The concept of the tasting menu is once again going through an evolution of late.
While a few years back, the New Nordic style of 20+ courses of single bite, avant-garde techniques and molecular gastronomy was ‘in’, things are moving on somewhat. The total number of courses, and the notion of four-hour sessions has come down. To be fair, although that’s been popular across London, Edinburgh, etc. it never really made its way to Newcastle.
Despite this, the concept of the multi-course tasting menu as a treat or celebration meal shows no signs of slowing down. And following the initial success of local pioneers Peace & Loaf, House of Tides, and beyond, there’s a wider range of restaurants going beyond the British starter, main, and dessert.
Qualification: anything with more than four courses (and those with bread, coffee, or similar don’t count). Sorted by total number of courses from silly to sensible. From Newcastle, and a couple based just a little further which I thought couldn’t be missed.
Thanks to casinos.com who have made this post possible and helped to fund some of the more expensive options on this list!
All info is correct as of September 2024.
Solstice
š Solstice, 5-7 Side, NE1 3JE
Courses: 15-18
Tasting menu cost: Ā£155pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£85pp
View sample menu here
Newcastle’s most serious tasting menu, Solstice goes for the jugular with the highest profile and highestĀ quantity of courses on offer in the city centre. It chased Michelin praise from day dot, and at up to eighteen courses it is very much bite after bite after bite. But the USP being those high-quality, expensive ingredients you won’t see at some other places elsewhere on this list. One of the starting courses is simply chicken skin crackers with oscietra caviar, for example.
Price reflects that too, so much so we’ve only been for my 40th birthday and short of a windfall, we would be lucky to get back anytime soon. One for a special occasion!
House of Tides
š House of Tides, 28-30 Close, NE1 3RF
Courses: 9
Tasting menu cost: Ā£105-115pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£55-85pp
View sample menu here
Infamously, Newcastle’s first Michelin-starred restaurant in a long time, House of Tides is likely the most familiar to anyone who is a fan of multi-course tasting menus with bread and amuses bouches and everything else you come to expect. Nine-ish courses is a happy medium, and it’s similar to, but different to Solstice above in many ways ā less formal, being a key one. Price varies, and the menu goes through some evolution ā they even do Sunday lunch these days, so check, but the experience remains a solid Michelin-ticked tasting menu that’s everything you’d expect.
SIX
š SIX, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
Courses: 8-10
Tasting menu cost: Ā£65-95pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£40-60pp
View sample menu here
SIX has always been a restaurant of note, and more than just its sixth-floor views from the wonderful Baltic. It’s recently been sold and secured a place in the Michelin guide which otherwise escaped it, probably thanks in no small part to a new tasting menu offering. It’s always been a pretty solid meal at three courses, and I’m yet to visit since the kitchen shakeup, but initial reports are that it’s great. So if you’re looking for a perfect city centre setting, not too many courses, but skilled cookery, it might be the tasting menu for you.
Mantra
š 29 Forth Banks, NE1 3SG
Courses: 8
Tasting menu cost: Ā£80pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£45pp
View sample menu here
The red herring on the list āĀ Mantra has started sporadically doing a tasting menu. It undoubtedly stands out as unusual on this list. I’ve not actually had it, but here are some thoughts on Mantra’s food in general. You be the judge if you want to spend Ā£125pp hereā¦
Hjem Pop up at Fenwick
š Fenwick, 98-100 Pilgrim St, NE1 6SQ
Courses: 7
Tasting menu cost: Ā£85pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£TBC
View sample menu here
Catch it which you can āĀ Hjem’s popup at Fenwick has been extended through the remainder of 2024, but it’s a unique opportunity for many to get access to one of the region’s best tasting menus. Albeit a cut-down version that’s a lot more accessible and a lot less funky, though not much less expensive (beef welly for 2 is Ā£120) āĀ and after all, you’re still ‘just’ in Fenwick. But for those yet to experience food like this, it’s already been proven a hit, and it’s easy to see why.
21
š 21, Trinity Gardens, Pandon, NE1 2HH
Courses: 5
Tasting menu cost: Ā£70pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£55pp
View sample menu here
There’s not much left unsaid about 21, one of Newcastle’s longest-serving and most-loved restaurants.
While it no longer holds the Michelin star it did some 25 years ago, it’s now a less stuffy but still absolutely quality restaurant, grounded in classic cooking. Over the last few years, it has introduced a seasonal menu, with five courses just about qualifying as a tasting, and it’s in my opinion better judged than some of the one bite courses you see above. Not ‘quite’ a tasting menu, but still a gold standard for cooking, and building the menu around the seasons means you’re always gonna get the best of what’s out there. Posts about 21 here.
A little further out of Newcastleā¦
There’s not a vast amount of tasting menus in the city centre itself, with the real high-end places tending to be just outside of NE1. So if you can travel only a little furtherā¦
Pine
š Vallum Farm, Military Rd, East Wallhouses, NE18 0LL
Courses: 20ish
Tasting menu cost: Ā£165pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£95pp
View sample menu here
Probably one of my favourite tasting menu experiences anywhere, Pine is a ‘proper’ tasting menu, with amuses bouche, a ‘bread course’, petits fours, the lot. It’s delivered with panache, has superb matched drinks, and is just one of the best dining experienced in the region. If you still want a ton of courses, but are perhaps fatigued from the usual Michelin shitck, Pine is your best bet.
Read my full review of Pine here.
Peace & Loaf
š Peace & Loaf, 217 Jesmond Rd, Jesmond, NE2 1LA
Courses: 14
Tasting menu cost: Ā£90pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£60pp
View sample menu here
Peace & Loaf manages to do multi-courses better than most. The dishes here are always playful, inventive, and surprisingly never feels like a slog. Sensibly, there are multiple offerings available, so if you don’t want the whole fourteen or so courses, you can get a more restrained seven-ish course menu for around half the cost. View my thoughts on Peace & Loaf here.
Either way, it’s still one of my favourite restaurants in Newcastle for a number of reasons.
NEST
š NEST, 258ā260 Chillingham Road, Heaton, NE6 5LQ
Courses: 8
Tasting menu cost: Ā£69pp (Ā£45 at lunch)
Wine matching cost: Ā£40pp (Ā£32 at lunch)
View sample menu
Nest is among the less formal of the options here, with a real neighbourhood restaurant vibe befitting of Chilingham Road in Heaton. It doesn’t have the glitz and glam and OTT special touches you’d get at a Michelin-star restaurant, but that’s not a slight on the food at all. It’s reflected in the cost too āĀ reasonable, and even better – the lunch time tasting menu was a really good offer, and a canny bit cheaper making it as accessible as it gets.
Hjem
š The Hadrian Hotel, Front St, Wall, Hexham, NE46 4EE
Courses: 20ish
Tasting menu cost: Ā£165pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£100pp
View sample menu
Counterpart restaurant to Pine above āĀ the food is similar in many ways, and so different in others. The overall experience is similar – lots of courses, few ingredients left to shine, big bill.
It’s the tasting menu that took Northumberland on a national scale, so for those who love the multi-course experience, with minimal and hyper-local cooking, it’s a must. Full review of Hjem here.
Rebel
š Rebel, 50 Heaton Park Road, NE6 5NR
Courses: 6-8
Tasting menu cost: Ā£45pp
Wine matching cost: Ā£tbc
View sample menu here
Rebel has been through a number of evolutions of its menu, from a la carte, to a longer ten-course affair, to its current smaller menu, and corresponding smaller price. It’s cooking straight of House of TIdes, so expect the-same-but-different, but it’s well worth of its Michelin inclusion, and from service to drinks to well-judged cooking, it’s a tasting menu for the more modern palate.
Others of note
Dobson & Parnell offered a tasting menu for the longest time but has recently reverted to a 2/3 course alc option.
Ophelia had a tasting-ish menu option at one point before sadly closing in September 2024.
If I’ve missed your favourite tasting menu in Newcastle and beyond, let me know and we can discuss adding it here.