South Tyneside doesn’t have the broadest restaurant scene in the North East, but what it lacks in breadth it makes up for with reliable old-school restaurants that ‘do what they say on the tin’. If you’re only ever going to eat one thing here, make it fish and chips from Colmans. It is one of the best chippies in the country and puts South Shields on the map.

Beyond that, Ocean Road will feed you well with a dozen or more British Indian restaurants. Some of them are a bit stuck in time, but you’ll get what you came for. Minchella’s has long been a home for old-school charming  Italian ice cream by the coast, and there are a handful of cheap and cheerful Italians dotted around if you’re after something straightforward.

If you’re running the Great North Run (congrats) but if you can’t get into Colmans (likely), you might be best off heading back to the start line in Newcastle. There’s something to be said about finishing a half marathon with the best fish and chips in the country, though.

I don’t get there often for these reasons, but the places I have been to, you will find below.