No28 — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

I came here for the Marvel Quiz Night in December 2018. Arrived there, no posters to indicate the quiz was on, but that's fair enough, it was on Facebook. I asked a member of staff behind the bar, who nodded. (Didn't speak.) That set the tone for the rest of the evening. I have rarely been anywhere in Newcastle where the unsmiling staff gave such a genuine impression that they would rather not interact with the people in front of their bar. I can live with that, if the service is efficient, but when you're standing at the front of the bar waiting for several minutes and watching the bar staff tidy the glasses rather than coming over to ask if you've decided what you want to eat yet, or sitting at your table when the bar staff come over to check if you know the food is about to stop serving, observe that the table is filled with empty glasses, then wander off without clearing any of them, it's not a fun experience. I've seen a lot of good reviews for No. 28, and I've had a good night there myself, so perhaps this was an off-night (or maybe it's better as a late-night venue), but I notice a lot of the reviews mention the burgers. These are no longer served there, instead it's Spanish food from El Nido.

When we were there, the Spanish burger, which is only item on the menu that is a main meal in itself (everything else is tapas or nachos, you need to order at least two), was off. So were the patatas bravas, and when we ordered the 'chorizo with patatas', it turned out that 'sausage with french fries' would be a closer description. Finally, the Facebook ad commented that there would be a prize for best costume. The quizmaster informed us that he'd taken over running the quiz at one day's notice and knew nothing about this (couldn't someone have told him, or altered the Facebook ad to say the costume prize wasn't going to be happening?). Well done to him for taking over, but it also would have been nice to have an apology to people who had turned up in costume that they were sitting there dressed in character for no reason at all. As it was, we sat there, looking at our empty glasses, watching the table opposite us cheating by using Google on their smartphones, and vowing in future to go to the quiz at the...

So we booked the brunch. Were shoe-horned up stairs where service wasnt that fast and felt a bit detached from the rest of the place. The table was not clean and sticky with the previous peoples spillages. Had to request they cleanse it - which they did at my request. The bench seat along the rear wall was broken and kept slipping off when sat on. As did the flower pot keep falling over when the neighboring table nudged it. Should have been clean already when it was reserved - on arrival it had my name on so no excuses for a dirty table. Air-con wasnt working and was far too hot being up near a low ceiling. Food menu absolutely rubbish. No description of what the tapas were - just a name. And a choice of 2 burgers.

Prosecco was as to be expected - Well its prosecco and was fine.

Food choices very poor and non desctiptive.

Of all the brunches weve been to in Newcastle - and thats quite a few now - this has to rank low on the list of satisfaction...well frankly it's the poorest experience. Drinks fine - Menu poor and non descriptive - Food well below standard.

Been and done it - wont do it again...much better options elsewhere in Newcastle.

Overall a poor experience and overpriced. More like basic pub food than a good...

Found this extremely overrated. For context, I visited on a Monday evening and took the deal that runs Mon-Thu that gives any burger from the menu, chips and buffalo wings for £10. Seemed reasonable, but £4.40 for a pint of Stella is steep.

Chips were inedible due to the amount of salt applied by the kitchen, I honestly couldn’t stomach them. The wings were tiny, but the buffalo sauce was nice; no napkins on the table though and no cutlery offered. Service was ok, but no check back.

As for the burger, nothing special - at all. It came in 2 patties, same as Fat Hippo, and I’m not a fan of that. Seems a quicker and easier way to cook them, but it removes the choice of getting it pink inside. All burgers have a default minimum of mustard and tomato sauce on them, which overpowered any chance of tasting the burger (mine had 'special' sauce too). The French onions on it could have been a saving grace, but the size of that garnish was negligible.

Burgers were on the small side, if you're after a proper feed I'd look elsewhere. Or get 2. Overall, an underwhelming experience.

For additional context, I'd rate the burgers in Lola Jean’s, Brandling Villa and Bridge Tavern at 4...