REVEALED: Supper with Ashley... steak, pizza and a £7.95 pasta for the billionaire
BONDING AND BOLOGNESE ON THE MENU FOR MAGPIES MEETING
BILLIONAIRE Mike Ashley ate a £7.95 spaghetti bolognese during a four-hour clear-the-air meal with Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez and his squad.
And the Sports Direct owner, accused by some MPs of underfunding the club, dished out ‘big tips’ to staff.
Around 45 Newcastle United officials and players tucked into steak, pizza and pasta at Italian restaurant Rialto in Ponteland.
The Chronicle can reveal a booking at a different restaurant was cancelled amid fears for the safety of the United owner.
Rialto’s boss Sonny Miah has showed off his venue following Wednesday’s ‘bonding’ meal – and revealed what the atmosphere was like. “Mr Ashley spoke with everyone, all the staff, and it was a very happy room,” said Sonny. “He was just a normal customer. “They ate steak, pizza and pasta - all the different things - and they all mixed it up. “Rafa was an excellent guy, really top notch. He was excellent with my staff and they had a great night.”
The squad arrived from around 6.30pm while retail mogul Ashley arrived at 7pm – 15 minutes late for the restaurant’s £5.95 ‘happy hour’ offer. He reportedly arrived in the North East via helicopter for the meal, his first faceto-face with Benitez for five months.
The meal, supposedly initiated by the club’s man-
Mr Ashley spoke with everyone, all the staff, and it was a very happy room. He was just a normal customer. Sonny Miah
aging director Lee Charnley, was aimed at helping to show Ashley’s commitment to the Magpies and addressing the side’s sluggish start to the season.
And he was still all smiles as he left the restaurant – although United fans booed him as he left to chants of ‘where has the money gone?’
The 54-year-old then sparked Twitter fury as fans claimed he gave them a ‘two-fingered salute’ from inside his car, a claim he has strongly denied.
The Chronicle can also reveal another Ponteland venue had also been booked – and only cancelled a day earlier.
A Ristorante Fratelli staff member claimed: “They couldn’t guarantee safety and were concerned about Mike Ashley coming in.
“The booking was made for about 40 people but it was cancelled on the Tuesday.
“The restaurant didn’t have a proper private area, and there were already bookings which they couldn’t cancel in order to have the full restaurant.”
Instead, bosses and players – some on an estimated £70,000-a-week – tucked into Rialto’s menu which offers dishes from just £1.95.
It offers an array of pizza, pasta and risotto while pricier grill dishes include salmon king prawns served in a Pernod sauce.
The most expensive dish – surf and turf with fillet steaks – costs £19.50.
But Sonny said: “They all left very good tips and gave use a five-star review.”