Hang out
One of the city’s most sought-after watering holes for pick ‘n’ mix G&Ts, sharing plates and comforting classics, with a modern French twist. Most come to drink, but those who’ve grabbed a knife and fork here will tell you how pleasing the restaurant’s menus are, filled with the finest and freshest local produce available in the North East. Expect a mix of visitors; the city’s young professionals flock here in the evenings, especially come the weekend, while Sundays tend to be more chilled out, when families and friends turn up for sophisticated roasts and long afternoon tipples. A trendy spot for the Instagrammers and the adventurous drinkers, found on Highbridge – one of Newcastle’s hippest streets.
Decked out
Interiors are undeniably gorgeous; twinkling oyster-coloured chandeliers, lush palms, loads of exposed brickwork and scuffed wood, and one hell of a sleek bar, packed with shining bottles of every shape and colour – a gin lover’s paradise. A low-lit, laid-back space – soak up the atmosphere and relax.
Sip
With an ever-changing array of craft beers, international gins, world wines and cocktails, PTMY’s offers something for everyone. With over 70+ gins and counting, it’s developed a complimenting collection of styles, batches and experimental gins that you’ll be hard-pushed to find anywhere else in the North East. Highbridge Gin Club offers the perfect location for a chic afternoon of high-class drinking without breaking the bank. You can sample the bar’s wide range of cocktails at a special rate of two for £10 between 4pm and 7pm, Sunday to Thursday.
Food matters
The kitchen crafts its menus with a modern British approach, but with classic French techniques for added extra ooh-la-la. The day and night menus combine the very best of seasonal, locally-sourced produce from the farms, coasts and woodlands right here on our doorstep – shown off perfectly, as we discovered, on Sundays, when its foodie team churn out countless, good-looking roasts, drenched in silky, beefy gravy and joined by big, crispy Yorkie puds. Lunchtime any other days offers things like British, Greek and Mediterranean-inspired grazing boards, fillets of beef and turbot, marinated rump of lamb, roast rabbit and wild sea bass, to name a few. There’s venison spag bol, too, cheese souffle, king scallops and a few stand-out salads, perfect for veggies.
We ate
A grazing board kicked things off nicely. We decided to go mezze-style, digging into bowl of roasted chickpea chips (something in between a roast potato and a stodgy Yorkshire pud – just heaven), big dollops of smokey baba ganoush, a fresh and crunchy kohlrabi salad, fluffy, doorstop-sized falafels and handfuls of nuts and seeds thrown in there for good measure. Roast-wise, we went for corn-fed chicken (sometimes all you need is chicken dinner to sort you out – and this was one of those days), while our dining buddy opted for slow-roasted pork belly with crackling. Both were served to perfection; juicy, tender meat with golden, crispy skin. Thankfully, the veg was as fresh-as-can-be; chunky sprigs of purple sprouting broccoli and honey-roasted carrots, fluffy roasties (done in proper duck fat) and garlicky potato puree in place of mash, plus parsnips and mixed greens, cooked al dente for some bite. So, so comforting. Next time (because we will be back for sure), we’ll pair with something fizzy and elderflower-inspired.
