Chase is a party venue at the weekend, but it's also a Quayside classic which attracts punters for both food and drink.

The Venue
It's been here nearly 10 years but Chase was recently closed for two months for a major refurb and now it looks modern, clean and spacious. It’s airy, with windows all around, and has a mottled-grey stone floor and grey-white ceiling. The white marble-topped bar runs along the left hand side and on the other side are stripy bright orange, red, yellow and blue padded stools with caramel tops and low, dark G-plan tables.

A higher-level room to the left is similarly designed, with the addition of brown and faded-gold wallpaper and chandeliers dripping with twinkling glass. But perhaps the most appealing thing about Chase is the large decked area at the back. It is surrounded by trellises, heavy with flowers in bloom, and sits atmospherically under the enormous iconic industrial revolution era Tyne Bridge with its massive iron girders and statuesque feel.

The People
Things ebb and flow in the Quayside depending on the vagaries of weather and other factors. It can be quiet in the week but at the weekend Chase gets rammed to the rafters with hen and stag parties. Beery guys and gawping dolls (in fancy dress or otherwise) in their twenties and thirties engage in a bit of dirty dancing, sometimes with each other. And on warm weekends the beer garden gets very busy too.

The Food and Drink
On tap you’ve got Foster’s, John Smith’s, Woodpecker, Guinness, Strongbow and Peroni and in bottles there’s Budweiser, Stella, Tiger, Bulmers, Kopparberg, Heineken and Newcastle Brown Ale. It’s a measly £6.95 for a bottle of white, red and rose Corte Vigna (you can pay that for a large glass in an upmarket hotel). Newcastle is probably the alcopops capital of Britain and here you have Reef, VIce, VK Blue, VK Cherry, VK Apple, VK Orange and VK Tropical.

There are seven cocktails including Granny Smith, Skittles and Viagra (Red Bull, vodka and blue curacao) and they cost just £1.95 each from Sunday to Thursday till 8pm. The food includes panini, wraps, burgers, salads and focaccia (a mozzarella, sweet tapenade and baby spinach one is £3.79) — a cheese pizza is £5.99 and scampi and chips is £6.49. There’s a kids’ menu too.

The Last Word
If you fancy a fling on the waterfront head to Chase which is one of the best and most popular party haunts.

venue information venue map view newcastle review user reviews (1)