I'm a total pie and mash girl and I've got a super soft spot for a toad-in-the-hole, so British food for me is incredible. I find that us Brits know comforting, filling, heart-warming food like no other.
On a recent trip to Newcastle to see the Busted boys (yes, again), myself and partner-in-crime Carli, ventured into the newer food hall area in Eldon Square. Home to a bunch of restaurants from tapas to burgers, it's a great addition to the center.
Our stomachs were rumbling as we headed towards our venue of choice, George's Great British Kitchen. With garden-style faux hedges surrounding the outer dining area, and beach hut style pods to sit in inside, it's a colourful little place.
I'll start off by saying that the staff in this restaurant went above and beyond to give us the best dining experience possible, service with a smile always makes you feel that little bit more welcomed, doesn't it? Nothing worse than a Miserable Mary who rolls her eyes when you're not ready to order now, is there?
We asked to sit outside (best blogging light yo) and were given our newspaper style menu to gaze upon. Our first port-of-call seen us drifting our eyes to the cocktail menu (priorities!) of which is full of delights. My eyes navigated over to their 'Famous Five' and obviously I opted for the Candy Annie. Candyfloss and alcohol? This should be a regular occurrence.
Let's just say it went down a treat.
George's GBK embrace different aspects of the British culture and this is shown throughout their menu as each dish is so different. They source only the best, fresh ingredients possible whilst adding no artificial flavourings or preservatives - very impressive indeed!
We decided to get a starter dish to share to prepare our stomachs gently for the feast that was about to unfold. We opted for Katsu Chicken Goujons, alas, not completely British, but tasty non the least. The curry sauce wasn't too spicy, but was super tasty and the ideal way to start a meal rather than having boring ol' potato skins.
The starter menu looked so unbelievably appealing that we decided to get three more and a main meal combined to share. Sharing is caring after all.
You can see from the picture above that our eyes were maybe a little bit too big for our bellies, we totally weren't prepared for the host of food brought over. They actually pulled another table across for it to fit - LOL.
Our main of choice was the Chicken in a Basket, pieces of succulent chicken in a lemon pepper breadcrumb topped with bacon, sweetcorn pancakes and a big ol' scoop of classic potato chips. We also got a side of proper chip shop curry sauce to dip our chips into and boy, wasn't that a dream.
Like I said, we also got three starters along with our main meal for our, ahem, banquet.
Carli got completely sold by Ham Hock & Mushy Pea Fritters, not for me but she absolutely devoured them. With this dish, I noticed just how much the chefs at George's take time and care in their presentation of their food. Everything looked insane.
The Cod Pakoras were also on the menu. Fish usually isn't my kinda thing (unless it's a Fish Finger) but I had a little nibble of one of these and was pleasantly surprised! The onion bahji batter was something special, lemme tell you that.
Finally, I couldn't have left the building without trying the Pigs Under Duvets. Proper good ol' English sausages on a bed of bubble & squeak under some streaky bacon? Can someone whip this up for me every single day please? Please? Delicious.
Oh man, were we sad when we couldn't squeeze a dessert in. Purely because I had my heart set on the Trio of Old School Favourites. NEXT TIME GEORGE, NEXT TIME!
All in all, it was an absolute treat. A treat that left us with ear-to-ear smiles and fully-full tummies.
There's a branch in Newcastle, and one in Nottingham, so if you're near those areas make sure you head over!
Megan. xo
*This meal was paid for by the establishment, all opinions are my own. Please read my disclaimer here for further information*