Friday Neet Gan Doon the Toon

[gmoney]

I'm going to be in Newcastle for a couple of days at the end of the week. Anyone got any tips for something nice to do/see/eat? 

I've already scouted out a few fine places, The Mile Castle, The Quayside and The Five Swans, but if anyone knows of anywhere else worth visiting, let me know.

[Chest Rockwell]

10 minutes ago, gmoney said:

The Mile Castle

One letter away from being a double joke there. 

[gmoney]

11 minutes ago, Chest Rockwell said:

One letter away from being a double joke there. 

Fucking hell, that's amazing 

[FLips]

There’s a Japanese place called Dojo in Chinatown me and my wife go to often. We rate it but it depends how much you like that type of food. There’s a place across the road from it called Oke Poke that does an excellent rice bowl too, very fresh last time we went.

If you’re into board games and comic books there’s a Travelling Man and pretty big Forbidden Planet on Grainger Street which is a five minute walk from Eldon Square. The same street has a loose leaf tea place called Bird and Blend on it that my wife really likes if either of you are into that sorta thing.

There’s Eldon Square for retail and across from that is The Gate which is a hub with a cinema, mini golf, bowling, arcade, restaurants and whatnot in it.

A place across from St James Park called The Dispensary is a nice coffee place with a unique “American” breakfast menu which is mostly big stacks of pancakes, waffles and fried chicken. Couldn’t eat it every day but we enjoyed it both times we’ve been.

Edited June 24, 2025 by FLips

[Carbomb]

I really enjoyed the Baltic Art Gallery - some very interesting work in there, if you like modern art.

[HarmonicGenerator]

A few thoughts off the top of my head:

Food

There's a couple of really nice Indians in Newcastle that I like, Khai Khai near the Quayside or Dabbawal near the Theatre Royal if you're staying central, but if you wanted to venture out (it's not far) to Jesmond, Valley Junction are really good, they're set up in an old railway carriage and there's a nice pub next door (there's another Dabbawal in West Jesmond too).

If you're more a burger kind, there's Fat Hippo everywhere now but they started in Newcastle and I still think they're the best branches.

For wandering around trying different things, over the weekend the Grainger Market is definitely a good choice, one of my foodie friends goes there most Saturdays and finds something good. (If you just want a nice cafe, Olive & Bean round the back of Grainger Market is nice.)

Same friends have also recommended Scream for Pizza if you want pizza, I haven't been but saw there's one on the Quayside last weekend.

They all say Heaton is the best suburb for food, with loads of nice places to eat (and good pubs/bars too). It's maybe 10/15 minutes to Chillingham Road, the main road in Heaton, by car.

 

Drinks

I'm not a drinker so pubs aren't really my thing, but if you're prepared to trek out to the Ouseburn / Byker area, The Cumberland Arms is a brilliant traditional pub and over the road is The Old Coal Yard which is also really nice and (probably, how would I know) does nice beers.

The ground floor of the Tyneside Cinema has a really nice bar area. Very central and handy if you're going to see a film.

 

Daytime stuff

There's a few good museum/gallery places in the centre. I can't disassociate The Great North Museum with childhood visits so it's a sentimental favourite, it's just your standard museum with a Roman bit, Egyptian bit, dinosaur bit etc but I like it. The Laing Art Gallery has a good collection and is in a nice building, check the opening times though because half the times we've tried to pop in it's closed. If you want more scientific/local/engineering type things, the Discovery Museum is good for that. If you're able to get in, the Lit & Phil just next to Central Station is gorgeous, many many books. A bit further down from that, Newcastle Castle's just a gatehouse these days, you can get a good look at it from the outside but it is paid entry unlike the museums.

As has been mentioned, Baltic sometimes has good contemporary art (sometimes it does not), but whatever's on, pop in and take the lift up to the top level and you'll get some amazing views. Likewise the Glasshouse (formerly the Sage) music venue is all glass (hence the name) and the view's good from there too.

A walk along the Quayside probably makes sense - if you're prepared to go a bit further out, Jesmond Dene is probably the nicest of the parks, especially on a nice sunny day. If you want to get the Metro along to the coast, Tynemouth has a nice beach, it's got a cool ruined priory and castle, and if you're there at the weekend Tynemouth Market is worth a look.

 

Evening stuff

As mentioned, the Tyneside Cinema is a lovely independent cinema which shows a really good range of stuff - very central and it's always nice watching a film when you're somewhere different (I think).

If you're more into theatre, check Live Theatre because they get some good smaller stuff (as does Alphabetti Theatre next to the Discovery Museum) - Josie Lawrence did a one-woman play exclusively at Live last week, for example.

If you're in the Ouseburn area, The Cluny is a great place for a gig. Some big names, some obscure ones, usually always decent. I saw Old 97's there a couple of years ago. It was great. (And if you've been there in the daytime, there's good art at the Biscuit Factory and there's Seven Stories, the museum of children's literature - family-oriented but interesting if you like books).

If you want comedy, The Stand is the big place to go - obviously they have Glasgow and Edinburgh branches but they get big names in Newcastle as well as regular stand-up nights and a monthly improv night. There are various other comedy nights around the place, a lot run by a collective called Felt Nowt which is run by former NE indy wrestler Lee Kyle.

 

Hopefully that's a few things to go on!

Edited June 25, 2025 by HarmonicGenerator
Doreen, Doreen, last night I had an awful dream

[King Mal the Glorious]

2 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

They all say Heaton is the best suburb for food, with loads of nice places to eat (and good pubs/bars too). It's maybe 10/15 minutes to Chillingham Road, the main road in Heaton, by car.

I live in Heaton and with the amount of improvement it's had I rarely feel the need to go into town proper now. Between Chilli Road, Heaton Road and Heaton Park Road there's just about every type of food you could want and (off the top of my head) 13 drinking places ranging from cheap social club types to proper swanky wine and cocktails.

Seconding the recommendation for the Ouseburn area too. It's a nice walk along the Quayside from town and again there are more bars than you can shake a stick at and a bunch of nice food places too.

[SaitoRyo]

18 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

If you want to get the Metro along to the coast, Tynemouth has a nice beach, it's got a cool ruined priory and castle, and if you're there at the weekend Tynemouth Market is worth a look.

You mentioned pretty much everything I would have, but especially this! If the weather is decent, go to the coast and get some fish and chips in you, have a wander and a look around the market. As well as Tynemouth, you have Whitley Bay, North Shields etc. close by to explore. 

Personally, whenever I am back home I like to take half days to go around the markets/charity shops/vintage shops, of which there are plenty in the Toon. If you're a sports fan, you might want to check out The Back Page, a canny memorabilia shop not far from St James' Park. 

Oh, and as @HarmonicGenerator mentioned former NE indy wrestler Lee Kyle, who runs Felt Nowt, he's doing a talk called The Obscure History of North East Comedy at Newcastle Castle on Saturday at 6PM. 

Edited June 25, 2025 by SaitoRyo
On bass...Lee Kyle!

[Thefatduck]

Last time we went, we took the family here: https://www.iscreamforpizza.com/newcastle-quayside

Quayside  

lovely New York style pizza sold by the slice. 

[Carbomb]

Ah, I remember going to The Cumberland Arms on someone's recommendation - my apologies, I can't remember if it was HarmonicGenerator or Kaz Hayashi; whoever it was recommended some good places. I remember enjoying myself at the Cumberland, and also at another recommended place that was by a lock right by the river (I hope one of our Geordies knows and can supply the name).

Also, I remember enjoying walking up Grey Street. Overall, Newcastle is a very pretty city, to my mind. Some gorgeous architecture, and, considering I was only there for a weekend, I got the strong impression it's a good place for a night out.

Not going anywhere near the Bigg Market, mind.

[King Mal the Glorious]

The one by the lock is the Tyne Bar. I'm not a fan myself (the fault of the punters rather than the pub) but less than 30 seconds walk from there you've got Brinkburn Brewery and The Free Trade, which IMO is the best pub in town with a great view down the river.

 

The Bigg Market has actually been spruced up in recent years and has some alright bars and a couple of good food places. It's up the street around The Gate you want to avoid.

[SaitoRyo]

4 minutes ago, King Mal the Glorious said:

The one by the lock is the Tyne Bar. I'm not a fan myself (the fault of the punters rather than the pub) but less than 30 seconds walk from there you've got Brinkburn Brewery and The Free Trade, which IMO is the best pub in town with a great view down the river.

 

The Bigg Market has actually been spruced up in recent years and has some alright bars and a couple of good food places. It's up the street around The Gate you want to avoid.

I used to love the Tyne Bar. Granted, it's because I had some mates who worked there and we got cheap/free beer and there were regular lock-ins, but still. Even so, it used to have a class jukebox and beers on the top shelf in the fridge for a quid, including nice bottles of Budvar etc. 

Ouseburn in general is a really nice place to tool around, though I must say I'm not a big fan of the Brinkburn due to the expensive pints (though they do really nice food tbf). Free Trade is class. 

[King Mal the Glorious]

Tyne Bar is fine on a quiet night and they still do the cheap cans. Like I say, the problem is the clientele. It's the one pub in the area that attracts dickheads and it's unbearable on a weekend or hot day. Last time I went I got a bunch of racist abuse shouted at me because I was wearing a Germany Italia 90 shirt. I'm not even German.

Because I'm a pub nerd, I've got a spreadsheet for the area with (good) pubs broken down into areas/routes. Feel free to have a gander: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_zn0G8jn6UoXqzFPnMKyDCDnC9X8E7S2kFFBKjr8U_c/edit?usp=sharing

Edited June 25, 2025 by King Mal the Glorious
Lothar Matthäus

[BrodyGraham]

I really think that Central Newcastle might be the best city for food in the country. 

Grainger Market is class and you could literally sit in there all day just eating amazing food.

Ouseburn is great, probably a bit more hipster vibes but again just full of great food places and The Cluny as mentioned before is great for gigs and stuff.

You could eat at a dozen great places just walking from Grey's Monument to the Quayside.

Oh, and the Quayside Market on a weekend is pretty cool.

Edited June 25, 2025 by BrodyGraham
Great

[Jazzy G]

Unfortunately The Rupali fka Curry Capital fka the Rupali on Bigg Market doesn't appear to be open anymore.