The Hotel du Vin in Newcastle part of a chain that has been quietly renovating old buildings across the country to provide good quality food and accommodation that doesn’t break the bank. It’s an upstart company that makes strong statements and bold claims, fortunately for both them and us, they live up to them.
The signature of the company is the building in which they work. Most of the hotels across the country are rescued or converted old buildings that offer a lot of character and charm. Add to that a sympathetic restoration that is elegant but unpretentious, and you have an ideal destination for business trips and romantic getaways alike.
The Newcastle hotel is a Victorian red brick building that used to be home to the Tyne Tees Shipping Company. It is situated on the edge of the city on the historic quayside area. That makes it a quick 15 minute walk from Millennium bridge, with a further 5 to the city centre.
Hotel du Vin Newcastle has 42 rooms spread over three floors. There is a nice courtyard outside, a cigar shack and a wine tasting room. As you would expect from a hotel with “du Vin” in the title, it’s very wine focused. As well as the Laroche tasting room, both the bar and restaurant carry an amazing variety of wines for you to try. If you like a drink, this is the place to stay.
Our room was a Mezzanine room, which had plenty of space and a great view of the quay. As the name suggests, it was open plan, decked out in dark wood and contemporary furniture. One departure from that was the roll-top bath, which added a feeling of luxury to the room. We were very pleased with our accommodation. It had space, light and the bed was amazing.
We ate in the Bistro as it looked too good to miss, and I’m glad we did. Although the surroundings are high class, the service is down to earth, in a good way. Bar staff were friendly, talkative and knew their wares. Service was fast and efficient and always with a smile. Even the sommelier didn’t bat an eyelid at my oenological ignorance and was only too happy to provide suggestions to go with our meal choice.
Talking of meal choice, I was more than happy with what we ate that night. For starter I had roasted organic beetroot with goats cheese salad, while my dinner partner had spicy pumpkin soup. Both were light, well presented, full of flavour and left us wanting more.
Main course was a wild mushroom risotto which just melted in my mouth. The mushroom flavour was understated, but perfectly measured. The risotto was cooked perfectly. My date had the 250g Entrecote with roasted goose fat potatoes and garlic butter sauce which I tasted, and was simply to die for.
The garlic was perfectly tempered, making the tongue tingle but not being overbearing. It let the taste of the goose fat and Entrecote come through in just the right way.
We also ordered sides of creamed spinach and pomme puree, both of which enhanced the flavours of the main course immeasurably.
As we were in a du Vin hotel, it was only right that we have wine with our dinner. We, or the sommelier, chose a bottle of rose Chateau Bauduc, which was a crisp, dry, fruity wine. It was smooth on the nose, and silky on the tongue. It left the palate clean for the next mouthful, which in my eyes, makes the perfect wine for dinner.
We eschewed dessert for cocktails, in the form of a hazelnut martini and pina colada. The martini was served in martini glass with a honeyed rim with a biscuit coating and tasted delicious. It was sweet enough to replace dessert, but wasn’t sickly.
I can’t write about the Hotel du Vin in Newcastle without mentioning more about the service. It is good service that makes or breaks a stay, and in this case, it made it. The staff were friendly, chatty and really knew their stuff. Front reception had us booked in and on our way within minutes, and our room was kept perfectly clean. I can’t recommend this place enough, if you’re in the area and need somewhere to stay, you could do much worse than this.
The Bill: £270 per night
