The Geordie Tourist.

Breakfast, they say, is the most important meal of the day. I’d have to agree, but more than that it’s definitely my favourite meal of the day. Half the time I’ll skip lunch as I’m off pottering about doing something that seems more important than eating. (Bold words for an eater like me.)

Some days soggy cereal just won’t do though, and the only other option is to go out into the world and see what else is on offer. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and spend some quality time with my brother whilst also having a bite to eat at my all time favourite place. I swear one of these days I’ll venture further afield, but if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Isn’t that what they say? 

We went to Garden Kitchen. (If you haven't already guessed.) The snug little bistro/quirky eatery in the quiet segment of Eldon Gardens. Believe me the quietness makes all of the difference. Granted, it was early in the morning so there weren’t many people there to start with, but it was definitely away from the hustle and bustle. 

The place never gets old for me. I love the mixtures of wood and leather and the odd perspex chair dotted about. Besides that, the food is always good quality.

As a pre-birthday treat my mam treated me to a garden picnic form Garden Kitchen in Newcastle. We went here last year and had brownies and hot chocolate which tasted amazing. I’d been dying to try one of their legendary picnics for ages though. It was restaurant week and you could get a picnic for two for £15. There was no way we could turn the offer down.

We sat and perused the menu before deciding on our options. We picked vegetarian which included:

Chargrilled vegetable sandwich

Homemade slaw

Cous cous stuffed peppers

Buckwheat and sweet potato salad

Fresh scones with clotted cream and jam

Lemon Posset

Red velvet cake

The food didn’t take long at all and when I saw the little picnic table in all of its glory I nearly squealed in delight. I love food as much as the next person and probably more. Put it together with a bit of glorious presentation and it’s almost too much for me.

I’m not kidding when I say this. Every single thing tasted delicious. It was like reaching for one thing then finishing it and the next thing your greedy hands grabbed tasted even better. (If at all possible.)

The scones were gorgeous too, smothered in jam and cream just the way I like them. The lemon posset had this beautiful biscuit. Honestly just everything about the meal was top notch.

I had expected big things, but honestly I was blown away by the sheer quality and the taste of the food. This has gone straight up to number one on my list of best afternoon teas. I know it’s technically a picnic, but it has all the makings of an afternoon tea, and a bloody good one at that. It’s also the first vegetarian one I’ve tried too. Just oh so amazing and the more I think about it the more I want to relive it.

You can try a garden picnic for £19.95 for two.

Have any of you tried one?

On Thursday I found myself over in town with my mam and her friend Margaret. We went so my mam could try on some wedding dresses. I can finally say that she’s chosen a dress and is happy with it. If you’ve been reading any of the weddingy type posts I’ve been writing you’ll know that she was nowhere near sorting a dress out. So this is some serious progress. (Happy faces all around.)

So we went to have a look around the shops for a while and then thought we’d find somewhere to go for a quick cuppa and a slice of cake. It was Margaret’s birthday so my mam wanted to treat her and take her somewhere. (I automatically get treated because I’m the daughter.)

None of us were sure where to go. We went into Eldon Gardens and that’s when I saw it. Standing there in all its rustic, yet shiny glory was Garden Kitchen. It was about half 11 in the morning so it wasn’t very full. I can imagine it would get very busy in the afternoon and at weekends. It’s just so unique and has a charm about it. I doubt people would be able to stay away from the place. The decor was gorgeous. There were picnic tables, clear plastic chairs mixed in with posh leather sofas, lots of wood. It's in an open area so there is lots of natural light too. As soon as we went in I was snapping away, not even caring that people were looking at me like I was some kind of weirdo tourist. (It happens a lot now haha)

We got a couple of hot chocolates for my mam and me, Margaret got tea. I had the chocolate brownie, my mam a croissant and Margaret a slice of Victoria sponge cake. I’ll admit when I was looking at the cakes in the display cabinet, I was a bit disappointed because there didn’t seem to be a lot of choice and they didn’t look too appealing. When they came to the table though I was shocked. My brownie had been heated up and there was a nice dollop of cream beside it, chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. My friends, presentation is everything. The hot chocolate came in a nice deep cup and had some groovy patterns on the top of it. They both tasted amazing too.

Our cakes and drinks today came in at about £16 which is ok value. You can tell from the pictures that it's decent food so that price tag is fine by me. (Plus my mam paid so technically I got it free anyways.) It's ok though because I'll treat her to one of those garden picnics. (Can you tell I'm dying to try one haha)

You can hire the Garden Kitchen out for ‘garden parties’ corporate events and such. They even have events which you can keep up to date with on their website.  I've already signed up to the newsletter. I guess it's pretty obvious that I'm already a big fan.

Have any of you been to Garden Kitchen? Tell me about the picnics...