Palace Garden, Newcastle

Palace Garden

Located at the very end of Sowell Street, in the heart of Newcastle's Chinatown, this restaurant has been here for years-I remember going here when I was lots younger. It is now the Chinese restaurant favoured by Little Miss- something to do with bridges and fish I think! In fact when we were going into the restaurant for Chinese new Year, some children walking along the road were begging their parents to go to this restaurant.
...itself is right at the far end of the one way road which is Stowell Street. If going by car, it's worth parking in the multi storey car park at the start of the road and then walking- it takes only a couple of minutes.

The restaurant has large glass doors, and once inside there is a little garden and then stairs taking the diner to the restaurant.

The first thing we see is the bar to the left as you get to the top of ... more

Palace Garden

Located at the very end of Sowell Street, in the heart of Newcastle's Chinatown, this restaurant has been here for years-I remember going here when I was lots younger. It is now the Chinese restaurant favoured by Little Miss- something to do with bridges and fish I think! In fact when we were going into the restaurant for Chinese new Year, some children walking along the road were begging their parents to go to this restaurant.

**The Restaurant**

The restaurant itself is right at the far end of the one way road which is Stowell Street. If going by car, it's worth parking in the multi storey car park at the start of the road and then walking- it takes only a couple of minutes.

The restaurant has large glass doors, and once inside there is a little garden and then stairs taking the diner to the restaurant.

The first thing we see is the bar to the left as you get to the top of the stairs, and the lady manning the reception desk quickly sat us in the bar. T
With lots of red Chinese lanterns and a blossom tree, this bar is typical of a Chinese restaurant in everything but the rather unexpected purple swirly carpet. The seats in the bar are comfy, and diners are immediately served and the prawn crackers put on the table.

Not only is the décor all red lanterns and dragons (and I don't think this was just for the New Year) but a quick glance to the side of the bar assures me that we are indeed going to walk across the bridge which will lead us to the main dining area. And, as remembered and expected, under the bridge are some huge and very tame coy carp- go to the water's edge and they come to the surface of their shallow water for food- indeed you could stroke them if you felt so inclined!

The dining area is quite a large expanse with tables being almost in rows, and set out mainly in tables of 4, although there are a few circular tables. At one side of the room, and covering the whole wall along one side is a mural which Little Miss loves! It is basically a landscape showing very verdant hills and fields, and all looks incredibly luscious. Little Miss walks to the mural and looks at it quite frequently; she also goes to see the fish a lot, so maybe she is trying to tell us something about the company!

**Menu and Food**

There are the usual banquets starting at £16.50 and going up in price to about £30. Being creatures of habit, we usually go for a middle of the range banquet for two- there is then plenty for Little Miss to eat as well. The middle of the range banquet is the Orchid banquet and is available for 2 or more people. For the princely sum of £22.50 we ate chicken and sweetcorn soup, crispy duck (10 pancakes and lots of duck), Dim Sum, chicken in plum sauce, fillet steak in peking sauce, egg fried rice followed by the obligatory fruit.

The portions are very big, and there is no way anyone would come out of the restaurant needing more food, or feeling they had anything other than a feast! The only thing which disappointed me on our last visit was the fact that the chicken and sweetcorn soup was chicken, sweetcorn, squid and prawns. Whilst I have no objection to these, finding chewy bits in my soup didn't go down too well.

**Other bits of information**

All of the courses are brought quickly but with enough time between the courses to go and look at the fish and the mural. At no point were we made to feel rushed, and the staff took Little Miss to feed the fish, which was a bit of a high point for her. They were willing to show Little Miss how to use her chopsticks properly, and the whole night was very child friendly.

The toilets are clean and modern, clearly signed and situated at the back of the restaurant.

**Contact details**

Address: 45 - 51 Stowell Street : Newcastle upon Tyne : NE1 4YB :

Telephone: 0191 221 2888

**Verdict**

A very child friendly venue but not absolutely full of children. It is still an adult restaurant, without any special concessions made for children other than extremely pleasant and helpful staff.

The portions are very big and the whole evening unrushed and pleasant. The only thing which is a tad off putting is the feeling that the tables are in rows- I think it could be a lot more intimate if the room was more sectioned off, and the tables placed more randomly.

For anyone visiting Newcastle and wanting reasonably priced good food in unhurried surroundings, this is good, although not if you are wanting a very romantic meal for two.

Thanks for reading.

Daniela 

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