AWARDS

2016 Winners and Runners-up

So here we are: 40 Finalists, 8 category winners. I am delighted to open the winners’ envelopes and reveal the recipients of this year’s Secret Diner Awards, including the 2016 North East Restaurant of the Year. 

It’s been a terrific year for eating out in the North East. In fact, there has never been a better time to enjoy the restaurant scene here, which means that competition for these awards was even tougher than usual. In the five years I’ve been reviewing for the Journal, I’ve seen a huge increase, not just in the standards of the restaurants, but in the knowledge and commitment of the restaurant-going public. The two go hand in hand.

In the bad old days, many people up here seemed to accept with sad resignation a belief that the North East’s food scene would never match up to other parts of the country. Sure, we may not have agreed with the Southern critics’ taunt that Newcastle was a culinary desert, but even to us it felt like a pretty barren landscape when we looked at the dearth of national recognition, the paucity of cooking talent, and the lack of range that our region offered its food lovers. 

How all that has changed. Now people demand quality, innovation, skill, presentation and style – and that’s what all these award-winners and runners-up (and scores more restaurants that narrowly failed to make it to the shortlist) are offering.

It’s an exciting time to be writing about food in the North East.  And even more exciting to be eating it.

North East Restaurant of the Year 2016

(2015: House of Tides)

This prize is awarded to the restaurant that has made the greatest contribution to our region’s culinary reputation. As in previous years, I was looking for exceptional quality, but I also wanted to honour the place that demonstrated both commitment to the North East and a passion for excellence. 

The award goes to a restaurant whose exceptional cooking and service has placed it in the Champions League of British restaurants, a humble Victorian pub near Darlington where the tiny kitchen has built itself a reputation that is resounding around the world. The Raby Hunt is the North East’s only two-Michelin-starred restaurant, and one of the finest in the whole country. And yet the chef, almost completely self-taught, only started cooking professionally a few years ago. We should be proud to have The Raby Hunt, and James Close, in our region.

WINNER

The Raby Hunt

James Close’s story is one that must give any number of veteran chefs with Michelin-related issues cause to pull out what’s left of their hair. 

Never having been to culinary school, James received his first Michelin star after just three years of professional cooking. The second was awarded this October. It’s an astonishing achievement, and one that completely justifies this award. 

I’ve eaten at the Raby Hunt on three occasions now, the latest of which was just a few weeks ago (new review to be posted on this site), and each time I’ve found that the cooking has evolved, always from a position of strength, and with a consistency of delivery that I find absolutely startling. 

This restaurant was the first to receive 6 Secret Diner stars. When I created this grading system, I didn’t think it was possible for anywhere in the North East to reach, let alone exceed, 5 stars out of 5, but when I first tasted James’s extraordinary cooking, he broke straight through that ceiling. 

That was back in the summer of 2013. Each year I’ve seen his confidence and skills strengthen. He’s experimented, he’s taken risks, and his technique and knowledge have grown. 

It’s tempting to wonder how far James and his team can push on - time will tell. All you need to know is that this food, coming out of his tiny kitchen, is the equal of anywhere in Britain and if you’ve any interest in how good eating out can be, you owe it to yourself to go.

Best Hotel Restaurant

(2015: Rockliffe Hall – The Orangery) 

WINNER

The Garden House Inn

When Durham’s Bistro 21 closed, Head Chef Ruari Mackay relocated to The Garden House Inn behind the city’s train station. The Laybourne Empire’s loss was this Durham pub/B&B’s gain. 

They have four double bedrooms and serve breakfast, which qualifies them for our Best Hotel Restaurant category. The highlights of our meal there were just about everything we ordered, but if you twisted my arm, I’d probably have to pick out the lobster sandwich, a brioche-wrapped dream of a thing. I’ve just checked the menu and it’s still there. Might be time for a return visit.

Runners-up:

Hotel Indigo - Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill

Jesmond Dene House Hotel 

Rockliffe Hall – The Orangery 

St Mary’s Inn 

Best Bistro or Brasserie 

(2015: Six at Baltic)

WINNER 

The Crathorne Arms

This category was particularly strong in 2016, and it’s a pleasure to draw attention to some excellent cooking away from the bright lights of Newcastle. The Feathers Inn to the West and The Potted Lobster to the north rightly pack them in, but The Crathorne Arms near Yarm gets it by a whisker, based on one utterly flawless meal cooked by chef David Henry at what is now the home of one of the North East’s culinary royal families, the McCoy’s. 

This pub, full of their personal effects and inimitable style, is gorgeous. But so too is what arrives on the plate. The classic McCoy’s seafood pancake was still crazily good after all these years, while a more modern take on potted beef was equally delightful. Plus - and this really matters when we’re talking about bistro food - the chips were great.

Runners-up:

21

The Feathers Inn

Hinnies

The Potted Lobster

Best Fine Dining 

(2015: The Raby Hunt) 

WINNER

The Raby Hunt

Fine Dining is a concept that gets its fair share of stick and, at times, rightly so. A meal at The Raby Hunt is a reminder of the joys of tasting menus, matched wines and all that jazz. 

My recent 10-course meal there demonstrated startlingly clear flavours, mastery of technique and a bold and inquisitive approach to food that made it really quite special and sets this place apart. The desserts have, in my view, improved over the years. They have more staff, more interesting crockery and the whole thing has just got a little bit slicker.

Runners-up:

House of Tides

The Orangery, Rockliffe Hall 

Peace & Loaf 

Restaurant DH1 

Best Casual Dining

(2015: The Jolly Fisherman) 

WINNER 

Riley’s Fish Shack 

The welcome emphasis on serving excellent food in a lively, informal environment is something that Newcastle, with its markets and burgeoning street food scene is pretty good at. But hop on the Metro and travel a few stops in the direction of Norway and things get seriously special. 

Adam Riley deserves all the plaudits he’s received for putting in the graft that has turned his street food business into a beach-bound wonder. I will never tire of the roasted cod on puy lentils, just as I will never tire of the view. The only problem is that every time Jay Rayner bangs on about the place in the Guardian the queue gets longer.

Runners-up:

Barrio Comida

Cal’s Own

Newcastle Quayside Market

Violets 

Best European

(2015: Bouchon Bistrot) 

WINNER

Cal’s Own

Mrs Diner and I last visited Naples at the end of 2015. Like any self-respecting obsessive I put in the time, read all the blogs and checked to make sure that we only bothered with sampling the best pizzas in that wild and wonderful city. Then we got home and found out we could have just driven to Jesmond, because the Margherita and Marinara here are absolutely at that same Neapolitan level. 

Recent visits suggest that Calvin has really got the measure of his imported oven and his dough is as good as ever, but now it’s not just about the pizza. Starters such as dates wrapped in bacon, or meatballs in tomato sauce are also superb, and if a batch of tiramisu has been prepared then you really must order a large wodge.  

Runners-up:

Bouchon Bistrot

Café Lilli

Caffé Vivo 

Truffle

Best Asian

(2015: Haveli) 

WINNER

Inoodle

Lately, when it comes to Asian food, the North East has become much more interesting. Any of this year’s finalists will serve you a delicious, cliché-free meal (and Haveli and Ury still offer the best Indian food in the region by a mile), but this year’s winner edges it by dint of showing a mastery of one particular, and rare skill.

A bowl of hand-pulled noodle soup at Inoodle is that wonderful thing: an elevated and revelatory version of an everyday food that everyone knows and recognises. They’re gloriously bouncy specimens that swim in bowls of restorative broths and come with garlicky smacked cucumber and very respectable dim sum. Give the takeaway a miss for once, and try the real deal.

Runners-up:

Chilli Padi

Haveli 

Thai House Café 

Ury 

Best Value

(2015: Chilli Padi) 

WINNER

Hinnies

When we first visited Hinnies, the early evening menu was £15 for three courses. I believe this may have risen by three quid, but this is still ridiculously good value for a proper, grown-up restaurant experience. 

Suet pies were properly made, which is to say that your gran would have been proud of them, while the eponymous dessert was another old-fashioned treat. Staff were knowledgeable and charming. A little context: it will cost you more for one portion of beef short ribs in TGI Fridays than it will for three courses here. If you’re not clear which of those experiences is preferable then you shouldn’t be reading this blog.

Runners-up:

Chilli Padi

The Grainger Market

The Raby Hunt

The Running Fox

Best Newcomer

(2015: Fuego) 

WINNER

Harissa Kitchen

A really distinctive restaurant doesn’t just have good food, or even fine service, but also has a clear vision of what it wants to do and achieve. With all the kerfuffle about certain Mayfair-based behemoths not paying staff the minimum wage or sharing the “service charge” among staff, I want to give credit and encouragement to Harissa Kitchen. Here, they pay the living wage and the whole point of the restaurant is to generate income for the local Food Nation social enterprise. 

The fact that they also serve fresh and zingy Ottolenghi-inspired Mediterranean food in a room that is the epitomy of good taste is a lovely demonstration that admirable ethics and good food can go hand in hand. More power to them.

Runners-up:

Barrio Comida

Inoodle 

Stark’s Kitchen 

Violets

Best Service

WINNER

Peace & Loaf

“Superb service with an excellent eye for detail,” wrote one of my readers Jill Smith, and her opinion was shared by a plethora of fans of Dave Coulson’s excellent Jesmond restaurant. This award was voted by readers of The Journal, and I’m delighted that Coulson’s friendly, efficient staff have been rewarded with this accolade from their customers. 

This restaurant is beloved by local residents and national critics alike.

Rightly so.

*****

The Winners and Finalists

2015 NE Restaurant of the Year

WINNER
House of Tides

Kenny Atkinson has absolutely delivered on the promise of last year. 

At the end of his first year of operation I voiced a few reservations about the service and the lack of variety in his tasting-menu-only model. Kenny listened to the criticism, transformed both service and menu offering, and his reward is an annus mirabilis. 

The awards have come with the same metronomic regularity as the dishes leave his kitchen: Newcomer award at the Cateys, the AA’s England Restaurant of the Year and, of course, a shiny new Michelin star, Newcastle's first since the halcyon days of 21 Queen Street. 

Personally, I have enjoyed seeing the place find its feet, settle into its own skin and then find a consistency of food and service that are a real credit to the City and the region. I'm delighted to add to what is becoming a very crowded awards cabinet.

Best Fine Dining

WINNER
The Raby Hunt

Runners up:

DH1
House of Tides 
The Orangery, Rockliffe Hall
Peace & Loaf

Best Hotel Restaurant

WINNER
Rockliffe Hall - The Orangery

Runners up:

Seaham Hall - Byron’s Bar and Grill
Hotel Malmaison - Chez Mal Hotel Indigo - Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill 
Jesmond Dene House Hotel

Best Bistro or Brasserie 

WINNER

Six at Baltic

Runners up:

21 Artisan
Bouchon Bistrot
Marco Pierre White Steakhouse & Grill 

Best Casual Dining 

WINNER

The Jolly Fisherman

Runners up:

Byron 
Cook House 
Fuego 
Muse 

Best European 

WINNER

Bouchon Bistrot 

Runners up:

Baba Yaga
Café Lilli Caffé Vivo
Cal’s Own 

Best Asian 

WINNER

 Haveli 

Runners up:

Chilli Padi 
Hei Hei  
Taste of Persia  
Vujon  

Best Value 

WINNER
Chilli Padi 

Runners up:

The Bay Horse, Hurworth 
Cook House 
Painted Elephant 
Raby Hunt 

 

Best Newcomer

WINNER

Fuego

 

Runners up:

Chilli Padi 
Dosa Kitchen 
Longsands Fish Kitchen 
Saltwater Fish Company 

*****

THE WINNERS AND FINALISTS
 

2014 North East Restaurant of the Year
WINNER: House of Tides

  

If there’s one restaurant that’s raised the bar in 2014, it’s Kenny Atkinson’s House of Tides. As one of my correspondents put it: I think they're dangerously close to getting it bang-on. 

The jury’s still out as to whether their tasting-menu-only model is going to pay off (I note that in December they’ve been trying a more flexible festive menu and their Sunday lunch is very good value). There have been criticisms of the front of house service, which is still being addressed, but as far as the cooking is concerned, most observers agree that House of Tides has the best chance of gaining Newcastle’s first Michelin star since the days Terry Laybourne’s 21 Queen Street. 

Best Fine Dining 

2014 WINNER: The Raby Hunt 

Runners up: 
DH1-“Immaculate service” and an “ambitious and complex” menu in Durham
House of Tides - Atkinson’s “casual fine dining” on Newcastle’s Quayside 
Peace & Loaf - An “intriguing” menu that’s “modern, imaginative and fun” 

Best Hotel Restaurant

2014 WINNER: Jesmond Dene House Hotel 

Runners up: 
Doxford Hall - British classics with local ingredients in an elegant setting 
Hotel Indigo (MPW) - Consistently good city centre brasserie
Rockliffe Hall (The Orangery) -  Excellent wine list and some fine cooking

Best Bistro or Brasseri

2014 WINNER: Bistro 21

Runners up:  
Bouchon Bistrot  - Authentic French bistro in the centre of Hexham
MPW Steakhouse & Grill - Straightforward, affordable British cooking
Six at The Baltic - Simple, modern British food with a great view of the Tyne

Best Gastropub  
2014 WINNER: The Bay Horse, Hurworth 

Runners up: 
The Broad Chare - Newcastle's first gastropub, with great hearty British food 
The Staith House - Masterchef finalist John Calton's North Shields gastropub
Lord Crewe Arms - Reinterpreted old British recipes in a medieval inn

Best Newcomer  

2014 WINNER: House of Tides 

Runners up:  
The Staith House - Great fish in a traditional pub on the Fish Quay  
Lane7 - Bowling and burgers in this fun city centre  venue
Brasserie Hudson Quay - At last, a quality restaurant in Middlesbrough

 

Best European

  2014 WINNER: Bouchon Bistrot

Runners up: 
Caffé Vivo - Terry Laybourne’s busy osteria and cicchetti bar
Café Lilli - French, Greek and Italian influences mingle in this relaxed café
Sabatini  - Sardinian specialities and a fine wine list

Best Asian 

2014 WINNER: Haveli 

Runners up: 
Hei Hei - Newcastle’s first genuine Szechuan restaurant
Rasa -Authentic Keralan cuisine beautifully prepared on Newcastle's Quayside

Zyka - Ambitious cooking in friendly Hexham curry house

Best Value 

2014 WINNER: Sky Apple Café 

Runners up: 
A Taste of Persia - Great value authentic Persian cooking
Café Lilli - A Teesside gem

Eslington Villa - Three course lunch for less than £17
 

Best Family Restaurant 

2014 WINNER: Fratelli 

Runners up: 
Pizza Express, Gosforth - Newly refurbished with a much-improved menu
Marabini’s  - Popular Morpeth family-run Italian
Scalini’s Gosforth  - Extremely relaxed and popular local Italian restaurant

Best Café 

2014 WINNER: Quay Ingredient 

Runners up: 
Café Lilli - Norton Italian gem with Greek influences 
Latimer’s Seafood - great fish café, perfect after a long walk by the sea  
Ernest - quirky, laid back Ouseburn café bar with an eclectic menu  

The Journal Readers' Award

2014 WINNER: Peace & Loaf

Runner up: Marco Pierre White's Steakhouse & Grill

*****

2013 North East Restaurant Awards

THE WINNERS AND FINALISTS

2013 North East Restaurant of the Year

WINNER  The Raby Hunt

2013 Best Fine Dining

WINNER  The Raby Hunt 

Runners up:
Bistro 21 
Café 21 
Jesmond Dene House Hotel
Peace & Loaf 

2013 Best Hotel Restaurant

WINNER  Jesmond Dene House Hotel 

Runners up:
Doxford Hall (George Runciman Restaurant) 
Hotel Indigo (Marco Pierre White) 
Rockliffe Hall (The Orangery)  
Wynyard Hall (Wellington Restaurant) 

2013 Best European Restaurant

WINNER  Caffè Vivo

Runners up:
Bouchon Bistrot 
Marabinis
Sabatini 
Vercelli 

2013 Best Asian Restaurant

WINNER  Rasa 

Runners up:

Dabbawal Jesmond 

Hei Hei 

Osaka 

Raval 

2013 Best Newcomer

WINNER  The Bridge Tavern 

Runners up:
A Taste of Persia, Jesmond 
Dabbawal Jesmond 
David Kennedy at Vallum 
Peace & Loaf 

2013 Best Gastropub

WINNER  The Broad Chare 

Runners up:
The Barrasford Arms 
The Bridge Tavern
The Feathers Inn, Stocksfield 
The Rat Inn, Anick 

2013 Best Café

WINNER  Ernest  



Runners up:
Café Royal 
The Butterfly Cabinet 
Quay Ingredient  
Sky Apple Café  

2013 Best Family Restaurant

WINNER  Fratelli, Ponteland 


Runners up:
Colman’s, South Shields 
Marabinis, Morpeth 
Pizza Express, Gosforth  
Vercelli  

2013 The Journal Readers' Award

WINNER  Quay Ingredient