Soul Foods

Newcastle makes an artform of reclaimed spaces and, having won back this grand room of scalloped columns and ornate Deco ceilings from a fried chicken chain, Soul Foods can claim a victory for slow food over fast food. The tucker here is terrific, cooked at a huge open kitchen, and hitting the table chemical-free and crackling with local flavours (a hand-scripted chalkboard salutes the “Soul Family” of regional producers and farmers). And don’t leave without a jar of Bum Hummers.