What a joy it is to behold the Newcastle leisure circuit in full swing. There's certainly no better sight than the non socially-distanced tucking into dishes, clinking glasses and catching up on the conversations Covid stopped short.
This was especially true of a recent visit to Hotel Indigo’s Marco Pierre White steakhouse on a packed Friday lunchtime in the heart of the city.
The restaurant which is part of the eponymous chef’s string of franchises, offers an ultra-modern dining experience and is a popular haunt for regional foodies not to mention for business lunches and special occasions. A number of threetiered cake stands also populated the dining area which suggests it’s a go-to venue for afternoon tea also.
When I pitched up with my son Jack, there was a palpable buzz about the restaurant, so we kicked off with a cocktail in the adjacent bar area to drink in the atmosphere. Dubbed as what Marco describes as “affordable glamour” , the restaurant has a certain style with white linen table clothes, circular lampshades and green and brown backed chairs inkeeping with Hotel Indigo’s boutique aesthetic. Some terrific photos of the man himself also brood over proceedings.
I’m sure he’d like what they’ve done with the place.
Admittedly, this wasn’t my first visit to MPW Newcastle but it certainly seems this is a venue which tinkers with its offering. Whilst its signature steaks naturally make up the bulk of its menu, there’s also burgers, pastas and curries in addition to some standout seafood and modern British dishes.
There’s also an expansive wine selection from the light and fruity, through the spicy and peppery to the full-bodied big guns with something to be found for even the most discerning of palates.
Taking up position in our cosy, cream-leather booth, Jack and I settled on an excellent bottle of Malbec and kicked back for a gastronomic tour de force. The first dishes to enter the fray was the crispy, devilled whitebait for I and the moules marienere for Jack. Both illustrating that this is a kitchen which very much knows how to handle seafood as well as meat. Speaking of which, we followed up with a stunning couple of steaks yet deviated over our choice of cuts. I chose the Fillet Steak au Poivre with a fricassee of woodland mushrooms, toasted sourdough, buttered leaf spinach and peppercorn sauce. Jack meanwhile favoured the 10oz rib eye, deeply flavoursome with nice marbling. This was also paired with an au poivre sauce and supplemented by a side of buttered leaf spinach. Suffice to say, this was all set off exquisitely by the Malbec with that holy trinity of steak, sauce and wine all melting in majestically together.
This had been a superb meal and totally replete, we side-stepped dessert in favour of coffees. We did however file a mental note to come back and try the hot chocolate brownie with ice cream and the traditional bread & butter pudding next time. There will be a next time.
Marco’s Geordie outpost continues to impress.