The Marcantonio family opened their first ice-cream parlour in Newcastle in 1902, and they still…read moremake pretty much the best ice-cream in town. I have to say, I have some hazy halcyon childhood memories of ice-cream sundaes or coke-floats in this place, so that may perhaps colour my perceptions of it somewhat. But I've taken children recently, and their faces light up in the same way I'm sure mind did. They have 4 cafes around the town centre, but this is the one I am constantly drawn back to. Set on the edge of town proper, opposite the Haymarket bus-station and near the University (with St. James not to far either!) it just feels a little more laid-back than the town-centre branches. As soon as you go in there's a more old-school feel than your modern coffee bars, accentuated by the photos of the store through the ages and the ice-cream carts which line the walls. The clientelle tends more towards locals and shoppers, with the students seemingly not noticing this is under their noses, so there is little modern cool (affected or otherwise) here, just a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. They have a good range of sanwiches, also generally available as baguettes, panini, or wraps, and a choice of hot-food including a classic all-day breakfast. There's a great selection of cakes, and the coffee is good if not the best in town. But really, its the ice-cream that draws people back here. As soon as you sit down your eye is draw to the colourful photos on the comprehensive sundae menu. Its hard to concentrate on the main course as your mind turns over the question of the inevitable desert. The choice is dizzying and inventive, with themes by flavour, or colour, or liquer. As soon as you've made your choice the inevitable question is Which will I have the next time?, as you know there'll be a next time as soon as you start eating your current choice. Like many of the best things the secret seems to be quite simple: just make great tasting ice cream. Like the classic gelati, this just tastes of what it should - freshly and vibrantly. The concept of Hey, I know what we should put in this strawberry ice cream: strawberries. Not those chemicals someone has decided make us think we're eating strawberries. As I say, simple, but all to often goes wrong, in this country at least. But not at Mark Toneys! Cones are available, for when you can't manage a whole sundae, and take-away is available on most items too. They've just opened a Subway next to this branch, and I'm hoping that doesn't draw too much food business away. But these guys have been doing this for over 100 years now - I'm sure they've seen off plenty of other pretenders in that time!

I only had a snack meal here and a cup of coffee but service was prompt, food was perfectly OK and…read morethe price was reasonable. The restaurant sells a wide variety of modest-cost dishes so this is a suitable place to eat if you simply need feeding in pleasant surroundings but it is not intended as a night out venue.

Great coffee reasonably priced sarnies and snacks. The smoothies are fruity and decadent. You quite…read moreoften see a man with sparrow like calves slurping latte's. Martehhh out

We stopped by this coffee shop after our cab dropped us off by the river. Their prices and coffee…read morewere great, and it had the perfect coffee shop feel to it. Even though I totally embarrassed myself by accidentally flinging my debit card at the cute cashier/barista (not sure how that even happened... awesome first impression of an American tourist -_- ), I would definitely come back. Carson C. Visalia, California

I love having this little coffee shop on my doorstep. If you're lucky enough to get a seat in the…read morewindow it's an ideal spot for people watching and admiring the view of Newcastle Quayside whilst getting your caffeine fix! The coffee is great (as the name suggests)...a little on the milder side from my perspective but this allows me to justify stopping for more than one. I also quite like the flavoured syrups to jazz up a latte although this can make the drinks quite expensive....luckily they have a loyalty card! The staff are pleasant enough (some better than others as you might expect) and they were helpful in bringing my coffee over to me when I was on crutches without me needing to ask. It's quite small inside with limited room at the end of the counter to collect your drinks and so a queue can form pretty quickly. This means it can also be a little noisy which is a shame given the tranquillity of the surroundings. I haven't sampled the food here yet but the cake selection grabs my attention each time...definitely one to try in the future.

Visited sunday lunchtime. There were only a handful of patrons and two members of staff, but…read moredespite this we still waited nearly 10 minutes for one Latte (bitter tasting as if the coffee had not bee brewed freshly) and one Mocha (overly sweet with little coffee taste). Our table was dirty and there were crumbs on the seats and sofa and there was plenty of food to be seen under other tables and chairs; interestingly, lots of grapes...which we noted were not on sale that day, so assumed this debris was left over from another day. Not really sure if the two staff were having some difficulty with the coffee machines, but there was a number of loud bangs as if someone was giving something a good thump in the back...this banging occurred whenever a coffee was ordered so we assumed so. In summary, very average coffee served in surroundings that needed a good clean; there really was no excuse for either of these given the few customers....unless of course this IS the reason for the lack of patrons...

Large space inside & plenty of outdoor seating. Good range of excellent sandwiches. Recommend…read moresliced chicken & bacon sandwich. Good coffee, free papers & good atmosphere. Just down road from Team Valley shops

Wow!! If you like desserts this is the place to go......I cannot fault my visit to Creams on their…read moreopening night last night! Impeccable service and super friendly staff made this a fantastic end to the night. Not to mention the abundance of delicious food we ordered. I had a nutella waffle with coconut which was gorgeous and my friends ordered ice cream and a banoffee crepe. All were presented very nicely but more importantly tasted divine! Huge portions so if you are visiting make sure you have plenty of room.....or if like us you failed the challenge you can take it away Win Win!! It really has a wonderfully chilled out atmosphere with retro 90's music in the background,a huge disco ball reflecting the light off the black glittery walls and ample booths where people can enjoy their food in almost an American style diner. They even had Frozen playing on the telly in the background which would be ideal for any children. I can really see this place attracting families on the weekend,young adults midweek and basically any dessert fans late evening after a meal elsewhere. My only concern would be its location in that come Fri/Sat night there will be large volumes of drunk people passing by and I just hope it doesn't upset the ambience.

You've tried Kaspa's in Newcastle now try the new kid on the bl.... Who am I trying to kid, this is…read morealmost a mirror image of the other shop, only cheaper with more room, less cakes (for the time being), give it a bash, you'll not be disappointed.

Visited Doppio's Coffee House for the first time today and had a terrific experience. The interior…read moreand atmosphere is very cosy and the staff are all welcoming. The food and drink is priced fairly well in my opinion. I first ordered a banana milkshake which was delicious, served quickly and perfectly cold! A little while later I purchased a cheese and bean jacket potato (pictured) which came at the perfect temperature (hot, but not too hot that you have to wait 10minutes before attempting to eat it!). This came with very generous amounts of topping as well as a fresh side salad. Overall a great little place and I had a lovely time sitting and sketching in here. Close to Blyth Bus Station which is very convenient. Definitely plan on visiting again & hope to become w regular! :)

The only reason I put 1 star on this review for doppios is because I had to put a star! there is no…read moreoption for nil amounts! I have been to this place 3 times, the 3rd being my last. I went with my 2 children to meet a friend and her young child. We sat and had a coffee and some food which was nice, however I ordered toast for my son and it arrived cold, I asked for them to replace it and they refused to do so, the attitude of the staff was awful, I was then faced with 2 of their staff standing there completely having a go at me and trying to intimidate me just because I asked for them to replace my cold toast!!! I spent 20 minutes arguing with them and in the end she replaced my toast and practically threw it at me!! upon leaving doppios the young male member of staff told me good riddance and I wasn't welcome back well except he used a lovely selection of swear words including F words infront of 3 young children, at this point I went mad, I stood my ground told them what I though and then left the shop only for this male to follow me down the street still using a very colourful language and accusing me of throwing food on the floor (we didn't as it wasn't the table we were sat at!) I will never use this place ever again and since this day I know of at least 4 companies who refuse to use this company as they had seen/heard the commotion! Stear clear of this place, there are plenty of other nice places to eat/grab a coffee in blyth it really isn't worth visiting! I hope trading standards close them down! I reported them!

This branch of Starbucks is one of the many branches which the company has in Newcastle city…read morecentre, I called in here for a coffee while walking around the city centre, this is a decent branch of Starbucks, it has limited seating on the ground level with more seating outside and in the basement. This store also has online ordering which is pretty cool, meaning you can order your drink before you arrive in the store, as it is located on Grainger Street the store name, for online ordering purposes is the same. I ordered a Venti Vanilla Latte Iced with Whipped Cream, the drink quality was good and my order was right first time, the store did try to advertise the mobile ordering system heavily, and the new origin espresso which is probably my favourite, the Blonde espresso. The staff seemed nice enough, although the store seemed a little bit understaffed away from the counter, and eventually when I got someones attention, I was told it was Grainger Street hence I sent my mobile orders through. This Starbucks also seems to be located in some sort of old-fashioned arcade, which I could see with the window which looks into it. The store had a small range of merchandise including the new Newcastle Under-Lyne mugs. I feel this Starbucks is not yet a 4-star store because - There isn't a large amount of seating on the ground level and very few standard low level and comfortable seating - Having my problems sorted in a quicker manner such as the store location so I could order on the app Overall, my trip to Newcastle got off to a good start with a good trip to this decent Starbucks, warranting a high three-star rating I'm pleased to report. UPDATE: I called into this Starbucks ahead of setting off to St James Park, to see what turned out to be a fantastic dominant Manchester City performance, where Raheem Sterling bagged the winner in a 1-0 win over Newcastle. This Starbucks seemed a little unwelcoming due to the door type, and inside the layout was a little cramped, for example the curve of the store/staircase was so narrow and I also found there to be a lack of seating around the store which simply isn't good enough for a city-centre location yet the decent location in the city-centre on Grainger Street nonetheless and drink quality isn't awful so this place does deserve over a one-star rating, yet sadly not more than two-stars.

I met my boyfriend here on our very first date!…read more Admitedly it was because there was a back entrance and the option to run away was always there :-) I didn't, and neither did he and we are still together months later. Must be the coffee....or something! x

Delicious breakfast and pastries. The staff are friendly and the food was so tasty. Great place for…read moreany day of the week breakfast or lunch

The interior is super cute! Very simple menu, but a bit of a…read morevariety - I know, it kind of negates itself, but if you see the menu, you know what I mean. Enough to not be upset but not enough to have your choice of anything. There's no flavors so I chose the cold brew with whole milk. I was not disappointed. It mixed well enough that it wasn't an overly coffee flavor. I'd be back.