Diners' Choice: Best Food restaurants in Newcastle and Northumberland

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants with the best overall cuisine in Newcastle and Northumberland? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Vercelli Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (548)

£25 and under

Italian

Hexham

About the restaurant

Vercelli Restaurant is a family run Italian Restaurant situated in the centre of Hexham, a busy market town in Northumberland. The family, all from around the Hexham area, have worked hard over the last 8 years to modernise the cocktail bar and restaurant. All the family are involved in the business, with the aim of providing a memorable experience.

Sue, Front of House Manager, enjoys working alongside the enthusiastic team who have built a relationship with their returning customers and welcoming new, with an aim to make your experience relaxing and memorable throughout.

Executive chef, Jordan, and Head chef, Scott, source the finest Italian provisions to produce high quality Italian dishes with a modern twist.

At the front of the restaurant is a small, modern cocktail bar which hosts live music nights regularly but can be enjoyed for a bite to eat or a drink any night of the week.

Top review

Anne

Dined 7 days ago

Lovely meal which was served efficiently and quickly even though the place was busy. Staff were very efficient and friendly. We visit very regularly and have always found it to be perfect.

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Experience

Bottomless Lunch

Mantra Thai Dining Restaurant

4.8

4.8 (19)

£26 to £40

Thai

Newcastle upon Tyne

About the restaurant

At Mantra, we take pride in serving top-quality, fresh Thai cuisine to our customers because we genuinely care. Our skilled chefs from Thailand collectively boast over 30 years of experience and are dedicated to crafting authentic, flavorful dishes from various regions. We aim to create a memorable dining experience by infusing our food and service with heartfelt Thai hospitality, always striving to elicit a smile from our guests as a measure of our success.

Top review

Nic

Dined 4 days ago

Excellent service, great atmosphere, good wine selection, AMAZING soft shell curry and seafood curry!! The sharing starter was a smidge disappointing, however. The ribs were fantastic, but the rest was a okay. Definitely not horrible, but not worth the £40odd

Saltwater Fish Company

4.9

4.9 (1494)

£25 and under

Seafood

Newcastle upon Tyne

About the restaurant

Designed for seafood lovers – Saltwater Fish Company, situated in Fenwick Foodhall, operates as both a Fish Bar and Fishmonger with a ‘we cook what we sell, we sell what we cook’ philosophy. There’s no fuss – just a passion for seafood, simple yet creative cooking and friendly service.

Top review

Joanna

Dined 3 days ago

Always fabulous food and drink. Service is amazing and atmosphere wonderful

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Experience

Oyster Happy Hour

St Vincent

4.8

4.8 (910)

£26 to £40

Wine Bar

Newcastle upon Tyne

About the restaurant

Part wine bar, part restaurant, a city centre venue with a city centre buzz. St. Vincent is an after-work drinks spot, supper-with-friends place and general 'snack-with-a-glass-or-two' hang out with a big-hearted 'everybody welcome' attitude.

Inspired by the neighbourhood bars we've found on our travels through France and Italy, we offer interesting wines, charcuterie and crowd pleasing plates full of punchy flavours. We're a place where an hour spins into several without anyone noticing.

Open evenings Tuesday to Friday, all day Saturday and close late.

Enough said. Come and find out.

Top review

LucyVIP

Dined 4 days ago

We had a mind blowingly good meal last night. Everything tasted amazing. The service was brilliant and the wine list superb.

Vito's Osteria

4.9

4.9 (148)

£26 to £40

Italian

Sunderland

About the restaurant

Vito's Osteria, the restaurant of authentic Italian cuisine, serves food prepared with traditional recipes and fine Italian wine in a relaxed atmosphere.

It is located in a charming converted barn that has been transformed into a dining and entertainment center in the city of Sunderland.

Top review

Kim

Dined 3 days ago

Lovely experience food delicious great service Seating was uncomfortable for both us after a while.

4.8

4.8 (5404)

£26 to £40

British

Newcastle upon Tyne

About the restaurant

21’s cooking is big on flavour and short on fuss. We’re talking about a style which embraces the seasons and where the ingredients are king. Expect to find stylish, imaginative dishes – which don’t pander to fads or fashion…………and still have room for pudding. Expect a warm welcome, generous hospitality and service that is both friendly and correct.

A city centre restaurant with a city centre buzz. In the heart of Newcastle's Quayside, 21 has an excitement and warmth all of its own. Smart but not stuffy, sleek but not pretentious, fun but not gimmicky - It's about eating good food in comfortably stylish surroundings.

Menus include Lunch and Early Evening Fixed Price, Five Course Seasonal and à la Carte.

Top review

David

Dined 7 days ago

Consistently good!

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Popular dish

Cheddar Cheese and Spinach Soufflé

4.8

4.8 (2665)

£26 to £40

French

Newcastle upon Tyne

About the restaurant

The French Quarter is a relaxed neighbourhood restaurant & wine Bar in a community of unique and quirky businesses in Newcastle city Centre. We are a friendly and approachable team of people, with a passion for the good things in life. Born from nostalgia for a traditional style of commerce and a desire to challenge perceptions that French dining is formal or fussy, we work with independent suppliers to offer a regularly changing wine list & tapas style menu. We have created a casual and sociable environment where customers are invited to experience our food, try our wines, shop from our deli and share our love of all things French!

Top review

Matthew

Dined 3 days ago

Fantastic. Lovely customer service. Food was amazing.

Peace and Loaf Restaurant

4.9

4.9 (2625)

£41 and over

British

Newcastle upon Tyne

About the restaurant

Headed up by Chef / Owner Dave Coulson, Peace & Loaf is a restaurant unlike any other in the region. Dave has an unrivalled reputation and passion for creating flavoursome and innovative dishes, which shows with the diverse menu and delicately decorated food on offer. Highlighting the importance of using only the freshest, locally sourced produce, Peace & Loaf will offer exciting, seasonal menus that will incorporate Dave’s signature dishes. Heavily inspired by traditional British cuisine with Dave’s own inventive flare, the meticulously crafted dishes will excite and intrigue even the most discerning of palates.

Top review

Terry

Dined 4 days ago

As always, delicious food, great atmosphere and helpful informative staff. Thanks Dave and team for a great evening.

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Experience

"The Decades" : Tasting menu

Kiln

4.7

4.7 (1161)

£26 to £40

Middle Eastern

Newcastle upon Tyne

About the restaurant

Kiln is a small restaurant in the heart of the Ouseburn. We make everything ourselves and push to be better than the day before.

We serve brunch every morning from 10am to 2:45pm.

Our Mediterranean & Middle Eastern inspired tapas style menu is served from 5pm to 9:30pm.

Our great coffee, homemade cakes and cocktails are served all day - and we’re dog friendly!

Please inform the staff of any allergies when booking & due to the nature of our menu please note we cannot accommodate anyone with a severe nut or sesame allergy.

Thank you!

Top review

kenneth

Dined 7 days ago

Very nice food and wine, with a great atmosphere..

No. 59 Restaurant @ Townhouse Morpeth

4.9

4.9 (999)

£26 to £40

British

Morpeth

About the restaurant

No. 59 Restaurant @ Townhouse Morpeth is ready and waiting to offer a warm greeting as you enter Morpeth’s bustling high street. The original, charismatic three-storey building, which dates back to the mid-1800s, stands proudly just over Telford Bridge on the River Wansbeck – a grand feature of the historic market town.

Open for food from Thursday to Sunday, No. 59 Restaurant is the perfect place for an afternoon tea, a great lunch, or a fine dining experience.

Top review

Lorraine

Dined 3 days ago

From the initial greeting on arrival to saying goodbye at the end of our evening the hospitality and service was outstanding.Everyone was friendly , but professional and the teamwork was exceptional.There was no judgement made on us bringing small children out to dinner and my Grandsons were treated as equal members of the party.My 10 yr old Grandson said that his sea bream was very tasty and even the mussels on the dish were some of the best he has ever tasted(and he’s a foodie).My youngest grandson ,at just over a year ,tried food from each of our plates and really enjoyed his taster menu.The food was exceptional in quality and in presentation and we all left feeling we had enjoyed a great evening with great food which was good value for money.We will definitely return.

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Sticky toffee pudding

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