Newcastle

Newcastle has been named one of the best UK cities for street food and it’s only getting bigger and bolder with new vendors constantly popping up.

Along with the usual gourmet burgers and loaded fries, it’s easy to find exceptional dishes from around the world like bubbling Alpine raclette, hearty Armenian chicken khorovats, juicy tacos al pastor, aromatic rendang curry, toasted cubanos and fiery jerk chicken.

Such diverse cuisines can be found at the region’s indoor and outdoor food markets, including St James’ STACK and the historic Grainger Market in the city centre, Jesmond and the Quayside weekend markets and the buzzing HWKRLAND at By The River Brew Co. in Gateshead.

Here are some top places for delicious street food in Newcastle…

Square Pizza

The Detroit deep square pizza trend has made its way to Newcastle at Square, a slice house and take-away counter on Market Street (recently catching the attention of food critic Marina O’Loughlin).

Detroit-style pizza has its own unique character with a completely different set of rules. 48-hour dough is cooked in blue steel pans with the toppings baked in and finally finished with a rich, herb-infused red sauce. This makes the base golden and crisp yet springy inside with caramelised cheese edges and lets the sauce come through.

Square keeps it authentic with classics like the Red top with basil oil, whipped ricotta and chilli flakes and the sweet and spicy Pep talk with double pepperoni, burrata, chilli flakes and hot honey, but also goes wild with inventive American-inspired pies topped with fried chicken, mac and cheese and ranch.

Then there’s the collaboration with Lola Jeans next door, capturing the magic of their award-winning burgers on a pizza pie with bold topping like bacon Frazzles, shoestring onions, baconnaise and Lola’s burger sauce.

You can book a spot at Square’s terrazzo counter to enjoy a slice or two with a craft beer or order a full pie (for 2-3 people) to devour at home, which I highly recommend for a weekend movie night treat.

Kolamba

Sri Lankan food is big right now in Newcastle and Kolamba is leading the way, serving authentic dishes from its colourful food truck. Choose from fried rice with curry, scrambled eggs and veggies, traditional kottu (shredded roti with curry), grilled marinated meat roti wraps or loaded Kolamba fries.

The grilled beef with onion and bell pepper, special sauce and Kolamba fries stuffed into a naan roti is packed full of smoky flavour and extremely tasty. I need to know what goes into that spicy special sauce!

You can find Kolamba at food markets across the north east, including the Quayside Market on Sundays.

Redheads Mac n Cheese

What could be better on a chilly day than an enormous pot of rich, gooey mac and cheese? Redheads Mac n Cheese offers the ultimate comfort food with lots of interesting flavours like Philly cheesesteak, Korean spiced beef, sticky rib, chorizo and truffle. I tend to keep it simple and usually go for the Original with garlic breadcrumbs and Parmesan.

Portion sizes are huge and often overflowing and everything is high quality and delicious. Redheads has a permanent outlet at the Grainger Market and can be found at the Quayside Market and various street food events across the north east. You can even order a mac and cheese to pop in the oven at home, delivered every Friday within a 10-mile radius of NE1.

Goodtimes Tacos

Authentic Mexican food is becoming much easier to find in Newcastle and Goodtimes Tacos are serving up some of the best tacos in the city.

Goodtimes can be found at By The River Brew Co on weekends and at The Collingwood Arms in Jesmond for Taco Tuesdays, as well as food events across the north east in their shiny black taco van.

Everything is top quality with slow-cooked meat sourced from Charlotte’s Butchery, sustainably caught fish, fresh herbs and punchy home-made sauces. 

We absolutely loved the vibrant, tangy Carnitas – three soft corn tortillas topped with juicy pork belly, salsa verde, Yucatan pink onions and salsa picante. Even more indulgent are the Birria tacos with Jalisco shredded beef shin and oxtail, melted cheese, smoky chipotle bbq, white onion, coriander and a pot of rich, meaty cooking liquor for dipping.

Cubanos

Cubanos brings some Havana heat to Newcastle with the tastiest pressed sandwiches in town. This wildly successful street food business always has a queue at the Quayside Market and they now have a cute, colourful cantina inside the Grainger Market.

The pressed sandwiches are absolute flavour bombs filled with spicy meat, melted cheese, fresh herbs and tangy hot sauces and salsas. My favourite is the Medianoche – slow-cooked and shredded grass-fed beef, cheese, pickled pink onions, chargrilled peppers, feta creme, coriander, Caribbean peach hot sauce and jalapeno cream cheese sauce. 

Or, go gluten-free with a Cubanos Bowl loaded with your choice of meat or beans, saffron rice, salted tortilla chips and all of the fixings. Authentic empanadas are also freshly-baked in the morning, but you have to be quick to grab one!

Dabbawal

Dabbawal was a pioneer of the now hyped Indian street food concept in the UK, opening its first urban kitchen on High Bridge Street in 2008 (two years before Dishoom). The family-run group now has a second location in Jesmond and a spot at HWKRLAND food market, just over the river from upscale sister restaurant Khai Khai.

It’s all about the spicy, barbecue-grilled meats, which you can enjoy packed into in a freshly-baked roomali roti wrap or as a burger. To try a bit of everything, I recommend the insanely delicious smoke tray with Punjabi chicken tikka, lamb seekh kebab, gunpowder chips, makhani sauce, salad and roomali roti.

The Little Dumpling House

One of my favourite finds for authentic Chinese street food is The Little Dumpling House, a modern canteen on Ridley Place in the centre of Newcastle.

It’s known for its home-made steamed dumplings, served piping hot from the open kitchen in bamboo steaming baskets. The dumpling are always nicely-sized and generously filled with well-seasoned lamb and carrot, beef and onion and seasonal pumpkin and sweetcorn.

Another hit is the enormous, fluffy stuffed bao zi, packed with succulent pork and Chinese leaf and tasty broth. It’s also hard to resist the pillowy Chinese burger and the Chinese wrap with chicken and black bean sauce, fried shredded potato and carrot is ideal if you’re on the go.

FED’s Fried Chicken

FED’s Fried Chicken is known to be the best in town and once you’ve tried it, KFC will be a distant memory. It’s the sibling of beloved burger spot Meat:Stack, so you can expect the same attention to quality and sourcing.

FED’s only uses higher welfare chicken from Soanes family poultry farm in the Yorkshire Wolds. The secret to making the chicken tender yet crisp is brining it in sweet tea and dredging in a blend of fine spices, finished with natural, house-made sauces.

Choose from crunchy tenders and wings or go large with a fried chicken sandwich. My favourite is the High-Rise – FED’s sticky BBQ, hash brown, American cheese, crispy onions and pickles in a steam hot bun. Add some delicious skin-on fries (big enough to share) and don’t miss out on the moreish Southern-style sausage gravy.

The FED’s counter at the Grainger Market is a vibe – grab a seat there for freshly-cooked chicken, served with some tunes and top craic from the friendly guys in the kitchen. They also have a residency at Louie’s Liquor Store nearby in the Bigg Market.

I Scream For Pizza

I Scream For Pizza, a cool New York-style pizza slice and soft serve ice cream shop, has just opened on the Quayside. Founded by the clever duo behind Sandyford’s OG Scream For Pizza, it offers something a little different to their famed authentic Neapolitan pizza.

Alex Walker and Vicky Featherby have spent the summer testing new pizza recipes and sampling a lot of soft serve (documenting their adventures on Instagram) to make sure theirs is just right and the results are fantastic.

Pizza is served by the slice or the full 20″ pie with six to choose from, including the piquant Bushwick Sting with pepperoni, green chillies, chilli honey and basil, the smoky Texas Flyer with Texan BBQ sauce, brisket, red onion, green peppers, bread and butter pickles and the vegan Truffle in Paradise with vegan truffle cream, mushrooms, caramelised fennel and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Leaving room for a soft serve ‘Screamie’ is essential, as they are insanely good! My favourite is the indulgent I Love S’more with fior di latte and chocolate soft serve, cracker biscuit chocolate brownie and chocolate ganache, topped with a toasted marshmallow.

Knead & Favør

For an epic deli sandwich, head to Knead & Favør Café at By The River on Gateshead Quay. A lot of care goes into these enormous, seasonal sandwiches with freshly-baked bread, quality local ingredients and self-grown herbs and salads from the Träkol kitchen garden.

Go for the super indulgent Los Pollos Hermanos with crispy fried chicken, hash brown, pickles (I swapped them for red peppers), lettuce and chilli honey mayo all packed into golden, springy focaccia. Another winner is the New York classic Bronx chopped cheese with chopped beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and K&F sauce.

You can enjoy them inside the warm, cosy café or at an outdoor table with a view of the Tyne Bridge.

Dot Bagels

It’s hard to believe that Dot Bagels was born during lockdown, as it feels like a Newcastle institution. Dot began as a freshly-baked New York bagel delivery service and soon opened a number of bagel shops around town. Under new ownership by local bakers Kennedy and Rhind, Dot has since gone back to basics with its original store on Chillingham Road and Claremont Teahouse at Haymarket.

Dot is known for its creative bagel toppings with a Geordie twist, working with the best north east producers for superior quality meat and cheese. Go large with an indulgent North East Parmo, a classic Reuben with Block & Bottle pastrami, Boujie lox or the signature Salt on Chilli Road – salt and chilli chicken with fried onion, garlic, fresh chilli, sesame slaw and gochujang mayo (definitely the best). The Classic All Dayer breakfast bagel is also unreal and don’t miss out on a side of crispy hash pops.

Acropolis

Acropolis has become a real local success story and luckily you can find them (usually with a long queue) at most of the big food markets.

In 2016, brothers Filip and Viktor teamed up with their friend Yusuf to bring authentic Greek street food to the north east and they now have a loyal following and permanent sites at the Grainger Market, STACK Seaburn and By The River Brew Co. They also were the 2020 winners of Greek Restaurant of the Year at the North England Prestige Awards.

The most popular choice is the enormous chicken gyros – a fluffy pita packed full of fresh salads, sauces and fries – and it’s hard to resist the moreish special fries toppped with gyros meat and melted cheese and fried halloumi bites.

Pablo Eggsgobao

Pablo Eggsgobao is more than just a cheeky name – its legendary breakfast bao buns really do get you (legally) buzzing.

Pablo started as a pop-up at Bao Bar in Heaton and became so successful, it opened a take-away shop in Whitley Bay and then Newcastle – both with bright yolk yellow storefronts. Simplicity is key with just one absolute banger on the menu – the signature Breakfast Bao, plus a vegetarian and vegan version.

The Breakfast Bao includes a crispy hash brown, high welfare pork sausage patty, melted cheese, soft omelette and sriracha sauce. It’s fluffy, gooey and incredibly satisfying with a little spicy kick – a proper upgrade from your average McMuffin. The size is reasonable, but you can make a meal of it with a box of Hashies, freshly-squeezed OJ and speciality coffee.

Pablo Eggsgobao is open daily from 7am to 2pm, however at 3pm the Newcastle store becomes hidden tequila bar, Leave Me Alone, Lisa. Here you can indulge in a Big Mac Bao, teriyaki chicken rice bowl, buttered corn and a boozy Tequilamisu.

Longsands Fish Kitchen

While Longsands Fish Kitchen is by the coast in Tynemouth (so technically not Newcastle), it would be wrong not to include such a great fish and chip shop. This local favourite on busy Front Street always has a queue out of the door and it’s not just because of its central location, it’s simply because it’s one of the best.

You can go traditional with prime cod or line-caught haddock with chunky, golden chips or try something a bit fancy like jumbo Whitby scampi, tiger prawns with chilli jam, salmon fishcakes or crispy halloumi fritters. All of their cod and haddock comes from MSC sustainable sources and you can see the origins of the daily catch written on the chalkboard each day.

Whatever you order, you can be assured that it will be massive and a brisk walk along the seafront or an afternoon nap will be needed.

Have you been out for some delicious street food in Newcastle? Where are your favourite spots?

Photos by Cherie City