About 7 years ago my Mortgage Advisor mentioned this place that was the closest you’d find to an American Buffet. It took another 2 years before I actually went in. I’ve never really been one for All You Can Eat, but I wanted to try it. The Kids loved it and our friends from Great Yarmouth insist on visiting Taybarns every time they come up to visit.
So when The Shields Gazette informed me that Taybarns was closing, I had to give it one last visit.
Incidentally I asked one of the staff if they were closing and they said “Rebranding” as a Brewers Fayre, sometime with in the next 6 months. They’ve not been given a date yet.
Taybarns Gateshead
Taybarns sells it self as a unique eating experience offering amazing value, choice and convenience. Or at least this was their marketing on their menu in 2012, since then the world of Buffet restaurants has changed a little.
With 24 metres of food stations, Taybarns offers a variety of choice and this is why our kids love it. The food stations include: Soup, Salad, Chip Shop, Grill House, Kitchen Italia, World of Spice, Carvery and Deserts.
Being able to choose what you want is what appeals to Imogen the most and she doesn’t abuse the freedom by just eating plates of chips. Tomato Soup and Cucumber do appear on her must try list every time though. Which brings me onto the combinations of food that you tend to end up with at these buffets. Sunday Dinner with a slice of Pizza… why not?
I thought I’d share my range of meals from my last visit
I always start off on the Salad Station. It feels like a good place to start with a light offering of potato Salad, Coleslaw, lettuce, red onions, crispy bacon / onion things (not really sure what they are), some celery and a couple of ribs. Usually the ribs are sauce free, which the option to add BBQ sauce yourself. I opted to skip the BBQ sauce for a dollop of Thousand Island instead.
The Coke I’m drinking is bottomless, you simply fill it your self from the soda fountain.
Next up was a plate of Vegetable pizza, Garlic Pizza, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Rice and Nachos, with a splashing of Salsa. I love the Sweet and Sour Sauce here. If I’m totally honest I don’t mind more sauce then meat when it comes to sweet and sour.
Main Course Time! A new Garlic Pizza had just come out of the oven, so it would have been a crime not to have a piece. It sat really nice on top of the baked beans, fried onions, Coleslaw, battered cod, chips and BBQ Sauce. A Grill rib sneaked onto my plate also.
I have to admit that at the third plate of food my belly was feeling a little bit on the full side, so it must have been time for Desert.
Deserts
My all time favourite Desert here at Taybarns is the Apple Crumble Pie (seen here with custard). When I first came to Taybarns years ago they used to serve it off a plate with a scoop to help your self. Now they pre serve it into bowls, with a toffee sauce drizzled on top. The Texture of the crumble mixed with the tang of the apple makes this a real winner for me.
But the again it would be a crime not to have the Bakewell cake, this also goes well with custard.
Finally the steamed sponge with chocolate sauce on didn’t seem to fill the bowl enough, so I added some Profiteroles for added padding.
I did clean every plate and bowl off (unlike my kids). The highlight to me every time is the Apple Crumble Pie Cake. If you know where I can buy this direct let me know as I have a freezer waiting for it. The strange thing about this place is that it isn’t the tastiest food I have eaten, but because of the variety and the quantity it has become a repeat request for us. They regularly have offers to feed 2 adults and 2 kids for £19.99, which is a bargain. The Refill Drinks are reasonably priced at £2.49.
We will be sad to see this go, but also realise that other venues are now offering similar experiences with more choice. Za Za Bazar is one that springs to mind and will be visited in the next couple of weeks. I hope I get the chance to have one more visit before the rebranding, but at least I’ve immortalised my last visit on the blog.
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