Historic venue... memorable grub
THE word ‘historic’ gets bandied about all too often, but Blackfriars - a former friary dating back to the 13th Century - certainly qualifies.
Open in its current form since 2001, it has become a Newcastle institution, and it was time for me to go back.
In the four years since I last visited Blackfriars in the city centre it has racked up award after award, although obviously none are as prestigious as my 2010 “roast of the year” gong!
But the North East restaurant scene seems to be moving quickly, thanks - in no small part - to the group behind Blackfriars.
They have since opened Hinnies and Dobson & Parnell, both of which Mrs Eats and I have absolutely adored.
So, the question is, has Blackfriars kept up, or is it old news?
We arrived and the place was absolutely heaving. Think of a Bigg Market pub on a Friday night - that’s certainly how I felt trying to get to the bar while we waited for our table to become free.
It was only when I looked around and realised that everyone was very well shod - not quite like the Bigg Market - that I realised there was a wedding party happening and the staff seemed rushed off their feet. Eventually we were ushered into the main restaurant, which
w a s Car park..................... Kids allowed...................... Real ale..................................... Wine by the bottle........................ Credit cards..................................... Vegetarian food............................. Disabled toilets............................. thankfully less cramped, despite being fully booked, and took a look at the menu.
One starter on offer was black pudding fritters, with a poached egg and brown sauce.
Recalling our meal at their sister restaurant Hinnies, there was no way I couldn’t go for a black pudding option and - true to form - it was sublime.
Mrs Eats’ leafier affair - a goats cheese salad with walnuts and beetroot - also got rave reviews. So far so good.
Onto the mains of roast beef for Mrs Eats and lamb for me, and the standard was slightly more varied.
Getting the negatives out the way first, the Yorkshire puds were overdone.
Not inedible, just not the high standard I’d expected.
While Mrs Eats was given the option of how she’d like her beef done, I had no such choice, with my roast lamb cooked much more than I’d prefer and - to compound my disappointment - they’d run out of mint sauce.
The rest of the meal was very good, however.
Wonderful veg, beautifullycrispy potatoes and really delicious gravy - which came to the aid of my Yorkshire and meat.
Mrs Eats’ beef was also top notch.
Melt-in-your mouth succulance bursting with flavour. She’d chosen well.
Puddings were excellent.
A rich chocolate delice, although small in stature, filled the last pudding-shaped hole in my substantial belly, while Mrs Eats devoured a “sensational” sticky toffee puding with banana ice cream.
After a week on from my underwhelming meal that got readers raising an eyebrow at my sausage (the pictures from the review might have had something to do with it... ), it was time for a meal we knew we could rely on.
Blackfriars was the place - it’s still up there as one of Newcastle’s finer restuarants.
Even if we leave it another four years to return, Blackfriars has shown it is here to stay. The roast lamb also truly