Knowesgate Hotel

The open kitchen takes centre stage at Cal and Siân Byerley's rustic restaurant, where they're all about showcasing Northumbrian ingredients. Cal knows the local area intimately, plucking fresh ingredients from the kitchen garden and leading his team on foraging missions. He and the chefs use this produce with skill and originality, in dishes such as the brilliant fondant cake made using the rare dryad saddle mushroom. The wine flight – including several English wines – is worth going for, and they also make their own juices, tonics and teas.