My first taste of NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week
Yesterday my friend and I decided to have a longer lunch and actually venture outside the four walls of our office which is handily located right next to the Quayside in Newcastle and indulge in NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week.
I’m a born and bred Geordie and I’m ashamed to say I’ve never indulged in dining out during Restaurant Week – that is until yesterday!
What is NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week?
NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week is one of the North East’s most popular leading food events, celebrating some of the very best restaurants in my native Newcastle.
It was inspired by New York and its original Restaurant Week concept.
NE1 launched Newcastle Restaurant Week in 2011 to turn the spotlight on the city’s restaurant scene and encourage people to try out some of the top restaurants – all for a fixed price menu.
Newcastle Restaurant Week was the first of its kind in the UK and many other cities have since followed suit with similar events.
More than 100 restaurants are taking part and each has crafted a bespoke Restaurant Week menu for either £10pp or £15pp – which is very purse friendly given the little wait until pay day!
It’s the perfect way to discover a new restaurant in Newcastle or enjoy an old favourite at a great price.
There’s actually two Restaurant Weeks in Newcastle a year – one in January and one in August. It’s on this week until Sunday 21st January so there’s still plenty of time to get involved!
Whether you’re a seasoned foodie or looking to try something new, NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week is the ultimate event to sink your teeth into great North East food and drink.
I’ve been missing out for years and I’ll make sure not to do it again!
For details of all participating venues and to download NE1 Newcastle Restaurant Week vouchers visit the getintonewcastle website.
My friend and I didn’t want to venture too far as we did have to get back to the office after lunch; so we plumped for Las Iguanas on the Quayside as it’s only a short walk and has a really good value bespoke menu for this week; which you can see here.
Just a word of warning Restaurant Week is massively popular so it’s best to book a table which is exactly what we did prior to venturing out.
What did we eat?
Before I even sat down I knew what I wanted to order thanks to checking out the menu online. I opted for the Pão de Queijo – Brazilian cheese dough balls to start.
Pão de Queijo – Brazilian cheese dough balls
For my main course I went for the chicken enchilada – hand-rolled flour tortilla with spicy chicken, pepper and onion with a smoky chipotle sauce on a bed of spring onion rice with refried beans and cheese.
chicken enchilada
I expected the portions to be smaller than usual with it being this cheap but I was proven wrong. The dough balls were plentiful and delicious. The enchilada was packed full of delicious chicken and flavour.
We had a great chinwag in lovely surroundings with great food – what more could you ask for?!
Two courses for £10 is great value for money and the food is always good here and we certainly weren’t disappointed.
Newcastle actually has two Las Iguanas restaurants and I’ve always been in the other one (although not for a good few years actually) so it was nice to venture to their other newer site.
I’ll definitely be checking out what other restaurants have to offer for Restaurant Week and I’m sure I’ll be dining out again!
Does your city host a restaurant week? Let me know in the comments below.
Other North East related posts
Newcastle really is a fantastic place to come and visit – we are often the first to lead the way – if you haven’t visited us yet make 2018 the year you do. Newcastle has been named the number 1 place to visit by the Rough Guide you can find out more here.
See what fun we had on our day date at sunny Tynemouth
Read all about the amazing iconic Tyne Bridge in my happy birthday Tyne Bridge post
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what a great idea, Rachael. We don’t have Restaurant week in my town but I think it would go down really well. 🙂
It brings a massive boost to the local economy! X
Yes, I can imagine. x
Here in Birmingham we have the ‘Digbeth Dining Club’ which is run over most weekends. It’s where street food vendors gather under a railway bridge and serve the most incredible grub! There’s also a bar and undercover seating. It’s brilliant.
Oooh that sounds fabulous! We also have food markets. We have a farmers market once a month where you can buy things to take home or to eat there and then. We have an international food market for Christmas and on the Quayside on Sunday’s there’s a plethora of market stalls offering tasty treats. I just love trying new food!
OMG yes!! No wonder my jeans don’t fit me 😉
Me too haha.
We actually do have a Restaurant week in India. In Bangalore I think it’s in August. What’s even more fun is the concept of Street Food Walk. People get together in groups and walk down an entire street filled with push cart vendors selling delicious fast food. It’s an amazing experience.
Those cheese dough balls look delicious 🙂
That sounds fantastic and so social!
Not that I’m aware of. It’s such a great idea though!
Hey Rachael, great post. Not sure if Glasgow has a Restaurant Week as such. We do have lots of food festivals and events. Sounds like a great way to encourage people to get out and about in January. Jill x
I haven’t been to Glasgow for a couple of years but they do the best curries!! It is and it brings a lot of money into the city in an otherwise quiet month.
Those dough ballsss… yummyyyy… we host our version of restaurant week here on the islands… it’s more like a competition…. all participating restaurants are to use the same ingredient which is chosen po
Ooh that sounds like fun!
… chosen by… well I don’t know how they choose the ingredient… any hoot all of them have a restaurant week three course menu at slashed prices…woohoo… the ingredient is usally some kind of vegetable and theyre supposed to transform it into something delicious!… last year they used yams (yuck) other ingredients previously used were breadfruit, pumpkin, eggplant(😣)…
That sounds like a good challenge for the chefs though! Interesting.
Yep…it is… what they come up with is usually amazing…
We do have a restaurant week in my city, but limited participation, and not a lot of publicity. I’m now wondering if I’ve missed it. At any rate, our largest Maine city, Portland, has an active restaurant week and many great choices. I’d like to visit during that time to try new places. Your lunch looked divine!
Oh that’s a shame. They need to do more to promote it then. Lunch was so good. Packed full of flavour.
Ooh! That’s looks so yummy. I have two online friends (including you!) that live in Newcastle do you’re making me want to visit!
If you can I completely recommend a visit. We have sooo much going on!
😊 my best mate is a Geordie now living in N Ireland we had great craic last nigh on prosecco.
Belfast does have a Restaurant Week in September, i’ve Never really made best use of it, maybe this year… if I get a babysitter
They could accommodate for children. Many of ours do. Hope you had a great night!
The best ta! She and her husband are the best company, we are at ease and can just relax and be ourselves. We are lucky to have friends like that!
Restaurant week is a super idea. I think our local town would love this!
It’s a great idea x
Brilliant winter idea, as most of us, are inclined to feel too cosy inside! It is not something that has happened in NZ as far as I know. Though we haven’t lived there fulltime for the last few years!
Yes I think you’re right it’s lovely to try going out and enjoying time together x
We don’t have one but I wish we did! 100 restaurants, I wouldn’t ever get back to the office!. Those cheese balls look delicious!
They were so good! 😊
I love this idea! What an awesome event. It sounds like so much fun! I wish we did something like this in our town!
10 quid for all that food?! Sadly I am used to London prices….those cheese balls look amazing and are actually making my mouth water, Rachael! There is a London Restaurant Festival, and a regular event at the South Bank Centre with street food vendors – we also have the Surrey food festival at the Old Deer park in Richmond in April, which we’re hoping to visit. Will cost us a lot more than a tenner….
I’m sure it’ll be worth it though. I love a good food festival!
I’d love the idea of restaurant week. My favourite thing is trying new foods!!
I’ve never had cheese dough balls…..or any kind of dough balls!
Oh you’re missing out. Dough balls cheesy garlic whatever are sooo good!
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