31 The Quay — Restaurant in North Tyneside

My visit to 31 The Quay was a complete shambles of culinary incompetence and uncaring service.

My wife and I were looking forward to enjoying the Sunday lunch, after seeing photos of the food online and reading the hyped reviews, but what we got instead was a complete catastrophe.

The menu was well thought out and it all looked very appealing. When the food arrived, it was not. The only redeeming feature of our meal was the Nduja flatbread with pecorino and tarragon, which was admittedly tasty but so minuscule that it was gone in a flash.

My starter of Hand-rolled pasta with chicken, St George mushrooms and truffle was a complete joke. The chicken and mushroom were diced so tiny that it was like eating baby food, and the mushrooms used could have been any old variety plucked off the supermarket shelf. The dish was swimming in a sea of greasy oil and a volume of lemon juice that was overwhelming and had no business being there.

My wife's whipped goat's curd with summer vegetables, truffle honey, and walnut dressing was equally woeful. The dish was insipid, and ice-cold in parts, there was not a hint of truffle or honey to be found.

To make matters worse, the staff seemed utterly indifferent to our displeasure. The main courses were lukewarm, and my belly pork was stone-cold in the center. The crackling was a pitiful excuse for a crispy skin and was barely edible. When I summoned the waiter to complain, he mumbled something about the chef and then vanished into thin air. I was left alone, staring at a plate of cold meat and vegetables, seething with frustration.

Finally, he deigned to bring me another piece of pork, but it was drenched in scorching hot gravy, which made for an unpleasant surprise. It arrived on its own little plate, ready to meet my now even colder vegetables. I moved the cold piece of pork off my plate and onto the empty dish that my cauliflower cheese had come in. When I cut into it, I discovered that it was cold again!

The staff showed no signs of caring about our dissatisfaction and took our complaints as an excuse to avoid our table altogether. We eventually gave up on the meal and left, and the staff barely acknowledged our departure. Nobody questioned why we hadn't finished our food or showed any interest in our feedback. They were more interested in trying to upsell us on dessert.

The bill, despite a few token attempts at placation, was still exorbitant for the dismal quality of the food and the appalling service we received. We left and the staff didn’t acknowledge our departure.

In conclusion, I would strongly advise any fellow diners to steer clear of 31 The Quay. The food was revolting, the staff were indifferent, and the entire experience was a complete and...

Sunday Lunch The roast potatoes seemed to have a shell as hard as a conker , I checked the knife and yes, to my surprise it was serrated although still required more of a hacking movement to pierce the outer shell, the broccoli was rather limp to say the least. As for the mashed potato it lacked body, looked and tasted as if it had been left in a whipping machine overnight , I’ve had thicker soup, unlike the turnip which as least had fibre. The Yorkshire pudding was light and crispy, unfortunately letdown by a gravy that was thin and bland. I felt the roast beef was a little undercooked for me and tasted more of a jelly than textured , but that’s more of a personal preference. The cauliflower cheese was average as the cabbage. This was followed by a sticky pudding with ice cream and a butterscotch sauce, ( butterscotch being a favourite of mine, it didn’t much taste like butterscotch ,the main reason I ordered it) The service was a little slow although it did add to a more relaxed atmosphere especially if one isn’t in a hurry. None of the staff ever presented a smile. The place itself has a vibrant feel and quite light and airy appeal. The place is spotlessly clean and the open kitchen ads to the experience. Overall the place and the presentation can best be described as ,nice, although for over £90 for two of us I wouldn’t go again, for the rest of the day I...

I have had 4-5 meals here in the past and have been more than happy. Today was a real disappointment in terms of meal & service. My wife had belly pork which was very nice , I had lamb which was almost inedible as it was so chewy. After a few mouthfuls, I gave up and advised the waitress who apologised and asked me if I wanted a replacement (either lamb or some other main course) and I declined as it would have meant that my wife was eating alone while I waited for my meal, then I would be eating alone when mine was served. I decided to have a starter, which would be available immediately, so that my wife was not eating alone & when the waitress brought this, she advised that this would be on the house as they realised that I had only ordered it because the main meal had not been satisfactory and I did not want my wife eating alone. When I received the bill, it included both the lamb & the starter. I queried the bill and it was returned with the lamb removed but not the starter. I queried this again & after a wait of 10-15 minutes the supervisor returned to say that the bill for the starter was correct and would not be removed. The waitress who had served us was off duty at this point. I paid the bill albeit very reluctantly - on the whole a wholly...