The County Hotel was built in 1874 and located in the centre of Newcastle opposite the train…
House of Tides
“Top flight cooking on the quayside.” - AA Inspector
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, TYNE & WEAR
Located close to the water’s edge, this part of Newcastle was not very fashionable before the arrival of House of Tides. How times have changed – you could say this restaurant has been instrumental in the area’s revival and it has brought top-flight modern cooking to the now bustling quayside. There is still a rustic feel to the building, an elegant Grade I listed, 16th-century merchant’s townhouse in the shadow of the iconic Tyne Bridge. The mothership of local culinary hero Kenny Atkinson, this contemporary restaurant is set across two floors. The dishes are delivered via a tasting menu in the refined beamed dining room with its sloping floors and lopsided ceilings. Although produce from the north-east is the cornerstone of the modern British menus, the kitchen isn’t afraid to look globally for inspiration. Everything that appears from the kitchen is top-drawer and seafood is exceptional, as is evident in a starter of Lindisfarne oyster, jalapeño peppers, red onion, coriander and passion fruit. Meat is a strong point, too, so don’t overlook dishes like Yorkshire pork with new season baby leeks, apple and turnip, or if fish is your thing go for the precisely cooked pollock with courgette, basil and shellfish bisque. A separate tasting menu for vegetarians is certainly no afterthought and includes such intelligent dishes as wild garlic, broccoli, pine nuts and mint; and Jersey Royals, goats' cheese, asparagus, peas and bulgur wheat. Texture and temperature tend to be the template for the inventive desserts which might include a combination of white chocolate, strawberries, pink peppercorns and rose. The attention to detail continues with the intricate petits fours. Although the carefully chosen wine pairings by the glass with the tasting menu are spot on, there is also an excellent list which showcases Atkinson’s favourite bottles.
Facilities – at a glance
Credit cards accepted
Gluten free menu
Service charge
Tasting menu
Vegetarian menu
Features
- Seats: 50
- On-site parking available
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accessible toilets
- Assist dogs welcome
- Closed: See website for details
- Wines under £30: 7
- Wines over £30: 193
- Wines by the glass: 40
- Cuisine style: Modern British
- Vegetarian menu
Also in the area
About the area
Discover Tyne & Wear
The metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear encompasses Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland, as well as part of Hadrian’s Wall. The county is cut through by the two rivers after which it is named. The area grew prosperous on coal and shipbuilding, and buildings of Victorian grandeur reflect its heyday. George Stephenson established an ironworks here in 1826, and the first engine on the Stockton and Darlington railway was made in Newcastle.
Newcastle’s ‘new castle’ is believed to date from the 11th century, though the present keep dates from the 12th. Other ancient buildings include the cathedral and Guildhall, while contemporary constructions include the Metro, which links Newcastle to Gateshead (along with several bridges), and the Metro Centre in Gateshead, Europe’s largest indoor shopping and leisure complex.
Jarrow, five miles east of Newcastle, is remembered for the Jarrow Crusade of 1936, when 200 men marched to London to bring attention to the plight of unemployed shipbuilders. The town was also the home of monk-scholar, the Venerable Bede, whose 8th-century work, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, was the first important history written about the English.
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