What to expect from the new Eden venue in The Gate in Newcastle city centre
This summer a new chain opened in its place at The Gate and it’s hoping to blossom at this prime Newcastle city centre site.
Eden is geared towards the Millennial crowd with its neon signs, Instagram-friendly foliage and botanical theme.
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Hide AdAlthough the Tiger Tiger footprint is still there, with a bar and restaurant on the ground floor, and clubbing rooms upstairs, the new look is a lot brighter and vibrant than its predecessor.
For those still after clubbing, the two upstairs floors are now home to Hedonist a club room; Genesis, a retro-inspired 80s, 90s and 00s party; Forbidden which plays hip hop beats and Voice of Eden which features a karaoke system and private booths.
Tiger Tiger wasn’t exactly known for its restaurant, but Eden seems to lend itself better to dining. A colourful bar area, complete with a faux cherry blossom tree and floral-heavy seating leads to a large restaurant setting.
For those eating for a special occasion there’s three private dining rooms with different themes: Adam’s Allotment, Eve’s Florist and Serpent’s Secret Garden.
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Hide AdWe ate in the main area but it was so quiet it felt pretty private, maybe because the site is more associated with clubbing than eating. It meant we had the undivided attention of our waiter whose friendliness we couldn’t fault.
The menu’s got a good range of choice on there, such as pizzas, sandwiches, steaks, burgers and seafood.
Starters can be ordered as such, or as small plates, with options such as katsu chicken skewers (£5.25), mac and cheese bites (£4) and chorizo scotch egg (£5.75).
I chose the potted crab and prawn (£6.75) which was a little small but tasted satisfying: a rich blend of crab meat and prawns in crème fraîche which I mopped up with the toasted sourdough.
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Hide AdFor mains I had the fillet steak (£21), a smaller size than most places at around 6oz, that comes with chips which I swerved for salad. I’d ordered it medium rare and it was served as a buttery pink slab which went down a treat.
The botanical theme flows through to the drinks menu with a rainbow of flavours on offer, such as Paradise Punch, Petal and Peaches, Forbidden Fruit and Raspberry Rum Spritz, more classic options, as well as no less than 22 different gin choices.
Wine drinkers are also better catered for than in most bars and clubs in this area with a good range on offer and we enjoyed our citrusy Picpoul £25, which went particularly well with my seafood starter.
To shave some pounds off the bill you can get half price cocktails from 5pm to 9pm every day.