Hang out
The sister venue to Yolo Ponteland, which has enjoyed heaps of success with the Darras Hall elite and Newcastle’s all-lunching-all-brunching business folk, young professionals, socialites and yummy mummies. Find it on High Bridge – one of the city’s most luxurious and up-and-coming streets – over three floors. Known for its range of cocktails and party atmosphere, it comes alive after dark when resident DJs and live acoustic acts put on a show.
Sip
Wines from around the globe, tons of champers, prosecco, spirits by the bottle (served with a pitcher of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, lemonade or mini bottles of tonic) and even more fizzy delights, starting from £7.45 to £7.95, from the cocktail menu. Summery stand-outs include the Solero (Tanqueray gin and peach liqueur shaken with passion fruit purée, soda and a splash of lemon juice), Candy Pants (Absolut Cherry vodka and Chambord Black Raspberry liqueur shaken with strawberry purée and cranberry juice) and the Dune Bug (Malibu rum, peach liqueur and Crème de Banane, all shaken over ice, with fresh lime). Guys and gals who prefer a quality cold pint aren’t left out, either. Nice ‘mocktails’, too.
Decked out
Townhouse adopts the same style as its Ponteland sidekick. Tasteful greys, mink, creams and beams, twinkly chandeliers, plush booths, exposed brick and velvet thrown into the mix for extra luxey-ness. The ‘Parlour’ on the middle floor has its own bar, plenty of cosy booths and the venue’s ‘snug’, designed for larger groups and private gatherings. There’s a roof-top terrace, too, with outdoor heaters and a retractable canopy, which will no doubt be a popular hang-out over the coming summer months.
Food matters
It’s open from 8am ’til 2am and so serves up everything – brekkie and brunch, lunch, light bites and slap-up evening meals. Kids are treated to their own menu, there are roasts to be had on Sundays and you can nab late night supper Sunday to Thursday until 9pm – and 10pm at weekends. It’s glam gastro-pub stuff – a bit of everything, from pizza and pasta to sharing platters, posh sarnies and burgers and comforting classics like fish and chips, pie and steak.
What we ate
We popped in mid-week for a few light bites, kicking things off with the Greek Open Pitta Salad (£8.99) and Salt & Pepper Calamari (£6.99). Going Greek here means you’re served a good-sized mountain of mixed leaves, studded with small, salty wedges of feta, fresh olives and plenty of crunchy red onion for extra bite. Warm pitta bread comes on the side, which we happily smothered in hummus and dunked into a pot of cool and creamy tzatziki, made the proper way with chunky cucumber and a good amount of mint. The calamari arrived deep-fried, but thankfully not oily, lightly coated in sea salt and cracked black pepper. We could’ve done with lots more seasoning for extra heat and would’ve preferred proper aioli instead of garlic mayo, but it did the job fine. Add lots of lemon for extra zing if you try it. For mains, we tried the Steak and Chicken Platter for one (£11.99), though were disappointed with the portion-size – go big or go home, we say, if you fancy ordering it. You get prime rump steak cooked to your liking, but surprisingly, the grilled chicken pleased us most – lovely and succulent and slightly charred – we just wish we’d had more of it. The triple-cooked chips were heavenly, fluffy, roasted things. Our dining bud went for the Drizzling Kebab Hanging Skewers – a Yolo speciality, apparently. You can opt for either chicken or halloumi, but we went for both, and bathed it all in garlic butter (though you can go for sweet chilli if you prefer). You get a bowl of French fries with it, served underneath so the chips soak up the garlicky, herby goodness. Nothing groundbreaking here flavour-wise, but a damn good cheat meal if you ask us!
