Popular Newcastle wine bar and restaurant St Vincent has re-opened after a three-year hiatus.
Renowned North East chef and restaurateur Terry Laybourne closed the buzzy Quayside restaurant on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Other venues within his 21 Hospitality Group (21HG) have since reopened while St Vincent remained closed.
That all changed on March 9 when the doors were thrown open and St Vincent stepped back onto the Newcastle dining scene in a splash of colour.
The Franco/Italian inspired St Vincent originally opened in the autumn of 2018, replacing Terry Laybourne’s popular Italian restaurant Caffe Vivo which celebrated its 10th anniversary as it completed its last full service.
It sits alongside Newcastle’s Live Theatre and will be a welcome addition to theatregoers for pre-theatre drinks and food. A fixed price menu will be offered when the theatre has drama productions.
Jacqui Kell, executive director at Live Theatre, said: “All of us at Live Theatre are delighted to see the re-opening of St Vincent. We’ve missed it. This restaurant is an important asset to the Quayside and to Live Theatre, enabling us to broaden the offer to our theatregoers.”
The re-opening of St Vincent sees several fresh changes, along with the return of many favourites from the food and wine choices, as well as some of the original front of house team.
Matt Clarkson returns as general manager; leading the kitchen team is Martin Malinowski, a 21HG veteran who has been involved in most of Terry’s restaurants over the years. Working alongside Martin is Richard Wheatley, who is a familiar name and face among the Heaton restaurant crowd, having jointly owned Bao Bar in Chillingham Road.
Terry Laybourne said: “It feels wonderful to finally reopen St Vincent after such a long break. The hospitality sector has gone through a rollercoaster period these last two to three years. We haven’t stood still though during that period – opening Café 21 in Fenwick York and establishing the beer garden at The Broad Chare, as well as continuing our 21@Home collection service. We have been carefully managing and building our resources – St Vincent is the final piece of the jigsaw.
“We have re-opened St Vincent with a superstrong core team of familiar faces along with some lovely, enthusiastic new recruits. Customers will be able to enjoy some old favourites they may remember from previous visits; plus, we’ve used the preparation time to freshen things and create some new, less familiar options.
“We will have a concise, ever-changing menu with a seasonal focus, quite often influenced by the punchy flavours of southern France and Italy that we all seem to love so much.”
Wine will continue to take centre stage at St Vincent, with a number of classics, but also with a large proportion from small independent producers. Many are organic, some biodynamic, others are natural, while several are ‘skin contact’. There will also be a rolling programme of open wines to sample by the glass. In addition, there will be classic cocktails and vermouths as well as craft beers.
In true wine bar style, small plates will feature but there will be an emphasis on larger plates that will be ingredient-led and highly seasonal. There will always be a fish dish or two on the daily menu, as well as a strong emphasis on vegetables, many supplied by Hexhamshire Organics.
St Vincent will be open Tuesday to Saturday. Weekday openings are 4pm to 10pm. On Saturday the restaurant is open from 11.30am till late with food served 12pm to 3pm and then 5.30pm to 10pm (last reservations).