• Added: 25th of September 2008
• Area: Gateshead
• Category: Restaurants

Gateshead

lealea840 said
Best Quality All You Can Eat Buffet Ever!
The Taybarn, which is in Swalwell, next to the A1 and MetroCentre, is fantastic value for money. A huge restaurant, it occupies the site that was previously the Derwent Crossing pub & restaurant. The staff are friendly and welcoming and you pay as you go in, before collecting your cutlery and plates, then dig in! There's a huge range of food available here: a huge salad bar with dressings and sauces, lots of pastas and pizzas, chips, a grill, a carvery with vegetables, a big dessert section and a chinese section. You really are spoilt for choice! I found the pizzas gorgeous and the chips were also lovely. The carvery was also great, especially the gammon and yorkshire puds. I was also very impressed with the desssert section - there were several cake and traditional pudding choices (the rhubarb crumble & custard was delicious!) as well as a ice cream machine, with lots of different toppings! Great value for money - just make sure you're really hungry when you visit!

• Added: 25th of September 2008
• Area: Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Category: Bars and Pubs

Newcastle Upon Tyne NE15 8NL

lealea840 said

The Boathouse in Newburn is situated right on the banks of the river. It has space in front of the pub for parking and a lovely big beer garden out the back. The pub is small and traditional but very welcoming, with really friendly staff. The owner's gorgeous dogs tend to scamper about too, which for a dog lover, was a delight in itself. The prices aren't too bad for draught and the house double spirits are good value. The food here is alos spot on - a party of 6 of us enjoyed Sunday lunch here a couple of months ago and we were very impressed. There was a choice of 4 meats (or a combo of all 4), served with big platters of veg, roasties, beautiful homemade yorkshire puds and really meaty gravy. The portions were a good size and halfway through the meal, the very friendly and attentive waitress asked if we would like any extra roasties or yorkshires - fab! The lunches were under £7, which made them both delicious and excellent value for money. Definitely worth a visit!

• Added: 25th of September 2008
• Area: Gateshead
• Category: Health and Beauty

Gateshead

lealea840 said
Decent Prices, Great Designs
Since getting my 1st tattoo at quite a young age, I've always loved body art. For my 1st tattoo, I went to Sink the Ink in Swalwell, which was then owned by a guy called Vic. Vic did 2 of my tattoos, a unicorn and a tribal design, before I returned after a break of 6 years in the summer for my 4th design - a tiny inking on my wrist. Sink the Ink's minimum price is £10, which I thought was fantastic, after being quoted £35 for the same design elsewhere! The new artist, Ray, is lovely and very friendly, and didn't look at all unimpressed with the size of design, as another place had. After dropping my design off and arranging an appointment, I was seen in the next couple of days. The studio is very clean and the music playing did help to relax you. Ray was fine with the fact that I'd used numbing cream to ease the pain - some artists are funny about this - and my design was done in about 8 seconds!

Good prices and a friendly, open-minded artist - great!

• Added: 25th of September 2008
• Area: Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Category: Health and Beauty

Newcastle Upon Tyne

lealea840 said
No Pain No Gain!
PX Piercing Studio is located in Newcastle's China Town, in an upstairs studio. The place is spotlessly clean and welcoming, with plenty of magazines to keep you occupied in the waiting room. The staff are really friendly and understanding if you're a bit nervous - which is just as well really! I believe they're a husband and wife team, who between them have enough metal piercings to sink a battleship, which I actually found very reassuring - it would be like visiting a tattooist who had no tattoos! They were very quick to reassure me when I told them I was nervous and the whole piercing process was over in seconds. They used very clean, sterilised equipment and the piercing room was also scrupulously clean. My piercing wasn't expensive at all and good quality jewellery was used. And they give you a sweetie afterwards!

So, all that's left is to tell you what I got pierced... or perhaps I'll just leave it up to your imagination! ;o)

• Added: 25th of September 2008
• Area: Gateshead
• Category: Shops

Gateshead

lealea840 said
Lots of Cool Gift Ideas
The Pier is in the new red mall, in the MetroCentre. The shop is quite large and split over two levels. It's crammed full of really lovely items - everything from candles to funiture, in a range of stunningly different designs. The larger objects and pieces of furniture aren't cheap, but they represent good value, as everything's very good quality. The store is well laid out and the staff are all really helpful. They also wrap your purchases very nicely. I've never bought anythig gsubstantial here, but I am partial to buying small gifts for other people from The Pier. Their candles in particular are really nice, as is their glassware. You can always find an ideal housewarming present here.

• Added: 25th of September 2008
• Area: Gateshead
• Category: Shops

Gateshead

lealea840 said
Big Store and Gorgeous Shoes!
The MetroCentre branch of fashion store New Look is situated in the new red mall, not far from Debenhams. Bacause of its location in the new extended section of the red mall, the store has only been there for a couple of years. It's a large outlet, over two levels: the clothing's downstairs and the shoes and accessories are located upstairs. There's a huge range of clothing in stock at any one time, and a decent sized lingerie section too. The changing rooms are also nice, with the cool addition of CD points with headphones provided outside, so that bored husbands/boyfriends/friends can listen to some tunes when they're waiting for you. The shoe section upstairs is my favourite part of the store - there are dozens of different styles and colours available, all at pretty good prices.

• Added: 24th of September 2008
• Area: Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Category: Restaurants

Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 6JE
0191 232 6171

lealea840 said

The Godfather is an Italian restaurant, in the most wonderful location in the centre of Newcastle. Right next to the Theatre Royal, it's slap-bang in the middle of the main shopping district. I've only visited once, at Chritmas for a meal with colleagues, and the food was delicious. The fanastic value set meal was great - we had either potato skins, garlic mushrooms or soup to start, followed by our choice of pizza or pasta main. I had garlic mushrooms, followed by penne bolognese, which were beautiful. I had ice cream for dessert, which was again very nice. The dishes ordered by my colleagues also looked and smelled wonderful. The restaurant was very busy, with other groups of work colleagues and families who'd been shopping, who had popped in for lunch. The dirnks were quite reasonably priced for a restaurant and I'd definitely go back.

• Added: 24th of September 2008
• Area: Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Category: Restaurants

Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 3AF
0191 232 6969

lealea840 said

Rumpolis, on Newcastle's Quayside, is always busy, which I take as a reflection on its good quality and popularity. I've only ever visited the restaurant during its happy hour evening promotion and I was very impressed with the food. For happy hour, there's a pretty wide choice of dishes that are part of the offer, which was pleasantly suprising. The penne bolognese is lovely, as are the homemade chips. I've also sampled the lasagne, which was really nice. I'm also assured, by my dining partners, that the pizza-style garlic bread and potato skins are wonderful., along with the tagliatelle carbonara and penne arabietta. We've always been too full to attempt a dessert, even though they do look delicious - the portions are definitely big by happy hour standards! The restaurant is traditionally and nicely decorated and very good value for money - even outside happy hour.

• Added: 24th of September 2008
• Area: Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Category: Bars and Pubs

Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 5EN
0191 261 2211

lealea840 said

I visited The Lounge again last night (a Tuesday evening) for the first time in about 2 years. We were enticed into the bar by the signs promising happy hour offers and 'The Buzzer Game', which gave customers the chance to win reduced price/free drinks. We were really chuffed when we got 2 pints for £2.90 by getting half price drinks! My pint of Red C cider went down very well and I'm assured that my boyfriend's pint of Tuborg was also very nice. The pub is large and had a mixed clientele of students, young professionals and more mature customers. The games machine offered added entertainment for punters and I was also impressed with the food menu, even though I didn't sample it: a big emphasis is placed on the 'mix and mash' section of the menu, which offers a wide variety of different sausgaes, types of mash and styles of gravy, for £5.95. There were also lots of other dishes on the menu. The only negative aspect of The Lounge were the toilets - they were miles away and as they can be accessed from the street without having to even enter the bar, I feel they're a security risk, especially for female customers.

• Added: 24th of September 2008
• Area: Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Category: Bars and Pubs

Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 3JF
0191 261 1037

lealea840 said

I've only visited Red House (which is situated on Newcastle's Quayside) once, but I did like the bar. It's very traditional inside, just like its neighbour Bob Trollope's, but it's bigger with more seating. We went in on a St Patrick's Day a couple of years ago and we really enjoyed it. There are TVs around the pub showing sports and music videos and the clientele are quite mature and very friendly. The bar staff were also very pleasant and more than happy to give out Guinness memorabilia! The drinks were pretty reasonably priced and the atmosphere in the pub was very pleasant. I also had a look at the food menu and liked what I saw, although I didn't order anything. I also liked the layout of the pub, which seemed full of nooks and crannies!