4 March 2026

Beer and sandwiches: At the Redhouse in Newcastle

This column is our weekly pub review, written by pintsmen, women and children across the nation. Suggestions to letters@newstatesman.co.uk

By New Statesman

Illustration by Marta Signori

Not quite on the river, and shabbily out of step with the semi-sophisticated cocktail spots of Newcastle’s Quayside, Redhouse is where people go for pints by the Tyne as nature intended. In the window seats, the glorious Tyne Bridge grins down at you – or it does when it’s not covered in scaffolding, as it is now. But head into the cellar-like interior, ducking low beams and brickwork as you go, for the real experience.

What’s on tap

Somewhere back there are a surprising number of bars (not even the staff know exactly how many), where you can siphon craft kegs from the city’s own Wylam Brewery, and a fair selection of cask ales and bitters on rotation. If you really must, bottles of Newcastle Brown are also available.

On the menu

One part of the labyrinth houses Bob Trollop – the name of both a 17th-century Northumberland architect and the pub that once occupied the whole of this Grade II listed building. It’s now relegated to the bit that dishes up the pies. And that’s really the only meal on offer here. It’s a decent variety of pies, mind you, with four kinds of mash, and you can swap your peas for pease pudding – hot, or, should you so desire, pease puddin’ cold.

If the crannies are too cosy, and the smell of mince too overpowering, take your pint on a wander and you’ll soon emerge into yet another pub context – the breezier, designier Sandhill Arms, with portraits of Frank Zappa and Debbie Harry welcoming you into a more contemporary world. It’s all part of the same magnificent booze-warren, catering to every Tyneside taste. If you’re not from around here, and haven’t quite grasped what they mean by “canny” yet, you will by the time you leave.