Al Buco - New Life in an Exhausted Genre

Why has Italian food been done to death in this country?! You can’t walk fifty metres in Newcastle’s city centre without coming across either a half arsed effort at independency or a vulgar, mind-numbingly generic ‘Italian’ franchise restaurant. And regardless of origin, these substandard approaches always seem to offer the same uninspiring menus, addled with inaccurate renditions of pizza (usually completely molested by American influence), excessively creamy pasta dishes or lethargic attempts at steak. However, 2016 has seen someone with a real passion for authentic Italian food finally set up shop in the centre of Newcastle, just a stone’s throw from Monument.   

Al Buco represents a lot of what is great about social Italian dining - its family run, very welcoming, exceptionally comfortable and literally everything is prepared in-house, giving the whole place a brilliant home-grown vibe. And that’s not say they’ve cut corners on delivery, you can expect everything dished out here to be of fine-dining quality and markedly better the likes of the nearby, horrifically overpriced chain restaurants. And better still, they take great pride in the authenticity of their dishes and don’t conform to the Italian culinary normative that our society wrongly expects. Their carbonara isn’t laden with litres of double cream but is crafted with egg and fresh pasta; their pizzas haven’t been overloaded with greasy toppings but are light, crisp and ultimately delicious and their lasagne will make local franchise restaurant managers want to quit their day jobs. 

This café bar naturally lends itself to lunchtime dining, but late afternoon visits and relaxed evening drinks here can also be easily envisaged, and as (or more accurately if) summer develops this venue will serve for a perfect one-stop shop for shoppers and workers alike to indulge in real Italian food and drink. The extra effort seen across their menu, such as the simply outstanding tiramisu, as well as the atypical (assumingly region-specific) additions to the menu certainly haven’t gone unnoticed, as hasn’t their relentless efforts to please customers with warming service and highly competitive menu pricing. 88% 

Shiraz - Sheer Authenticity

Newcastle's ever notorious Bigg Market. It's an adulteration of vulgar bars, weird 'clubs' and beyond drunk chavs ruminating on themselves. But thankfully, there are a number of brilliant eateries in the area that have upheld it's worth, as well as a fairly newly-managed Indian restaurant - Shiraz. Despite appearing to be oddly named after the wine yielding Syrah grape of Southern France, Shiraz is all about one thing - real, honest, authentic Punjabi food.

There are probably hundreds of lacklustre and pitifully weak 'Indian' restaurants in Newcastle, the majority of which hiding away in the depths of Fenham. Many of which plating up dubious meat in a variety of uninspiring sauces, most of which can only be differentiated by amount of stale chilli powder in them or the volume of oil they're drowning in. Shiraz, however, is the absolute opposite of these Asian abominations. They offer a comprehensive menu of classic Punjabi cuisine, encompassing brilliant vegetarian classics such as saag paneer and bhindi masala (okra), as well as tonnes of solid meat dishes. Their seekh kebab starter is also very much on point, as is the selection of desserts they offer, which thankfully includes homemade gulab jamun - the Fat Spoon's favourite. The menu doesn't feature anything too adventurous, but when your looking for authenticity in Punjabi cuisine, then Shiraz is quite possibly Newcastle's gold standard.

Oddly their website seems to have been suspended, but that certainly doesn't reflect their level of service. Shiraz offers personal service with a passionate knowledge of their cuisine as well as having that family-run vibe to it. The restaurant is clean cut and doesn't come coated in that layer of scabbiness that often surrounds lower cost Indian restaurants. The dishes are very fairly priced, but possessing a tastecard will reduce the cost of your curry feed to insanely little, bringing it near a rupee-like range and making for an absolute bargain. 83%

Palace Garden - Dim Sum with the Royal Treatment

Sunday afternoon ‘high-tea’ has rapidly become a popular outing for the affluent and those wanting to take the mother somewhere fancy that involves feeding yourself too. But the Chinese have their own variant of ‘high-tea’ that’s somewhat more longstanding – dim sum Sundays. And Palace Garden is undoubtedly the absolute king of this delicious tradition. Although they have a highly comprehensive traditional Chinese menu and dim sum menu throughout the week, on Sundays they offer a highly convenient trolley service that really adds to the mysterious and magic feel of the dim sum dining experience.

With a pictoral menu, it’s very easy to select any number of interesting dumplings, steamy offal dishes and meaty wonders, made to order by the expert chefs at Palace Garden. Better still, speaking to the highly attentive and friendly serving staff will get you out of your comfort zone and trying some of their personal favourites, mooli cake and char sui baau are definitely two dishes worth a try. The numerous trollies, laden with bamboo hampers of beef, pork, fish and ‘other’ meat dim sum will provide you with a ‘YO Sushi!’-like eating format, where food is ever flowing, but without the associated costliness. Their thousand layer cake also abolishes the notion that dessert is absent in Chinese cuisine. And for those weak people lacking in culinary bravery, there’s plenty of ‘normal’ Chinese dishes available too.

Taking the outstanding quality of food, brilliantly personal service and stunning décor of the restaurant into account, it’s easy to recognise why this place is so a popular, there’s even an indoor pond with a bridge over it! Where, seemingly you can choose a sea beast to have cooked and served to you - ultra-freshness points there. The delivery of their dim sum makes Palace Garden simply the best outlet of this cuisine in Newcastle and if you have yet to pop your dim sum cherry, then it’s the ideal place to get broken into this wonderful and varied cuisine. 90%

Keco - Asian Authenticity

The Asian taste invasion continues, with yet another relatively new and very Chinese restaurant in Newcastle. It looks like Stowell street is longer enough to contain the abundance of brilliant Chinese cuisine that's being cooked up in Newcastle, as a new restaurant seems to pops up in the surrounding areas every other week. Keco is a strange one, but being strange doesn't mean it can't be utterly delicious. Situated next to the ever vulgar diarrhoea-mongering Chicken Cottage, Keco has a swath, clean cut finish unlike some of the more rustic siblings in the heart of China Town. This dark but seductive theme, along with it's very central location means it's not a bad place for nice evening meal followed by drinks in town.

Like many of the other Chinese restaurants on and near Stowell street, they feel compelled to offer a weak 'Western menu' (or Westren menu as they like to call it), offering dull sweet and sour generics and pitiful 'curry' <insert meat> dishes. They also have some poorly placed Thai dishes pasted into the menu for further pointlessness. Are there still culinary Neanderthals out there eating this muck? Thankfully, Keco has more than redeemed itself with a particularly strong Traditional menu, which boasts deeply intense flavours and interestingly delicious cuts of meat - indicative of truly authentic Chinese cuisine.

The Fat Spoon's life advice of Chinese restaurants? Always always always opt for the traditional/Chinese menu. There may well be some risk involved, but without that risk you wouldn't have the opportunity to sample something new and brilliant. Keco encompasses the sheer passion of Chinese cuisine in their monstrous hot pots, fiery hot dried beef, oddly-named man and wife offal slices, and their outstandingly rich belly pork dishes. Don't be afraid of dishes served cold. Don't be afraid of dishes with weird names. And definitely don't be afraid of eating offal. The Chinese have mastered these dishes for centuries and Keco can replicate them at a fantastic standard. One of the greatest benefits of living in a multicultural city is having access is to these foreign wonders of taste. The large portions mean the food is very well priced, and although English might not the be the serving staff's first language (or second of third), they are ultra friendly and welcoming. Visit soon and try something that would probably scare your Grandma. 83%

The Valley - All Aboard the Curry Train

The dining and bar trade is often riddled with lame gimmicks these days that only ever endeavour to offer you less of the good stuff for more of your cash. Naan bread's on sticks, cocktails in tea pots and meat starved burritos to mention but a few. However, there is a particularly unique restaurant experience that most people in Newcastle have heard of but oddly very few have had the bottle to go ahead and seize it. Of course that doesn't include the ever cuisine crazed Fat Spoon. That is the The Valley's "A Passage to India" service that takes you from Newcastle to their beautifully archaic converted-ticket office restaurant in Corbridge. Along with it's two sister restaurants (The Valley Junction 397 and The Valley Connection 301), the family has been awarded with multiple awards over the years including last year's Good Curry Guide 'Best in the North East'. It isn't quite the Fat Spoon's #1, but it's definitely up there, the curry train experience being of particular interest. At £32-37 per head some may argue it is a little pricey, but when you account for all that is included you will quickly realise it is a great deal. A very charming waiter will greet you under the big clock of central station before you board the regular train to Corbridge (ticket price included), he will then offer you a drinks of your choice (not so included, but sufficient banter will provide you plenty). The excellent service continues in the restaurant, and there's little chance of delay for food as you can select your dishes during the train ride. The food is both delicious and plentiful... even the most seasoned of curry munchers will struggle to finish everything they are offered; and no dish is off limits, so go wild. There's reasonable flexibility in terms of your return train, whether you chose to sample the brilliant local pubs, or contently sit in the restaurant as you struggle to breath having eaten a grotesque amount of great food. What's more, with this being an Indian restaurant of outstanding calibre you're not likely to be spending much of the next day clutching on to the Andrex. All the delights of Indian cuisine, without hideous Indian trains or gastrointestinal infections. Winner. 88%