Food ✪✪ Ambience ✪✪
Service ✪
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Forth Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 3SA
0191 562 3333
www.hawthorns-ncl.com
Which is more important: the food or the service? It’s an age-old conundrum. My own usual answer is a cop-out: it depends.
For the most part, I’m on Team Food. Good service is a real skill, of course, and one not frequently taught in our country. However, for me an excellent dish normally trumps a dodgy server. A good waiter is a bit like the ref at the Tyne-Wear derby: if you don’t notice him too much then he’s probably had a decent game.
And so to Hawthorns, the bistro offering at the still-shiny Crowne Plaza Hotel behind Central Station. You might be thinking that my preamble about service doesn’t auger well for the waiting staff there: well, I’m afraid you’re right on the money.
