Peace & Loaf is worth every single penny

You might have heard of Peace & Loaf and if you haven’t, well, you should have. It’s located on Jesmond Road, just down Osborne Avenue and next to Pinetree gym.

I ventured out on a cold wintery evening (before 7pm – so I could afford it) to try ‘Masterchef: The Professionals‘ finalist, Dave Coulson’s restaurant. And I have to say, I wasn’t disappointed.

3 courses for £24.95! Just make sure you’re there between 5:30-7pm. This also includes two free appetisers between courses.

What’s this? FREE appetisers! This particular one is a fishcake on a pebble. Delightful.

Mouthwatering pea and mint macaroon (on dried peas for a little je ne sais quoi).

Still part of the appetisers. Prawn cocktail crisp. Not much to say here, a posh skip.

Pea and mint macaroon in its full glory. Just fab.

Onto the first dish I’m actually paying for. Deconstructed (don’t you watch Masterchef?) raw steak and mushroom pie. I was a bit put off with the raw part of this dish, but it was actually completely delicious and not at all slimy.

My boyfriend’s starter. This is a ‘Heritage tomato, Goats Cheese and Aged Balsamic.’ You’re starting to get the idea that every meal will look like a piece of art. This, I am told, was incredible.

Here’s where it gets a little strange. This is an ‘All-day breakfast on toast’, in piped blobs. This is your second FREE appetiser or palette cleanser (a what?) I have to say, I couldn’t quite stomach the cold baked bean orange blobs or the black pudding black blobs so I only ate half of this. But 10/10 for creativity.

The main! Finally. Having been on this hugely exciting culinary journey I can’t help but feel this is the main event. I have arrived. This is the Pork belly, carrot and creamed potato. And it was epic. I devoured every single mouthful, flavour after flavour that I didn’t even know existed. I even forgot about my wine.

Comparison main: Sea trout, chicken pie sauce, sprouting broccoli, smoked eel. Perfectly cooked fish, nothing is on this plate that doesn’t compliment every part of it. Stunning.

The grand finale! Chocolate orange and cardamon. I was told this was the chef’s new dish and my god did he deliver. If I presented a first draft of an essay it would leave a lot to be desired. But this was refined but yet indulgent. Chocolate mousse, Chantilly ice-cream, orange and chocolate macaroon (yippee another macaroon!), biscuit crunch. Divine.

At this point I really wanted to start all over again and try everything else on the menu. The overall experience was amazing and I can’t believe this kind of fine dining is affordable on a student budget. If you try one thing this week: try Peace & Loaf.