The Best Places to Eat and Drink on North Shields Fish Quay

North Shields Fish Quay has quietly become one of the North East's best places to eat and drink. A working fishing port for eight hundred years, the Quay still lands and trades fish daily, but its old warehouses now also hold independent restaurants, bars and street-food halls, all within a short walk of each other on the north bank of the Tyne. This guide rounds up the best of them, from waterfront kitchens to the town's oldest pub. (A quick note for visitors: this is North Shields, on the north bank, not South Shields across the water, and it is a separate place from neighbouring Tynemouth village.)

Waterfront restaurants and bars

For a meal right on the water, Fred's fills a converted warehouse on Tanners' Bank with a big terrace over the estuary, serving comforting classics with a coastal leaning. Nearby on Union Quay, Lobo Rojo brings authentic Mexican street food to the handsome Grade II-listed Irvin Building, one of the Quay's liveliest spots. Allard's on the Quay offers tapas and wine looking straight out over the river.

For something more design-led, The Uncommon deals in small plates and natural wine, with cocktails, DJs and Sunday roasts, while Three Tanners Bank, just up from the Quay, pairs pizza with one of the area's best grassroots live-music rooms.

Street food and a warehouse social

When you are in a group, or the weather turns, Salt Market Social is the Quay's big draw: a converted blue warehouse on Liddell Street filled with rotating street-food traders, bars and live events. The changing line-up means there is usually something new to try, and it works as well for families as for a night out.

The Fish Quay pubs

The Quay is proper pub territory. The Low Lights Tavern on Brewhouse Bank is reputedly the oldest pub in North Shields, a traditional real-ale free house pouring guest beers and a house ale from the local Three Kings Brewery. The Wooden Doll, on the bank above the Quay, keeps six hand pumps and hosts regular live music, while The Fishnet Tavern has brought the historic New Dolphin Inn building back to life as a cask-ale pub. For beer at its source, Low Quay Brew Co. brews and serves its own on Northumberland Street.

Buy fish to take home

Part of the pleasure of the Quay is buying fish straight from a working port. Phil's Plaice at Clifford's Fort keeps a counter of more than thirty varieties chosen fresh each day, and Lindisfarne Seafoods next door is a family shellfish specialist locally famous for its crab rolls. Seaview Fisheries has traded on Union Quay for over forty years, selling to the public as well as the trade.

Up in the town centre

The revival is not just on the water. Up in the pedestrianised centre, The Exchange 1856 on Howard Street is a restored corn exchange that now combines a cafe-bar and restaurant with the town's busiest live-music venue. For daytime, The Wooden Deli on Saville Street does breakfasts and hot baguettes, and R Place on Nile Street has been a favourite independent coffee shop since 2017.

Making a day of it

The Fish Quay pairs naturally with a walk around the harbour and its heritage. See our guide to things to do in North Shields for the Old Low Light, the High and Low Lights and the Shields Ferry, and browse the full local directory for more places to eat, drink and shop across the town.