Hibou Blanc — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

My wife and I made a reservation here after hearing a lot of good reviews. It was early on a Saturday evening. Hibou Blanc is divided into two separate parts - the larger area being the bar, which was heaving, even at this early hour. The restaurant is a smaller area, a little apart from the clamour of the bar. The lighting in both parts is low but the tables in the restaurant have atmospheric downlighting and the whole place has a private club style to it, with comfortable seating at the tables and Chesterfield couches in the bar. The atmosphere is therefore pleasant but there is noise from the bar and lots of hubbub from the neighbouring tables. The service was excellent. Several staff attended our table and answered questions about the food and drinks. Empty plates were quickly replaced with full ones and the staff were quick to offer help. Max was mostly at our table and he was great. The food is on the pricey end of the spectrum and we had a little of a mixed bag, though mostly good. The dishes are all well presented. My mackerel arriving in an enjoyable sauce and a side of dough bread and my wife's venison terrine looking very appealing. Both dishes were nice. My main was the fish of the day - trout and this is where my only disappointment with Hibou Blanc lies. The portion of trout - not an expensive or rare fish was tiny and the potatoes seemed undercooked to me. Thankfully, my better half had splashed out and ordered the lobster which came with some chips, she shared with me. Her lobster did look and taste very nice though and ther was enough of a portion for her. Enough to pass on some delicious chips to me. She thought the lobster was nice too. The desserts were the most enjoyable course. Though I am not usually one to eat dessert, the dark chocolate mousse with cherries and cream was delicious. My wife ordered the Almond Financier - which to our surprise and relief had nothing to do with spreadsheets or large financial operations. Both were very enjoyable.. One other thing that was great was the cocktails. We had 'Old Fashioned's - a very tasty blend of orange and Maker's Mark bourbon. Possibly the best version of this, I have ever had. It was slightly cheaper and tastier than the one I had just enjoyed at Mother Mercy's, which we had been to previous to this. We had a caraffe of Sauvignon Blanc and the final bill added to around £75 each with an automatically added...

After much eager awaiting I made it to Hibou. The decor is gentleman's club with a touch of countryside estate. Leather, wood and chandeliers. We stood waiting for a couple of minutes to be greeted however weren't. So approached the bar and were asked to walk to a nearby desk. Our reservation was checked by a polite lady, however her arms were covered in tattoos. Not adverse to tattoos, however wondered how polished the place actually was. We were sat within a lovely area, surrounded by classy decor of the wines offered. Air con was blasting so the new waitress kindly has it reduced. Sunday lunch menu was choice, started by house martini which was smooth and delicious. Bloody Mary was enjoyed. Bread and olives (sage and onion focaccia was incredible, butter room temperature, perfect). Pheasant terrine and roasted beets was flavoursome, however mushy and a little salty. The burrata salad enjoyed very much. The wine waiter from Mendoza, Damiaan was attentive, friendly and a pleasure. The young waitresses although friendly and dutiful lacked confidence, not thinking of offering condiments for example. We asked for such with the roast beef and turkey, they arrived without spoons and had to ask again. Little things make a difference. The beef despite asking for medium came as well done and sent back, quickly replaced. Everything on the plate had some flavour, however lacked seasoning, Yorkshire's were excellent. Carrots roasted were delicious. Gravy sublime but not that hot, plates were warm. My lunch partner didn't enjoy the floury roast potatoes. I demolished mine. The Chilean Cabernet was beautiful. Desserts of hazelnut financier and milk chocolate cremeux with pear was heavenly. The blackberry tart, was crisp and sharp. Espressos and a further drink in the adjacent bar finished our meal, however were constantly asked if we wanted more. No digestives on offer except large whiskey /bourbon collection. Waitress at the bar didn't know what a digestive was. Would we go back? Yes we would, however wouldn't be a hurry to stay in the large bar as the tempo was a bit too loud after a very comfortable lunch. The wine waiter was a real pleasure and an asset to the restaurant. The waitresses need a little more confidence and attention to detail, however due to the pandemic, finding good staff isn't easy. Stick to the restaurant for a...

I recently dined at Hiblou Blanc and overall it was a really nice experience. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was lovely.

That said, I was disappointed with a communication issue. I had specifically signed up for the steak night and informed all my guests about the offer. Two days before our reservation I found out that steak night had been moved from Thursday to Wednesday and no one informed me. As soon as I noticed the change, I called the restaurant. The waiter I spoke with said he would talk to the head chef and that it shouldn’t be a problem to match the original offer. He promised to call me back the next day. However, no one contacted me, so I called again. This time a different waiter answered and while I was on the phone, he spoke to the head chef. All I could hear was "no" from the chef and I was told they couldn’t do anything about the change. I’m currently 8 months pregnant so I didn’t want the stress of cancelling last minute and finding another place so I decided to keep the Thursday booking.

This was quite frustrating as I feel they should have honoured the offer for tables that were specifically booked for steak night. It’s not fair to change an advertised event without notifying customers. We could have made other plans had we...