Blackbird Inn - Newcastle upon Tyne

Situated in the heart of Ponteland Village, The Blackbird was originally a castle which was destroyed in 1388. In 1935, after many months of restoration work, The Blackbird was opened to the public. The Blackbird Ponteland bar area seats 55 guests and 35 guests in the main dining area. Upstairs is the Minstrel Gallery, a fantastic events space, available to hire for private functions and parties. Their aim is to create dishes brimming with tradition and imagination through an ever changing seasonal menu of country pub favourites combined with contemporary flair. I enjoy food with flair. Excitement brimming; bring it on! On arrival, around 8pm, The Blackbird is a wonderful sight in darkness. Lit up for all to see, it has a festive vibe that entices you in. Mark, our waiter on the night, gave us the menus and began by enlightening us on the remarkable history of the castle which was great to get to understand what went on there. He also handed us a manuscript of the castle’s past which I have to say added interest, meaning and charm to the experience. To drink, we went with Mark’s recommendation of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc named Maota Bay. It was beautiful. In fact, I would go as far as saying the best white wine I’ve tasted. It really was that good. Tropical, fruity and a racy acidity; wow I loved it. I could imagine how even more fabulous it would be sitting outside the castle with a glass in the summer. To start, I struggled at first as the menu didn’t specify dishes with allergens. Eventually, I went for the Treacle Cured Salmon, Horseradish Cream and Granny Smith Apple at £8.50. What a plate of food! I wasn’t prepared for its dazzling allure – it was so cute and presented magnificently. The salmon itself was breath taking. The horseradish cream mixed with the apple gel was a combination of tangy then sweet that really flexed my palate. Thoroughly enjoyed. My colleague ordered Chicken Liver Parfait, Toasted Grains, Honey Red Wine Reduction, Onion Marmalade and Sourdough Croutons at £6.50. Such a colourful plate again, he was in awe by its beauty. He couldn’t have asked for a more contemporary starter. It was a triumph in every way. For my main, I ordered Duck Breast, Roast Beetroot, Potato Terrine, Onion, Spelt and Barley Risotto, and Duck Jus at £15.95. Okay so first things first, this was food of the highest quality. I’d like to congratulate the chefs on providing a fantastic main course. The duck, combined with the jus, was just outstanding and all of the elements took the taste buds on a journey I didn’t know existed. My colleague went for the fillet steak and it was his best steak ever; each time it just gets better and better. It came with crispy onion rings, tomato, grilled mushrooms, chunky chips and peppercorn sauce. It was impossible to disagree with the quality. The Blackbird was surprising. The Blackbird was flying! Finally, for dessert, I chose the Bread and Butter Pudding at £5.95. It had a soft, delicate texture. The apple acidic tang certainly got my juices flowing. The salted caramel ice-cream and the caramel sauce added sweet decadence to the plate. Yum! My colleague’s dessert Milk Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Crumb, Caramel Ice Cream, Toasted Hazelnuts and Dentelle Wafer at £5.95 was a seductive delight that tasted heavenly. Overall, it was a night of beautiful company, beautiful service, beautiful surroundings and beautiful food. The night was truly beautiful. Struggling to find a fault other than the menu having specific allergic advice.

Excellent. I 've worked here in the past but I am by no means biased when I write this, it probably makes me more critical of a place if I 've worked there. I called in on Wednesday evening with my son, his girlfriend my dog. We were wanting an early evening meal in a 'dog friendly ' pub. There were very few front of house staff that I knew but we were still given a very warm friendly welcome, not having booked or having the dog with us was not a problem. My son I shared the meat sharing platter his girlfriend had the haddock goujons fries. Goujons fries lovely fresh crispy. The meat platter was absolutely lovely. The crispy chilli beef a little too spicy for myself but I 'm a wimp, tasty chicken wings, lovely crunchy crackling, the scotch egg perfect runny egg in a very tasty meat surround, black pudding fritters some of the tastiest I 've tried the 'dirty ' beans were just fabulous. I loved it will be back again very soon to have this again, next time I 'll make sure I 'm not at work afterwards I 'll be washing it down with one of the many local real ales they serve.

Having read the reviews of eating places at Newcastle airport, virtually all decrying them, we decided to stop in Ponteland on our way down. Glad we did. We went to the Blackbird Inn, great place. On arrival, the person on the bar was on phone, trying to sort an issue, but he called over one of the staff to deal with us. Order placed, drinks over to our table, hardly had we sat down than our meals arrived, piping hot and fresh. The food was great, real chips. We had the fish/chips and a steak sandwich/chips. Both were really enjoyed. Nice surroundings and very attentive staff. Will Reccommend to all we know on travelling down from SCOTLAND to Newcastle airport. Arrival at airport confirmed what everyone was saying. Complete rip off prices and nowhere seemed clean, even although the place is quite.

On our way to the airport and stopped off for lunch xx bar staff lovely food fantastic x definitely great place to stop when doing airport run xx thanks blackbird very nice xx

Beautiful food, friendly and welcoming staff members. My young daughter was kept entertained with plenty of colouring pencils and books, great choice on both adults and kids menu, great choice of coffee, tea and other drinks.