Explore the Bigg Market With Us
Take a tour of Newcastle's famous Bigg Market
The Bigg Market – and its adjacent Groat and Cloth Markets – has, as the name suggests, been the centre of commerce in the city since the Middle Ages. In recent times, the area became known as the centre of the city’s nightlife, with a not entirely deserved reputation for a certain kind of drunken exuberance.
But things have changed and while the area is still full of exciting nightlife venues and a definite destination for weekend good times, there’s a lot of other things to enjoy – fine dining, local business hubs and more. So here’s a guide to some of the best things the Bigg Market quarter has to offer.
Nightlife
A lot of work and investment has gone into making the Bigg Market a more varied and less boisterous area, but there are still dozens of excellent – often famous – nightlife venues packed into these few streets.
A fairly recent addition to the area is Twenty Twenty, which is just two years old but already a popular cocktail bar (the name comes from a combination of the number of signature cocktails and the size of their pizzas). Open from noon 'til 1am every day (2am at weekends), you can fuel up for a night out (they do great coffee too) or head here for a bite after a night out.
But you don’t just find cheese on pizzas – Popworld prides itself on offering ‘cheese with style’, and the sole North East outpost of their dozens of venues is right in the heart of Bigg Market’s nightlife. Open every day ('til 2am from Thursdays to Saturdays), Popworld offers a dizzying selection of guest DJs, themed party nights and drinks offers - always to a chart’n’cheese soundtrack.
Just around the corner on Mosley Street and also offering the winning formula of cheesy chart music, Flares claims to be the biggest party venue in the city. There’s always something special going on, but you can host your own party and there’s a range of drinks offers too. It’s open till 2am every night.
If your tastes are a little more sedate, we’d recommend WC which – as you can probably guess – is built in what was formerly a Victorian water closet. Deep beneath the Bigg Market pavement, WC is a classy cocktail bar that’s open 'til late every day with a splendid range of gins, cocktails and prosecco plus all manner of events and offers like Tipsy Tea and Bottomless Brunch.
And if your tastes are resolutely old school, The Beehive is as traditional as pubs get. A warm and friendly boozer with a good range of ales, pub snacks and a jukebox, it looks glorious too.
And we mustn’t forget Cosy Joes: a veritable Toon institution, this large karaoke bar has seen tens of thousands of revellers take to its various stages and booths to belt out Simply The Best or Don’t Stop Believin’ over the years. As well as the main karaoke stage and its private ‘partypods’, there’s resident DJ Wee Phillie playing party classics and it’s open 'til late every night (3am on Friday and Saturday!).
Food
These days, the Bigg Market isn’t just a place to grab a burger at the end of the night (though you can do that too): it’s home to some excellent restaurants and with its recent revamp, Kafeneon is at the forefront. It’s been serving excellent, traditional Greek food to Bigg Market visitors for almost 25 years but now that it has expanded across all three floors of its building – styled as a Greek townhouse – there’s much more room for people to settle in for a table full of tasty meze.
Barely a dolmada’s throw away you’ll find further Hellenic delights at Simply Greek, another great place to eat excellent Greek food from gyros to halloumi chips and some delicious sticky sweet treats. They even offer live entertainment at weekends for a proper party atmosphere.
Just down the hill, Revolucion de Cuba brings that island’s charm to the Cloth Market with a packed and appealing food and drink menu offering everything from paella de Cuba and cajun popcorn to classics like daiquiris and its own creations like the Polynesian Paradise. It’s open every day 'til midnight (later at weekends) and with its charming décor and vibey terrace, it’s a great place to pretend just for a minute that you’re in Havana.
There’s a different flavour of exotic at Koh-I-Noor, a real gem (and named after the famous royal diamond) that offers a mouthwatering range of Indian dishes and a great takeaway service.
The Market Shaker is a big, buzzing hangout where you can chow down on stone-baked pizzas, have a dance, drink craft beers or bespoke cocktails, watch football or just chill out. It really is a whole night out in one funky location, and it’s open till 2am every day but if you want to keep it simple, Toon Takeaway is a Bigg Market institution offering belly-busting kebabs, burgers and pizzas 'til 11pm every day.
And More...
Of course the Bigg Market isn’t just about nightlife and food, it’s a thriving commercial area in the daytime too. There’s Hivetree at the top of the street, a business hub providing a home for all sorts of exciting new businesses like the Dollicious studio - a riot of pink décor and expert make-up skills.
And if you’re a modern creative business, the chances are you’ll need a state-of-the art printing and repro-studio, and there’s none better than Photoline. From fast turnaround documents and graphics to Point Of Sale materials and banners, Photoline do it all and do it fast. They’re also super-friendly and helpful!
Offering a unique spin on the old army surplus store, Kommand Outdoors has everything for the festival-going student, the weekend paintballer or the hardcore survivalist. Whether you need a new tent, some Arctic camo or a samurai sword, Kommand is an Aladdin’s cave.
Meanwhile, if you’ve been putting off that tattoo of your dog, visit Hell's Teeth Tattoo where the artists can ink you up in a variety of stunning styles (just don’t go right after a day exploring the Bigg Market’s bars).
One to Watch...
One of the most recent developments in the area is White Hart Yard – or just WHY – an exciting, innovative, multi-use complex that’s going to include a rooftop cinema, a nightclub, bars and restaurants. Destined to be a vibrant destination for all sorts of nightlife and entertainment, WHY is certain to bring even more life into the area.
These days, the Bigg Market is a constantly changing and evolving area packed with businesses, bars, places to dine and places to explore. Fast turning into a hub for creatives and start-ups but also still home to some of the best nightlife the city has to offer, the Bigg Market has it all.
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