Border Minstrel — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

This place has taken the sharpest nosedive in history! Once it was a hub of activity both food and drink, now it's a soulless dump.

By far the worst aspect of this place is the 'food' which is truly horrendous. I can't describe how awful it is. Picture Ramsays Kitchen Nightmare's worst dish, multiply it, and spread it across all dishes on the menu!

We ate as a party of six and all ordered at the same time. Despite the waiter checking then double checking my order (CHICKEN burger with bacon and cheese), I was served a BEEF burger on its own. The rest of my party finished eating and had a game of pool before my chicken burger arrived. I wish it hadn't. The bacon was almost raw, full of fat, and the cheese was not cheese at all. In fact, the cheese was so gelatinous it was virtually impossible to chew the food. Maybe it was trying to spare me from the terrible experience! Question to the owner, did you have a chef on duty or was the food prepared by your bar staff? Genuine question.

We all left our food, and not a single comment was made or question asked. Whether a tip was left or not is completely irrelevant, people leave tips for different reasons. If I were clearing a table where every single person left their food, I'd at least ask why, and more appropriately, what I could do to make it right. However judging from the Owner Response below, really acknowledging problems and improving things is not a priority. Forget all the 1, 2, and 3 stars, they get 4 and 5 so everything must be fine!!

PS the Christmas 'quiz' was just a game of bingo and the quizmaster had no microphone. Noisy staff next to us were b**ching about someone so we couldn't even hear the questions. Participants looked like they were on a daytrip to Butlins with their carers but got lost on the...

If i could give 0 stars i would!! Absolutely disgusting rude approach by staff!! In particular the chef! We sat at a table, myself,my husband and my son 5 yrs old , whilst my older son attend football training at goals, I ejoyed a glass of white wine and decided to order a bowl of chips to pick at while waiting for our son to finish, my husband suggested we collect our son from football training and come back to the pub, the children could have tea before we head home, so I approached the bar and asked what time children were allowed to stay and what time food was served until, the bar person ( a lady with long blonde hair wearing glasses) replied kids could stay till 9pm last ordered for food was 6.45pm. As I turned to walk away from the bar the chef who was standing with the bar person muttered something under his breath, so I turned back to ask what he has said, he never answered me and turned to the bar person looking shocked that I had asked the question. The bar person repeated what he had said to my horror! " is that because you are too lazy to cook when you get home" I shrugged and we soon...

Arrived early, lucky we did, no record of our reservation, they did fit us in, well we ordered no problem, starter x2 and 3 mains, all came together as requested, starter placed down so quick the mozzarella sticks slid off one of the plates!!!. Mains arrived soon after. Very average not anything to write home about. Then tried For about half hour to catch the eye of staff to order a pudding. Felt like we were on a desert island with a SOS out and no aircraft around to see us despite making it obvious we were looking to order ( signs up “ do not go to bar table service only”) eventually got staff attention to pay and mentioned our wait time and an apology was made but With a comment that lots of people have ordered at the bar tonight, come on you could do better, customer service is paramount. Will think twice before a return trip. I like to spend my money locally but come...