Restaurateur brings Victorian splendour to Newcastle’s Quayside

A leading North East restaurateur is opening a flagship eatery on Newcastle’s vibrant Quayside in December.

Andy Hook, owner of Blackfriars Restaurant in Newcastle and Hinnies Restaurant in Whitley Bay, is teaming up with head chef Troy Terrington to open Dobson and Parnell at 21 Queen Street, specialising in refined British and European cuisine.

Set within a Victorian Grade II listed building, the elegant high-ceilinged dining room will add a touch of old-school, understated glamour and comfort to the venue.

The 65-seat restaurant, which has created 20 new jobs, has been named in honour of two of Newcastle’s Victorian architectural stalwarts, John Dobson and William Parnell, who designed the original building in 1863.

Chef Patron, Troy Terrington, who is taking the reins within the new Dobson and Parnell kitchen, moved to the North East in 2005 and worked as head chef at both Blackfriars Restaurant and Jesmond Dene House. His menus, which he’ll re-write every day depending on the freshest produce he can find, will use ethically-sourced local, seasonal produce direct from nearby farms and markets.

The restaurant will be open six days a week serving lunch and dinner and serve a week day Set Menu on weekday lunchtimes and early evening as well as a refined à la carte menu and Tasting Menu in the evenings. Sunday lunch will also be served from 12-4pm on Sundays.

Andy Hook said: “I fell in love with this site the first time I saw it. That was back in in the mid-nineties when I used to peer longingly through the windows at the elegant Victorian dining room and happy diners. It’s perfectly proportioned as a restaurant with a cavernous kitchen ideally suited for Troy’s innovative and creative cooking.

“What’s more, Newcastle’s Quayside has experienced a revival of top notch restaurants and bars in the past year, so when we saw an opportunity to open in such a vibrant location, we just couldn’t resist.