Fish and Chips with Kids at Trenchers, Spanish City - A Review

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Whitley Bay has turned into a bit of a foodie hot spot recently. I love that the town has received so much investment and there are now so many fantastic places to dine out when visiting the seaside town - we really are spoilt for choice. Nowhere is quite as grand and imposing as The Spanish City Dome though and it's re-opening has caused a bit of a buzz across the North East. We popped down one evening after school to try out their fish and chip restaurant Trenchers. Parking is plentiful in Whitley Bay and free after 6pm in the car park directly behind the dome. This was the first time I'd walked along this part of the promenade since it's makeover and it really is stunning  - walking along the seafront filled me with pride and I love that I get to call the North East my home.  I am biased but the North East coast is simply the best the UK has to offer. 

There is a small Trenchers take-away overlooking the promenade alongside Valerie's tearoom and a pancake and waffle house which Heidi is dying to try so I've promised to take her back in a couple of weeks. Trenchers restaurant is accessible via the main front doors and I must say it felt very exciting to be opening the dome doors for probably the first time in 25 years. The nostalgia was real! There's a couple of other restaurants and bars inside but everything is very well signposted so it would be tricky to get lost.

Trenchers sits on the ground floor, right underneath the dome. Dining here feels as if you're experiencing the very heart of the dome. It was pretty busy for a windy weekday evening and I'd recommend booking in advance if you can so you're not disappointed. You can book online here.  The dome really is beautiful and it really took my breath away. For those who don't know, the building fell into disrepair in the 1990s and then closed in the 00s and I've always felt sad driving past with the kids wondering if they'd ever get to see inside. I can now safely say that the transformation was well worth the wait - Spanish City has never looked so good.

Anyway, we took our seats in our reserved booth and ordered our drinks. Harry was over the moon to see his all-time favourite drink (Fentimans Ginger Beer) on the menu and I was equally as pleased to see you could order a nice Sauvignon Blanc by the glass. The children were given branded kids packs (they had only just arrived that day) which were one of the better activity packs we've seen - if you watched my Instagram stories you'll have seen there were jokes, word searches and finger puppets to keep H, H and J entertained. There's also a grand piano in the centre of the dome and a pianist plays on selected days. It takes a lot to impress my kids but they were very impressed with Trenchers at Spanish City and said it was the fanciest fish and chip restaurant they'd ever visited. Jack would also like to mention that he gives the restaurant top marks for already having vinegar on the table as he hates having to wait for us to ask for it and someone to bring it over. The strangest things impress my kids!

There are a range of starters available and as you'd expect, seafood features heavily, but there are also Vegetarian options available. Steve had his eye on the peri-peri prawn skewers with couscous. I actively discouraged him from ordering these as I expected the prawns to be similar to those smaller ones you buy in bulk in the freezer aisle. How wrong was I though! The prawns were nothing like that and were large and succulent - this was a really high-quality starter and I was left eating my words.

I can never resist a beetroot salad and was drawn to the heritage beetroot salad with walnuts - it was a huge portion with plenty of beetroot too and such a good value dish at £6.95. 

The children's menu at Trenchers also offers excellent value at £6.95 for 3 courses and a drink. Kids are given vegetable crudites with hummus to start with which to be honest they just eyed suspiciously and then carried on completing their activity packs. Steve loves a bit of hummus and couldn't resist taking what the kids didn't want. Next time we visit, I'll probably ask the staff if we can just skip starters for the kids rather than add to the food waste problem this country has. As much as I'd love my kids to happily tuck into strips of cucumber and pepper, they are never going to and I don't push the issue when eating out now.

Service throughout our evening was super friendly, quick and attentive. We were checked back on several times and our whole meal took just over an hour which for three courses was excellent. Two of my pet peeves when dining out is not being checked back on and slow service when dining with kids. That's absolutely not a problem here. The staff knew we were blogging about our experience so that does need to be taken into consideration but I've read lots of reviews over on Tripadvisor and the Spanish City facebook page which mention the fantastic staff and service so I don't think this was a one off or special treatment for us.

Who doesn't love fish and chips? H, H and J tried a variety of meals from the menu and polished the whole lot off. Everything was piping hot and really good quality. They had no complaints at all. The portion sizes were fine for Heidi and Jack but I kind of keep forgetting that Harry is 12 now and I think he would have been better off with a grown-ups portion.

The main menu at Trenchers features so much more than fish and chips (steak pies, seafood platters, lasagne, Vegan curry.....) and my only disappointment from the whole evening was that my absolute favourite (smoked sausage) didn't feature. So instead I decided to continue with the nostalgic theme of our evening and ordered scampi and chips. Scampi always reminds me of being on holiday as a child and myself and my mam would always order this when we visited Scarborough for our annual break away. This version was really good and a huge portion. I was pleased to see that the chips were proper chip shop chips too.

I could have been tempted by the cod and chips but Steve got in there first. Cod and chips is very reasonably priced at £9.95 (plus £1 extra for peas) which is actually cheaper than most other restaurants in the area (at time of publication, the same dish is £14 at Hinnies and £11.99 at the Beefeater next door). At first I raised my eyebrows a little at having to pay extra for peas but I actually think it's a good idea - why should you pay extra to have them on your plate if you don't like them? Steve opted for the regular cod and chips which was more than enough, especially after a starter. The cod was fresh and flaky and hadn't dried out at all and the chips were nice and fluffy. We were provided with tartar sauce and ketchup in little ramekins as standard. I can honestly say I think fish and chips at Trenchers is probably the best value in Whitley Bay, especially when you consider the grand location.

Onto desserts and if you can manage a wedge of cake or ice cream sundae after fish and chips, I take my hat off to you. Steve and I were stuffed to the brim so ordered a couple of (very good) espressos while the kids tucked into their dessert.

An ice cream sundae is included for children in the children's menu deal, but just like their mam, my three can never resist an up-sell. There are also smaller versions of some of the grown-up puddings available for a small supplement which H, H and J had their eye on. Harry enjoyed his sticky toffee pudding and Jack was very pleased with his chocolate brownie - paying particular compliments to the accompanying chocolate sauce which covered it. Heidi's child-size Knickerbocker glory was actually huge and Steve and I were suddenly not so full up and decided to help her make a dent in the dessert. I can verify that it was delicious and a bargain for under a fiver.

Dining at Trenchers under the dome at Spanish City really felt like a treat. The setting, service and food were all faultless and their prices really offer fantastic value. We were the only family dining during our visit and the restaurant does feel more upmarket than a lot of places I've dined with the kids but families are made to feel more than welcome. Booth-style seating, highchairs available, a fantastic activity pack, a good value children's menu, delicious food and quick service tick all of my boxes when dining out with kids and it's somewhere I know I'll return myself and recommend to other families time and time again.

How beautiful is Spanish City though?? Steve and I have a little date day planned in North Tyneside next week and are going to visit the dome's Champagne Bar and then we're going to pop into the pancake and waffle house soon too - I'll share my thoughts in due course.

You can find out more about dining at Spanish City and make a reservation here. 

Disclosure - thanks to Spanish City for inviting us along to review Trenchers. All words and thoughts are our own.

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