One of the OGs of Newcastle’s restaurant scene, Terry held a Michelin star for nine years at his first restaurant 21 Queen Street (now the more informal 21) and currently has six establishments in the city, including Porterhouse Butcher & Grill and Saltwater Fish Company.
We settled on St Vincent, a vibey yet relaxed French and Italian inspired restaurant and wine bar, which happens to be located next door to the Broad Chare.
As well as their a la carte, St Vincent serves a cracking value Saturday set lunch and early bird menu, which offers three courses for £27.50.
Wines by the glass were excellent, including Tatty G champagne (£16), a sparkling red Bonarda dell'Oltrepò (£9.50) that tasted of dark fruit gummies, a highly gluggable La Cuvée des Copains Rhone red (£9.50), and an orange Gruner Veltliner (£8) with buckets of floral fragrance.
Wines by the glass were excellent, including Tatty G champagne (£16), a sparkling red Bonarda dell'Oltrepò (£9.50) that tasted of dark fruit gummies, a highly gluggable La Cuvée des Copains Rhone red (£9.50), and an orange Gruner Veltliner (£8) with buckets of floral fragrance.
We kicked off with a couple of snacks. A plump baked oyster (£5.50) was topped with crispy breadcrumbs and drenched in butter which sang with parsley and garlic.
A golden orbed arancino (£5.50) was filled with molten stracciatella cheese and honked of porcini mushroom. It was crowned with a bouffant quiff of summer truffle and parmesan.
Onto starters, and a beauty of a salad combined sweet earthy beets, crunchy marcona almonds, a dusting of parmesan, and a dollop of light horseradish crème fraiche with a gentle nose-tickling kick.
A handsome slice of terrine had a delicate gaminess and was flecked with nuggets of mouth-melting fat and the crunch of pistachio and hazelnut. Its accompaniments were all bob-on – toasted sourdough, punchy cornichons, wholegrain mustard and a lightly dressed salad.
Mains were even better. A meaty fillet of hake was served Venetian style (apparently that doesn’t mean it’s overly touristy and at risk of flooding) with a mound of raisins, crunchy pine nuts and onions in a dressing which perfectly balanced salt, fat, sugar and acidity.
My hanger steak was perhaps the finest I’ve ever eaten. In fact, it was far superior to many ribeyes and sirloins I’ve ordered in restaurants. Clearly well-aged, it had an excellent beefiness, was cooked to a gorgeous pink, and was extremely tender too. Slow-cooked sweet garlic, hyper-crisp fluffy-centred roasties, and a parmesan adorned salad were all corking accompaniments.
A tangle of zucchini fritti (£7) were served on the pedestal they deserved. Lightly battered, and soft textured, they were delicious dragged through a pot of mayonnaise.
For dessert, Mrs G enjoyed a fine affogato.
A slice of Basque cheesecake looked like it was going to be a touch dense but it was in fact gorgeously light, smooth and silky with a nice tang and toasty burnt exterior.
We had an absolutely brilliant meal at St Vincent. Whilst the Broad Chare always seems to feature in the Top 50 Gastropubs and holds a Bib Gourmand, St Vincent strangely doesn’t appear to have any accolades. It certainly deserves bags of them and it should be high up your list of places to visit in Newcastle.
The Details:
Address - St Vincent, 29 Broad Chare, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3DQ
Telephone - 0191 232 1331
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