10 Must-Try Seafood Spots in Newcastle
We sought out a selection of restaurants in the city serving the finest seafood around
Despite being an island and surrounded by all manner of great fish and shellfish, the British don’t eat as much seafood as you’d imagine. Aside from fish and chips, that is, which is arguably our national dish: we consume almost 200 million fish and chip meals a year!
But as great as that dish is, there is so much brilliant – and sustainable – seafood we could be enjoying, especially in Newcastle.
We’ve selected ten of the most notable seafood restaurants in the city for you to try, and hopefully something more adventurous than fish and chips!
Saltwater Fish Company, Fenwick Food Hall
The aquatic version of Fenwick Food Hall’s Porterhouse Butcher and Grill, Saltwater Fish Company serves as both a fishmonger and restaurant, with its motto ‘we cook what we sell, we sell what we cook’. So you can take a stool at the counter and dine on oysters, fruits de mer platters and daily specials that you know will be amazingly fresh because you can see them glistening on ice before you.
Pleased To Meet You, High Bridge
With its focus on locally sourced ingredients, it’s inevitable that Pleased To Meet You would have plenty of seafood on its menu. From a selection of oysters and whipped cod’s roe for tasters or bar snacks, through Shetland mussels or tiger prawns on sourdough to mains like beer battered cod, fish pie and a magnificent native seafood sharing platter, PTMY should be a must-visit for any seafood lover.
Trap Food House, Sandhill
Around since 2020 but only in its new Sandhill location for a few months, Trap Food House still feels like something of a secret but that will surely change as more people try this Cajun / soul food seafood specialist for the first time. There’s a brilliant selection of seafood small plates – things like cajun salmon, bang bang prawns and lobster tails – and even some proper Louisiana shrimp po’boys and lobster rolls. Mains include such unusual and appealing dishes as gumbo, seafood country boil and black ink linguine, packed with shellfish and chilli. If you like seafood and good ole southern cooking, this place is essential.
King Neptune, Stowell Street
Claiming to be Newcastle’s oldest Chinese restaurant (and definitely one of the biggest), King Neptune is also a seafood specialist, with fish and shellfish front and centre on its dizzying array of different menus (a la carte to banquet, New Year to Mother’s Day!). The appetisers are especially tempting, dishes like New Zealand mussels in black bean sauce and seafood and sweetcorn soup. There are dozens of seafood mains – scallops, squid and king prawns all with their own section – plus lobster, seabass and turbot. And the various banquet options are magnificent too.
The Broad Chare, Broad Chare
Almost on the bank of the Tyne, The Broad Chare really pushes the boat out (ahem) when it comes to seafood options on its bar snack and main menus. There are Lindisfarne oysters and monkfish cheeks to enjoy with a pint of ale in the bar, while the dining room has small plates like potted shrimp and crab salad (and more oysters!) while large plates offer roast cod, sea bass and haddock fish cakes - all this in one of the city’s best and most traditional pubs.
George’s Fish Shack, Eldon Square
This seaside-themed restaurant within Eldon Square opened in 2022 and has a family-friendly selection of chip shop and fish bar favourites. A tasty selection of fishcakes, ‘chippy teas’ and light bites like prawn & avocado salad and fish fingers sandwiches rub shoulders with more unusual dishes like hake kiev, spiced roast monkfish and roasted wild sea bass. Even the breakfast menu has some fishy offerings like kedgeree and Craster kippers. They offer a set menu and takeaway too.
Hibou Blanc, High Bridge
Serving carefully sourced local food in a gorgeous environment is very much Hibou Blanc’s M.O. and they foreground British seafood in their menus to brilliant effect. Starters include Lindisfarne oysters, with a choice of dressings, and shellfish cocktail, while the selections of mains includes fillet of cod with potato gnocchi and fillet of Isle of Gigha halibut with crushed potatoes. The bar has a range of snacks and small plates with more oysters, tempura king prawns and prawn cocktail.
Café Andaluz, Grey Street
The Newcastle outpost of an otherwise Scottish chain, the Grey Street branch of Café Andaluz is a little slice of the Iberian peninsula in the heart of the city. Their lengthy tapas menu has some great seafood options – calamari, prawns, anchovies, mussels and octopus cooked in a variety of traditional Spanish sauces – and there’s a Paella de Mariscos (seafood paella) packed with haddock, squid and Shetland mussels. King prawns and calamari even make it onto the excellent breakfast menu.
Pani’s, High Bridge
A great little café and bar tucked away in High Bridge, Pani’s is a Sardinian joint that’s unsurprisingly very into seafood presented in traditional ways. From starters like king and tiger prawns, calamari and a very tasty fish soup to mains like fregola or risotto with shellfish and Sardinian speciality Spigola – pan fried seabass fillets with polenta and tiger prawns - Pani’s offers some familiar dishes with a Sardinian twist.
Native Cave, Mosley Street
One of the latest additions to the Newcastle restaurant scene, Native Cave has a lot going for it including an unusual and intriguing blend of Afro-Caribbean dishes and seafood. So alongside dishes like jerk chicken, plantain and sweet potato you’ll find garlic salmon, lobster tail, grilled tilapia and chilli prawn linguine. Think big flavours and big portions.
Unsurprisingly given the city’s strong maritime links, there are plenty of great places to eat excellent seafood in Newcastle and in an impressive range of styles from Spanish and Sardinian to Chinese and traditional British. And with a strong emphasis on provenance and sustainability in many of these places, you can eat great food with a clear conscience!
