The Herb Garden - Fresh Thrills

There are only a few things out there that make the Fat Spoon very angry. Such atrocities include over priced coffee shops, alcohol-free beer and smelly people in restaurants. But what really makes the Fat Spoon froth at the mouth with rage is crap pizzas. These spongy, bland and lifeless faux Italian dishes are served up in many of the generic restaurant chains in Newcastle. Even some of the independent places think its acceptable to overlook what should be a vibrant and delicious main, often concentrating on their main meat courses. Worst of all, people are buying these compilations of weak bread, baseless tomato puree and skeptical mozzarella. Stop it! Don't encourage these jokers, because thankfully The Herb Garden has the solution for this abomination of the Italian classic. Although a little off the beaten track this visually stunning walk-in restaurant will certainly surprise you....burning the image of freshness on to the back of your retina. The main dining area features an actual herb garden used to lift their pizzas to a heavenly level of flavour vibrancy. Multiple pizza stoves means they can churn out perfectly thin pizzas that even Mario's mam could argue with; married with the finest Italian meats, golden mozzarella and of course ultra-fresh herbs. Freshness of course being imperative for maximum flavour when it comes to herbs. And for those with some sort of weird affliction to pizzas they do offer a range of meaty specials, their carnivore platter and steak board being if particular interest. The food and drink is reasonably priced and the service is great. Fall in love with pizza again. 84%

The Old Siam - Old School is the Best School

Although there isn't a huge abundance of Thai restaurants in Newcastle, the competition is truly fierce. It is relatively easy to recreate classic Thai dishes such as Pad Thai, Thai green curry and Massaman curry; however to deliver accurately authentic Thai food it requires a certain level of finesse and actual Thais of course. The Old Siam is shy; hidden under a bridge on the Quayside shadowed by the loud and obnoxious fine dining restaurant of that area. But based on it's two biggest competitors in terms of real Thai food - Love's Thai and Bangkok Cafe, The Old Siam really needs to grow a pair and jump in the ring. It's a real heavyweight, the food is a million miles away from generic, screams intense Thai flavour and is both very fresh and healthy. Although the other two are great, The Old Siam has something a little extra. Those that have traveled to Thailand might recognise the extra bite that this place can deliver, don't forget to ask for your food 'Thai' hot if you want the real deal. Even seasoned vindaloo munchers should be wary of Thai heat however. The level of service is spot on here and although it isn't the biggest of restaurants, it will do everything it can to make sure your visit is excellent. Portion sizes and prices are very reasonable, there range of dishes isn't huge but it's all about quality here not quantity. Every dish has it's own character, the way this vibrant cuisine should be. It's time to sack off the lazy, feeble and generic eastern Asian restaurants and give somewhere that possesses sensual banter for the eyes, nose and taste buds. 90%

Café 21 - The Ultimate in Celebratory Cuisine

Surrounding the festive period and New Years the majority of restaurants across the country, both good and hideous will whore themselves out with 'special' seasonal menus. Many involve feeble attempts at festive cuisine with pointless 'quirky twists' and minuscule portions, which only enrages the Fat Spoon. That said, some of the festive menus are outstanding, but there can only be one king of celebration. That is Café 21, which specializes in offering excellent yet fairly priced set menus all year round. And being part of the 21 Hospitality Group you can expect amazing dishes with a great deal of effort behind each one, made with the finest of ingredients and erupting with finesse. Café 21 is only really out shadowed by it's burly bigger brother, The Broad Chare. But when you want fine dining with all that glitz and glam guff, then Cafe 21 has to be your first choice. So break out the champagne and make your choice from the range of contemporary dishes boasting great game, rotund beef dishes and exquisite seafood. The beautiful presentation across all dishes will make your best efforts look like MasterChef gone wrong. High level food should look as good as it taste, as should the serving staff. Thankfully Café 21 doesn't disappoint. There is also a convenient Café 21 installation in Fenwicks, if MacDonald's doesn't cut it as mid-shopping bait. Definitely another big shot...94%

Za Za Bazaar - Buffet Slayer

This is definitely a first. The Fat Spoon is having to eat it's own words. In a previous review (of Flavours) it was vowed that Indian food could never be done well in a buffet format. This new restaurant from Bristol had the Fat Spoon very much mistaken. This literally dazzling restaurant is another one of those world buffets, except the interior concept is anything but bland. The interesting layout, retina-burning neon lights and beautifully aggressive colour scheme generates a very holiday-esque aura. Like all world buffet restaurants they aim to cover all bases with a vast ranges of stations such as Italian, Tex Mex, 'British' and Chinese. But these are generally tag-on cuisines with little to offer other than making you fat with carbohydrate overload. The real heavy hitters at Za Za Bazaar include the substantial Indian contingency, Thai curries and Vietnamese dishes. If you can resist the generics of the restaurant and focus on specialities of Indian and Far East Asia, then you will be in for a right treat. They've clearly sourced a large number of excellent international chefs that are not only able to produce the classics, but also rarer regional dishes such as Dosas, Amritsari machi, gulab jamun, Pad Thai, Shui Ziu fish and Nasi Goreng to name a few. This flavour explosion is as vibrant as the decor here and might leave you weak at the knees and the sheer volume will definitely result in you walking like a 30 stone gangster rapper with a peg leg. Fantastic. The service is and quality of excellent, but you would expect that from somewhere that's just opened and has put so much into their opening delivery. What will be interesting is how Za Za Bazaar deal with the test of time, that usually sees other world buffets crumble in integrity and quality, like the British transport system when we get half an hour of snow. But for now it is vigorously recommended that you give Za Za Bazaar a try. 84%

Newcastle Restaurant Week August 2013

The Fat Spoon loves Newcastle restaurant week more than its own mother. And given the success of previous restaurant weeks it looks like Newcastle city council are making this festival that rivals Christmas a more than annual affair!

Find somewhere you haven't been to or one of the Fat Spoon's highly rated venues this week for excellent food at even better prices:

http://www.getintonewcastle.co.uk/restaurant-week/

Here's some tried and tested Fat Spoon restaurant week favourites:

Blackfriars: Classic meets contemporary

Broad Chare: Requires no introduction (see previous review)

Fat Buddha: Oriental excellence

Las Iguanas: Latin delight

Malmaison: Posh but not poncy

Sabatini: Italian done with well

Tiger tiger: The underdog with a bite