Fenwick has remained a Newcastle institution for shopping for over 140 years, and seems to be bucking the trend of retail struggling. Partly as it has been greatly expanding its food and drinks offering in the past few years, with collaborations, multiple cafes, bars, and proper restaurants that have been a mainstay of the food hall for a little while now.
It really seemed to step things up following the successful stint with Greggs in 2023, and there are now about fifteen places to eat and drink in the city’s premier department store. I’ve been to all of them so here are some thoughts on navigating the scran and bevvies of Fenwick. Thank you to VeePN who can help you chat safely online for helping support the site and make this post possible. Without further ado, here’s the places that make Fenwick one of the most interesting places to eat in the city.
Black’s Corner
Caffè Nero Express
Café 21
Cafe Filto
Colmans
Fenwick Food Hall
Fuego
The Golden Flake Tavern by Greggs
Hopscotch Play Cafe
Mason & Rye
Mother Mercy
Ouseburn Coffee Co.
Porterhouse Butcher & Grill
Saltwater Fish Company
The Terrace
Café 21
One of the longest-surviving destinations in Fenwick Newcastle, Café 21 is a reliable outlet from the 21 Hospitality Group stable. It’s bright, breezy, a clean space that’s ideal for meeting the parents for lunch, and you’re in the safe hands of an established, well-oiled and practised machine.
The real aficionados choice for afternoon tea — reliable, well priced, nowt too flash, it also offers brunches and lunches that aren’t particularly innovative or out there, but you know you’re getting quality. Not likely to be going anywhere, latch onto trends, or let you down.
What to order: afternoon tea, breakfasts, patisserie, cafe classics: croque, milanese
Location: 1st floor, by womenswear
EL&N Newcastle
Anywhere calling them Instagrammable arouses my suspicions… but it’s popular and if it was to fit anywhere, Fenwick makes a lot of sense. Not for me, but if you wanna pay eight quid for a latte cos it’s got some flowers in, then more power to ya. Food pricey and not that interesting, drinks even more so.
A change for those that have done Mason & Rye to death, but honestly you’re probably better off there among the warmth of the food hall.
What to order: stick to the patisserie from Mason & Rye — perhaps an Opera cake
Location: Lower ground floor, right by the escalators
Fuego
Fuego has been a mainstay in the food hall and one of the places in Fenwick with the most amount of covers. It’s a smart tapas restaurant that offers up decent takes on classics like pan con tomate and veggie small plates.
Dodge the pizzas, which are not up to scratch, but if you’re looking for tapas or just a few nibbles as a shopping break, you could do a lot worse across wider Newcastle.
Decent wines — go for the Monastrell — and not too far you can go wrong with small plates which are zingy, bright, and pricier than you want them to be.
What to order: tortilla, cheese, charcuterie, small plates, with a wine flight
Location: within the Fenwick Food Hall
Saltwater Fish Company
One of my favourite restaurants in all of Newcastle, Saltwater is a fishmonger that keeps things simple and lets the fruits of the sea do the talking.
Not many seats, so try and grab a bar seat facing the kitchen and watch the chefs filleting gurnard, shucking oysters, and making ceviche. Get the fruits de mer below for the best experience you’ll get in Fenwick, or a selection of hot and cold seafood, fresh off the boat. Excellent — and equally £££.
What to order: grand fruits de mer, seasonal specials of the day, oysters
Location: within the Fenwick Food Hall
Porterhouse Butcher & Grill
Counterpart restaurant to Saltwater above — where that is all about fish, Porterhouse fires up fruits from the land. Salt-aged beef from Peter Hanan is the star, but whether you’re going for a huge kilo porterhouse, or just a smaller individual steak, you’ll absolutely not get better meat in NE1.
Other bits equally satisfying, roasted on the Josper, and perfect for a Cuvee 21. Between here and Saltwater, two of my favourite places to eat in Newcastle.
What to order: your favourite cut of salt-aged steak, black pudding, anything cooked hard and fast on fire
Location: within the Fenwick Food Hall
Café FILTO
Is a popup from the popular with students Sandyford cafe of the same name. Breakfasts, matcha, iced drinks, I don’t find it all that interesting but you might.
What to order: steak breakfast
Location: Lower Ground Floor
Mason & Rye
Like a modern version of the cafes of yesteryear in Fenwick, Mason & Rye offers up afternoon tea, fancy celebration cakes, and tea and coffee within the food hall.
There’s salads and some lighter dishes, but the cake display should tell you and show you everything you need to know. The cakes made here are superb, and with a coffee, you’ll be sound.
What to order: your favourite celebration cake, tea, and maybe a salad
Location: within the Fenwick Food Hall
Roof Thirty Nine
The first of the bars of Fenwick — newly opened Roof 39 is an exclusive-ish hideaway above the city. Overlooking Northumerland Street, you can people watch with a nice glass of wine.
Understandably, only open in the summer, it’s worth a trip for a quiet place to get away and enjoy a bit of a unique experience in the city.
What to order: a few glasses of the Monastrell house wine
Location: Enter via lift on Northumberland Street entrance past the florist
Terrace
I think this is as close as it gets to keeping the silver brigade happy in Fenwick. Gone are the multiple cafes of old (Johann’s et al), and Terrace offers mince and dumplings, fish and chips, and ham and pease pudding stotties. It’s a bit more modern than its outgoing counterparts — also find avo on toast, or a katsu chicken, but it’s gotta be sadly, the least inspiring of all of the current Fenwick dining options. That is except for…
What to order: whatever nana wants, carvery?
Location: third floor
Caffè Nero
It’s a Caffè Nero. What more to say? I don’t know why Fenwick decided to have a brand like this among their own cafes other than brand recognition. My advice would be to keep it local and go to any of the other cafes here.
What to order: get your coffee from literally anywhere else in Fenwick
Location: Lower ground floor by the escalators
Mother Mercy
Newcastle’s premier cocktail bar and the longstanding department shop make complete sense together, and if you’re looking for a little treat, but don’t wanna face the rooftop, or prefer something mixed Mother Mercy has got you covered.
Classic cocktails, and some with twists, you’re in safe hands which is more than can be said for a ton of dedicated cocktail bars within the city.
What to order: your favourite cocktail, or ask for specials and recommendations based on your taste
Location: 1st Floor, by womenswear
Colman’s
Fish & Chip king of the North East Colman’s recently announced they’re taking over the space occupied by Hjem below. Update: it’s now a permanent resident.
Opening on March 20th, it’ll be battered fish, chips, oysters and sausages no doubt. One nicety: pies from Chris Eagle’s Great North Provisions, too. Me? I’d just go to South Shields and get a whiff of the coastal air. But if you’re only in Newcastle I suppose it’s a taste of the coast without going. Is this pic from South Shields or Newcastle? Does it matter?
What to order: fish and chips
Location: First floor
Pop Up: Fentimans Botanical Garden
Following very closely in the footsteps of Barbour’s Tea & Toasties pop up is similar local legend status Fentimans. Mostly themed around cocktail using their superb softies, you can also get a few picky pits for lunch and brunch which contain syrups and sauces made from the drinks. Mostly there for the pics though, aren’t ya?
What to order: D&B
Location: at the back where Barbour was
Pop Up: Black’s Corner
Is there someone from South Shields tourism board paying these off? Also from Shields, Black’s Corner is a deli-ish-bar which does meat and cheese boards, and glasses of wine from East Boldon.
They’re serving up flights, nice cheese and British cured meats from a Fenwick pop up, with some picky bits, and wine as well as a £5.50 croissant. Ladies who lunch gonna love it.
What to order: mixed meat & cheese board, wine flights
Location: where Greggs champagne bar was, just off Northumberland Street entrance.
Opening Hours: Mon-Thu 09:00-20:00, Fri 09:00-21:00, Sat 10:00-19:00, Sun 10:30-17:30 (check individual locations for specific opening times!)
Information correct as of March 2026
Former bars, cafes and restaurants
Some that have been and gone over the years:
- Fred’s Cafe was sort of awkwardly dropped into the basement and didn’t really have a defined USP, it’s now Filto.
- Greggs Bistro was where some of Greggs recent run of experiential daftness started really. Temporary pop up. Read about it here.
- Greggs Champagne Bar was another one of these.
- Which was closely followed by a pop up from Michelin-starred at the time Hjem. You can read about that here.
- Barbour Tea & Toasties was part of the run of Fenwick collaborations that never seems to end.
- Brands having a good run in the food hall include: King Baby Bagels, Pink Lane (currently),
