Five North East establishments have been included in the SquareMeal Top 100 UK restaurants list.

Solstice Newcastle came in 17th place on the list, placing higher than the other North East restaurants that feature.

Raby Hunt in Darlington, House of Tides in Newcastle and Route Bistro in Newcastle are also among the restaurants named in the list.

SquareMeal is the UK’s leading independent restaurant guide and deliberately excludes London restaurants to allow venues from around the UK to be recognised.

The full Top 100 list can be viewed over at the SquareMeal website.

What did SquareMeal say about Solstice Newcastle?

SquareMeal wrote: “The dining room itself is sleek and modern, with wall-mounted lamps echoing the restaurant’s sun logo, and pressed white tablecloths lending the restaurant a slightly more formal air."

A lot of Solstice Newcastle produce is sourced close to home, SquareMeal added: “Dishes are precise and complex, but aim to present each primary ingredient in its purest form.

"See for example a lobster dish where lobster tail is slow roasted in lobster oil, made from the shells and head of the lobster, then poached in brown butter and finished with fresh fennel pollen and a yuzu kosho butter sauce."

North East restaurants named in Squaremeal’s UK Top 100 Restaurants list

Here’s a list of all the North East restaurants that feature in the list along with their location and rank.

  • Solstice Newscastle- 17
  • Raby Hunt, Darlington- 28
  • House of Tides, Newcastle- 54
  • Peace & Loaf, Newcastle- 81
  • Route Bistro, Newcastle- 94

Speaking about the list SquareMeal said: "Each of the top 100 results are a unique combination of our own in-house critic-led opinions and thousands of diner votes.

"It’s this dual approach that makes our list incomparable, representing not only our professional opinion but thousands of real-life experiences that help to reinforce and bolster our final decisions.”