The best restaurant in Newcastle…?
I don’t quite know why I haven’t covered Peace & Loaf (217 Jesmond Rd, NE2 1LA) in the last ten years, because for me it’s the ‘best’ out there.
I’m saying ‘best’ because it’s definitely best at what it does. You can spend less elsewhere and have a more enjoyable meal. But it has a time and a place, and there’s just really nothing like this in Newcastle.
We went for lunch at the weekend for no reason other than the ever-increasing threat of another local lockdown (for fucks sake…). Lunch is £40 for about 5ish courses which is smashing value really. Evening tasting goes right up to £85ea but you already know you’re in for a 3hr ride for that one.
Snacks today: an old favourite, the black pudding macaron — sweet then piggy & savoury then sweet again. It’s a Peace & Loaf classic. ‘Fish & chips & mushy peas’ in a croquette were made extra divine with a coating of chip-shop curry sauce salt. Can I just have about 57 of these?
The Beefiest Thing You’ll Taste This Year: whipped beef fat for schmearing, and a buerre noisette butter. Bread is a fair sourdough. Warm, at least, so the beef fat promptly melts and aghhhhh…🤤
Raw bream, tigermilk sauce, avo, kimchi cucumber, almonds. Fresh! Spicy! Interesting! All of the adjectives. It’s interesting. I think every time we come here that’s a flavour combination that challenges the palate. In a good way.
Everything is refined. It’s a fairly informal gaff, generally, which I think is the right thing to represent the young & friendly staff and the not-too-fussy food. But I have no idea why the Michelin Star eludes Peace & Loaf. We’ve been here a number of times over the years, and House of Tides just twice. Read into that one.
There’s just an element of playfulness in the food which you don’t often see at other high-end restaurants. Jay Rayner exalted the chips. Rightfully so, I mean…howay. From a separate visit, but always worth a perv ⬇️
Maybe it’s cos you get the feeling that Dave and his team cook what they want and what they like. It’s always a good sign. Perhaps they’re not pandering to Michelin and don’t give a shit. I’d respect that a lot.
Peace & Loaf is generally a beacon for veggie cooking too, as demonstrated by this salt-baked celeriac with date puree and apple remoulade. When people whinge about vegetarian food choices in Newcastle, they’re looking in the wrong places. This was the best dish here today, savoury, sweet, and fought for my attention much harder than it ought to.
There’s a notable lack of ‘truffle on everything’ here too, especially compared to some other restaurants which lean on the crowdpleaser far too often. But do instead expect takes on a chicken kebab, a Parmo, or this ‘the world’s smallest Sunday dinner’.
And where Hjem occasionally left me wondering why I should care about hay-smoked cream, here we get a gravy & mash umami-led bomb of flavour. It’s absolutely representative of the cooking at P&L.
It’s just teeing you up for this lamb dish though. Great cooking but safe and familiar type of ‘main’ for a restaurant like this. I can’t knock the execution though. Perfect lamb in chop, faggot, and belly forms. Slightly sweet Elderflower sauce, turnip. Substantial. Satisfying. Just not startling.
Wine pairing is quality. Plentiful, and sensibly selected if not too out-there (Bellini, German Riesling, Big Malbec, etc). It’s a no-brainer, but the Anarchy made Peace & Loaf IPA was a nice surprise as well. Annoyingly, I’m still not seeing nearly as many beer matchings in restaurants as I’d like to — hint, hint…
One for those chocolate lovers, ‘Black forest floor’ is the famous gateau by another name. Super rich, dark and bitter, alongside the stickiest Moscatel. Just about tickled my sweet tooth.
So I get asked all the time ‘where’s your favourite local restaurant’ and more often than not I’ll mention places like Saltwater Fish Co., Träkol, Barrio Comida, and the like. But that’s all just food that I love. If you’re going for money-no-object, special occasion, impress your date kinda ‘best restaurant in town’ meal, I’ll still always just say ‘try Peace & Loaf’.
Contact: peaceandloaf.co.uk
Food hygiene rating: 5/5
Related Posts
