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A warm welcoming ambience helps customers relax and unwind to enjoy familiar favourites and other dishes with unusual touches. Rustico Restaurant and Pizzeria in North Bridge Street, your neighbourhood Italian is an unpretentious spacious space that charms with quality food and service.

The extensive menu offers a comprehensive Italian food experience with pizzas, pastas, risotto, seafood and more. A sampling could consist of black pudding in demiglaze with black peppercorn, brandy and cream, traditional meatballs with herbs, chilli and a special Rustico sauce, chicken fillets in a creamy tomato sauce with Norwegian prawns, onions, garlic and white wine; prime fillet steak in a pâté and Madeira sauce, and fresh mussels in a tomato, garlic, parsley and white wine sauce. Pizza toppings include ham and mushrooms, ham and pineapple, and onion, mushroom and artichoke. A glass of wine, bottled beer or cider completes the meal. Cognac or a liqueur adds the final touch.

If you're in the city centre in Newcastle upon Tyne and feel like tasting rare Polish cuisine, you could visit Gospoda, considered to be the only restaurant of its kind in the north east of England. The ambiance is simple yet warm and intimate, and the prices are very reasonable; if fortunate, you could sit at a table by the window overlooking Princess Square and enjoy a relaxed traditional meal.

The Polish could very well get reminded of the dishes their mothers prepared - homemade and rustic - expect to find soups, original hunter stew, created from sauerkraut, different meats, herbs and spices; goulash, sausages, crispy potato pancakes and Polish dumplings. A new European menu is on offer at lunchtime.

Desserts encompass apple pie, and waffle cake with fruits and whipped cream. An interesting range of Polish beer as well as wine and vodka based drinks complement the food.

Not so very long ago eating out in Newcastle upon Tyne was a hazardous affair in almost every aspect. The last ten years especially have seen a major change that has followed the regeneration of the city, in particular the waterfront area where it is now possible to eat well and safely.

Typical of this movement is Prickly Pear, said to be the haunt of the rich and famous, who must love being able to blend in with the rest of us under assumed anonymity.

If the atmosphere and general buzz level was not enough to tempt anybody, try the food which is what I would call modern but recognisable, more than can be said for some modern food on the plate. In fact it's of a very high standard, and little surprise that they are members of the Gourmet Society.

Starters of crab cake, crab cocktail and avocado sorbet, or green asparagus, orange, quail and almond butter emulsion are likely to lead to heightened speculation about what is to follow. How about corn feed poussin poached in thyme and lemon grass, sweet corn cake and spring vegetables, or John Dory and squid a la plancha?

Prickly Pear has distinguished siblings in Castle Eden and Sunderland and owners David and Jane Kilburn clearly know what they are about.

Thai Siam stands out from the numerous Oriental restaurants in Newcastle's Chinatown with its distinct Thai décor and waitresses who are dressed in the national costume. The atmosphere is serene and quiet and perfect for a simple lunch or dinner with someone special or even a business associate. Stowell Street couldn't indeed get any better as your preferred dining destination, especially if you have a weakness for delicious and authentic Thai food.

You might be pleasantly surprised to discover that this is one of those places which serves great food at extremely good value, especially for lunch. Starting with tom yum gai, a flavourful chicken soup, and appetisers of satay chicken, you could move on to sweet and sour pork or beef in oyster sauce, all of which are served with rice. Various banquet menus help in quickening the process of choosing what to eat, while dessert options, of course, include fresh fruit.