Although I’ve been back in my hometown, Newcastle upon Tyne, for a while now I have to admit I've not been leading the most active social life. I seem to spend the vast proportion of my time either drinking cups of tea in my parents’ living room or looking at places I could otherwise be on the internet.
Occasionally this month however, I have managed to get out and about, including to areas I would never have even thought to go to when I was growing up here. Normally, I’d venture into town for a drink but, when I’ve looked just a little harder, I’ve found plenty of great places to go all over the city. One of these places is The Brandling Villa down in South Gosforth.
I don’t know South Gosforth very well. I’m from the West End and have usually had very little reason to come over this way but, on a recent Wednesday night, I went to meet a friend who has recently relocated back to the Toon and now lives in the area. It was my first trip to this pub and as I walked in, there was a distinct air of hipster chic.
The music was great, there were people with beards accompanied by little dogs and there were posters on the walls advertising a Shinjuku style hump day hen party complemented with Izakaya style fried chicken. I assume this is a recent food trend but frankly I have no idea. My Wednesday night tea is normally a jacket potato with baked beans and cheese. Given all of this, I found myself wondering whether South Gosforth has always been a bit alternative. The meditation centre I walked past on my way home suggested so but, as far as The Brandling Villa goes, that doesn't always seem to have been the case.
Described in one article as a one time “boring old man’s pub” it appears to have changed a lot. The same article now describes it as an “amazing boozer” and “find of the year material” although I don't know what year that refers to. The pub seems to do everything from the aforementioned East Asian style chicken and decent music, to high quality beers and ales. Its own Twitter bio adds yet more to this cocktail of cool: “We do dogs, mate, and we do burgers. A pub.” it boasts. They’re not wrong. A quick browse of the website shows that it even has a food menu for dogs. There’s a lot going on here.
In spite of that, it’s still Dry January and I’m a vegetarian without a dog of my own, so at the time of visiting there was only one criteria I could soundly judge the place by. As this blog exclusively reviews lime and sodas you shouldn't have to think too hard about what that is.
Appearance: It came in a pint glass, which is always a good start. Sadly there was no fresh lime bobbing merrily on the waves of soda water and it looked as though the lime cordial was firmly rooted to the lower third of the vessel. High marks for traditional pub aesthetic, low marks for modern mixology.
Taste: No amount of finger stirs - no straws here, Greta - could infuse this drink with the evenly spread hit of lime flavouring I was looking for. I tried and tried and tried but nothing. This meant that I mostly drank soda water, which itself tasted a little flat. Then again maybe all soda water tastes like that. Could be an idea for another blog that...Sodathoughter? Or not.
Price: I can’t comment on the price of the lime and soda alone as I bought it together with an edgily branded cider on draught that my mate asked for. This is the North East though so let’s just assume it was cheap.
Sadly the lime and soda here is so so, which is bit of a shame really. The pub is not. Once the month is over and my appetite for drinking pints of beer from breweries that sound like they’re not real returns, I’ll be back here. South Gosforth eh… who knew?
Sources:
Pub website: https://www.brandlingvilla.com/
Better review of the pub:
Pub website: https://www.brandlingvilla.com/
Better review of the pub:
More info:
No comments:
Post a Comment