A girly dinner date at Giraffe World Kitchen, Newcastle.
A restaurant I'd often walked past, Giraffe World Kitchen is nestled within the newly redeveloped food court in Eldon Square, Newcastle. Boasting a menu that, yes you guessed it, takes food from around the world, you can tuck into a stir fry whilst someone else polishes off a burger.
As designated driver, I immediately turned to the mocktails, picking out the Wavebreaker after seeing lime, coconut and pineapple listed as ingredients. It's like a non alcoholic pina colada without the cream element, refreshing and zesty served in a chunky jar. Sarah's Elderflower Collins was so good she ordered a second one and I'd highly recommend either if you're looking for a mocktail, or perhaps fancy something lighter than a smoothie and different to the usual fizzy drinks.
To start we opted for tapas, which will come as no surprise really. If in doubt, tapas is always the answer. The Salt and Pepper Squid was a really good size and the sweet chilli dip complimented the flavours. Smoky Chorizo is always a winner and this certainly disappoint the honey and sherry vinegar was a great touch and I could've easily ate another bowl. The Baked Topped Hummus sounded great and really did taste good, topped with a generous amount of spicy beef; but two pieces of flatbread to dip in seemed a bit sparse. Sarah and I were happy to tuck in with cutlery to clear the dish but if you were sharing this between three or four people you wouldn't have much to dip. I'd recommend extra flatbread if that's possible. I did spot a good deal though, if you pick 5 tapas (for £24.95) you get a free bottle of wine, so that's a winner, right?
For mains I tucked into the Enchilada Chicken Tinga which was deceivingly filling. I always think I can tackle it, but after tapas to share I was slightly defeated. The ratio of chicken to rice was good and there was plenty of cheese, sauce and sour cream. I was pleasantly surprised to find avocado in there too; that probably means I didn't read the menu fully though.
Sarah opted for the Thai Duck Stir Fry and commented on the shredded duck. I didn't hear much more from her as she ate the noodles coated in teriyaki sauce. It looked colourful with plenty of vegetables, crispy onions and sweet chilli jam.
Even though I was suitably full from the enchilada, I couldn't pass up dessert and decided to try the White Chocolate and Passion Fruit Cheesecake. Definitely glad I did. It was zesty and refreshing without being too heavy, as I had possibly expected the chocolate element to be. As we were in the height of our recent heatwave, Sarah opted for a iced latte.
Overall, a good selection and aside from the limited flatbread I was happy with the meal. I would say, I was a little disappointed with the gf & df options as I think, had there been more choice it would be a great place to take my sister.
The meal was provided in exchange for review. All photos and words are my own.
A girly dinner date at Giraffe World Kitchen, Newcastle.
