Eating on Chillingham Road: A Heaton Food Guide

Chillingham Road is Heaton's independent high street: a run of shopfronts in east Newcastle where family-run cafes, wine shops and restaurants have quietly built one of the city's most rewarding places to eat. Together with neighbouring Heaton Road, it forms a compact stretch you can walk end to end in a few minutes, taking in a Michelin Guide restaurant, a Neapolitan pizzeria and a couple of the best breakfasts in the city along the way.

Best of all, it is easy to reach. Chillingham Road Metro station sits right on the street, a few stops from Monument, so you can arrive for dinner without worrying about parking or a taxi home. Here is our guide to eating and drinking your way along it.

Best for:

Heaton's food scene spills across two streets. Chillingham Road runs north to south past the Metro; Heaton Road runs roughly parallel a short walk to the west. We have grouped everything below by what you are after rather than by street, so a five-minute stroll may be all that separates two entries.

Brunch and coffee

Start the day the way Heaton does. The Butterfly Cabinet on Heaton Road is a bohemian, art-filled cafe that is regularly named among Newcastle's best breakfasts. The all-day menu runs from a proper full English through eggs Benedict to pancakes, so there is no wrong time to turn up — though weekend mornings get busy.

A little further along, Heaton Perk has been a neighbourhood fixture for over fifteen years. It is the quirky, comfortable sort of coffee shop every area wishes it had: all-day brunch, hearty comfort food, and a welcome that extends to both dogs and children.

For coffee taken more seriously, Neighbourhood Coffee on Chillingham Road is the local speciality roasteries' favourite. Excellent coffee, pastries and baked goods come with an upstairs seating area that has become a reliable spot to sit with a laptop for an hour. There are vegan options too.

Restaurants and dinner

The jewel of the street is Nest, a small neighbourhood restaurant on Chillingham Road that has earned a place in the Michelin Guide. Set up by a group of friends, it takes its name from the tree trunks and branches woven through the dining room, and the kitchen builds carefully cooked, produce-led set menus around what is in season. There are tasting menus, a bistro offering and a Sunday lunch; whichever you choose, book ahead, because tables here are in demand.

For something more casual but no less loved, Flint Pizza turns out authentic wood-fired Neapolitan pizza cooked in around ninety seconds. It is a lively, walk-in spot, and the queues on a Friday night tell you everything you need to know about how good the dough is.

The same team is behind Burt's, just around the corner on Heaton Road, where the focus shifts to burgers. Everything is made in-house from scratch with seasonal ingredients and an ever-rotating menu, and the kitchen has been praised in the Good Food Guide. It is exactly the kind of unshowy, do-one-thing-brilliantly restaurant that Heaton does so well.

Drinks and delis

Heaton takes its drinking-in and drinking-out seriously, and two shops in particular are worth planning around. Pour Decisions is an independent wine shop from the team behind Nest, selling restaurant-quality bottles to take away or order online for collection — the obvious place to pick up something for dinner.

Round on Heaton Road, Block & Bottle pairs a free-range butcher with a craft beer bottle shop. You can buy your Sunday joint and a fridge's worth of cans, bottles or draught beer in one stop, or simply settle in for a drink. It is a genuinely local hybrid that sums up the street's appetite for good, independently sourced food and drink.

Pubs

Every high street needs an anchor, and on Chillingham Road it is The Chillingham, one of Heaton's few remaining traditional pubs. It stands right next to the Metro station — impossible to miss on your way in or out — and pours real ales and guest beers in a proper, unpretentious setting. The function room keeps a steady diary of live music, comedy and quizzes, so it is as much a community hub as a boozer.

Between the pub, the wine shop, the pizzeria and the Michelin Guide dining room, Chillingham Road proves you do not need to head into the city centre for a great meal. Hop off at Chillingham Road Metro, turn either way, and you will not go hungry.