It's back...food fans in the North East; get ready!Sunderland Restaurant Week is set to return, bigger and better than before. Running from Saturday 9th September to Sunday 17th September there's everything from Thai, to Indian, to Italian and afternoon tea and cake on offer. Restaurants will be offering a variety of specials, from 2 course for £10, 3 courses for £15 and the daytime café offerings if you're looking for a mid afternoon pick me up cuppa and cake.
For our safari supper preview, we began at Proseccobar; located below The Funky Indian Tapas. This up and coming bar is the ideal location for after work drinks. If you're looking for some nibbles too, I highly recommend their onion bhajis - I nearly polished off a plate just to myself.
Moving swiftly onto our starters, next up was Asiana Fusion. This restaurant offers a taste of Asian cuisine with a stunning view across the river. Served a platter of satay chicken skewers, ribs, king prawns, hoisin duck rolls and spring rolls, I was eager to tuck in. Leaving the restaurant I had a chance to see the sunset, which, along with the great flavours, has confirmed that I do need to return to Asiana...and opt for a window seat if I'm dining in the early evening. 
Arriving at Port of Call, we walked through the main bar area to the Tipi, an exciting new area that's set to be there permanently. Adorned with fairy lights and minimal wooden tables and chairs, it immediately felt like a cosy place to visit for drinks. I can see it being very popular around Christmas time, hopefully offering some live music and mulled wine. 
An array of burgers, hot dogs and mac n cheese soon lined our tables and whilst I enjoyed the selection on offer; it didn't really stand out as anything too special. The venue offers a nautical theme in the main bar/restaurant area and I feel the Tipi needs to have a little quirk to make it stand out. If you're wanting burgers around Sunderland then I'd recommend heading along to No. 2 Church Lane as they have a huge variety of meat, vegetarian and vegan burgers on offer.
As the evening was upon us, it was time to head to our last stop; Serendipity Tea Rooms. This cute award winning cafe sits on Frederick Street and serves a selection of coffee, cakes and tea in the typical pot of tea, in a handknitted teacosy kind of deal. If you're looking for somewhere a little different then you should pop by Serendipity. I had a slice of their key lime pie, which didn't lend itself well to photograph, but tasted delicious. Finished off perfectly with a cup of tea, that was my signal to make my way home.
Will you be heading out for Sunderland Restaurant Week?
