Scrumpy Willow and Singing Kettle, Clayton Street

Had to make this a flying lunch hour visit due to changes in the working week, but think I managed to do it justice.  It's bang next door to the Clayton Street Kitchen but completely different in every way.  Anyone from south Devon wandering through the door could be forgiven for thinking they had been transported back to Totnes!  Can't think of anywhere else in Newcastle that would have Resurgence magazine on display. 
I ordered by coffee and scone, remembering in time to have butter not cream with it (the North East has many and varied delights but proper clotted cream is not among them), and took my seat in the small street level seating area.  The table wobbled like mad but the waitress was very helpful in wedging it with wadges of paper.  Maybe I should say at this point, that this small area is the only flat bit of the establishment.  The toilets are down a steep flight of stairs and there is another flight up to what I assume is a further seating area.  During my visit, a couple tried and failed to get a buggy though the door (had staff been on hand I'm sure the other side of the double door could have been opened).  So, the place may not be DDA compliant but it has got atmosphere - elderly standard lamp in corner, fantastic Indian wooden screen concealing the fridge, cheese plant and peace lilies in the window, interesting cushions on the chairs, interesting choice of music (think I heard Van the Man at one point).
And an interesting mix of clientele too.  In the window, a couple in their 40s I guess.  She wearing the type of Breton striped top that the Times magazine declared 'on trend' only last week.  He casually but not cheaply dressed.  I imagine a place in Northumberland with wood burning stoves, eco gadgets galore and some kind of expensive electric car.  Middle table was vacant when I arrived but soon occupied by a man in a farmery type of tweed jacket, old fogey style but not that old.  He clocked the waitress straight away and wasted no time in chatting her up as he waited for his kedgeree and tea.  Kedgeree!  Talk about a throwback to the days of the raj!
So, the coffee was fine, the scone and butter was fine too, the apparently homemade raspberry jam served with it was so good that I used the whole lot, but the best of all, the taste to beat all tastes, was the organic peppermint cream that I bought on a whim as I paid.  It was large, sweet and so subtly pepperminty and so unlike anything mass produced that I walked on air all the way back to work.

The Oven Door, Nuns Moor Road, Fenham

This one has been in my sights for a long time, so I was pleased to make it my first 'new' cafe of 2011.  Good enough for Norman Wisdom, good enough for me.  In my imagination I pictured a shrine to the late, great comedian with Albanian sightseers packing the place, taking photos, leaving offerings, perhaps indulging in dancing and/or gunfire.

In the event, the dark wooden door opened onto a slate floor and I looked round at dark wooden tables, chairs and beams.  All set off by nice red gingham tablecloths and calor gas heaters, it being a cold day. What struck me most was the old oven in the wall - a bread oven I imagine.  So, was this an old bakery that diversified?  Time to begin research...

The menu was extensive and the freshly made quiches on the counter nearly swayed me from my resolve to have only tea.  It all looked so good.  I decided on tea and a cheese scone and settled back to see what everyone else was having.  There was quite a mix of people in, all local I would guess and not a word of Albanian spoken.  The service was very efficient and the chips being eaten at the other side of the cafe looked very fine indeed.  My tea came as a pot (two good cups worth) good and strong with plenty of milk.  The scone also came with two pats of butter that weren't rock hard from the fridge,  so bonus points all round so far.

This is definitely a local hub.  People who must be 'regulars' were greeted by name, so the staff obviously make an effort to get to know their customers.  It must be the area - I also received friendly service at the greengrocers next door.  It's the kind of place that you could feel at home in.  One day I might just have to go back to try out the mince and dumplings, or should it be the all-day breakfast ;-)

So many cafes, so little time

It's a few years now since a friend and I made it our New Year's resolution to eat our way down Ocean Road in South Shields.  It made for great curries and a resolution we actually kept!  So this year I decided to drink my way round Newcastle upon Tyne.  I'm guessing a lot of people do this on a regular basis ;-) but in keeping with the family's teetotal roots, all that will pass my lips is tea and (hopefully) the odd slice of cake.

I've got a few ideas of places I want to visit but basically I'm aiming for places new to me and in slightly out of the way locations. So ignoring suggestions from well-meaning friends that I do something worthy like learning to swim instead, I'll be diving into cafe society.  But what makes a good cafe experience?  A clear space between the tables, interesting decor (I'm remembering a parrot lampstand I once saw), price of course is important, plus value - a pot of strong tea and a wedge of homemade cake is the best. Oh, and the staff, polite and friendly, but not too friendly please!
So,  I'm looking for a clean, characterful, original decor, reasonably priced, welcoming establishment that serves strong tea and has a wide selection of cake.

That said, I started off at Morrisons in West Denton.  Breaking myself in gently as I had been there before.  It's clean and corporate but you have a choice or sitting at a table or on easy chairs.  Being old school I prefer to sit up properly when I'm eating. There's plenty of plate glass so you can see the world go by.  The tables are placed at a sensible distance so you don't feel you're eavesdropping.  Cakes good, tea as strong as you like it because you get a pot, prices very competative.  I shall be back, but who knows where next week will take me...