‘Michelin star’ remains one of the most searched for terms on this site, so the appetite for more is clearly there among the people/visitors of Newcastle. And since the heady days of Café 21 Queen Street in the early 2000s, right up to new entry Ophelia in the 2023 edition, it’s clear the quality and quantity of consistently excellent cooking is on the rise in the region. There are more entries than ever in the latest (updating monthly) edition, representing the shift over the past couple of decades towards Newcastle becoming a real destination when it comes to food and drink.
Here’s the current entries in the hallowed guide, as of January 2024. Note, several removals from the 2023 edition.
2 Michelin Star Restaurants in the North East
Update: The Raby Hunt closed at the end of January 2024, marking the end of an era, and no more two-star places in the NE — for now. I’d expect the team moving over to Rockcliffe Hall will absolutely have something to say about that…
Inspired by chef/owner James Close’s travels, it’s a tour de force of high-end ingredients, cooked deceptively simply. Given the eye-watering price, we haven’t been since it gained its second star, but you can see how far it’s come in a very short time by comparing my old post to its current menu. If it’s an absolute special occasion celebration you want, you’ve gotta travel the 44 miles from NE1 to get by far, the best in the region.
Tasting menu was £240+
1 Michelin Star Restaurants in the North East
Low food miles, scandi-inspired Northumberland cooking. It’s accurate, it’s clinical, there’s some mega flavours. Hem has been wildly popular since it opened, and gained a star within its first year (2021) of opening. It’s a multi-course menu, with minimally plated, single bites of flavour bombs. Told you so.
Currently tasting menu only £150pp.
Kenny Atkinson’s flagship was the first to reach Michelin star status for a number of years, when it made the guide in 2015. In a beautiful old Grade I listed building, it’s as unfussy and informal as you could expect for Michelin star dining, but that doesn’t stop the dished from being mega-refined, and with playful nods to classics.
Current tasting menu only £98/130
Pine, Wallhouses
In a similar vein, and not a million miles away from the above Hjem, Pine is a multi-course tasting menu of low-food-miles ingredients, many of them grown on the beautiful Pine farm just off the Military Road. A small and eager team, they also achieved success very quickly after opening, and were also one of the recipients of the new Michelin Green Star for sustainability efforts in 2022. We’ll get there soon enough…
Tasting menu £145/£170
Solstice, Newcastle
As obvious as inclusion as there was ever going to be, really. Solstice has probably been designed for a star from its inception, with minimal plates engineered to perfection, expensive ingredients, and the price tag to match it. Yet to visit, thanks to that last one, but rest assured reports say it matches up to everything you’ll hear about it. Unfortunately, a Michelin star likely just means the price can stretch even higher 🫤.
Tasting menu £175
North East Bib Gourmands
The Broad Chare, Newcastle
Still one of my very favourite of restaurants in town. Using restaurant loosely, it is a gastropub, without any airs or graces, just quality cooking every time. Whether you’re just in the market for a pint and a scotch egg, or three courses of finely honed comfort food, you’re in good hands every step of the way. Best Sunday lunch in town, too.
Dishes £7 – £22.
More about The Broad Chare on Newcastle Eats
Haveli, Ponteland
It’s testament to Haveli that its Indian food made it into the guide, famously reluctant to dole out awards to anything less than stuffy and French. Classics you know and love, as well as chef specialities, it’s Indian food, but with that chefs kiss over the top. Dishes from about £10.
Michelin Guide
Not ‘award-winning’ but still deemed worthy of inclusion in the guide:
21, Newcastle
Coarse, Durham
Cook House, Ouseburn
Dobson & Parnell, Newcastle
Faru, Durham
The Feathers Inn, Hedley-on-the-Hill
Fern, Jesmond
Lovage, Jesmond
Nest, Heaton
Ophelia, Gosforth
The Rat Inn, Anick
Rebel, Heaton
Former entries
Were in the guide, but are now either removed, or closed:
Bistro Forty Six (closed in 2021)
Eleven (closed in April 2023, reopened as Bawn in April 2023)
The Staith House (Bib, closed in 2021)
Bistro 21, Durham (Bib, 2014, closed)
Finbarrs, Durham (removed 2023)
Khai Khai, Newcastle (2022 guide only)
The Curious Mr Fox, Durham (2022 guide only)
River Cafe on the Tyne, North Shields (in 2017 guide)
Route (Bib, closed in April 2023)
The Patricia, Jesmond (removed/closed 2023)
Träkol, Gateshead (closed end December 2023)
Violets Cafe, Newcastle (Bib Gourmand, 2020, closed – now Solstice)