Blackfriars Restaurant, dating back to 1239, is the oldest public dining room in Britain. With the main restaurant originally built to house the refectory for the Dominican Black Friars, and as a working inner-city former monastery, it's unique, certainly Newcastle has nowhere of its ilk elsewhere there. Blackfriars, with its horseshoe of buildings, also houses a number of craft shops, shelters a medieval courtyard used for al fresco dining in the summer, and is time-enduring, for long one of the city's most recognised restaurants and regarded as a Newcastle icon.

As well as the award of 'Best restaurant in the North East/Newcastle' by readers of The Observer, Metro Newspaper, and Hi-Life Dining Club, Blackfriars has also gained an AA Rosette, and inclusion in the Which? Good Food Guide, Hardens and Michelin Guides.

The main candle-lit dining room holds up to 70 covers and lends itself to both intimate and romantic dining, with small inglenooks and hideaway corners, and was voted the 6th most romantic restaurant in the UK. It also serves well for larger dining parties with the dining room split into two levels.

Sourcing seasonal produce from local farms and markets, the award-winning team produces gutsy traditional-British menus including an à la carte, a well-priced set menu, a canapés and buffet menu, accompanied by a large award-winning wine list. The restaurant is served by friendly and professional waiting staff.

Blackfriars is so passionate about local produce that diners only have to glance down at the place mats to glimpse a map of the north east, showing exactly which farm each component of their meal comes from - an original and well-liked feature.

Typical starters might include potted Northumbrian beef with onion jam, rye sourdough and home-made brown sauce; hot smoked Scottish salmon, pea purée and salad of edible flowers, or North Sea scallops with langoustine soup, wilted lettuce and crispy bacon. Main courses also use local, seasonal produce, with rolled Durham belly pork with crackling, duck fat potatoes, girolles and lumbard mustard; risotto of home-smoked North Sea haddock, cockles and bacon and pea spume, or a Hadrian Heritage rib-eye steak, bone marrow butter, roast tomatoes and hand-cut chips. To round off a memorable meal try their Duke Humphrey of Gloucester's custard tart with orange ice cream, or their ever-popular plate of North of England cheeses, celery, grapes, water biscuits and chutney.

The splendour of Blackfriar's ornate medieval Banquet Hall has recently been brought back to life following a year of painstaking and meticulous research and restoration. The celebrated venue, that King Edward III used for receiving royal Scot, Edward Balliol, in 1334, boasts authentic and bespoke banners, chandeliers, wall coverings, stained-glass windows, reclaimed wooden screens, large oak communal dining tables and matching chairs, all created by local craftsmen.

It makes ample provision for their famous Medieval Banquets where suckling pig with all the trimmings, personally introduced by the Chef, is served with honey roast vegetables, complemented by fine wines or strong Benedictine ale, served by buxom wenches and 'monks' at a 30 foot oak table. The hall, which also has its own kitchens, bar and toilet, accommodates 50 guests on large communal tables and is the perfect venue for corporate events, networking groups, functions, wine tastings, educational visits, private parties, anniversaries and weddings.

Although the main restaurant offers a full à la carte service, dining in the communal Banquet Hall and Old Dormitory Rooms lends itself to bespoke menus and full advanced pre-orders.

Whilst quality cuisine and good design features play a significant part in the success of a restaurant such as Blackfriars, this is not to overlook the cellar and wine list, regarded as one of the best to be found in Newcastle. Excellent French wine from Georges Dubeouf starts at £15 or £4 a glass, with over ten more wines by the glass. Carafes remain popular whilst further down the list keep an eye for the Chapel Hill's Shiraz/Grenache, McLaren Vale, a super-heavyweight at a very reasonable £26. Blackfriars also stocks the largest range of bottled local beers and Scottish whiskies in Newcastle.

Click on their Website for further details of their frequent special offers, events, meeting rooms for up to 40 delegates and menu changes.