Where To Find The Best Street Food In Newcastle
Also known as Newcastle upon Tyne, this city dates back approximately 2,000 years during Roman times. It was first called Pons Aelius, which is Newcastle in Roman. Located in North East England along the River Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne is the core of the Tyne and Wear County and the main shipping and manufacturing hub in the area.
While you are in this historic city, you will be able to find the most popular street food in Newcastle all over town but especially near tourist attractions like under the Tyne Bridge and the city centre. You should not expect fine dining when searching out the street food scene but it will certainly taste just as good if not better.
From fried chicken to shawarma meat platters, the street food scene in this city is a mixture of English, Polish, Lebanese, and Greek cuisines. And while some still call it fast food, you will not find any Big Macs or Whoppers among the street food scene but you will find pizza, tacos, and sushi.
The best street food tastes
Some of the most incredible street food in Newcastle include dishes like fried chicken, sweet potato fries, Asian food, and shawarma meat platters. Places like Grainger Market and Quayside Market are great places to find something unique. Some of the best street food is found during street food events like festivals or any other popular street food scene.
One of the most popular foods in Newcastle upon Tyne is parmo, which is fried chicken goodness coated in bechamel and gooey cheese. You can find these at almost all of the street food shops and restaurants or any fried chicken food truck in Newcastle. In the city centre, you will find everything from vegetarian falafel wraps, pizza, burgers, loaded fries, and all kinds of mixed street food.
You can eat freshly prepared seafood tacos or burgers among the street vendors because they make everything as you order it. While you are exploring and enjoying the street food in Newcastle upon Tyne, you do not want to have to drag around your luggage or shopping bags. Leave your stuff at a suitcase storage locker in Newcastle so you can eat without worry. Enjoy!
The Best Street Food Vendors in Newcastle upon Tyne
Felafel Al Hana
Also found at Grainger Market, which is a fun place to shop in Newcastle, the Felafel Al Hana Cafe has a variety of fresh food on its menu from shawarma meat platters to vegetarian falafels. If you are hungry and love fabulous food, this place has hearty portions at a decent price. In fact, they have 11 kinds of kebabs served with salad, pitta, and chips.
Try their Donner calzone served with chips and a salad or the hot and spicy folded pizza with jalapenos. You can also get chocolate fudge cake or cheesecake for dessert. From mixed grills to fresh meze, cheese platters, and chicken dishes, you can find it all at this restaurant.
Acropolis Greek Restaurant
Acropolis is also at Grainger Market as well as several other locations in Newcastle and a few more around the UK. The Greeks opened up a restaurant in Newcastle with a mission to offer authentic Greek food at a high quality gyros stall.
They serve other food too including fried halloumi bites, their special fries, grilled Kalamaki platters, and vegan wraps using recipes from their home island. You will find Acropolis at many pop ups in the north east from markets besides Grainger Market, as well as festivals and other pop up events.
Thali Tray
Thali Tray represents the Indian food region with authentic Indian foods like Bengali Battered Paneer, Tikka chicken skewers, and the Punjabi Thali Tray with chickpea chole and two different curries. This is fast food with a serious helping of curry and other spices to make a culinary delight that you cannot get anywhere else.
Thali Tray's owners wanted to set up a unique tray-style eatery where they serve trays full of flavor from the Indian food region. Each compartmented tray is separated into six sections, each element representing an Indian Food region. There is no other tray-style restaurant in Newcastle or anywhere else in the area.
Lola Jeans Restaurant
Lola Jean Restaurant next door to Square Pizza boasts award-winning burgers from the Battle of the Burgers from 2015 to 2019 so it is true, they have the best burgers in the world on their menu. The Clancy Wiggum has bacon frazzled, baconnaise, red onion jam, smoked bacon, and Tennessee BBQ sauce.
The James P. Sullivan includes prime rump steak, shoestring onions, Lola's steak sauce, and pickled onion Monster Munch. The menu is huge though, featuring more than just burgers. Try their Korean chicken tacos, falafel ciabatta, or Lola's rare beef salad.
Redheads Mac 'N' Cheese Restaurant
In the city centre of Newcastle, Redheads Restaurant has a permanent outlet at the Grainger Market but can also be found at the Quayside Market, Stack, and various street food events across the north east. Whether you are enjoying their cheesy dishes at their restaurant, at one of the markets, or from one of their food trucks, they are all delicious.
If you want gooey macaroni and cheese cooked with fresh ingredients cooked to order and served piping hot, Redheads is the place to go. The menu boasts eight kinds, including a vegan mac 'n' cheese as well as a garlic and parmesan pot and galaxy ripple cheesecake for dessert.
Where to Find the Best Newcastle upon Tyne Street Food Spots
Quayside Market
Along the coast of the River Tyne, Quayside market has everything you ever wanted when it comes to food from American eats to Asian cuisine. Although it is only open on Sundays, you can enjoy outdoor seating and a plethora of restaurant food as well as handcrafted items like clothing, artwork, jewelry, and toys.
A lot of the food can be found on food trucks but there are also a restaurant or two with booths to show off their best menu items. Some of the repeat street food hawkers include Fat Hippo for burgers and fries and Chuchos for Mexican eats. Then go to Proven Goods, The Doughnut Guy, Cupcake & Co., or The Brownie Bar for some sweet desserts.
Grainger Market
Dating back to 1835, Grainger Market on Grainger Street features over 100 vendors selling food, handcrafted items, and vintage goods. The best thing about this market is that they are open every day so you do not have to wait until Sunday to get your street food fix.
Grainger Market typically has 17 to 20 different food booths with everything from Chinese dumplings to Greek gyros and deep dish pizza to homemade tea. There are also two delis that serve delicious fresh sandwiches and wine. Other fine pop ups include Snackwallah, Dennis & June Sandwich Fayre, and Eats Cafe.
Stack Newcastle
At Stack Newcastle on Pilgrim St., you can find all sorts of cuisines in old shipping containers for a fun place to enjoy street food and adult beverages. It may not be a fancy restaurant, but Stack has so many choices and you can try them all in one place.
The outdoor seating is perfect for trying out some of the Redhead's Mac n Cheese, The Social Pizza, Stixs Korean fried chicken, and Parmogeddon parmos. A Parmo is fried chicken covered in a rich, creamy béchamel sauce, topped with gooey cheese. Each of the places has its own authentic taste.
By the River Brew Company
In the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, Big River Brew Company is a unique type of container community with a variety of restaurants, markets, and a brewery serving craft beers from all over north east England. In the street food section, you can find different independent vendors every year.
Some of the recent vendors have included Meat Stack for the best burgers, Chuchos Tacos for great Mexican food, and Dastardly & Dutty, where you can find the most amazing loaded fries. If you want some pizza, try Fire and Dough and if you are looking for the best parma, you will find it at Parm-O-Rama. You can also try the Greek restaurant, Acropolis, a multiple award winning eatery.
Street Food Festivals in Newcastle upon Tyne
Sausage and Cider Festival
On the third Saturday in February, for one night only, enjoy some sausages, cider, and chili as well as some other fantastic street foods. At the Tyne Suite on New Bridge Street, the Sausage and Cider Fest is the biggest sausage party in the world.
This is a terrific thing to do at night in Newcastle. Enjoy live music and other entertainment while trying out all sorts of sausages in different shapes, sizes, and flavors. But don't forget about the cider. They have dozens of flavors including ginger & chili, rhubarb, and even chocolate. You can even join in (or watch) a sausage eating contest.
Food and Drink Festival
At the beginning of April at the South Causey Inn, you can join thousands of other foodies at the Food and Drink Festival. When you get there, you will get a gin goblet filled with home-brewed gin and tonic or a mug of ice cold beer. The Causey Brewery, Cobbles Bar, and Durham Suite Bar will be offering all sorts of drinks as well as tapas, street food, and a buffet. They will even have a DJ and live band.
Summertime Live Newcastle
The Summertime Live Newcastle Festival is held at the end of August at High Gosforth Park. There will be live music all night long, mingling with the entertainers, a fashion show, and of course a bunch of street food vendors.
Classic Ibiza is the main performer and they are joined by a 32-piece orchestra. Whether you are into beer and brats or wine and cheese, you will probably be able to find it at this huge festival. You can also get your face painted at the glitter makeup stalls so you can go glittery.
Get Ready to Eat in Newcastle
Whether you go to Grainger Market for sushi, Stack Newcastle for pizza, or just walk around and enjoy the street food sold all over north east England, you will definitely be able to find something you crave. The city is full of restaurants and vendors selling delicious street food.
Arriving in the city via Newcastle Central Station? There is so much more to Newcastle upon Tyne than just the amazing food. Make sure you take the time to visit some of the attractions like the Laing Art Gallery, the Alder Sweeny Memorial Garden, Newcastle Castle, and the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas.
