Comfort Food for Autumn at Gusto, Newcastle Quayside | A Review

I know, I know.......another restaurant review! This time of year is fantastic for bloggers as new menus are launching and we are invited along to try them out. It's a tough life but someone's got to do it right! It's not so good for my waistline but let's wait until January to address that issue and for now, I'm happy to enjoy myself.

Gusto is one of my favourite restaurants in Newcastle and I think their autumn menu really delivers. If you think they're all about pizza and pasta, you must pop in and try something else from their menu. I swear their Cauliflower Soup and Goat's Cheese Risotto from last year's menu were two of my favourite dishes from the whole year and something I ordered on more than one occasion.

Back to autumn 2016 though and I couldn't wait to check out the new additions to Gusto's menu. Of course I had to have  a peek online prior to my visit and dishes such as 'Fillet of Pork wrapped in Sage and Tuscan Ham' and 'Lamb Cacciatore' were willing me to pick them. In the end I opted for the Slow Cooked Pork Belly but there's more about that later.

Gusto is a restaurant I would recommend for most occasions, whether this be dining out with kids, a special celebration, a hen party or enjoying a live music night with the girls.  Today, we only had an hour to 'do lunch' and Gusto were up to the challenge and served us up two courses within this time frame without feeling rushed. Definitely a perfect spot for lunch if you work on the Quayside and need a venue for a lunch meeting (there's free WiFi too).

To start, we opted for sharing deli boards (one meat, one cheese) which considering they are priced at £7.95 each were a real bargain and the perfect appetiser to enjoy over wine and gossip. The real star of the meal however, were our mains.......

Pan Roast Duck Breast with Buttered Winter Vegetables, Aged Balsamic and Honey

Slow Cooked Pork Belly with Fried Gnocchi, Pork Crackling, Apple Sauce and Red Wine Jus

Oven Baked Fillet of Cod wrapped in Tuscan Ham with Spiced Pepparoni Lentils

This was one of those rare occasions where we were all equally pleased with our choices - each dish was as packed full of flavour and as beautifully presented as the next. My dish was the Slow Cooked Pork Belly which was simply divine - the pork was tender and not at all tough like it can be sometimes with crispy crackling and a generous helping of apple sauce. The roasted red peppers and fried gnocchi were a lovely accompaniment and something we're going to recreate at home.

As we only had a small window today, there wasn't any time for dessert but that just gives us a reason to return soon. Plus there are 2 for 1 cocktails in the bar Sunday - Friday from 5pm which gives us even more reason to return.

Gusto Newcastle has yet to disappoint and definitely remains as one of my much-loved restaurants on the Quayside.

Disclosure | We were invited guests of Gusto for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinion are our own.