Discover the best bars in Newcastle

By Jane Hall

From Newcastle’s dazzling Diamond Strip to the notoriously rowdy Bigg Market, upmarket Quayside, sophisticated Grey Street, stylish Gate entertainment complex, happy hour haven of Jesmond’s Osborne Road, and the arty real ale haunt that is the Ouseburn Valley, there are no shortage of bars, pubs and clubs catering to drinkers’ whims or character bias.

The Diamond Strip’s bars

The so-called Diamond Strip on Collingwood Street has come to prominence in the last eight or nine years, its name giving a hint as to what to expect: trendy, achingly-cool and upmarket bars and clubs with exotic cocktail menus and lavish interiors that attract a more mature, affluent crowd.

Here you will find the Floritas Miami Bar with its VIP suite, sexy art deco interior, and huge tropical outdoor garden serving up Pina Coladas. Mojitos and Frozen Bubblegum Daiquiris; the opulent Revolution vodka bar housed in a former bank that has 30ft high ceilings and marble pillars; the boutique Perdu with its al fresco drinks area and access to the iconic Blackie Boy pub and the All Seeing Eye cocktail lounge; and Madame Koo, boasting an alluring Oriental interior that’s tucked away underground.

The strip is also home to the speakeasy-inspired House of Smith, the lavish Tup Tup Palace with its waterfalls, mosaic lamps and booths, and Bijoux, which as the name suggests, is a small but perfectly formed bar that enjoyed a starring role on reality TV show Geordie Shore.

The Bigg Market

Just a stone’s throw from the Diamond Strip is the infamous Bigg Market. Once THE place to be seen, its star has waned in recent years as the nightlife in Newcastle has spread out across the city. Now it’s a place of low booze prices and high spirits where inhibitions are abandoned as clubbers get into the party spirit.

If you like soul, funk, disco and house music, then head to Green House Disco Gardens

But the fight-back has begun. The Bigg Market leads on to the Groat and Cloth Markets’. Here you’ll find CosyJoes, Newcastle’s top karaoke venue, the city’s newest late-night cocktail bar and lounge, Green House Disco Gardens, and the recently opened Market Shaker, an all-day dance hall and beer garden.

Real ale pubs

The triumvirate of Grey, Pilgrim and Dean Streets is a Mecca for real ale lovers. The streets are lined with traditional pubs, trendy craft beer saloons, and chic bars. Real ale enthusiasts will love Intermezzo on Pilgrim Street with its expertly created cocktails and craft beers.

It’s here that you will also discover The Poison Cabinet hidden behind a door in the basement of Intermezzo. This Prohibition-style venue serves an exciting array of cocktails that could have been dreamt up in a chemistry lab, with names like The Bitter End, Ladies on Thyme and Beetroute 66.

Pleased To Meet You prides itself on being specialists in gin, craft beer, wine, cocktails and outstanding food

Also on Pilgrim Street is Alvinos with its Tardis like interior. Small from the outside, inside it has three floors, an outdoor terrace and two bars serving a wide selection of craft and draught beers and lagers, as well as guest ales.

High Bridge Street intersects Grey Street and offers a number of great pubs and bars for the beer enthusiast. Check out Bacchus Bar, just round the corner from Alvinos, while on the other side of High Bridge Street Pleased to Meet You and D.E.A.D (Drop Everything and Drink) will satisfy craft beer lovers with their impressive keg lists.

Newcastle’s lively bars and pubs offer a varied range of experiences, from real ale to cocktails. Whatever you choose, you’ll be in for a memorable and enjoyable night out.

Take a tour of Pleased to Meet You gin palace and bistro

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