to make the internet a better place every day.
What this site is
Honest, independent reviews of eating out in Newcastle. The photography is taken on my iPhone, in the moment, unedited. Opinions are mine and cannot be bought. I try to be 1% more knowledgeable every day — about ingredients, techniques, producers, and what good looks like. This gives me a relatively deep knowledge of the North East hospitality industry. The site will always be human-written, created, and edited. No AI slop, ever.
What this site isn’t
I don’t do low-value shitposts about the latest TikTok-famous place. I’m not an influencer, not a professional critic, and I will not post your press release. It’s not designed to be clickbaity, or a competitor to any other publication out there. I won’t cheerlead humdrum chain restaurants. I won’t mislead you with #ad dressed up as editorial. It’s not won me many friends, but people usually respect it. For the full picture, see the editorial policy.
My day job
Outside of Newcastle Eats, I’m a professional content strategist and writer. I run Spearmint Copy, a content consultancy working with businesses on web content strategy and writing. The two feed into each other — and despite what people would have you believe about the web and long-form content, this site proves otherwise. For more on how that translates into how I approach reviews, read the editorial policy.
Current state of mind
A snapshot of where I’m at with food and drink right now, for context.
👍 Currently into
- Bigger portions of non-fussy, non-tweezered food
- Better availability of better beer
- More relaxed dining options
- Good restaurants getting creative to compete
- Trying to eat less UPFs and growing my own food
👎 Not so much
- Social media influencers, ‘Instagrammable’ dishes, etc.
- Copy/paste high street chains
- Awful food trends
- A lack of plates, drinks markups, and generally, the cost of living
- LLM/generated/AI content – nope, never
i’m working on making this more of a 2-way thing…
This site is for you as much as it is for me. Too many high-end meals? Too many takeaways? Somewhere I’m painfully missing? A review you completely disagree with? Tell me. I read everything and I’ll get back to you. I’m working on a way to make use of your user-generated content, as well as let you steer the direction of the site a little more. But that’s a plan for 2026…
Interested in working with me?
Over the years I’ve written for, quoted in, and collaborated with a range of other publications and brands. If you’d like to discuss something, get in touch via your preferred means below. I’ve linked the below where possible, or ask me for further info.
Note: I keep a tight leash on content published here and no-one else has ever contributed a word to this site, so I won’t publish your PR unless it’s for a charity or similar.
If you’d like expert comment on Newcastle restaurants, local food and drink, or the wider hospitality industry, I’d be happy to provide that. See also: support and help marketing your own hospitality business, leveraging my 15 years’ experience in marketing via my Newcastle content strategy business, too.
PREVIOUS COLLABORATIONS
Find me elsewhere
GET IN TOUCH
This site is for you as much as it is for me, so if you’ve got a question, comment, feedback, correction, inclusion, or other query — I will reply to you where relevant.
