A Sunday roast on the riverbank
EDDY’S LAST
LADIES and gentlemen. Boys and girls. And dogs. May I have your attention, please?
Tyne Bar has started doing Sunday roasts and they’re wonderful.
If you’re not already familiar with it, Tyne Bar is nestled on the riverside at the edge of Ouseburn, an area recently likened to London’s hipster hotspot Shoreditch.
This, dear readers, is codswollop (I was going to use a stronger word, but Mrs Eats got her frown on.) Ouseburn is far cheaper, cleaner and friendlier.
Anyway, I digress. Tyne Bar has long been a popular boozer thanks to a regularly-changing array of good local beer, bottles and cans of ‘Top Shelf Swag’ for £1.60 and loads of live music, albeit being better known for its pints than scran. In fairness, their normal menu - an odd mix of Mexican food, burgers and a substantial vegan section - is definitely above-average pub grub.
But when the news reached me that Tyne Bar had recently started doing Sunday lunches, I was intrigued and wasted little time getting Mrs Eats into the Eatsmobile to try it.
We arrived at midday, just as the doors were opening, and it’s fortunate that we did. They may have only been serving roasts for a couple of weeks, but
word had clearly spread quickly as it was heaving just an hour later.
Their new Sunday menu is a simple affair with three choices: beef, chicken or a vegan option comprising tiered mushroom, butternut squash, spinach and nutty wellington, served with vegan Yorkshires.
At £10 each, it’s not particularly cheap, so expectations were raised.
There were no starters on offer and only one pudding option, which is actually three puddings in one – but more on that later.
I opted for the beef, Mrs Eats went for the chicken, and both came on big plates piled with trimmings: mash and roast potatoes, vegetables including caramelised parsnips and skinon carrots, plus the obligatory Yorkshire.
Pleasingly, both came with an extra jug of the delicious gravy and we were offered condiments.
Aside from a few pleasurable ‘mmmm’s, silence descended at our table as we tackled the hefty serv- ings, leaving us to soak up the atmosphere of the ever-growing crowd, playful dogs and the free jukebox.
It was excellent; a generouslysized roast with a proper, homecooked feel. Everything was cooked well, the potatoes were crisp, the Yorkshire fluffy and the veg flavoursome.
Mrs Eats assured me that the roast chicken was done to perfection – succulent with crispy skin, and even more meat on it than first thought.
It wouldn’t be Tyne Bar without an excellent pint, and my meal was washed down with a lovely IPA (£4), while the missus stuck to coffee.
On to pudding, and we each had just about enough room for a trio of desserts, comprising a chocolate torte, lemon posset with a raspberry and a brandy basket with vanilla ice cream.
Each component could have easily been a desert in its own right, and for just £4.50 it was an absolute bargain. A delicious bargain.
Full, and more than content, Mrs Eats and I waddled around a gloriously-sunny Ouseburn to reflect on our Sunday Lunch. Yes, a few starter options would be nice - for those with a massive appetite - but the size and quality of the mains and puds more than makes up for it.
So, one of Newcastle’s best pubs now does excellent Sunday dinners. About Tyne, too. Address: Black Bull, Main Rd, Wylam NE41 8AB Tel: 01661 853112
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