14 Newcastle Food and Drink Experiences Worth Your Time
Traditional English food gets a bad rap, but as someone who is both British and a self-professed foodaholic, I absolutely take issue with this.
British food might not quite have the romantic connotations of sharing spaghetti in Rome, or escargot in Paris, but if you ask me, it still has a lot to offer, and no English city break would be complete without indulging in the local cuisine.
Recently, I found myself in Newcastle for a conference, and, as I’m prone to do, spent my 4 days in Newcastle eating and drinking my way around the city, seeking out everything from the most unique cocktail bars to the freshest oysters, and everything in between.
Newcastle food really impressed me, and what I especially liked were the gastronomical experiences I had, from finding the hidden gems in Grainger Market to dining at a 13th century friary, drinking in a former public toilet (yes, really), and even indulging in a medieval feast fit for a King.
Newcastle Food and Drink
In this article, I’m going to share my favourite Newcastle food experiences. I’ll also travel out of the city, into the rolling hills and craggy coastlines of Northumberland, and reveal the best and most unique things to do if you’re a food lover visiting Newcastle.
Are you ready? Then let’s get into it.
Newcastle food at a Glance
Newcastle’s food scene was built on coal, ships, and the need to feed the working man cheaply, and this still shows in Geordie cuisine today.
The star of the show is the stottie cake, a chewy flat bread traditionally filled with pease pudding, a thick yellow paste made from split peas that’s been a North East staple since medieval times. Add a slab of ham and a pint of Newcastle Brown Ale to wash it down with, and you’re good to go.
Then there’s the Saveloy Dip, which involves a bright red saveloy sausage getting shoved into a bun with pease pudding, sage and onion stuffing and a good dose of mustard, before the whole thing gets dunked in gravy.
Other Newcastle food staples include:
- Pan haggerty – a baked dish of layered potatoes, onions and cheese.
- Singin’ hinnies – griddled fruit scones named after the sizzling sound they make while cooking.
- Pease pudding – a sort of dip made from boiled split peas soaked in ham stock. It accompanies many Newcastle dishes, and it popular on a stottie.
- Craster Kippers – smoked herring from the Northumberland coast, still done the traditional way.
- Chips, cheese and gravy – the unofficial national dish of a night out in the Toon. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
None of this is glamorous, but that’s the point. Newcastle food is built for mining families and shipyard workers, and centuries later it’s still what defines eating in Newcastle.
While you can absolutely find small plates and fine dining restaurants in Newcastle, it’s these stodgy, simple staples that do the heavy lifting.
Newcastle Food Tours
If you’re in a rush, and don’t have time to read the full article, here are the best Newcastle food tours that I recommend:
- Brewery Tour, Lunch, and Beer Tasting – Enjoy a tour of St. Dominics Brewery in Newcastle, followed by a 3-course lunch and a flight of 3 beers.
- Guided Ouseburn Food and History Tour – A food safari in Newcastle’s trendy Ouseburn Valley. Discover the history of the 19th-century Victoria Tunnel on a private tour and sample an incredible selection of dishes and drinks.
- Grainger Town & Quayside Street Food Tour – A culinary journey into the heart of Newcastle’s street food scene. Explore Old Newcastle, the Quayside, and Grainger Town while tasting some amazing local meals and desserts.
- Northumberland: 6 Hour Meet the Makers Food Tour – Discover the authentic flavours of Northumberland on an escorted food and drink tour. Meet farmers and artisan producers, learn all about their produce and enjoy a 3-course lunch with drinks.
- Brinkburn St. Brewery: Brewery Tour and Beer Tasting – Discover the real behind the scenes magic of a working brewery on a tour of Brinkburn St Brewery.
- Tea Blending Workshop at Bird & Blend Tea Co. – Join a Tea Blending & Tasting Workshop in Newcastle. Learn about the history of tea, sample nine unique blends, and create your own custom blends to take home.
- Beer Bike Tour with Drinks – Great for group trips, enjoy a fun experience with your friends on a beer bike tour in Newcastle. Sip on cold drinks, listen to your own music, and pedal through the city with a trained driver.
14 Newcastle Food and Drink Experiences Worth Your Time
1. Have a sausage roll at Greggs
No article about Newcastle foods would be complete without an ode to Greggs, Britain’s beloved bakery that has been serving baked goods to happy patrons for over 70 years!
I didn’t know this prior to visiting Newcastle, but Newcastle is actually the birthplace of Greggs, with the first Greggs shop opening on Gosforth High Street in 1951.
According to The Mirror, Newcastle is the sausage roll capital of the UK, with Newcastle’s 33 Greggs outlets producing around 17.9 million sausage rolls every year, or 60 sausage rolls per Geordie annually.
It would be rude then, not to indulge in a Greggs sausage roll during your time in Newcastle, and as many of the Greggs outlets are open for 24h a day, you have no excuse not to! I recently tried the new chicken sausage rolls and believe me when I say that they’re a game-changer!
2. Slurp an oyster at Lindsay Bros Fishmongers
You can’t visit Newcastle without visiting Grainger Market, and you can’t visit Grainger Market without paying a visit to Lindsay Bros Fishmongers (Google Maps link).
Grainger Market is a stunning Neoclassical building that opened in 1835, and it’s where you can find some of the best and most authentic Newcastle foods.
Since 1936, the Lindsay team have made the same trip to the coast every single day in order to get their hands on crates of the freshest mackerel, North Sea crab, shellfish, and just about anything else that swims in the waters of the North Sea.
Lindsay Bros Fishmongers supply fish to some of Newcastle’s best restaurants, but you can grab yourself a quick bite on the go, from Craster Kipper stotties to cured herring, and prawn cocktail salads.
I tried some of their delicious Lindisfarne Oysters, served on ice and with an assortment of condiments to choose from.
These oysters were not only some of the freshest, tastiest oysters I’ve had, but they were also very affordable, as is everything else on sale here.
3. Sample some Geordie ale at Firebrick Brewery Tap
While you’re in Grainger Market, pop into Firebrick Brewery Tap (Google Maps link), a cosy spot where you can enjoy a craft beer that was made by the family’s own brewery, situated just 5 miles away.
The beers here have proper Geordie names, including Toon Broon, Propa Belta, and Wey-Aye, which will all give you a chance to practice your Geordie accent!
Firebrick Brewery Tap is both a pub and a shop, meaning you can sit down and enjoy a pint, or buy some to take home with you.
They also stock world beers, rare whiskeys, small-batch gins and vodkas, and some great European wines.
4. Dine in a 13th century friary
I love anything with a bit of history, and Blackfriars Restaurant (Google Maps link) has a lot of it.
Dating back to 1239, Blackfriars is the oldest dining room in the UK, which is impressive to say the least! You can read more about the fascinating history of Blackfriars on the restaurant’s website, including about how Henry VIII almost eliminated all of the UK’s Monasteries!
I stopped here for a delicious lunch from their spring set menu (potato and cheddar pan haggerty followed by a warm sticky toffee pudding), and a beer from their onsite micro-brewery, but if I had more time, I’d definitely be keen to attend some of the events held here.
These events include medieval banquets, wine tasting suppers, medieval cookery classes, and historical tours of the building and brewery. This tour includes a tour of St. Dominic’s micro-brewery, beer tasting, 3-course lunch at Blackfriars Restaurant, and even a gift pack of beers to take home!
You can find their full event schedule here.
5. Take a Newcastle food tour
I love food tours, and I try to take at least one food tour in every city I visit.
I took two Newcastle food tours, one in the city itself, and one of Northumberland as a whole, and I definitely recommend doing one on your first day here. Not only are food tours a great introduction to local cuisine, but they also help you get your bearings within the city, discover places you’d never find otherwise, and get all the inside scoop from a local guide.
This 3-hour Newcastle street food tour includes Grainger Market, as well as Old Newcastle and the historic Quayside area.
If you want to get out of Newcastle and into the surrounding countryside, this extended 6-hour food tour of Northumberland is very similar to the one I did. It focuses on the people behind Northumberland’s food scene, and includes visits to local farms, distilleries, and even an apiary (bee yard). The price also includes a 3-course lunch, alcoholic drinks, and a visit to an Anglo-Saxon museum.
6. Drink a cocktail in a public toilet
Yes, you read that right. In Newcastle, you can drink a cocktail in a public toilet.
Before we go on, I should clarify that I’m talking about a former public toilet that has since been converted into one of Newcastle’s hippest cocktail bars.
W.C. Newcastle (Google Maps link) started its life as a Gentleman’s Water Closet, but it has since been transformed into a subterranean drinking den, and as soon as I heard about it, I knew I had to visit.
The gent’s toilet was installed in 1898 for the workers of Newcastle, and it was in use for over a century before being transformed into the space it is today.
W.C. Newcastle offers a selection of luxury signature cocktails, as well as all the old classics, and the interior is so romantic and cosy, it’s hard to imagine that you’re sitting in an old toilet! Signature cocktails include a Cinnamon & Rosemary Old Fashioned, Spiced Orange Espresso Martini, and a Champagne Cosmo.
W.C. Newcastle also has a sister venue, the W.C. Gin Closet (Google Maps link), which is the world’s smallest gin bar and is located in – you’ve guessed it – a former women’s WC! They have an extensive rare gin collection, and the speakeasy vibes here are even stronger than at W.C. Newcastle!
If you’re looking for the most unique cocktail bars in Newcastle, look no further than these two.
7. Indian street food at SnackWallah
I know I promised Newcastle food, but hey, we’re still in Newcastle!
SnackWallah (Google Maps link) is a quirky and colourful Indian street food joint in Grainger Market, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had the best pani puri of my life here for just £4. To the uninitiated, pani puri are crispy, fried hollow dough balls filled with spiced chickpeas, chutneys, and yoghurt, and they truly are the perfect bite!
Everything in this family-run eatery is fully vegan, authentic, and affordable. Don’t miss out on their curry of the day, which comes with daal, rice, and naan, and costs just £7.
8. Indulge in an endless lunch at FIRE
During my time in Newcastle, I spent an evening at FIRE, the cocktail bar at Hotel Gotham, Newcastle’s first 5-star hotel.
Hotel Gotham is a former fire station, and the FIRE bar is located inside the old engine room. If you look carefully, you’ll notice some of the original features, such as the old fire bell, fire bucket lights, fire fighter’s ladders, and fire hoses hanging from the ceiling. Even the menu covers are made from recycled fire hoses! I really loved this attention to detail.
If you’re looking for the ultimate indulgence, you have to try their new Sunday experience, the Endless Lunch (£49 PP). The Endless Lunch is a 12-course tasting menu, served blind in order not to spoil any surprises, with a DJ set from Alex Opal in the background.
If you’d like to upgrade to a bottomless drinks package, you can choose from two, priced at £45 PP and £65 PP, depending on the drinks you’d like.
You can find out more on their website.
9. Learn about the Anglo-Saxons at Ad Gefrin Whisky Distillery
Ad Gefrin is an Anglo-Saxon Museum and Whisky Distillery in Northumberland (it’s actually England’s most northerly whisky distillery!) that celebrates the region’s unique heritage and offers guided tours to visitors.
I visited Ad Gefrin during my trip and enjoyed a guided tour of the Anglo-Saxon Museum, as well as the distillery itself.
The museum offers a fascinating insight into Northumberland’s Anglo-Saxon ‘Golden Age,’ (something I knew embarrassingly little about), including how 7th century Northumbrian kings and queens lived and never-before-seen archaeological treasures such as ceramics, weapons, and jewellery.
After poring over the exhibits in the museum, I had a tour of the distillery, which is actually Northumberland’s first (legal) whisky distillery in 200 years! During the tour, I got to visit all production areas and learn about the process of whisky-making, before having a cheeky tasting at the end of the tour.
If you want to get the most out of Ad Gefrin, I recommend visiting the museum, booking onto a distillery tour, and ending your visit with dinner at Ad Gefrin’s bistro, Bēodern (which is an Old English word meaning ‘dining hall’). The food celebrates the best of Northumbrian produce and changes seasonally, ensuring that the ingredients are always of the highest quality.
You can plan your visit and book tours on their website. Here’s a Google Maps link as well.
10. Nibble on a sweet treat at The Running Fox
The Running Fox is an artisan bakery with five cafes dotted across Northumberland, and if you find yourself in the vicinity of one, you need to pay a visit.
The cafes are in Felton, Longframlington, Longhoughton, Powburn, and Kirkharle Courtyard.
The interiors are reminiscent of a rustic farmhouse, cosy yet modern, and whatever the weather, The Running Fox is the perfect place to curl up with a coffee and a cake.
I tried a selection of cakes (in the name of research, of course), and they were all absolutely delicious.
The ones I tried included an empire biscuit, lemon drizzle cake, Malteser chocolate bite, white chocolate and orange cake, a Belgian chocolate brownie, Victoria Sponge, and a strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake (yes, I had to bring some home with me!).
You can find all their locations on their website.
11. Bring home some cheese from Matthew’s Cheese
Sample local and international hand picked cheeses by renowned cheese specialists at Matthew’s Cheese stall in Grainger Market (Google Maps link).
Matthew’s Cheese is Newcastle’s number 1 cheesemonger, and has been serving the local community for over 80 years, with over 180 cheeses to choose from!
There really is a cheese for everyone here, from Brie with Truffle, to White Stilton with Chocolate and Chilli, Cheddar with Apple and Blackberry, and even a Sticky Toffee Cheddar!
I sampled a small selection including a Northumberland goat’s cheese, Berwick Edge, and a Northumberland sheep’s cheese.
12. A proper sausage roll at Geordie Bangers
Before leaving Grainger Market, be sure to call at Geordie Bangers in Alley 4 (Google Maps link) for the best sausage roll you’ll ever eat. I don’t even like sausage rolls, and I couldn’t get enough!
I tried the regular sausage roll which was incredible but next time I’d definitely go for the jalapeño version, or the pork and black pudding one. At the time of writing (July 2026), a sausage roll was £3.50, which may sound expensive, but trust me – these things are humongous.
13. Have a pint at Wylam Brewery
Wylam Brewery (Google Maps link) is a 30 barrel micro-brewery that resides in the Palace of Arts, a Grade II building in Newcastle’s Exhibition Park.
The brewery is open to the public from Thursday to Sunday, with a tap room and terrace (perfect on a summer’s day), and they are always coming up with new and innovative craft beers to try on Keg and Cask.
If you happen to be in Newcastle for the weekend, they also do a Sunday Roast, and a grill kitchen serves burgers and dirty fries on Fridays and Saturdays.
I sampled their Lush Pale Ale (4.2%), and their Jakehead Supercharged IPA (6.2%), which were both great, although the Jakehead was more to my taste.
14. Time Traveller’s Feast at Kynren
Kynren is a history-themed outdoor attraction in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, most famous for its spectacular live-action show that tells over 2000 years of British history, myth, and legend.
The show is staged annually during the summer months, and this year (2026), there is also a daytime theme park opening, as well as an exotic bird show called The Lost Feather, which I was lucky enough to preview at a press launch.
Honestly, everything at Kynren is worth seeing, but the focus of this article is food, and so I want to tell you about the Kynren Time Travellers’ Feast, which I also experienced during my time in North East England.
The Time Travellers’ Feast is an immersive dining experience, combining theatrical storytelling with a three-course feast inspired by various time periods.
After a Roman-inspired welcome cocktail, you’ll be shown into the banquet hall, which is inspired by the great dining halls of Tudor England.
The feast begins with a Tudor-inspired starter of rustic breads, gala pie, ham and leek terrine, and house charcuterie, hosted by Henry VIII.
After that, it’s a Viking takeover where you’ll guzzle on flame-grilled beef sirloin, Hasselback potatoes, and seasonal veg, before Charles Dickens himself comes along with a selection of Victorian-inspired desserts to finish.
Each course brings dramatic live action, mischief, and spontaneous surprises, and it’s the perfect way to begin your evening at Kynren.
The Time Travellers’ Feast costs £68 PP for a three-course meal, welcome cocktail, and glass of wine, plus tea or coffee. You can visit the Kynren website for more details.
Newcastle Food and Drink Experiences | Final Thoughts
I hope I’ve managed to give you some inspiration for your Newcastle trip in this article.
I love discovering new gastronomic experiences when I travel, and Newcastle and the North East had them in abundance, from tasting menus to medieval feasts, and everything in between.
That’s it for today, but as always, if you have any questions then don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments section below.
Until next time,
XOXO
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