- Play Hard
- 23rd May 2025
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The North East’s best fine dining for plant-based and vegan foodies
Long Friday, Newcastle
46 Brentwood Ave, Jesmond, NE2 3DH
For a good selection of plant-based small plates, look no further than Long Friday in Jesmond. Booking is highly recommended as this small ‘neighbourhood’ restaurant is very popular and for good reason. Expect trendy interiors, a buzzing atmosphere, modern, skin-on wines, and a seasonal menu that caters to all tastes. The house pickles are a must if you enjoy sour, umami flavours.
Long Friday is open Wednesday to Sunday.
SIX at Baltic, Newcastle
Six Rooftop, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead Quays, NE8 3BA
There are few things more indulgent than a set menu dining experience. And plant-based eaters don’t need to miss out with a visit to SIX. The restaurant’s six or nine-course meals feature seasonal ingredients and local produce, with a specific plant-based option. With views over Newcastle and Gateshead, you can sit back and be well looked after — perfect culinary self-care.
Taste at SIX is available Tuesday to Saturday.
Peace & Loaf, Newcastle
217 Jesmond Road, Jesmond, NE2 1LA
A modern British restaurant in an unassuming setting, Peace & Loaf also offers plant-based tasting menus — three of them, in fact! With 24 hours’ notice, the restaurant team will happily adapt the vegetarian set menus to suit a vegan diet. Diners have raved about the creativity and nostalgia of the set menus, with a few surprises thrown in.
Tasting menus are available Wednesday to Friday or Wednesday to Saturday, depending on the menu.
Ember, Sunderland
Sheepfolds Stables, Easington Street, SR5 1BA
Ember’s monthly rotating menu brings flavours from all over the world to Sunderland’s Sheepfold Stables. With sights set on a Michelin Bib, the team – led by award-winning chef, Tamer Hassan – always ensures there are plant-based options on the menu. And the setting is almost as impressive as the food. Steeped in industrial history, Sheepfold Stables is now a vibrant hub for independent businesses, including the Local Heroes market.
Ember is open 7 days a week.
Coarse, Durham
Reform Place, North Road, DH1 4RZ
Having trained under Michelin-starred chef Terry Laybourne at Jesmond Dene House, Coarse’s head chef and co-owner, Ruari MacKay, plates up high-end techniques with mid-tier pricing. As with other restaurants on this list, Coarse’s vegetarian set menu can be made vegan upon request when booking. The set menu changes every 4-6 weeks, but will always be curated around the freshest, seasonal ingredients. There’s a six-course dinner set menu for £49 per person and a three-course lunch menu for £27. You can’t say fairer than that.
Coarse is open Thursday to Saturday.
Muse, Yarm
104b High Street, Yarm, TS15 9AU
Muse is a fully licensed Modern European cafe in the heart of Yarm. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, though plant-based foodies are best catered for by the dedicated vegan dinner menu. It’s an ideal setting for warmer summer evenings. Book a table in Muse’s patio-style tables for a true Continental experience.
Muse is open seven days a week. The vegan dinner menu is served Monday to Thursday, 5:30pm to 9:00pm and Friday & Saturday, 5:30pm to 9:30pm.
The Hungry Obbit, Morpeth
Gorfenletch, Longhorsley, NE61 3DW
Private dining with a difference, groups of up to 10 can enjoy a three-course meal cooked over a fire pit in a hidden location in Northumberland. The set menus cover vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore — all devised, prepared, and delivered by Robin Hills, The Hungry Obbit himself. Unpretentious but delicious, this is an unusual and altruistic experience as all proceeds go towards the chef’s other passion project: a local animal sanctuary.
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