I usually know where to go for food when I’m in Newcastle as Niki and I aren’t all that fussy… as long as they serve tasty food, we’re happy!
However, the pressure is always on when I’m with my parents – is anyone the same? I can’t exactly take them to a greasy burger joint (my comfort zone!) when they’ve travelled 45 minutes drive to even get to Newcastle. I also have to be careful with “hipster” places as they don’t really “get it”… you know the kind of place I mean where they serve soft drinks in a mason jar! Personally, I love that stuff but if it’s style over substance, Mum and Dad will see right through it!
My sister was on her half-term break last week and wanted to go in to the city to buy some winter knits and a new coat for college, so they went all the way to Newcastle and I tagged along! There are lots of places to eat in Newcastle, especially on Grey Street so we stopped in the first place we liked the look of and that was Brown’s.
When we were eventually noticed, we got a table straight away. Bearing in mind, this was a Monday evening, it wasn’t all that busy so if you decide to go at the weekend, it’s best to book beforehand just to make sure you definitely get a table. We got a window seat which was nice! We quickly ordered drinks of peach tea, home-made lemonade, pina colada and an elderflower cocktail, then made a decision on starters and main meals.
I didn’t have a starter but my mum had the pan seared scallops with cauliflower puree, shallots and grape vinaigrette. There was also supposed to be curried tempura cauliflower on the place… but these were missing, not sure why! They must have just forgotten! I had a taste of the scallops and they were delicious! My sister is obsessed with avocado so she had an avocado crab stack, and both starters looked great.
The special of the night was a trio of mains, so mum ordered this and sampled three of the main courses on one plate. This consisted of pork belly, lobster sandwich and ricotta tortellini. Dad had pan-fried cod and I went for the pork belly with a Pink Lady jus.
My sister had the beef burger with lobster which is pictured at the top. She was soooo super excited about it when it arrived at the table but as you can see from the pics above, the burger was (sadly) overdone and black around the edge. Little sis said it was burnt and tough. Disappointing for the price of £15 but the chunky chips were good, though. It might look like you only get five chips, but your eyes are deceiving you! Don’t be fooled because if you look the bowl of chips in comparison to the burger (which was pretty huge), you’ll get an idea of the portion. Extra extra chunky chips.
After a few mistakes they made with the starter and Vanessa’s burger, we didn’t fancy staying for dessert but nothing tickled our fancy anyway. After a quick drive to the Quayside, we went for a walk and with the weather so surprisingly mild for this time of year, we went a bit further until we reached Pitcher & Piano. We decided to pop in for coffee, dessert, and a couple of non-alcoholic cocktails there! A meal out is not complete without dessert! If you’re ever in the Pitcher & Piano, I recommend the Strawberry Split and Passionfruit Cooler drinks, they are delicious!
Share this post:
The most disappointing meal I've ever had in Newcastle was in Browns. It was awful! We had an issue with burnt food too (a very overly burnt fruit crumble!) – I've heard quite a lot of bad stories from others as well so we've never been back. Such a shame cos it's beautiful inside! Have you been to Blackfriars? The food there is amazing and it'd be a great place to take parents!
I do love P&P! Don't think I've ever had dessert but tried Sunday Lunch and Brunch and both those were lovely 🙂
Chloe x
newgirlintoon.co.uk
Yummy! The food looks soooo good *drooling* I love the presentation of the food as well lol X
thefashion-junkie
The food looks good! I hope to visit Newcastle one day 🙂
Marissa Jamie : Faithfully, Marissa ♡
Oh my gosh the food looks incredible! I can feel myself getting hungry just scrolling through this post, this looks like one killer restaurant, everything looks amazing! x
holljc.blogspot.co.uk
I've been to Brown's in Glasgow a couple of times and have had to suffer pretty awful service (shockingly rude staff) and disappointing food, so I'm kind of surprised that it's the same in Newcastle too. On the surface they seem like a great quality restaurant but something is clearly going wrong somewhere x
Charlotte / coloursandcarousels
Brown's restaurants are hit and miss, really depends on the staff. I love their food so now I have found a good one in Notts I generally stick with this. The scallops would be my favourite. Lucy x
The food looks good, but I'm sorry you had so many problems with the orders!
Wow! This food looks so delicious !
Sara,
Giveaway, win Aliexpress coupons
http://thecrimeofashion.blogspot.fr
There is nothing worse than getting a bad meal. You should have complained, especially considering the prices. I hate confrontation and never complained about food but I am getting better at it.
joyfullantidotes.wordpress.com
I've found Brown's in London quite hit and miss – good cocktails though! The trio of main courses is a great idea for the indecisive (me!) x
There is a bar with great seating as well as tables all along the wall. Waitress popped over quickly and explained the menu from the food to the beers. We decided to go with some dishes at San Francisco restaurants. Our meal was tasty and fresh.