The Keelman and Big Lamp Brewery

I came back for the first time since the refurbishment and was seriously impressed. The place looked incredible, and the staff seemed proud of what they'd done. You could see that in the service. Nothing to fault today, definitely worth a visit 👏🏼

I'd come back for drinks, but not for a meal. We used to enjoy the food here and hadn't had problems before, so when we heard it was under new management we wanted to try the new menu. The chips and flatbread were nice, my daughter ate her children's meal, and the drinks were fine. But the steak kebab was very dry and fatty, with no sauce, despite being described as marinated and coming in sauce. The menu suggested a choice of sauce, but the man taking my order said that was a typo and there were only the usual tomato or BBQ sauces. I expected something like peppercorn or garlic butter. Most of the steak was too tough for me to eat; I gave it to my dog, who wouldn't eat it either. It didn't resemble any steak kebab I've had before, which is usually cooked to order, pink inside and made with a decent cut. For £18 this was like diced steak from Aldi. I had to put mustard on the edible bits just to give them some flavour. Another family member's chicken burger and bun were burnt, and the whole meal was a big disappointment, especially after reading the menu. A relative also ate here a few weeks ago and ordered chilli. When they asked if it was meat or just beans, the person they spoke to said they didn't know what it was because they weren't sure what the supplier was sending. That's worrying for anyone with allergies.

The steak and cheese baguette was lovely, with beautiful steak, and cost £10. It was fairly quiet, which made sense for a Tuesday lunchtime. We'd not been back for a while, but this visit didn't disappoint. The Prince Bishop ale is highly recommended, and there were a few other choices too. They had Pennine pale ale as a guest, just £2 a pint, an absolute bargain.

We stopped at the Keelman after walking around Newburn Riverside, and I'm glad we did. The bar lady was welcoming and helpful, and even let me sample the ale I was considering before I bought it. Our tasty food came promptly, and we really enjoyed both the meal and drinks. It was my first visit to the Big Lamp Brewery / Keelman, and I look forward to coming back.