The suburb of Gosforth isn’t really an obvious culinary destination for the region’s foodies. Unless you live in the surrounding area there is little to draw you out of the city centre with its wide range of cuisines & trendy pubs. However, as we discovered when we started pulling together our guide to Restaurants in Gosforth there are actually some canny places serving up reasonably priced food. Sometimes it is nice to be able to stay local and add to the economy close to home. It also helps that the restaurants are all child-friendly too.
Bar Luga on the High Street
What Gosforth was definitely missing was a good pub serving good food and Bar Luga has arrived in the former Loch Fyne space in the middle of the High Street to fill that void. We have heard good things about its sister restaurant in Morpeth so made a plan was made to pop down on the Sunday of the Bank holiday to sample the roast dinner. I’m not a big fan of cooking at the best of times so I’m easily convinced.
What’s it like inside Bar Luga?
We were greeted at the door by a friendly girl on greeting duty who asked if we had booked. I had actually booked on the easy to use website, but really it wasn’t necessary at this time on a bank holiday Sunday. There was plenty of tables available but best to be safe. We were shown to our table on the mezzanine level where we had a great view of the improved interior. The designers have done a fantastic job of making the large cavernous space (the restaurant was previously a church) into a contemporary cosy space with the use of drapes, booths & soft furnishings. In the restaurant area, there is a separate fully stocked bar which meant we didn’t wait long for our drinks.
Above to the right of the bar is a small wooden door, which may have been once access to the church roof. It’s now labelled up as the Champagne Store.
Sunday Lunch Menu at Barluga
We didn’t look much further than the front page. Sunday lunch is what it was all about and even our kids were happy. Instead of a separate kids menu the option for a small Sunday dinner was acceptable.
The main options on the day we went were Roast Chicken, Pork Loin or roast beef. All served with veg and roast potatoes. One meat was priced at £12 or if your a little more hungry (like us) we went for trio of meats at £14.
Abigail chose the small roast chicken, which is described as Chicken Supreme. This is the “cut” of chicken, which meant it is a boneless, skinless breast of chicken.
Finally Imogen a strong traditionalist in the Sunday roast routine, chose Roast beef. Remember that this is the small Sunday dinner!
We all agreed that this is the Best Sunday Dinner we’ve had in Newcastle. The meat was tender, well cooked and thickly sliced. The Yorkshires were crispy. The veg selection was varied, but not over supplied. And that Gravy was full of flavour, while not being too thick or runny like water. We couldn’t fault it at all.
Desserts at Barluga
We were full from the Dinner, but had room for dessert, mainly to get some more photos in the Barluga Review.
The dessert menu wasn’t huge, but covered all bases. There was the Sticky Toffee Pudding, a cheesecake, ice cream, a mousse and a Lemon Posset. Deserts were priced at £6 each, but for £8 you could have “Assiette of desserts” also known as a bit of everything!
Catherine chose the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce and Ice Cream. Slightly on the sweet side, but everything you would expect from this nations favourite pudding.
I went for the Lemon Posset. Two reasons, one I wasn’t 100% sure what it was and two, Catherine doesn’t like Lemon desserts so there was no sharing needed.
The Lemon Posset is a lemony custard which was set in a glass with a red berry coulis and meringues on top. This was served with a millionaire’s shortbread biscuit. Dipping into the Lemony custard was a refreshing flavour after the meaty dinner. It’s one of the reasons I choose a zesty citrus option. I wasn’t fully convinced by the millionaire’s shortbread, but I was thinking more along the lines of the big fat caramelly ones I’ve had elsewhere. It was a more delicate version that complemented the delicate dessert.
Abigail, just went for a straight forward bowl of ice cream.
Barluga Gosforth Sunday Lunch Review
We’d not been to this venue for a very long time, so it was a very vague memory of it’s previous owner (I only remember it smelled of fish!). The New decor really gives a WOW factor to this place. Centrally a huge staircase leading upstairs to a bar and mezzanine restaurant. Looking around the old church you could image it like a grand hall of a castle.
All the staff that we met were very friendly, from the front door greeter to the waiter and serving staff. One spotted Abigail’s glitter hair strands (from the Biscuit Factory) and chatted to her about it.
The food was fantastic and definitely on the list for a return visit. While it wasn’t the cheapest Sunday Lunch we’ve had. At £78 it didn’t feel like bad value for 4 Sunday Lunches, 3 Desserts, 2 Large wines, 1 Pint Amstel, 2 Cokes and 2 Americanos. We weren’t rushed as such, but as we were seated to the table we were told that we had the table for 2 hours. Which was more than enough time, but considering the restaurant was quite quiet I didn’t feel it needed to be said.
Additional Information
Website: https://barluga.co.uk
Address: The Old Church, West Avenue, Gosforth, Newcastle, NE3 4ES
Opening Times: Monday to Saturday: 9am – 11pm
Sunday: 10am – 10.30pm
Discounts: The Website mentions a Loyalty Card, but we’re not sure how you apply! https://barluga.co.uk/loyalty-card/
Parking: Parking in Gosforth is Restrictive, but there are spaces above the Gosforth Shopping Centre, or on a Sunday most of the Parking restrictions aren’t applied.
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