While it’s been a fixture on the Quayside for quite some time (operating under the name of Charts), the newly revamped Chart House has moved into a new phase of its existence and has been given a loving make-over and snazzy rebrand which shows off its impressive heritage. Add locally sourced food with a world view and bespoke cocktails, and you’ve got your new favourite place to socialise! We spoke to CEO Rhys McKinnell to get the lowdown...
Tell us about the history of the building
It’s one of the oldest buildings on the Quayside and narrowly escaped the great fire of Newcastle in 1854. After that time a chap called Matthew S Dodds set up shop here; he lived on the top floor with his family, he had a printing press on the first floor and on the ground floor he had a retail shop where he manufactured and sold books, maps and in particular sea charts. The building has the words ‘charts’ written in the brickwork at the very top, which has been here since his time. This is where the mariners who would have been around the river would’ve come to buy their nautical charts to navigate the river safely but also to navigate the seas.
How has the history of the building informed the new venue?
The theme for this restaurant draws upon this history, so we’re imagining mariners who might’ve bought charts from 63 Quayside and the journeys they might have taken. Many of these boats would have been moving coal, but some would have been merchant ships and they might just have sailed the Maritime Spice Route. And that’s where we’re drawing inspiration from.
Tell us a little about the refurbishment
It’s a Grade II listed building so we’ve worked closely with Newcastle City Council's planning department. We’ve introduced some lovely drop down seats which are fitted into existing apertures in the front of the building, and this creates a lovely setting where you can sit and watch the river and the world flow by. We’ve also introduced an awning on the front, we’ll be the only shop on the front here with an awning.
Internally, there’s lots of exposed brick work and we’ve introduced some big scale sea chart graphics which we reproduced from original historic sea charts, and we’ve got 100 pictures on the walls which have a maritime and spice theme to them.
It sounds like it’s been a real labour of love!
It’s been a great project, we’ve really enjoyed it - it’s a fabulous building. We’ve been operating here since 2017 when it was Charts, which was a well loved venue, but we just feel this is a really special location – certainly the first floor room is a wonderful elegant space with beautiful views over the river and the bridges, and we really felt that floor deserved a nice restaurant and that’s what we’ve delivered.
What kind of food will the restaurant be serving?
Chart House is both a bar and restaurant. The lower floor is a bar open all day with bar snacks, drinks and lovely cocktails. The first floor is dedicated to dining and it’s a modern bistro with a mixture of small plates and large plates – you can eat either in a structured format or in a more social format where it’s served like tapas.
The flavours take inspiration from the Maritime Spice Route, which is an ancient trading route which would have taken mariners from Central Europe and the Mediterranean and central ports like Venice, from where they would have headed through the Suez Canal and out into the Arabian sea. They might have picked up spices and flavours from places like Bombay and Madagascar, then from the Far East, Thailand and the Philippines. So you can imagine the kind of flavour profiles you might get from those areas, and you’ll see those flavours are woven through the menu and also through the cocktail list.
What’s special about the drinks menu?
Cocktails are all individually designed so they’re unique to us. We have lots of bespoke garnishes and we’ve made a lot of ingredients ourselves, so there’s a lot of syrups and infusions that we’ve created - for example we’ve got a gin washed with coconut oil to flavour it. You won’t find these cocktails anywhere else in the city or the world, these have been developed by us. Again, they follow those flavour profiles, some cocktails are inspired by the Mediterranean, some by the Arabian sea area, and some by the Far East.
What are you hoping Chart House brings to the Quayside’s nightlife scene?
Chart House is elegant, relaxed and inclusive. It’s for everybody. I think it’ll bolster a growing independent scene. There’s been a resurgence of independent establishments in the city over the past few years and it’ll be a welcome addition to that scene, which offers something different and makes the city unique. We’ve always had a really special location, but now we’ll have a really special business here too. We’re really just growing into our position on the Quayside.
Chart House is open Wednesday-Sunday. Bookings for the restaurant are recommended. Check out the website for more information and to make bookings.
