Restaurant review: Kiln, Newcastle

Last week we had a night in Newcastle, and I was so excited because I’d not been up there since December 2021. Nick and I both went to uni in Newcastle, and we love going back to visit.

Our friends booked Kiln for dinner, and we were looking forward to eating somewhere we’d not been before. It’s located in Ouseburn which is an area in Newcastle that’s changed completely since I lived there. There’s a lot more going on in this area now, and we’ve eaten here before at Cook House which I’d really recommend too!

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As the name suggests, Kiln is a pottery studio as well as a cafe / restaurant. We had the best table (in my opinion) as we could sit and look into the studio whilst we were eating and see the ceramics being made.

First up… the drinks menu. I’m mostly alcohol free now, but I enjoyed a couple of drinks while we were up in Newcastle. Kiln has an extensive drinks menu with some delicious sounding cocktails. I had an Ardsley Cooler which consisted of Beefeater gin, lime, ginger, mint & soda - this is basically my ideal cocktail and I really enjoyed it.

There were some good alcohol free drinks to choose from too, including ice teas, homemade lemonade, and an orange & rosemary spritzer. I ordered the other alcohol free spritzer - blackberry & sage - and really enjoyed this.

Kiln serves a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern inspired menu…

I’d recommend going as a group so you can order lots of dishes to share. There were 6 of us, although 5 of us shared the order above, and having 2-3 dishes per person is a good amount, and leaves room for dessert after!

All the food was so tasty, and it’s difficult to pick my favourite dishes because everything was a highlight. But I especially enjoyed the pita, muhammara, burrata & peaches, and the aubergine. The potatoes were covered in garlic butter and chives and were amazing too!

I’ve never had muhammara before. It’s a Middle Eastern red pepper and walnut dip. I'd say it's similar to a romesco sauce but made with pomegranate molasses and Aleppo pepper. Nick and I both really liked this so I’m going to try and make it at home.

I really enjoy the flavours of middle Eastern cuisine, and although I make a few recipes with za’atar and tahini at home, eating at Kiln has inspired me to try and create some more exciting middle Eastern inspired dishes at home.

For dessert I ordered chocolate ganache, with tahini caramel, candied pistachios and candied orange. Two of us ordered this, and they only had one left so I switched to vanilla ice cream & strawberries instead. I did try a spoonful of the ganache, and the chocolate was very rich but was so tasty with the tahini caramel.

We both really enjoyed this meal (more on Nick’s below) and this is certainly somewhere we’d recommend, and plan to come back to. They make some very nice ceramics too, which would make great gifts or a treat for yourself.

100% yes! The gluten free items are clearly labelled on the menu, and there is a good amount of choice. They do have a small kitchen so I think there is a contamination risk, but if you have an intolerance this should be fine.

Nick is gluten and dairy intolerant, and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful. The chef actually came out to sit with Nick for a few minutes to discuss what he could order, and then Nick’s food came on a separate plate.

This level of service is something we don’t see very often, and Nick was incredibly grateful for the effort they put into making sure he could still have a delicious meal and a great experience at Kiln.

This is a great place to come if you’re vegan or vegetarian, there’s just so much to choose from on the menu so you won’t be limited at all.

Dessert is a little bit more limited for vegan options though, but you can just fill up on the amazing sharing plates.