My Kind of Food

21 Queen Street in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, is an address with a foodie provenance.  It was here that Newcastle’s version of Rick Stein had his original restaurant (it’s since moved to another location) before he took over a myriad of other eating locations in the city.

These days, its home to Dobson & Parnell and I ate there just before Christmas with family members.  I’d looked at the menu on-line before making a final decision about where to eat and, frankly, I wasn’t overly impressed.  Its seemed to be offering bog-standard bistro type food and didn’t particularly excite me.  The reality was somewhat different.

After a drink, in a nearby bar, we arrived to a very warn welcome and were shown to a table at the back of the dining room.  It being the season of office parties, there were Christmas crackers on the table – not a good thing!  The restaurant though at that stage was quiet and there was only one table which was obviously an office group out for their Christmas shindig. Although they got a bit noisy they soon moved on to a more lively venue.

My starter was black pudding  with pickled mushrooms and a poached egg.  Tasty enough, it was nothing special.  I’d chosen duck breast for my main course and having ordered it ‘pink’, I was, to be honest, expecting something overcooked and grey to arrive.  I didn’t take any pictures, apart from the starter, because I didn’t intend to write about this place as my expectations were low.  I don’t remember how the duck was served either but  do remember than it was perfectly cooked and full of flavour – exceptionally so.  And then the moment when I felt a tiny piece of shot in my mouth!  This wasn’t intensively farmed duck, it was wild duck shot on the wing by someone with a gun. Wonderful!  I felt as though I’d won the lottery.  I’ve racked my brain and I’m certain that the menu didn’t say ‘wild duck’.  I wonder why not.  It makes all the difference in the world to the taste and the texture. It was delicious.

The other great thing about this restaurant  was the guy who welcomed us and looked after us throughout the meal.  We interrogated him without mercy about his life, work, education and his interest in shooting ducks in Yorkshire and he kept us entertained and looked after us very well.  His name is Charles.

If you’re in Newcastle go to this place and don’t be put of by the ‘normal’ of the menu.  They obviously know what makes a great product and, unusually for these days they don’t oversell it.  In fact understated seems to be the hallmark of Dobson & Parnell.  If you end up being served by Charles, you will be very fortunate indeed!