newcastlecentric

Football is never really associated with good food. You might be lucky to get a pukka pie for £6 or if you’re corporate enough, maybe a prawn sandwich.

However, there are a couple of spots right next to St James Park where you’ll find good old fashioned pub grub, just the ticket if you happen to be near the ground through the week.

We say through the week, because neither establishment is really a haven for a laid-back lunchtime break at the weekends, but you’ll get a canny pint and plenty of pre and post-match banter.

Shearer’s Bar is the only place in Newcastle that you can legally watch a Newcastle United home or away game at 3.00pm on a Saturday. Don’t ask us how but Toon fans are clearly benefiting from a Sky Sports loophole.

Upstairs in Shearer’s you’ll find a restaurant befitting the higher end establishments around town. The menu is made up of traditional British pub food. Try the fish and chips served in a wrapping of paper with a side portion of mushy peas, a mouth-watering twist on your chippy favourite.

Just over the road stands The Strawberry, a small and cosy affair with Newcastle United antiquities strewn from the walls. There’s even a copy of the infamous Channel 5 press advert featuring David Batty in a pair of fishnets and stilettos.

With plasma screens, a pool table and this season’s must have accessory, a roof terrace, The Strawberry is a pleasant little stomping ground for the lunchtime trade with its simple menu of burgers, jacket potatoes and toasties. The bean burger is full and tasty and served with a side salad and thick cut chips. A perfect little mid-week treat in your dinner hour.

Whether you’re looking for an after-work watering hole or somewhere to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine with friends, both Shearer’s and The Strawberry are a stones throw from town and a couple of minutes from the Metro.

Photo by Phil Thirkwell on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

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