Babucho

I came here with friends for a Christmas do, so can’t really comment on the regular menu, but we had a great time here! The atmosphere is trendy and bustling, not so much a place for an intimate dinner for two but more a place to go for a fun meal with friends before heading out to go dancing. Our attentive servers brought us all prosecco that came with our prix-​fixe meal, and then the food was on its way. I started with oven-​roasted king prawns in chili butter over rustic bread — this is on regular menu, and it was delicious! Perfectly cooked prawns, and the butter sauce gave the dish a really luxurious flavor. I had turkey for my main, which I’m sure is not on the regular menu. I’m not a big fan of the circle-​cut slice of turkey (seriously, why?) but the meat was juicier than usual thanks to the abundant gravy, and they gave everyone plenty of vegetables to have alongside. The vanilla limoncello cheesecake was a wonderful way to finish, it was an elegant dessert with a great crust and lots of flavor. £32, I think, for the three course meal. We all had a great experience, and I’d certainly recommend it to anybody looking for a place to have a Christmas party! Some of the other dishes besides turkey looked fantastic, like my husband’s lamb shank. Hopefully we’ll come back sometime so I can try more dishes off the main menu!

Nice. But not worth the price we paid. Waited ages to be served, didn’t have 2 of the beers they offered me…

A Monday evening out after work (I started early this week) was a treat from our manager after having a good couple of months in work.
My friends at work probably have a better idea of the places in Newcastle — my forte is around the coast and Tynemouth…
Saying this we had a few options along the quayside and we opted to go for Babucho which of course I had never heard of! We arrived shortly after 6 without booking and were seen to a lovely booth in the back by a smart waiter. The inside was gorgeous with a black theme and lovely gold lights surrounding the tables. I loved the layout with the tables all different sizes and nice and spaced out (hooray!)
We did all notice it was a bit warm on arrival it wasn’t until we were seated for ten minutes or so until we all started to over-​heat and dare a say it … I saw more than a few sweaty brows… Although it was a hot day it was scorching in the back of the restaurant they did have air-​con in here but it clearly wasn’t reaching the booths and it did make for an uncomfortable eating environment… leading to my 4 star rather than what could have possibly… maybe been a 5.
We all opted to choose from the «Rapido» menu which was a midweek deal from Monday through Thursday from 12 till 10:30pm and a reasonable £12 for 2 courses how could we not?
I started with the Roast Mushroom and Goats cheese which came on crispy tuscan bread sprinkled with pine nuts and pesto. It was divine — dare I say it one of the best starters I’ve had in some time. The melted goodness from the goats cheese was a great combo with the pesto and the added crunch with the toasted bread and pine nuts. I could have eaten another for my main!
However alas I had already ordered the Steak Frites which was a £4 supplement with aside of Diane sauce. Arriving rare-​medium it was the biggest slab of flat iron steak i’ve seen on an early dinner menu! Amazing value for money!
The Diane sauce was creamy and full of mushrooms with the added bonus of some mini peppercorns — my favourite! Served with just the right amount of frites and with the steak cooked to perfection it was spot on for my liking! Slightly pink towards an almost ready colour — fantastic! The only critical point I could say was it did have a little fat around the edges however there was still plenty of edible meat so much so I couldn’t quite finish it all! The rest in the party went for a mixture of prawn skewers (beautifully served), pizzas (again divine) and chicken… everyone tucked in!
Unfortunately no-​one had room to add on a dessert for a couple extra quid but I would definitely come back again for the a-​la-​carte menu!

I took my parents to this restaurant when they were visiting Newcastle and we were not disappointed! We initially intended just to have a couple of drinks in the very stylish bar but it had such a good atmosphere we asked if they could squeeze us in for food. Although fully booked one table didn’t show-​great news for us!
The restaurant was heaving with big parties celebrating birthdays but it was surprisingly tranquil at our table and staff remained attentive throughout so the service didn’t suffer at all.
The food was incredible! Varied menu although relatively expensive. I took advantage of the offer 2 courses for 14.95 which I would recommend for anyone on a budget. I ordered the focaccia as a starter which was huge so bear this in mind as definitely one to share… delicious nonetheless. For a main I had the confit of duck in sticky red wine sauce and potato purée which was absolutely divine! My dad ordered the steak which was cooked to perfection too so no complaints at all about the food.
As for the drinks… they are VERY expensive so you can definitely find cheaper places in this area of Newcastle. I think you pay for the style and glamour of this bar but given the quality of the food and amazing service by the staff I would happily go back again!