Wy I’ll be back soon!

IT was shortly after Valentine’s Day when I took Mrs Eats out for our latest Sunday scran and it was an opportunity to show my romantic side.

What could be better, I thought, than a scenic walk around the lake in Newcastle’s Exhibition Park?

I had a sneaking suspicion, though, Mrs E was more interested in our destination than gazing lovingly in my eyes.

Our stroll in the park led us to the Tap and Kitchen at Wylam Brewery – a venue which impressed us both when we visited soon after it opened just over two years ago.

Any venue with ‘brewery’ in the name is worth visiting twice in my opinion.

The serene and calm surroundings of the park contrasted sharply to the bustling, lively restaurant which was also playing music a little too loudly for my taste.

It seems Wylam Brewery is popular with the young, hip and trendy crowd and probably was not the ideal setting for the romantic meal for two I had planned.

Yet as long as ‘She Who Must Be Fed’ had a decent lunch she would be happy.

Pint of craft beer ordered, we settled down to peruse the menu and take in the former Palace of Arts building.

The starters available were not your usual offerings but piqued our curiosity.

My smoked mackerel pate with kohlrabi, fennel and apple (£7) was delicious, the smooth, fresh fish complementing the crunchy toppings perfectly.

The white onion soup with Welsh rarebit (£6) was praised by Mrs Eats, although she found the generous helping of cheese on the bread a little overpowering.

Expectations were now high for my pork belly and her leg of lamb (both £13).

Parsnips, spicy mashed carrot and turnip, roasties, cabbage and a huge Yorkshire pudding came with our respective meats.

The vegetables and potatoes could not be faulted and the bigger a Yorkshire is the better as far as I am concerned. The slight drawback were the two meats. I was enjoying the tender pork belly with crispy crackling but the last few mouthfuls had to be abandoned as they just big lumps of fat.

Mrs Eats said her lamb was nice enough but not melt-inthe-mouth delicious..

Our plates were collected within seconds of putting down our cutlery and we were offered the dessert menu.

Although polite and friendly, it did seem like the staff were rushing us through our meal to free up the tables which were in high demand.

We were both feeling fairly full but Mrs E’s eyes lit up again at the sight of the dessert menu.

She could not say no to the vanilla rice pudding with rhubarb and pistachio (£6).

I was more than tempted by the chocolate and orange trifle (£5).

We were overindulging but were very glad we did.

My grown-up trifle was lathered with thick cream with a thin layer of jelly and orange creme underneath a rich chocolate sponge.

The rice pudding was creamy and the unusual rhubarb accompaniment went down well.

Altogether it was a rather pricey three courses but the quality of the food justified the cost.

I may not be the type of patron the Wylam Brewery is necessarily catered towards and I should perhaps choose a more intimate venue to woo Mrs E.

We will certainly be back for another trip around the lake.