We had just come from seeing the 1200 year old priory and castle at the other end of the street and…read moreit was a bitterly cold, fog enveloped morning. Everything about this wonderful place is focused on quality and the smells were just glorious. There were four of us and a dog but the dog wasn't allowed to rest up inside for long. I ordered up a few different coffees and we sat outside in the cold - my flat white was superb. I chose to add champagne truffles on the side to go with our drinks and from memory it was £4 or £1 per truffle. When I ordered up two boxes of truffles to go at around £16/17 each I was warned that they would only last 10 days as there's no artificial additives so this was music to my ears - real, fresh made, exquisite food made with loving care. I reassured the friendly server that they wouldn't survive the next 10 days. They didn't survive three days. I opted to put identical chocolates into each box. I chose brandy, ginger, gin and a few others and they were all just superb. The alcohol was notable and made them truly delicious and the ginger was an exquisite balance of flavour and spice warmth. It had a little bit of crystallised ginger which really enhanced and maximised taste. I also got a few brownies including a raspberry one. Just so good. The staff were all charming and these are the places we must support and even more so now.

This branch of Hotel Chocolate is quite a good branch of the high-end chocolate chain located…read moreinside Gateshead's Metrocentre. With it being a busy shop in the busy Metrocentre, I'm surprised I'm only the second person to review this store this decade and the first in close to 7 whole years, it seems not much has changed since then most of the comments in the previous reviews, from Qype still apply. The staff here seemed good, I was greeted and offered to try a sample of chocolate as I looked around the store, the store was quite spacious and has decent products including a mix of iced tea and chocolate, this was quite expensive however at around £2.50, however I found most things in this store a little expensive and high-end, as this is more of a high-end chocolate retailer. The chocolate stocked was quite innovative with some cool ideas, which sounded like a cross between disgusting and great such as with the iced tea infused with chocolate, however I was put off purchasing this because of the disgusting element to it, and the high price-tag. This place deserves a solid three star rating as service is good, and product range is good however due to slightly unusual produce making me feel Heston Blumenthal has helped them design the menu, and some slight issues with pricing with low quantity for high prices, makes me feel the highest I can go in terms of rating this store is a solid three star rating.

wow the chocolate here is fabulous, you get a lovely smell of it as you walk past and you can see…read morethrough the window all the amazing chocolate in different forms. Really expensive for what u get though but the staff are dead friendly. I love the packaging of this chocolate and it really does make a good gift. Sometimes there are tasters standing in the doorway. worth a trip just to sample this great chocolate! This company have a really good reputation, if you order online you pay a heffy delivery fee but u can sometimes find good discount codes online.

Standard Thorntons fare…read more Not the world's best chocolate, but far, far from the worst.

Located in the hub of stores at the top of Stanhope street in Fenham, this is one of the best…read morestores stocking fresh South Asian sweets that I've come across outside of India. You can find all the common favourites including Gulab Jamun, Barffi, Jalebi, etc. alongside great Baklava that are all at a very high standard. The prices are consistently reasonable and the choices always delicious. As well as sweets, they are a very popular lunchtime destination for savoury Asian snacks and dishes. Makes me hungry just thinking about them!

Probably the best vegetable samosas, bahjis & veg pakora in Newcastle. Also very tasty & reasonably…read morepriced vegetarian curry dishes. Definitely worth a visit

Very nice little shop full of nice little things, sweets and lovely Belgian chocolate.read more

This branch of Whittard of Chelsea is a slightly small branch, albeit typical in terms of store…read moresize for the brand, it is located in Eldon Square Shopping Centre in Newcastle City centre. I really didn't like this store, for me whether you are a big fan of tea and coffee, or not, one can realise this store is frankly dreadful. I noticed there were some boxes from stock which had been unloaded around the store, which made an already cramped store, even more cramped. The store seemed to sell most of Whittard's product range including the instant teas, which I saw have been dropped in price to £6 from £6.50, albeit the overall feel of the store just seemed like a tight squeeze to get around, somewhere one would have to walk in single file yet again, and for me that isn't an enjoyable shop experience. The staff seemed average, they seemed to be the type who would say hello as you walked in, but not go out of their way to help you, which seemed to be the case, albeit I only think they engaged with me (they didn't with other customers I saw) as I was taking photos around the store, perhaps they did this because they thought a review was to come or I was a mystery shopper? Overall, the overall nature and feel of the store, slightly poor product range in certain areas especially when compared to the likes of Manchester Lowry branches of Whittard, this store sadly deserves a single one star rating.

Tea for me please! This was the shop I discovered my dearly beloved Lindor chocolates back int he…read morehay day that was my youth (not sure where the chocolates have gone since...). Anyway, since "maturing" I have delved into the fantastic world of different types of loose tea leaves and fruity teas. As a child, I always hated the elders bitty, bitter burning liquid that ended with soggy leaves stuck to your face drinks. But now I can enjoy them for health benefits and enjoyment in cute little teapots and mugs! This is THE sweet shop for serious tea drinkers with the many, many, many choices they give you, all the paraphernalia that s available and there's lots of gift choices to choose from for that person you know who is armed with a mug in hand (or a cheeky present for yourself?). There's a huge array of teas to choose from in such a little shop (too many for my tiny purse!) but everyday you can have a taste test (but please don't be the idiot that can't poor hot beverages and make them ban the taster cups so you have to awkwardly ask the same shop assistant time and time again to get a free scrumpy sip of heaven). Nothing says relaxing better than a good cuppa, am I right? I might also add, the hot chocolate flavours and instant tea mixes are the bomb.

Remember last year when you promised you would make the effort to be creative and make an elaborate…read morecake for that special occassion? Well, it's that time of year again and you have some spare cash and experimental time in the kitchen at hand. Celebrations which is formerly known as Cooks Corner, has relocated to Team Valley which isn't that hard to find if you are familiar with Gateshead. Here you will find everything you will need to make a masterpiece and if what you want isn't in, they can order it for you. Various colours of marzipan, icing sugar, different powders, pastes and pretty flower cutters are sold here. Your other option is to pretend you bought all of these things and wasted that time in the kitchen. There is a huge range of novelty hand crafted cakes available to buy so you might as well save yourself some time and let the professionals do the hard work. Beautifully crafted cakes are available for any occassion including weddings and christenings. Scrumptiously tasty!