As You Like It

Brought to you by the same company that runs the popular music venue Mr Lynch and luxury bar Apartment, As You Like It sells itself in the style of a country pub with good English food made from locally sourced products.

The Venue
The ground floor of an office block isn't the most glamorous setting for a place of this ambition, but inside is a different world entirely. Stone walls and wood panels are the main recurring theme, as are the various interesting ornaments and antiques littered throughout – in fact they're more than willing to sell these curious items, and also buy any of your own unusual artefacts should you bring them with you to dinner.

By the entrance is a children's play area and leather seating with low tables. The main part of the restaurant has a variation of long but sturdy bench tables and circular tables with matching leather seats.

To access the outside terrace you have to shuffle through tables and there isn't quite as much room as there needs to be. This makes things a little uncomfortable for diners and those passing through. Once outside, the wooden terrace is pleasant enough, with heat lamps for the evenings, but no views of any sort other than nearby offices and the metro line.

The People
The staff do their best to be helpful and are friendly enough, though the occasional aloof team member can be found posturing near the bar. As for the clientele, it depends. A great deal of businesses come here, as well as young professionals on nights out, so expect to see plenty of well-dressed and fashion-conscious types trying out the hottest new restaurant in town.

There are also plenty of students due to its proximity to both universities and residential hotspot, Jesmond. Families are more than welcome, and this place has one of the best children's menus in town, including a smaller portion of anything from the main menu on offer.

The Food
Soup starts at £5 and side orders, such as goat's cheese, rocket and tomato salad, and Moroccan green beans are priced at around £3 or just under. The prices escalate quite a bit, with starters varying from £7 for buffalo mozzarella salad with ciabatta to chilli salt, soft-shell crab with cashew nuts and lemon soy at £9.

The Mongolian steak sandwich with black bean aioli, side salad and crisps (£8) is delicious and succulent in the way all meat should be. The black beans definitely help to infuse an Oriental flavour, but this is only available on the day menu. That said, there are few differences in meals between the day and evening meals so it's not a big problem.

For mains there's plenty of choice, including an Aberdeen Angus burger with cheese and tomato pickle for £10, possibly the cheapest main meal on offer. Again, the beef is tender and juicy, and the chefs have achieved that rare quality required for this king of meals. The Middle Eastern spiced lamb skewer with chickpea stew, tabbouli and flat bread, at £12, should be more filling than it is but seems to take longer to read on the menu than consume.

For seafood fans, £14 gets you geng gari curry of red snapper, tiger prawns, butternut squash, sweet potato, spring onion and basil with steamed jasmine rice, which sounds like a mouthful, but sadly it isn't. That's not to say the quality of the menu is poor - it's good tasty food - but you have to pay for it and may find yourself hungry after you've left.

The Drink
There’s a great range of wine available but, like the food, it's far from cheap. Around £4.50 for a small glass can sting a little, but it's the same throughout their drinks range. Guest ales are available and there's a good selection of regular and not-so-regular lagers and bottled drinks, but you'll be hard pushed to get more than two drinks for less than £10.

The Last Word
Overall, As You Like It has its heart in the right place, and creates some dazzling dishes with the best local ingredients. The downside is the cost of that is transferred to you, with small portions and no real atmosphere to speak of.

Compared to other city centre restaurants As You Like It has a long way to go before it can fully live up to the hype.

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