Lunch at Tyneside Bar Cafe

The Tyneside Bar Cafe is one of our favourite spots in Newcastle for breakfast. Connected to the independent Tyneside Cinema on Pilgrim Street just seconds away from Grey's monument and Northumberland street it is a lovely and convenient place to stop for drinks and a bite to eat. It is worth noting that all profits from the bar cafe are donated to the Tyneside Cinema which is a fantastic cause that most people in Newcastle will be happy to support.

It is rare that we head into Newcastle in the afternoon as we have our 4 year old with us who isn't the easiest person to take out and about at times! We decided the Tyneside bar cafe would be worth the effort though and headed over for lunch last week. 

We arrived at about 12:30pm on a busy Thursday lunchtime. There were still a few tables left and there was a lovely buzz in the room - there were mums and babies, business meetings, people enjoying lunch for one, friends catching up over coffee, families, students.....a real eclectic mix! We browsed the menu and specials board and headed over to the bar to order.

I will say that service was fairly slow and we waited for more than 10 minutes to be served - I didn't mind though as it's not their fault they are popular! The staff at the Tyneside Bar Cafe are wonderful and despite being in the middle of a busy lunch service never show signs of stress and will always serve with a smile and are very accommodating.

I couldn't resist ordering 'juice of the day' - Apple, Pineapple and Carrot. It was lovely and refreshing.

After ordering our food arrived fairly promptly. There is a small children's menu from which we ordered Jack tomato pasta and he was more than happy.

Hubby went for the B.L.A.T - The bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwich which was served with a side salad. It didn't touch the sides and was certainly worth the £5.95 price tag. 

I went for the grilled cheese sandwich which was made with toasted sourdough and served with a freshly dressed salad. I'm not lying when I say that it was the best cheese sandwich I have ever eaten! £5.95 was a complete bargain.

After reading New Girl in Toon's post we were very tempted to order Popcorn Pannacotta for dessert (see here and scroll down for pics) however we are always short of time in the afternoons so we will have to save that treat for another day.

After lunch we headed over to the nearby Laing Art Gallery  as I could not miss an opportunity to see an original Picasso that is part of the Conscience and Conflict: British Artists and the Spanish Civil War exhibition that is at the gallery until 7th June. We paid our £6 entry fee and I am pleased I got the chance to see this exhibition - it's very thought provoking. In hindsight it is not really the place to take a four year old who gets bored easily, he did not appreciate the art and it is not what I would describe a child-friendly exhibition (it is the sort of place where everyone stands in silence and there are no additional activities). This may be different at the weekend when there will probably be more children visiting.

Back to the Tyneside Bar Cafe, it is worth pointing out that they serve a fantastic weekend brunch menu along with free movies - this is what we dream of doing when our children are all grown up! They have also just started serving afternoon tea (see Emma's review here) which looks just as nice as their lunch menu and definitely one to try.

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