Wednesday 4 February 2015

Tyneside Bar Cafe (Newcastle upon Tyne)

I'm proud to say that I was the first customer when Tyneside Bar Cafe opened last year on Friday 22nd August. I celebrated with a glass of Presecco with pal Ashley Phillips and Craig Puranen Wilson who is the Programmer/Producer of the venue.

Since then I have enjoyed Electrobella nights hosted by Andrew Belshaw, taken advantage of the free films on offer and the food. During the day when I visit, my favourite is the salmon and cream cheese bagel, a reunion with some lasses from my teens - we ate the scrummy toasties. But last night, me and pal Olya headed to Tyneside Bar Cafe for a meal and to take part in our first quiz there. 

The staff are young, vibrant and friendly in this trendy venue. The beautiful auburn haired Laura took our order and bubbly, pretty Gemma brought our food, checking that everything was ok.

Olya ordered a starter Grilled black pudding with poached egg and hollandaise sauce. For her main - Shallots and caramel tart tatin with blue cheese. The photo shows how beautifully presented her meal was. Another of my favourite foods here are the Smoked haddock fish cakes with creamed leeks and fries. Instead of your ordinary shaped fish cakes, the chef creates balls of crunchy coating with tasty filling. I shared Olya's salad from her starter, crunchy and tasty. When my sweet arrived, sorbet, there were four of them!  Gemma had the foresight to bring two spoons. Delicious.

The quiz was great fun, Music and Movies.  There were five rounds, the first being to recognise photos of performers on screen,  We didn't do too bad - 6 points out of ten. I was amazed that at 63 years of age, I actually recognised Axl Rose! (Can't take credit for it though as my son once had a T shirt with him on the front) Carmen Miranda, Seal, Shakira, Lou Reed and Peter Sarstedt (Got an extra point for spelling his name correctly) We puffed ourselves up when we were awarded 12 points for the next round which was to listen to a piece of music, name the song and singer. However, we were slapped back down for the third - a big fat Zero.  Next time I attend a quiz will make a point of joining forces with a young team who know all of the current music trends. There was a composers/musicals section, lyrics to recognise, all very well organised.  Unfortunately, I had to leave at 10.45 for my bus, don't think we won anyway. But I will be brushing up on my general knowledge for the next one to take advantage of the prizes of free cinema tickets and food.

Photo: Olya Bowers enjoying her meal.

Tynesidecinema.co.uk

enquiries @tynesidebarcafe.co.uk

Tele: 0191-2275522