Terry Laybourne – EatNorthEast

Whenever I’m visiting a city for the first time, I seek out fish restaurants in the vicinity. I adore seafood and will eat it at every opportunity. With that in mind, I can’t really explain why it took so long to visit Newcastle’s Saltwater Fish Company. Actually, I do know the reason. I don’t like bar stools. More specifically, I dislike sitting on high seating at a bar counter for anything other than a drink or snack.

The Seating

Saltwater Fish Company’s dining area is arranged around two counters with bar stools which are immediately adjacent to a fishmonger’s chilled display cabinet and an open kitchen. Fenwick Food Hall customers can buy wet fish to cook at home or they can stay and eat at the dining counters.

Eventually, the strength of temptation overcame my dislike of perching and I braced myself to try some light dishes at the elevated, marble-topped counters. After a few visits I was relieved to discover that it is possible to be seated at a “normal” dining table in the attached-at-the-hip Porterhouse Butcher and Grill and order food from Saltwater’s menu. You can even mix and match. Choose one course from Saltwater then the next course from Porterhouse, for example.

The Food

I’ve taken advantage of that flexibility on many occasions and grown to be enamoured with the quality of the produce and the skilled treatment of the seafood. I’ve also appreciated the friendly service with staff willing to advise on dishes and accompanying wines. The wine list is well chosen and from time to time, some very interesting “guest” wines are available.

It would be difficult to choose a favourite dish from this kitchen. Each time I’ve eaten a meal there I’ve been inclined to rate it as the “best yet”.

The key to the success of Saltwater’s cooking is the use of supremely fresh produce as a starting point. Then there is a willingness to add classic sauces and garnishes to some of the dishes while at other times offering inventive, even rather surprising combinations. Whether traditional or avant-garde, the accompaniments never overshadow the fish. The seafood remains the star of the show every time a plate leaves the kitchen.

An All Day Menu changes with the seasons and offers a range of dishes from snacks to main courses and desserts. In addition, a blackboard displays the day’s specials.

A speciality of this restaurant which I have yet to try are their “Fruits de Mer” platters. I’m also of little help in recommending desserts as I’m usually too full before I reach that section of the menu!

The most effective way to describe the variety of Saltwater’s food is visually! Some highlights:

Oysters: raw, cold dressed and hot dressed:

Calamari: Grilled and Deep Fried:

Scallops:

Main Courses and Side Dishes:

And the winner is:

I did say it would be difficult to choose a favourite dish from this kitchen. Not impossible though. Utterly hopeless at cooking monkfish at home, I only eat this fish when a skilled professional cooks it for me.

When the daily “specials” board offered a starter of deep fried monkfish pieces accompanied by wild garlic aioli, the combination sounded irresistible. It was the juiciest, most flavoursome, most tender monkfish I’ve eaten and all encased in a hot, crunchy coating. The aioli – from foraged wild garlic – had the texture of silk and a flavour which had depth but avoided overpowering the fish. It was just spectacular in every respect.

Accessibility:

Saltwater Fish Company is situated on the ground floor of Fenwick department store. The nearest store entrance is located on Northumberland Street and can be accessed without the need to negotiate steps. The restaurant does not have it’s own bathroom facility but toilets and washrooms are situated within the store and can be accessed either by lift or escalators.

Prices:

Starters are currently priced from £9 to £19, main courses from £18.50 to £48 and desserts at £7 to £13. Oysters are normally priced starting from £4 but are often on offer. Plateaux de Fruits de Mer start at £80.

Comment:

I’ve eaten in seafood restaurants on the French and Portuguese Atlantic Coast, in Mediterranean and Aegean villages, in Norway and in the southern United States. I’ve enjoyed fish in Britain cooked by Nathan Outlaw, Tom Brown and Roy Brett. The dishes coming out of Chris Eagle’s kitchen at Saltwater Fish Company rank among the best I’ve ever tasted.

Details:

Executive Chef: Chris Eagle

Address: Porterhouse Butcher and Grill, Fenwick Food Hall, Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7AS

Telephone Reservations: 0191 239 6613

Restaurant Website: saltwaterfish.co.uk

Reservations can also be made through Open Table’s website or App

Management: Terry Laybourne’s 21 Hospitality Group

A.P. 26 August 2023

Abbreviated versions of this review appear on tripadvisor.co.uk under the profile Aileron (@aileron777 ) and on OpenTable under the profile AmaziliaPeacock.

Photo Credits:

A view of the exterior of Fenwick Department store in Newcastle upon Tyne as viewed from Northumberland Street. — Fenwick Department Store, Newcastle upon Tyne

I was pleased to receive an email a few days ago from 21 Hospitality Group, the group of restaurants and cafes in Newcastle and York headed by chef Terry Laybourne. I was pleased to learn that Porterhouse, one of the group’s restaurants within Fenwick department store in Newcastle city centre, is once again able to offer dining seven days a week and I was glad to have my memory jogged back to the last time I dined there.

To be more specific, my visit to Porterhouse in March 2020 was the last time I ate out anywhere – just as the global pandemic was beginning to apply its grip and activities which we had come to view as normal began to be curtailed.

I remember my thoughts as I sat at my table watching the staff working around the grill and service areas: “This may well be my last visit for a while”. As the months passed, I started to view that meal out as a sort of pre-Covid personal landmark . I pledged to myself that if this restaurant could survive the financial and practical difficulties the pandemic was causing that I would make it the first restaurant to head for when the dust settled from this extraordinary global event.

I wondered what might have been holding me back from reviewing the restaurant. Perhaps uncertainty about prospects for the survival and continuation of businesses in the post-pandemic phase had been acting as a restraint. Now, with the restaurant up and running, it’s time I converted my recollections and scribbled notes into a report. Look out for a review of Porterhouse Butcher and Grill midweek.

A.P.

24 October 2021