Picture this: a weekend in Newcastle with a night in one of Newcastle's best hotels, extra gifts and breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks for $500 for two people! This is possible thanks to Newcastle’s food month. In April, Newcastle’s restaurants open their doors with "Plate Date" specials offered to the public. Come along and see what your $500 weekend in Newcastle would look like, where you would be staying and what the meals are like!
2025 is the fifth year of Newcastle Food Month and this year there are 80 establishments joining the program. And Dear Reader, I’ve just joined as an ambassador for Newcastle Food Month! Weekends away can be expensive but with a Foodie Sleepover package at the 5 star Crystalbrook Kingsley Hotel, you can spend $329 on the hotel stay with extra gifts and get your breakfast, lunch and dinner for two for less than $500 thanks to the concept of a "Plate Date".
Plate Dates are one of the most popular parts of the Newcastle Food month program. Ever since its inception people have been invited to enjoy a plate of food and a glass of wine for $30 per person (a total bargain in this economy).
Let’s start with the Plate Dates. Some are available for breakfast, lunch or dinner but all of them include a plate of food plus a glass of wine or a drink.
BREAKFAST
Autumn Rooms
For breakfast you can always have it at the Crystalbrook Kingsley hotel as it is included in the package or if you've just booked a room and are looking for breakfast you can head to Cook’s Hill to the Autumn Rooms. Their Plate Date option is a hard one to refuse especially if you love mimosas.
For $30 a person or $60 a couple (minimum 2 people) you share a thick fluffy pancake with maple syrup glaze, toasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds and peaches and plums. This pancake which is large enough for two also comes with bottomless mimosas for two people. The mimosas are excellent and are made with Aperol, Prosecco and orange juice.
A tip for savoury lovers: the roti with scrambled eggs, xo and chorizo is my pick while the autumn hash is the most popular because of the house made hash browns and thick cut bacon glazed in house.
Available all day every day in April for sittings of 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Breakfast at Roundhouse, the Kingsley Crystalbrook
Breakfast is included in the rate if you book the Foodie’s Sleepover package and consists of a comprehensive range of hot and cold buffet items. The hot items include the usual eggs, bacon, sausages and there’s a separate section of fruit and yogurt and a spread of pastries.
Last year the breakfast here was one of the most popular plate dates as locals enjoyed breakfast with a view of the port harbour outside from the 9th floor restaurant.
Available for breakfast, every day
LUNCH
Alfie’s
Alfie’s Italian is a very popular pasta restaurant and is one of the four restaurants owned by local Newcastle restaurant group that also owns Ravella, Frenchy’s and Meet. Alfie's is located in New Lambton less than 10 minutes drive from the city centre.
Alfie’s Plate date is a mafaldine pasta with Italian pork sausage and cavolo nero that is served with a glass of red or white wine.
I actually recommend sharing one of these plates of pasta and then ordering the whipped cod roe, puffy bread and the tomatoes with garlic emulsion.
Available for lunch Friday and Saturday
Ape
Ape restaurant is long standing restaurant Nagisa's 3 year old little sister. Chilean born chef Nicolás Pedemonte serves up incredible A5 Hokkaido wagyu or n insanely delicious scallop with miso yuzu butter (I dare you not to drink it straight from the shell).
He has also tapped his Chilean heritage and his mother's recipe to create this month's Plate Date offering: a Chilean Blue Crab Pie or Pastel De Jaiba. Made with a generous amount of Shark Bay crab, onion confit garlic, merquen (Chilean chilli powder), paprika and bread in a pot, this is a crustless or pastryless pie.
This is more a pot of utter deliciousness that you're not likely to find many places. The flavour of this generously portioned crab is perfectly balanced and this is some serious comfort food. It is served with a glass of First Creek Vermentino.
Available for lunch every day
Arno Deli
No trip to Newcastle is complete without a stop at Arno Deli on King Street in Newcastle. Arno Deli is the deli you wish you had in your own suburb and is a deli and sandwicheria where you can also pick up charcuterie, conservas, cheeses and wine. Owner Will is from Sydney where he worked as a chef for 25 years at places like Rockpool and Merivale establishments but it was during a 2012 trip to Florence where he and his wife tried All’Antico Vinaio sandwich shop that "changed my life".
These sandwiches inspired him to open Arno Deli where his sandwiches have become so popular that now on Saturdays they sell more sandwiches during lunch service than they did during a whole month.
Arno Deli's Plate Date offering is any panini with a glass of First Creek wine. The #10 rare roast beef with red pesto, salsa verde, sun dried tomato and rocket is divine. Or if you love your veggies try the #10 packed with salad (but add porchetta and chilli).
And if you love sweets their sfogliatelle are imported from Sicily and baked in house and are crispy and divine with a hint of lemon. And do not leave without trying their pistachio gelato made daily in house and created with divine Sicilian pistachios. You can have it with a matcha latte or my pick is in a sundae with olive oil and salt that really brings out the flavour of the pistachio. Or a slice of toasted pannettone if there is still some left!
Available for lunch Tuesday to Saturday
Nagisa
Nagisa is a 20 year old Newcastle institution that changed the dining scene in Newcastle. The restaurant's founder Tetsuhiko Namba had a dream of having a farm and he and his wife raised their son Taiyo Namba in Gunnedah before opening up Nagisa two decades ago. Taiyo is now the face of Nagisa (and Ape next door).
The Plate Date at Nagisa is a Scallop Sushi roll with flame grilled scallops with a pirikara spicy mayo, pickled chilli and tempura crumbs served with a glass of First Creek Botanica Semillon Sparkling.
Apart from Japanese food, Nagisa also has over 120 Japanese Whiskeys. They also stock around 40 sakes including a live non pasteurised Narutotai ginjyo sake. I recommend ordering a glass of their Kitajima Sea Salt Yuzushu with sea salt to go with your sushi. Or also ordering a plate of the Hiramasa Kingfish Carpaccio with thinly sliced sashimi kingfish, ginger wasabi dressing, red peppercorn, chives, mustard micro greens for $28.
Available for lunch every day
Noah’s On The Beach
Noah’s On The Beach is a hotel set alongside Newcastle’s Bar beach and the hotel’s namesake restaurant has one of the best beach views in Newcastle. The Plate Date option is of a prawn and pea pappardelle using housemade pappardelle with a garlicky cream butter sauce and a generous amount of succulent prawns and speck. All paired with a glass of Hungerford Hill Fish Cage Semillion Sauvignon Blanc.
The pasta is moreish and one of the more substantial dishes available. Look up and see the mural of Nobbys Beach with a view from Fort Scratchley. And good news, there is free parking for hotel and restaurant guests and that includes plate date diners.
Available for lunch Monday to Friday
LUNCH OR DINNER
Blanca
If you miss Europe, the next best spot for that Mediterranean vibe is at Blanca Honeysuckle. The stunning white washed restaurant is highly instagrammable and looks like it was transported straight from a Greek island.
For Blanca Honeysuckle, their plate dates are a popular option for people that want a quick bite to eat before a movie or show. Their Plate Date option is for any of their meze plates with a glass of tap beer or bartender's selection of wine.
Bargain lovers will notice that the octopus is an dish usually priced at $32 and featuring grilled octopus, chickpeas, lemon, oregano, romesco. But during the Newcatle Food Month this and a glass of wine is just $30.
My personal favourite is the Yellow Fin Tuna with sliced black figs, eschallots, Sicilian olives, aged balsamic, chives that will usually set you back $29. Also the baked Saganaki cheese (the most popular menu item) with spicy harissa, oregano, chilli, honey is great paired with the very popular three cheese and silverbeet burek on yoghurt cream with spiced brown butter. But throw a dart at any of the meze and you'll be happy.
Available for lunch and dinner, Monday to Thursday
Closed Bar
Islington is a suburb of Newcastle that has undergone a bit of a transformation and is home to many op shops, restaurants and bars (think Sydney’s inner west or Newtown). And there is a newcomer to Newcastle's bar scene. At Closed Bar the front belies what is inside. This split level bar with balcony is replete with cosy little nooks in which to huddle - the building was formerly a house.
Downstairs seats 40 while upstairs seats 80 people so it is surprisingly roomy. Music is kept deliberately low as a background as the space is designed for catch ups.
Closed Bar's Plate Date has to be one of the best value plate dates with a plate of 2 scallops with kelp butter and candied citrus dust - the kelp is foraged for locally by chef Alannah Miceli. There is also a plate of delicious roasted Jerusalem artichoke chips - these have been on the menu since they opened in June 2024 and any attempts to take it off have been vetoed by their customers. And the drink choice is one of their cocktails (sorry I buried the lead there!) which cost up to $25 each by themselves. The Jazz Hands is outstanding with Hayman’s Dry Gin, yuzushu, honey, lemon, orange and egg whites while the Aloe Aloe has Hayman’s dry gin, Rhubi, aloe vera, cucumber and lemon for a refreshing twist.
Available for lunch and dinner, Wednesday to Sunday
Foghorn Brewery
Foghorn Brewery was named for its location as it lies 200 metres as the crows flies from the harbour where the ship's foghorns would sound in the past. Owner Shawn Sherlock was an academic who taught history who brewed as a hobby. He changed professions and was the brewer for Murray's Brewing before branching out on his own at Foghorn. It was one of the first businesses to make this corner of King Street home and others followed.
Their Plate Date Offering is a generously portioned cheese plate with a wedge of cheddar and blue cheese, quince paste, strawberries, candied walnuts and crackers that is large enough to feed two. It comes with a glass of First Creek Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio or a Foghorn Beer. Even though I am not much of a beer drinker I really enjoy the light and fresh Hunter Classic, a trophy winning beer in the style of a German style kolsch.
Available for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Friday
Jana
If pasta is your thing Jana at the QT Newcastle is offering a plate of cacio e pepe spaghetti with a glass of a really lovely Hungerford Hill's Dalwood Hunter Valley 2023 Chardonnay wine.
Available for lunch or dinner, Monday to Saturday
The Del
The Del Hotel in Cooks Hill is one of Newcastle’s institutions and this pub has done a complete 180 transformation from a less than salubrious establishment to one where the chicken parmigiana stands beside grass fed steaks, rotisserie chicken done on the French rotisserie or pizzas. The pub reopened in December 2024 with Novacastrian born Chef Steve Scott brought in to oversee the changes to the food and beverage menu.
Steve returned to Newcastle after a 10 years stint overseas working for the likes of Gordon Ramsay at Maze Grill where his clientele were "embassy folk, rockstars and celebrities” and brings some of the fine dining ethos in the ingredients. For example the burger uses grass fed beef that is minced in house using beef from the Del’s owners farm Promise Land in Dunedoo. The carbonara is made with guanciale cured in house.
Their plate date offering is a plate of three enormous U6 prawns smothered in nduja butter. The prawns are perfectly cooked and the nduja butter infuses them with a glorious intensity of flavour (it’s so good that I asked for the recipe which I will share soon). They go perfectly with the glass of chilled first Creek Vermentino wine . I also recommend getting a plate of these with a woodfired puffy bread to share ($15).
Available for lunch or dinner Monday to Thursday and Sunday.
The Prince
The prince is one of Newcastle’s best pubs and is located in Merewether. While there’s an air conditioned dining room downstairs, if its warm, head for food with a view on the wrap-around balcony upstairs.
The Plate Date here is kingfish carpaccio with a glass of Margan Breaking Ground Semillon. The thinly sliced kingfish sashimi sits in a jalapeño coriander dressing topped with a sesame and cashew crunch and a slice of pickled jalapeño and lemon oil. My only tip? Don’t share this, you will want the whole plate yourself (and some tortilla chips or bread).
Available for lunch and dinner every day
The Kingfish
Just adjacent to Blanca is The Kingfish also owned by the local couple Garry and Melissa Risteski who also own Blanca. Fresh seafood is the order of the day at The Kingfish. Whether it’s gorgeous crudo (the Spencer gulf kingfish with buttermilk cream, lime, cucumbers and salmoriglio was heavenly).
Their Plate Date offering for the Newcastle Food Month is a choice of any grilled seafood dish with a glass of Andrew Thomas wine. The prawns are grilled with cafe de Paris butter, capers and lemon and again if you pick wisely the nduja butter Fremantle octopus dish is normally $32. It has a Sicilian Moorish agrodolce element with golden raisins, parsley and pickled fennel. Likewise the 3 scallops in the shell are delicious. These are topped with Calabrian chilli butter, garlic crumbs and pimento peppers.
Available for lunch and dinner Monday to Thursday
DINNER
Meet
Just opposite Arno Deli on King Street is Meet, known for its Brazilian meats and churrasco menu. The setting is gorgeous and sleek and their plate date offering is a substantial one with two types of meat: a Spanish chorizo and a mustard & citrus chicken thigh with hand cut thick chips (tip: ask for their BBQ sauce, it slaps) and a green salad. It's one of the more substantial plate dates around too. The meat platter is paired with a glass of house wine or beer.
I also really recommend the garlic chicken and the caramelised pineapple that comes with the smoked speck plate.
Available for dinner Wednesday to Friday.
THE HOTEL
The Crystalbrook Kingsley is the official hotel partner of Newcastle Food Month and they have a Foodie Sleepover package where guests get a range of bonuses as well as a discount on their hotel stay. The hotel is also centrally located to many restaurants and is a perfect spot to centre your stay around.
The Foodie Sleepover deal starts at $329 and includes:
15% of their best available rate on overnight accommodation for two people
Complimentary buffet breakfast for two people at Roundhouse
Two Earp Distilling Co cocktails on arrival to be enjoyed in Romberg's, Ms Mary or sent to your room.
A DIY gilda kit from Arno Deli
A bottle of First Creek ‘Botanica’ sparkling wine
Or you can book without these extras and get 10% off using code NFM10. The pricing changes dynamically but at the time of writing, the price per night is around $203! For a comprehensive review of my stay at the Crystalbrook Kingsley take a peek here.
Getting to Newcastle: you can drive to Newcastle or catcnewh a train there. If you do get a train, a lot of these restaurants are within a very easy walking distance to the Crystalbrook Kingsley hotel and for places outside the city centre, Ubers are quick and easy to get around. You can also fly into Newcastle where the airport is about a 25 minute drive from the centre.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you like the concept of a Plate Date? What do you think of this deal for a weekend away?
NQN is an ambassador for Newcastle Food Month but all opinions remain her own.
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