The Punch Bowl, Newcastle upon Tyne
I’m feeling guilty about my Sunday pint. The house is due a lick of paint, the car needs a deep clean – and I don’t have a dog. At the Punch Bowl in Newcastle, most of the clientele has enjoyed a leisurely stroll with Fido in Jesmond Dene, a nearby wooded valley. There are dogs under tables, dogs by benches and dogs sniffing the air at the bar. I’ll have to borrow one.
The elegant 1878-vintage Punch Bowl had lain fallow after stuttering and skittering for what seemed an eternity, but it’s once more a vibrant pub, its potential polished, its reputation restored.
Idiosyncrasy is built into its stonework. Seriously good food and drink are peppered with Geordie humour. For instance, the “scran” menu (illustrated with a photo of Kevin Keegan) offers the Beef Chegwin burger; sharing platters are simply “shareseys”, while Sunday lunch is “for you, your ma and your dog”. Internal signage is in English, French and Russian.
A train set loops above one of the two ground-floor rooms separated by an open kitchen. A 60-seater cinema and live performance room is called Bobik’s – after a Fifties Soviet space programme dog that ran away rather than be blasted into orbit. Lavatory seats heat up at the touch of a buttock. One end of a bookshelf (travel guides, novels, biographies and recipe books) is supported by a small white bust. Dymo-taped to it is the quote: “‘I love owt like that, me’ – Franz Kafka.”
Beer is presented in immaculate condition; a collection ranging from the straightforward and old-school to more experimental one-offs from the likes of Black Isle, Hawkshead, Oakham, Anarchy and Almasty breweries. “We’re like those Spanish and Italian bars where young and old gather happily,” says publican Dave Carr. The pub is buzzing, friendly and fun.
I love owt like that, me.
Alastair Gilmour
125 Jesmond Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1JY: 0191 239 9566; punchbowlnewcastle.com
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