It has been a very long time coming since the initial announcement landed on Tyneside that a Hard Rock Cafe® was coming to town, fast forward to a lot of hard graft behind the scenes (and a global pandemic to boot) and now the most hotly anticipated cafe is set to open this May.
Located in the Quayside’s Guildhall, the cafe runs across two floors of the Grade 1 listed building and is home to some iconic pieces of rock memorabilia alongside the famous steakburgers that the Hard Rock Cafe® brand is renowned for, Newcastle is no exception with their very own ‘Whey Aye’ speciality burger.
The burger is served with Northumberland nettle cheese, a Newcastle Brown Ale onion compote, horseradish cream with spring onion, cheddar cheese and a pease pudding beignet. Served on a toasted charcoal and sesame seed bun.
In addition to the speciality burger, the menu boasts salads with steak, grilled chicken or California-style cobb – chicken with roasted corn, black beans and Monterey Jack cheese, while sandwiches include barbecue pulled pork, grilled chicken or the Classic Club, all served with seasoned or cheese fries.
Make it a hurricane…it’s 5 o’clock somewhere
Of course, no trip to a Hard Rock Cafe is complete without sampling the drinks menu, in the name of Rock ‘n Roll of course. With a selection of bottled beers and wines, a range of ‘boozy milkshakes’ and signature cocktails including the Hurricane – a 1940s New Orleans classic comprised of Bacardi Superior Rum, a blend of orange, mango, pineapple juice and grenadine, finished with a float of Captain Morgan Dark Rum and Amaretto. You will certainly leave the Hard Rock Cafe with rosy cheeks.
No Hard Rock Cafe® is complete without legendary memorabilia, and with a pick of 83,000 pieces in the Hard Rock’s collection, there are some humble nods to Tyneside with items from the collection belonging to local lads Sting and Sam Fender. A signed guitar from AC/DC – pulling in Gateshead born Brian Johnson’s local heritage and of course pieces from the Mark Knopfler collection. This is teamed perfectly with items from other icons such as Luther Vandross and even a love letter to Blake written by Amy Winehouse.
The rest of the world becomes a gift shop
For Hard Rock connoisseurs there’s a well-stocked gift shop on entry (and exit) to ensure that your merchandise needs are met. So grab your grey Hard Rock hoodie and represent Newcastle all over the globe!
With space to safely cover 150 guests indoors as part of the COVID hospitality scheme, the team behind the franchise have plans to expand outside too for the ever-growing popular al fresco dining experience.
The franchise, secured by North East healthcare entrepreneurs David and Penny Tilly, with the support of NGI and NE1. cited that the route to opening had been challenging. Penny said they are “delighted to be opening and can’t wait to see the reaction to it.
“It’s been quite a rocky road what with the obstacles that inevitably come with listed buildings and, of course, a global pandemic,” she said.
“But Hard Rock has been incredibly supportive. As everyone knows, their standards are incredibly high, but they’ve backed us to the hilt and now we just want to see people’s faces when they see it.
“I think they’ll be blown away – and it’s a great coup for the city to have the first-ever Hard Rock Cafe® in the North East of England.”
Bookings when open will be available via the online site and OpenTable this is anticipated for the end of May. So let’s all get ready to rock on down the Quayside to celebrate in style.
