Blackfriars Restaurant

Been there twice. The first time we found it accidentally and was amazed by the service and the food. The décor is unique and vintage. It’s like eating in a dungeon, in a nice way. And the food is vet delicious and it makes you want to keep coming and try the new menu. The menu changes over time and you can always find the thing you want to have. It’s a great place to meet friends and have a family dinner. Very elegant indeed.

Quelle belle découverte ce restaurant !
C’est à l’occasion d’un voyage «business» dans le cadre de mon travail que l’équipe a découvert cet endroit.
Tout d’abord, le lieu est superbe ! Si j’ai bien suivi l’histoire, il s’agissait d’une sorte de monastère qui a été réutilisé pour ce restaurant mais aussi d’autres organisations locales. Le lieu est assez sombre mais ça fait tout son charme ! Les murs en pierre et les sortes de fresque des moines donnent une atmosphère vraiment particulière. Et LA chose que j’ai particulièrement apprécié: cet arbre de racines présent dans un coin du restaurant avec lesdites racines qui montent au plafond (que j’aimerais avoir ça chez moi ^^).
Bref, une fois la déco inspectée, place à la nourriture. En entrée, j’ai opté pour le fromage de chèvre avec pommes et miel. Cette entrée a été servie avec le fromage dans le fond de l’assiette, recouvert de persil grillé et de minuscules bouts de pommes. J’avoue, je n’ai pas été très fan. Le persil sentait le brocolis et passait bien avec une bonne dose de fromage.
En plat principal, j’ai (forcément) choisi le Fish&Chips: un énorme poisson avec deux sauces très bonnes (pas des sauces liquides indigestes mais des sortes de purée de pois) et des «chips» ainsi que de la salade. Le poisson était tellement gros que je n’ai même pas tout fini.
En dessert, j’ai opté pour le brownie qui était plutôt un gâteau au chocolat qu’un brownie (trop mou, pas assez collant). Mais je né suis pas très pointilleuse sur les gâteaux au chocolat.
Bref, oui la nourriture n’était pas au top du top mais ça avait le mérite d’être différent et le personnel était vraiment serviable et sympa.
Un must-​see si vous passez par Newcastle !

Came in for lunch and had a roast basil and tomato soup, a pan fried salmon with a tomato, chorizo, and cannellini bean stew, and a small assortment of homemade sorbets. All this came up to £26 with a glass of white wine.
TLDR: great food (but not perfect), great value, great selection of wines and beers, you won’t be disappointed.
The roast tomato basil soup feels very rustic in style. Smooth, slightly sweet, slightly sour, it a brilliant dish to whet the appetite. I did feel it needed some black pepper to round off the dish and smoothen out the acidity, but other than that it’s a great, stomach warming dish. ⁷⁄₁₀.
The salmon and stew was one of the more ‘out there’ dishes on the menu and so it caught my eye. The first thing you notice about the dish is the wonderful smell of the perfectly cooked salmon and savoury scent of the chorizo. The next is the colour: the green of the garnish and the pesto drizzle, the lovely char they put on the salmon skin, and of course the wondrous red-​orange of the stew.
So it looks and smells fantastic, but how do they balance the fine flavour of a salmon with the strong and loud flavours of a stew with tomatoes AND chorizo sausage? Damn near flawlessly. The slight acidity and porkyness of the chorizo lends itself wonderfully to the stew. A dish which, in my mind shouldn’t work, does. The use of the cannellini beans fills in the role of more traditional carbs like rice or pastas, and is the perfect choice for the job.
The dish isn’t perfect however. The spinach used have lovely thick, juicy stems which works against it in this instance. It water-​filled stems clashes against the stew, but the leaves alone, lend just enough flavour to further tie the salmon and stew together.
The chorizo cubes are extremely tasty, but that works against the salmon and overpowers it. If you can avoid eating a piece of salmon with a piece of chorizo you’ll get around this problem though, so it’s not too bad, and I honestly can’t think of a way to make a chorizo stew without plating any chorizo on the dish without leaving the customer feeling robbed. ⁷⁄₁₀.
The sorbet flavours were cherry, cucumber/​mint, and mango/​pineapple. The cucumber/​mint sorbet is, as you’d expect, very refreshing. Unfortunately all of them were quite icy, which might sound like an odd thing to complain about when speaking of sorbet, but you shouldn’t be biting into small pockets of flavoured crushed ice when eating sorbet. ⁶⁄₁₀
Overall a good meal, a more simple or traditional main course would be better as the execution of the dish was perfect, just the idea is a little adventurous, and although well thought out, could use some small refinements.

I think this is one of the best restaurants in the NE. Food is always top class and deeply tasty with more than a nod to English cuisine. There are also plenty of regional ingredients in the menu, keeping provenance close to home.
The restaurant is tucked away by the old city walls just off Westgate Road in the original Blackfriars monastery. The atmosphere is cosy and intimate and staff are friendly and knowledgeable.

Delicious. Every bite. Great lunch menu at a true value £15 for 2 courses. Well crafted — clean tasting food.

We’d heard this was one of the best restaurants in Newcastle, so my boyfriend and I stopped in for Sunday lunch. Blackfriars dates back to 1239 (not as a restarant obviously, but as a friary). The space is beautiful and elegant, and the perfect place for a special meal. The set menu is a good deal, at 15 for two courses and 18 for three.
I started with the carrot and coriander soup, and my boyfriend got the duck ham with cherry chutney. The soup was velvety and luscious, my only wish being that it had some more spice. My boyfriend loved his appetizer too, I tried some of the duck ham (seriously, what is duck ham? I don’t know) and it was amazing. Sort of like… prosciutto made from duck. So delicious but not porky.
He got a Sunday roast which I thought was a boring choice but he said it was one of the best roasts he’d had. I got the salmon with potatoes and sea vegetables which was simple but lovely. Poached salmon is so soft and appealing, and the potatoes were crispy and the veggies were fresh.
We only had room for one dessert, so split the dark chocolate fondant. It was way too rich for me but was nonetheless amazing, especially the peanut butter ice cream!
The menu features updated versions of British classics and a lot of the ingredients, as many as possible, come from local farms and waters. On the menu, you can see a map of the area and actual locations where certain animals were raised and veggies were grown. Pretty impressive! The taste definitely reflects the freshness, and the presentation is lovely. I’d come back here whenever I’m in town for another great Sunday dinner!

Visited Blackfriars with my family for graduation meal. The atmosphere and décor was gorgeous. The food was sooo good and the desert beautiful. The only downfall was the potion size which was quite small and left me not entirely satisfied. They also offer a fantastic gluten free menu and the staff can’t do enough to help you and make your experience enjoyable.

Had a la carte dinner menu and was disappointed first by the service long delays and the waiter was vegetarian so couldn’t comment on any of the meet dishes.
When the food arrived we thought the quality of the ingredients was lacking the pigeon was tough, the liver was old, the venison carpacio wasn’t too great and the halibut was good but a very small portion for £18.

Excellent quality, but the menu can sometimes be little too cool if you know what I mean. Definatly worth a visit but not my favorite fine dining restaurent in Newcastle.

Peaceful location, as is expected from a former refectory of a 13^th Century priory, this informal eaterie offers diners a range of British dishes created with the help of locally acquired produce and the simple ingenuity and craftsmanship of the cooks. Understated dishes using subtle ingredients producing a pleasant dish for all tastes.
Diners can escape the Gothic interior (all flickering candles and long tables) for the fresh open spaces offered by the courtyard outside (perfect for summer picnics).
Contemporary presentation in relaxed, historic surroundings.

Behind Blackfriars restaurant, near to the Gate, there is a smallish area of grass, with the ruins of an old abbey or church, a few benches, and a nice sense of privacy. It is round the back of the Gate complex but once there you would never think it. Most of the buildings around it are worn old stone and the atmosphere is very relaxed and comfortable. In the summer this is a great place to take a picnic if the rest of your plans for the day — whether work or play — require you to be in the city centre. There is a small art shop off to one side, featuring the works of the local artists who run it. They are very friendly if you want to go in for a browse. it’s tiny, so that won’t take long.
Like most such areas in cities, it gets a bit busy on warm days, but it’s still worth a visit.