Proper Sunday grub hits the spot
KEEPING Mrs Eats happy on a Sunday can sometimes be a delicate balancing act.
On the one hand I want to make sure I can enjoy a proper pint of ale with my Sunday roast, on the other I don’t want to have She Who Must Be Fed perforating my eardrum with her constant moaning about us sitting in a “bloke’s pub”.
To keep her happy - or, more precisely, quiet - the food must deliver, while pleasant surroundings can placate her too.
I’d been wanting to review The Central in Gateshead for a while.
Dubbed ‘The Coffin’ by locals due to the unusual shape of the building, the Victorian Grade IIlisted pub is a maze of quirky rooms and even comes with a rooftop terrace.
Since it reopened in 2010, I’ve often popped in for a tipple -
THE CENTRAL
Half Moon Lane, Exhibition Park Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE8 2AN Telephone: 0191 478 2543 Sunday lunch served between 12pm and 5pm
Rating: 16/20
Character........................... Quality................................ Service................................ Value................................... they have up to 15 real ales on at once - and wondered what the Sunday dinners were like.
After waking up to glorious sunshine one lovely April Sunday morning, I knew the backdrop would satisfy Mrs Eats.
The Central is, after all, perched right next to the Gateshead end of the Tyne Bridge - so I suggested a Sunday stroll along the Quayside before a spot of lunch.
I knew the beer would deliver, but I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the grub.
Naturally I eased any premeal anxieties I may have had with a pint.
Of the 13 on offer, I went for one of my favourites, Harviestoun’s Bitter and Twisted (£3.50), while She Who Must Be Fed opted for a lemonade.
After being seated in the pub’s ‘Whisky Lounge’ - I learned later we could have eaten on the upstairs terrace - we shuffled through to the main bar to look at the m e n u o n
the
DRINKS
Real ales, ‘craft ales’, premium and normal lagers, wines and spirits available
Car park..................... Kids allowed...................... Real ale..................................... Wine by the bottle........................ Credit cards..................................... Vegetarian food............................. blackboard. It was basic but completely fuss free: three starters, a handful of mains and a few desserts. My garlic bread (£3.50) came in long, thick-cut wedges which were accompanied with an unnecessary side salad. It was sufficiently garlicky and tasty. Mrs Eats, meanwhile, opted for the broccoli-and-cheddar soup (£3.50). She commented that the unusual combination was “delicious” - and it was certainly plentiful, coming in a huge bowl. With two courses available for £9.50 - while three would only set you back an extremely-reasonable £11.50 - I then chose a beef dinner (£7.25 as a main course.) The beef was plentiful and had a lovely flavour. It came accompanied with a huge Yorkshire pudding, as well as mash, roasties, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. I also found the individual gravy boat I was given a decent touch.
That ensured I could apply lashings as I saw fit.
She Who Must Be Fed, meanwhile, went for the quirky option of a hot-beef sarnie (£4.25), which came with roasties and a pot of gravy. The lighter twist on a Sunday dinner was a “great idea”, she commented.
We were both suitably stuffed, even despite Mrs Eats’ smallerthan-normal main course, and so neither of us tried the desserts - though options included toffee cake and cherry pie (both £3.50).
The food itself was not fivestar cuisine but it was certainly very good pub grub.
Now the lack of placemats and the general rough-andready feel of The Central may not be to everyone’s liking, but it does a decent Sunday lunch.
I needn’t have worried about Mrs Eats; if there’s one thing that satisfies She Who Must Be Fed, it’s proper Sunday grub.