Newcastle's newest fine-dining restaurant has received a rave review from a top food critic.
Solstice, which started welcoming customers in early July, is the second restaurant by House of Tides' Kenny Atkinson, with his wife Abbie on board for the restaurant on The Side on Newcastle Quayside. And it has now been the subject of a review by Guardian food critic Grace Dent.
And it's safe to say that Grace, who occasionally appears on MasterChef, was impressed by her experience at the high-end restaurant, which seats just 14 diners.
Read more: Kenny Atkinson's new Newcastle restaurant Solstice unveils £140 tasting menu
Of her experience at Solstice, she wrote: "At Solstice, the sky is the limit, and he (Kenny Atkinson) has full licence to unleash his imagination and intentions to wow. This isn’t just fine dining; it is an 18-course, three-hour tip-toe through dishes so ornately and painstakingly prepared that at times it feels a shame to eat them."
Grace's highlight of the £140-per-person tasting menu was a "chunky slab of fragrant langoustine with the most peculiar-looking purple potato tart hewn from langoustine claw and festooned in herbs and flowers." She was also impressed by the lamb course, and a dessert featuring local honey delivered at least six ways.
She added: "There will, I feel, always be a place for the kind of cooking Atkinson and his ilk yearn to deliver, because it is special food for the most special of special occasions."
Solstice responded to Grace Dent's review on Twitter, saying: "Thankyou to @gracedent @guardian for an amazing review on our new restaurant @Solstice_ncl and to the team for their hard work."
And Northumberland's most recently Michelin-starred restaurant, Pine at Vallum Farm, also praised the review, saying: "A beautiful review for Solstice and another fantastic edition to our country’s hospitality scene."
To read the full review of Solstice in the Guardian, click here. To view a sample menu or to book a table, click here.
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