It opened in June of this year as the second venue in the franchise - following its success in Manchester. It’s brought a couple of eateries with it up North, such as FUKU, an asian fusion street food offering, and the pie shop V.Goode in which their lasagna pie caught my eye... perfect if you’re hungover.
There are Newcastle-born offerings as well, like I Scream for Pizza, which has a second location on the Quayside. For £4 I had a slice of Ham and Parmesan, which was bigger than my head and came with a generous amount of cheese!
My biggest issue with the food was the ordering system. You order off a QR code on the table and pick it up when it’s ready. In our case, the payment went through but it didn’t get sent to the kitchen, so we were waiting around for ages. I think this is more a symptom of being new, though, as there’s still an option for ‘test’ on the menu.
I went with a man who’s requested to be called ‘Sherlock’. Sherlock’s metro was late, so I entered the bar by myself, climbing up what felt like a billion stairs. It’s at least four stories up, and pretty gnarly if you’re scared of heights - the full-length windows make the statue outside The Gate look like a Lego piece - but there is a lift if you don’t fancy the climb.
Once up there, I ordered a single rum and coke for £6.25... a little on the pricey side but expected for this type of venue. Once he arrived, Sherlock ordered a frozen margarita that came out of a slushie machine and was served like a deluxe Mr Whippy.
If you’re looking for cocktails you can head to Freight Island’s more upscale bar, Wyld. It’s covered in a lush green, with big windows that overlook the quayside, and a live band. All their cocktails are priced between £10 and £12. I went for a Whiskey Bramble, which tasted like a green Fruit Shoot but was served with crushed ice and a separate shot. If you’re feeling more adventurous, however, you can get an Olive Oil Martini or a Newcastle Iced Tea, which is less boozy than a Long Island and contains actual Earl Grey.
In the main area, the DJ had been playing since 5pm and was expected to go until 1am. There’s definitely an older, more local crowd, and it doesn't really have the dancing vibe I was expecting. It was Drum ‘n’ Bass when we went but they have house, RnB and live bands so there really is something for everyone.
But what Freight Island’s probably most famous for is the slide, a long orange tube that takes you right down all four stories. It curves at the bottom to kick you out in a giggling heap. Sounds fun, but it was closed when we went.
Overall, I’d recommend it as somewhere to grab dinner, or hear a genre of music you don’t get in the clubs. But if you’re drinking, I’d go down the slide to The Gate opposite, where you’ll get more choice for less money.