Review: Herb Garden, Westgate Road, Newcastle; An interesting interior and delicious dishes help to make the restaurant a must-visit venue for Tyneside diners.
Byline: Angela UpexThe Herb Garden can be found in arch eight near Central Station.
In fact, I've driven past it for the last year intrigued by the wooden horse on roller skates staring out from the entrance.
I've even been stuck behind one of its early morning deliveries as I and countless other drivers navigate the rush hour tailbacks near the station.
Four of us decided to go for lunch and I attempted to book which you can't. That's probably fine for 99 per cent of the human race but for me, the social secretary, I became anxious that the lunchtime fun would be dented by failure to secure a table.
When I rang back they agreed to allow me to ring half an hour before our arrival to keep a table.
We were led past two huge pizza ovens past the bar and into a second room. It's a bit like the Tardis, huge inside and the interior style you wouldn't expect.
The interior wall is green corrugated metal and the ceiling has hundreds of white circular lights. Behind us were metal kegs all stacked to the ceiling containing the herbs. These metal barrels of light and water are a system of hydroponics -- pods of soil-free growth.
It reminded me of an old sci fi movie called Silent Running with Bruce Dern where he plays a botanist. All very quirky. Occasionally a train thundered by.
The restaurant was busy, work colleagues occupied the huge long wooden table in the room. We were offered elevated seating near the pods protected by metal chains.
And so to the menu. Essentially there are pizzas, sandwiches, salads and a variety of meat dishes.
The specials board had some tempting offers pork in a pig, belly pork stuffed with Cumberland sausage meat with roasted vegetables, date mash with a 'floozy boozy reduction' to boot.
Sailor Jerry's big rib was being devoured by two male friends. Beef ribs smothered with the Herb Garden's Sailor Jerry's marinade. They were given respectful nods by my male dining companions.
We started with some artisan bread and dipping oil ([pounds sterling]4)which was a little dry for me if I'm honest. We ordered some wine and our tap water came in reto milk bottles.
There were at least 15 pizzas on the menu ranging in price from [pounds sterling]8 to 13 and they will also take special requests. They also offer two vegan pizzas and a vegetarian and meat calzone.
My vegetarian guest opted for the spinach, egg, pecorino, garlic, olives and basil ([pounds sterling]10)
Across the table my dining companion also picked one of the handmade pizzas which boasted pepperoni, prosciutto di Parma, mozarella, onion, bresaola and peppers ([pounds sterling]11).
Pizzas arrived on wooden boards, were generous in size and my guests were happy. Bases were good and the toppings used fresh ingredients.
The pizzas were perfectly cooked. No complaints.
I had a salad and with salami red onion, olives, sun dried tomatoes, sweetcorn, parsley and tender leaf. ( [pounds sterling]9 for the large plate). This was some salad. It balanced simplicity with creative flourish.
From the sandwich menu my last guest had the homemade salt beef sandwich ([pounds sterling]6.95) with triple mustard mayonnaise and rocket, with Lucy's own very pickled cucumber. The beef was good, not too dry, and ticked all the boxes.
Everything is made from scratch and you can tell. The pizzas were excellent. I tried both and the others sampled my salad all agreeing our dishes were good.
We enjoyed some excellent wine too and the two waitresses were charming.
A great little restaurant bringing to life one of the old arches.
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| Title Annotation: | What's On |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Chronicle (Newscastle upon Tyne, England) |
| Date: | Dec 23, 2014 |
| Words: | 615 |
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