Blackbird Ponteland

#ginofthemonth
Our GIN of the month is Masons Yorkshire Gin served with Aromatic Tonic and Lavender 🍸💜 Ponteland

#pieoftheday 🥧
Our Meat Pie of the Day is STEAK PIE 😍 Served with seasonal vegetables, potatoes and gravy.

We've updated our #GINS and #ALES for this week 🍸🍺 Do we have any of your favourite guest ales or perfect serve gins on?

You may notice some of our regular wines are changing 🍾 This is due to us changing our wine importer. Apologies for any inconvenience during the change over, however we are very confident you will enjoy some of our exciting new wines 🍷 Our team did during our wine tasting morning 🙊
Let's introduce you to our NEWEST Pinot Grigio, Via Nova 🍾 This is an easy to drink dry white wine sourced from vineyards around #Verona and #Venice 🇮🇹

WE ARE HIRING 🍽🍾🍷
Are you an experienced bar and waiting staff? If so, it's time you joined our fabulous team.
We have full time and part time positions available. Simply email your CV to: admin@theblackbirdponteland.co.uk. Please state in the email if you are looking for part time or full time employment.
... Time to get tagging those awesome bar and waiting staff you know 👇🏼👇🏼
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Did you know we were once Ponteland Castle? 🏰 Which was destroyed in 1388. In 1935, experts uncovered an ancient tower a beautiful Tudor fireplace and many other ancient objects which, due to restorations, can still be found in our beautiful pub today ❤️
If you would like to know more about our history, pop down to chat to our team and read our history sheet 🏰

Shout out to our front of house team member Lewis 🙌 Lewis is just 16 and plays for the Junior Newcastle Falcons! On a Sunday Lewis works very hard as our Sunday runner - keeping up his fitness for his Junior Falcons team by running about the Blackbird Ponteland 🏃‍♂️🙊
We will also be sponsoring Lewis's Newcastle Falcons kit, as he a great asset to our Blackbird Ponteland team!!
Thank you to Ruby for a great review ⭐
... Click here to view: https://bit.ly/2prBxp1
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Our guest ales now on tap 🍺

Fresh lavender 🌾 A perfect serve with our Masons Yorkshire Gin 💜 #ginlovers

One of our perfect serve Gins on this weekend is THE KING OF SOHO 🍸 Served with star anise and Fever-Tree premium Indian tonic 💛 The King Of Soho
#welovegin

Let's brighten up your FABULOUS FRIDAY 🍾 The countdown to finish work and head to the #Blackbird is on...

Our new seasonal menu has just been updated 👀
And you must try this absolute beauty - Chicken Supreme combined with garlic & thyme mash, courgette, red cabbage purée, roast cauliflower, crispy quail eggs and red wine sauce 😍
If you haven't seen our new al la carte menu, we suggest you visit our website now.
... #menulaunch
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BLOOM Gin garnished with fresh strawberries and raspberries 🍓 paired with Fever-Tree aromatic tonic 🍸 Creating a refreshing gin for this sunny Thursday afternoon.

Did your little ones do our colouring in competition when you dined with us in JULY? ❤️ We will be announcing the WINNER very soon

We love this of @frank_ferrie 🐶 Enjoy his lunch with us 🙊
As you all probably know we are very #DogFriendly and we love sharing your furry friend pics so make sure you tag us in them 🐶📸
#welovedogs

Home cooked food at it's best ❤️

What a day in #Ponteland 💙

A spur of the moment thought for lunch anyone? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
https://bit.ly/2prBxp1

Superb meal with excellent service. Lovely atmosphere very friendly which made you completely at ease.

Sunday lunch at the Blackbird - WOW!

We booked a table of 8 upstairs. Some had starters, all had the Sunday lunch & a few had puddings/coffees. Service was excellent, no wait for anything (even though downstairs seemed very busy). Sue, who was looking after our table, what an absolute star! Nothing was too much trouble & she made us all feel very welcome - especially our 4 year old! She made him feel very much important like the adults, which was lovely to see & so rare nowadays when eating out.

Can't fault anything, whole family very happy with everything.

Upstairs is gorgeous. Everything from the cosy chairs to the posh napkins 10/10!!

Sunday lunch was delicious. Puddings very tasty!

All staff so polite & very helpful.

Overall one of the best Sunday lunches in a very long time. 👍😁

Staff are very friendly and patient too. Food was amazing. If you go for the Sunday dinner I’d recommend the Beef dinner and for pudding the sticky toffee pudding. All round good food �

Situated in the heart of Ponteland Village, The Blackbird was originally a castle which was destroyed in 1388. In 1935, after many months of restoration work, The Blackbird was opened to the public. The Blackbird Ponteland bar area seats 55 guests and 35 guests in the main dining area. Upstairs is the Minstrel Gallery, a fantastic events space, available to hire for private functions and parties. Their aim is to create dishes brimming with tradition and imagination through an ever changing seasonal menu of country pub favourites combined with contemporary flair. I enjoy food with flair. Excitement brimming; bring it on!

On arrival, around 8pm, The Blackbird is a wonderful sight in darkness. Lit up for all to see, it has a festive vibe that entices you in. Mark, our waiter on the night, gave us the menus and began by enlightening us on the remarkable history of the castle which was great to get to understand what went on there. He also handed us a manuscript of the castle’s past which I have to say added interest, meaning and charm to the experience.

To drink, we went with Mark’s recommendation of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc named Maota Bay. It was beautiful. In fact, I would go as far as saying the best white wine I’ve tasted. It really was that good. Tropical, fruity and a racy acidity; wow I loved it. I could imagine how even more fabulous it would be sitting outside the castle with a glass in the summer.

To start, I struggled at first as the menu didn’t specify dishes with allergens. Eventually, I went for the Treacle Cured Salmon, Horseradish Cream and Granny Smith Apple at £8.50. What a plate of food! I wasn’t prepared for its dazzling allure – it was so cute and presented magnificently. The salmon itself was breath taking. The horseradish cream mixed with the apple gel was a combination of tangy then sweet that really flexed my palate. Thoroughly enjoyed. My colleague ordered Chicken Liver Parfait, Toasted Grains, Honey & Red Wine Reduction, Onion Marmalade and Sourdough Croutons at £6.50. Such a colourful plate again, he was in awe by its beauty. He couldn’t have asked for a more contemporary starter. It was a triumph in every way.

For my main, I ordered Duck Breast, Roast Beetroot, Potato Terrine, Onion, Spelt and Barley Risotto, and Duck Jus at £15.95. Okay so first things first, this was food of the highest quality. I’d like to congratulate the chefs on providing a fantastic main course. The duck, combined with the jus, was just outstanding and all of the elements took the taste buds on a journey I didn’t know existed. My colleague went for the fillet steak and it was his best steak ever; each time it just gets better and better. It came with crispy onion rings, tomato, grilled mushrooms, chunky chips and peppercorn sauce. It was impossible to disagree with the quality. The Blackbird was surprising. The Blackbird was flying!

Finally, for dessert, I chose the Bread and Butter Pudding at £5.95. It had a soft, delicate texture. The apple acidic tang certainly got my juices flowing. The salted caramel ice-cream and the caramel sauce added sweet decadence to the plate. Yum! My colleague’s dessert Milk Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Crumb, Caramel Ice Cream, Toasted Hazelnuts and Dentelle Wafer at £5.95 was a seductive delight that tasted heavenly.

Overall, it was a night of beautiful company, beautiful service, beautiful surroundings and beautiful food. The night was truly beautiful. Struggling to find a fault other than the menu having specific allergic advice.

Popped in after a day shopping was taken to a lovely table in the tunnel room by a very Pleasant young ladies Emma . Drinks order taken swiftly whilst we pondered over the menu . I had the Haddock Goujons and my daughter the chicken burger both well presented hot and delicious . Would highly recommend visiting .

On our way to the airport and stopped off for lunch xx bar staff lovely food fantastic x definitely great place to stop when doing airport run xx thanks blackbird very nice xx

Had the Asian beef salad there last week when I went with a friend. It was the most delicious salad I have ever eaten. Couldn’t stop thinking about it so went back today and had the same again. We live in Boldon too, so a bit of a hike, but seriously well worth it.

Excellent. I've worked here in the past but I am by no means biased when I write this, it probably makes me more critical of a place if I've worked there.



I called in on Wednesday evening with my son, his girlfriend & my dog. We were wanting an early evening meal in a 'dog friendly' pub.



There were very few front of house staff that I knew but we were still given a very warm & friendly welcome, not having booked or having the dog with us was not a problem. My son & I shared the meat sharing platter & his girlfriend had the haddock goujons & fries.



Goujons & fries lovely fresh & crispy. The meat platter was absolutely lovely. The crispy chilli beef a little too spicy for myself but I'm a wimp, tasty chicken wings, lovely crunchy crackling, the scotch egg perfect runny egg in a very tasty meat surround, black pudding fritters some of the tastiest I've tried & the 'dirty' beans were just fabulous. I loved it & will be back again very soon to have this again, next time I'll make sure I'm not at work afterwards & I'll be washing it down with one of the many local real ales they serve.

Came here yesterday with my fiancé and my dad for a Sunday lunch.The service was very swift,the food came out hot and beautifully cooked.The staff were very efficient,all in all a lovely dining experience.I would certainly recommend this place and I will definitely return.Thankyou so much 😬

Beautiful food, friendly and welcoming staff members. My young daughter was kept entertained with plenty of colouring pencils and books, great choice on both adults and kids menu, great choice of coffee, tea and other drinks.

Amazing food, absolutely delicious.

Owner & staff so helpful & friendly.

Highly recommended. Hope we have chance to go back before our holiday is over *****

I had lunch here, fish and chips. They were excellent.

One of our Party opted for the salad which was described as average at best. Not many vegetarian options, however The service was very good indeed, in fact the only thing that let the experience down was the presence of a child who was loud and not well controlled.

I had waited until the start of term time to go here, yet still had to put up with yet another child who's parent seemed oblivious to the disturbance her offspring was making.

Had lunch yesterday with my mam and daughter we all ordered the chicken burger 2 with fries 1 with chunky chips sorry to say it was awful dry and tasteless chunky chips were like hard roast potatoes such a shame as it was presented lovely staff were nice and pub lovely would go back for drinks but not food sorry

Had Sunday lunch at Blackbird yesterday with family, 7 of us & 2 dogs.

Lovely to visit a pub that is so dog friendly, and mine particularly liked the gravy!!

Service was good, lovely staff. The main courses were all good sizes and tasty, the chips though were over cooked, but some like them that way. Sticky toffee pudding was yummy, but sadly not hot, and the twill, I think that is what you would call it, in the chocolate brownie was burnt, BUT, I would go again, so helpful feedback, not a complaint!

We came Friday night and there was so much noise we couldn't enjoy our meal. The beer was flat, and staff were the least personable we have encountered.

Stopped for a drink before school pick up with a friend today, parked in car park which I thought was ok, seeing as I was a customer. After returning to my car with my children, I was approached by a man (who I assume was the manager, although he didn’t say), who rudely stood next to my car door and waited for me to finish a phone call I was making. He then proceeded to tell me to park in a public car park in future when collecting my children from school, when I explained I had actually been at the pub having a drink prior, he told me that they didn’t want kids running all over the car park for fear of them getting run over. I was under the impression that this was a family pub, and that patrons (of all ages) were welcome to park there, this is obviously not the case! I will in future park elsewhere, and I will also take my business elsewhere!! Such a shame as the bar staff couldn’t have been nicer. What a dampener on what was a lovely afternoon.�

Been here before for a Sunday dinner and our experience was great went back yesterday around 3pm for a later lunch and was disappointed, I ordered the beef burger after waiting ages for it it was very dry and hardly able to chew it! we then ordered a brownie for pudding and waited a further 30 minutes for it to turn up when there was no one else sat in the restaurant area, had to ask the staff which they then conveniently brought straight out so we had been forgotten about basically. My experience yesterday would stop me from going back as there are many other great pubs in the area that are 10 times better service and food wise.

went today 22/07/17. Only people on the premises at the time. Ordered food at 11.45 and told that orders wouldnt go through until 12.00 as thats what time they started in kitchen. Fair enough.. no problem. 6 people in our party, ordered and paid in couples. Personally would have thought that all meals would have arrived at the same time as we paid within minutes of each other but.. alas this wasnt so. 2 meals arrived.. then another two meals after the first couple had actually finished their meals... (only when it was mentioned to staff.).. then myself and my partner finally got our meals, wrongly sent out so had to send back after telling them what we had actually ordered in the first place. Was very disappointed due to time difference of meals arriving at our table as it was an hour after the first couple was served.

Was looking for somewhere to eat last night and this place had good reviews so thought we'd give it a go. When we got there they'd stopped serving food so we decided to stay and have a soft drink before finding somewhere else. It took at least 10 minutes to get served at the bar which even at a busy time seems excessive. It was quite busy in the bar area with people drinking and I'm heavily pregnant so my partner and I decided to go and find a seat somewhere more quiet. We walked into a quiet room at the side of the bar. There were a few people sitting down with drinks but mostly empty tables. Before we sat down a voice shouted excuse me from behind us. I turned around to an older blonde waitress, she talked to us as if she was telling us off. We hadn't been here before, how were we supposed to know the "rules"? She rudely told us that we couldn't sit in the restaurant (until then we did not know that bit was the restaurant, there was no restaurant sign and it was a tiny room with people sat with drinks) unless we were having food or we'd booked a table. I pointed out that the bar staff said they were no longer serving food. She said yes well we're just clearing up. So we couldn't have ordered food, or booked a table? That made her first questions invalid. I can only describe her as rude and inconsiderate. Absolutely disgusting way to speak to customers. We felt completely unwelcome and decided to just leave at that point. As a heavily pregnant woman I just wanted to sit and have a quiet lemonade with my partner, away from all the drunks, and to not be told off and made to feel unwelcome for walking into the wrong room in a place we'd never been before. Horrible first impression so there's no chance of us returning there.

Superb meal with excellent service. Lovely atmosphere very friendly which made you completely at ease.

Sunday lunch at the Blackbird - WOW!

We booked a table of 8 upstairs. Some had starters, all had the Sunday lunch & a few had puddings/coffees. Service was excellent, no wait for anything (even though downstairs seemed very busy). Sue, who was looking after our table, what an absolute star! Nothing was too much trouble & she made us all feel very welcome - especially our 4 year old! She made him feel very much important like the adults, which was lovely to see & so rare nowadays when eating out.

Can't fault anything, whole family very happy with everything.

Upstairs is gorgeous. Everything from the cosy chairs to the posh napkins 10/10!!

Sunday lunch was delicious. Puddings very tasty!

All staff so polite & very helpful.

Overall one of the best Sunday lunches in a very long time. 👍😁

Staff are very friendly and patient too. Food was amazing. If you go for the Sunday dinner I’d recommend the Beef dinner and for pudding the sticky toffee pudding. All round good food �

Situated in the heart of Ponteland Village, The Blackbird was originally a castle which was destroyed in 1388. In 1935, after many months of restoration work, The Blackbird was opened to the public. The Blackbird Ponteland bar area seats 55 guests and 35 guests in the main dining area. Upstairs is the Minstrel Gallery, a fantastic events space, available to hire for private functions and parties. Their aim is to create dishes brimming with tradition and imagination through an ever changing seasonal menu of country pub favourites combined with contemporary flair. I enjoy food with flair. Excitement brimming; bring it on!

On arrival, around 8pm, The Blackbird is a wonderful sight in darkness. Lit up for all to see, it has a festive vibe that entices you in. Mark, our waiter on the night, gave us the menus and began by enlightening us on the remarkable history of the castle which was great to get to understand what went on there. He also handed us a manuscript of the castle’s past which I have to say added interest, meaning and charm to the experience.

To drink, we went with Mark’s recommendation of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc named Maota Bay. It was beautiful. In fact, I would go as far as saying the best white wine I’ve tasted. It really was that good. Tropical, fruity and a racy acidity; wow I loved it. I could imagine how even more fabulous it would be sitting outside the castle with a glass in the summer.

To start, I struggled at first as the menu didn’t specify dishes with allergens. Eventually, I went for the Treacle Cured Salmon, Horseradish Cream and Granny Smith Apple at £8.50. What a plate of food! I wasn’t prepared for its dazzling allure – it was so cute and presented magnificently. The salmon itself was breath taking. The horseradish cream mixed with the apple gel was a combination of tangy then sweet that really flexed my palate. Thoroughly enjoyed. My colleague ordered Chicken Liver Parfait, Toasted Grains, Honey & Red Wine Reduction, Onion Marmalade and Sourdough Croutons at £6.50. Such a colourful plate again, he was in awe by its beauty. He couldn’t have asked for a more contemporary starter. It was a triumph in every way.

For my main, I ordered Duck Breast, Roast Beetroot, Potato Terrine, Onion, Spelt and Barley Risotto, and Duck Jus at £15.95. Okay so first things first, this was food of the highest quality. I’d like to congratulate the chefs on providing a fantastic main course. The duck, combined with the jus, was just outstanding and all of the elements took the taste buds on a journey I didn’t know existed. My colleague went for the fillet steak and it was his best steak ever; each time it just gets better and better. It came with crispy onion rings, tomato, grilled mushrooms, chunky chips and peppercorn sauce. It was impossible to disagree with the quality. The Blackbird was surprising. The Blackbird was flying!

Finally, for dessert, I chose the Bread and Butter Pudding at £5.95. It had a soft, delicate texture. The apple acidic tang certainly got my juices flowing. The salted caramel ice-cream and the caramel sauce added sweet decadence to the plate. Yum! My colleague’s dessert Milk Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Crumb, Caramel Ice Cream, Toasted Hazelnuts and Dentelle Wafer at £5.95 was a seductive delight that tasted heavenly.

Overall, it was a night of beautiful company, beautiful service, beautiful surroundings and beautiful food. The night was truly beautiful. Struggling to find a fault other than the menu having specific allergic advice.

Popped in after a day shopping was taken to a lovely table in the tunnel room by a very Pleasant young ladies Emma . Drinks order taken swiftly whilst we pondered over the menu . I had the Haddock Goujons and my daughter the chicken burger both well presented hot and delicious . Would highly recommend visiting .

On our way to the airport and stopped off for lunch xx bar staff lovely food fantastic x definitely great place to stop when doing airport run xx thanks blackbird very nice xx

Had the Asian beef salad there last week when I went with a friend. It was the most delicious salad I have ever eaten. Couldn’t stop thinking about it so went back today and had the same again. We live in Boldon too, so a bit of a hike, but seriously well worth it.

Excellent. I've worked here in the past but I am by no means biased when I write this, it probably makes me more critical of a place if I've worked there.



I called in on Wednesday evening with my son, his girlfriend & my dog. We were wanting an early evening meal in a 'dog friendly' pub.



There were very few front of house staff that I knew but we were still given a very warm & friendly welcome, not having booked or having the dog with us was not a problem. My son & I shared the meat sharing platter & his girlfriend had the haddock goujons & fries.



Goujons & fries lovely fresh & crispy. The meat platter was absolutely lovely. The crispy chilli beef a little too spicy for myself but I'm a wimp, tasty chicken wings, lovely crunchy crackling, the scotch egg perfect runny egg in a very tasty meat surround, black pudding fritters some of the tastiest I've tried & the 'dirty' beans were just fabulous. I loved it & will be back again very soon to have this again, next time I'll make sure I'm not at work afterwards & I'll be washing it down with one of the many local real ales they serve.

Came here yesterday with my fiancé and my dad for a Sunday lunch.The service was very swift,the food came out hot and beautifully cooked.The staff were very efficient,all in all a lovely dining experience.I would certainly recommend this place and I will definitely return.Thankyou so much 😬

Beautiful food, friendly and welcoming staff members. My young daughter was kept entertained with plenty of colouring pencils and books, great choice on both adults and kids menu, great choice of coffee, tea and other drinks.

Amazing food, absolutely delicious.

Owner & staff so helpful & friendly.

Highly recommended. Hope we have chance to go back before our holiday is over *****

I had lunch here, fish and chips. They were excellent.

One of our Party opted for the salad which was described as average at best. Not many vegetarian options, however The service was very good indeed, in fact the only thing that let the experience down was the presence of a child who was loud and not well controlled.

I had waited until the start of term time to go here, yet still had to put up with yet another child who's parent seemed oblivious to the disturbance her offspring was making.

Had lunch yesterday with my mam and daughter we all ordered the chicken burger 2 with fries 1 with chunky chips sorry to say it was awful dry and tasteless chunky chips were like hard roast potatoes such a shame as it was presented lovely staff were nice and pub lovely would go back for drinks but not food sorry

Had Sunday lunch at Blackbird yesterday with family, 7 of us & 2 dogs.

Lovely to visit a pub that is so dog friendly, and mine particularly liked the gravy!!

Service was good, lovely staff. The main courses were all good sizes and tasty, the chips though were over cooked, but some like them that way. Sticky toffee pudding was yummy, but sadly not hot, and the twill, I think that is what you would call it, in the chocolate brownie was burnt, BUT, I would go again, so helpful feedback, not a complaint!

We came Friday night and there was so much noise we couldn't enjoy our meal. The beer was flat, and staff were the least personable we have encountered.

Stopped for a drink before school pick up with a friend today, parked in car park which I thought was ok, seeing as I was a customer. After returning to my car with my children, I was approached by a man (who I assume was the manager, although he didn’t say), who rudely stood next to my car door and waited for me to finish a phone call I was making. He then proceeded to tell me to park in a public car park in future when collecting my children from school, when I explained I had actually been at the pub having a drink prior, he told me that they didn’t want kids running all over the car park for fear of them getting run over. I was under the impression that this was a family pub, and that patrons (of all ages) were welcome to park there, this is obviously not the case! I will in future park elsewhere, and I will also take my business elsewhere!! Such a shame as the bar staff couldn’t have been nicer. What a dampener on what was a lovely afternoon.�

Been here before for a Sunday dinner and our experience was great went back yesterday around 3pm for a later lunch and was disappointed, I ordered the beef burger after waiting ages for it it was very dry and hardly able to chew it! we then ordered a brownie for pudding and waited a further 30 minutes for it to turn up when there was no one else sat in the restaurant area, had to ask the staff which they then conveniently brought straight out so we had been forgotten about basically. My experience yesterday would stop me from going back as there are many other great pubs in the area that are 10 times better service and food wise.

went today 22/07/17. Only people on the premises at the time. Ordered food at 11.45 and told that orders wouldnt go through until 12.00 as thats what time they started in kitchen. Fair enough.. no problem. 6 people in our party, ordered and paid in couples. Personally would have thought that all meals would have arrived at the same time as we paid within minutes of each other but.. alas this wasnt so. 2 meals arrived.. then another two meals after the first couple had actually finished their meals... (only when it was mentioned to staff.).. then myself and my partner finally got our meals, wrongly sent out so had to send back after telling them what we had actually ordered in the first place. Was very disappointed due to time difference of meals arriving at our table as it was an hour after the first couple was served.

Was looking for somewhere to eat last night and this place had good reviews so thought we'd give it a go. When we got there they'd stopped serving food so we decided to stay and have a soft drink before finding somewhere else. It took at least 10 minutes to get served at the bar which even at a busy time seems excessive. It was quite busy in the bar area with people drinking and I'm heavily pregnant so my partner and I decided to go and find a seat somewhere more quiet. We walked into a quiet room at the side of the bar. There were a few people sitting down with drinks but mostly empty tables. Before we sat down a voice shouted excuse me from behind us. I turned around to an older blonde waitress, she talked to us as if she was telling us off. We hadn't been here before, how were we supposed to know the "rules"? She rudely told us that we couldn't sit in the restaurant (until then we did not know that bit was the restaurant, there was no restaurant sign and it was a tiny room with people sat with drinks) unless we were having food or we'd booked a table. I pointed out that the bar staff said they were no longer serving food. She said yes well we're just clearing up. So we couldn't have ordered food, or booked a table? That made her first questions invalid. I can only describe her as rude and inconsiderate. Absolutely disgusting way to speak to customers. We felt completely unwelcome and decided to just leave at that point. As a heavily pregnant woman I just wanted to sit and have a quiet lemonade with my partner, away from all the drunks, and to not be told off and made to feel unwelcome for walking into the wrong room in a place we'd never been before. Horrible first impression so there's no chance of us returning there.

Superb meal with excellent service. Lovely atmosphere very friendly which made you completely at ease.

Sunday lunch at the Blackbird - WOW!

We booked a table of 8 upstairs. Some had starters, all had the Sunday lunch & a few had puddings/coffees. Service was excellent, no wait for anything (even though downstairs seemed very busy). Sue, who was looking after our table, what an absolute star! Nothing was too much trouble & she made us all feel very welcome - especially our 4 year old! She made him feel very much important like the adults, which was lovely to see & so rare nowadays when eating out.

Can't fault anything, whole family very happy with everything.

Upstairs is gorgeous. Everything from the cosy chairs to the posh napkins 10/10!!

Sunday lunch was delicious. Puddings very tasty!

All staff so polite & very helpful.

Overall one of the best Sunday lunches in a very long time. 👍😁

Staff are very friendly and patient too. Food was amazing. If you go for the Sunday dinner I’d recommend the Beef dinner and for pudding the sticky toffee pudding. All round good food �

Situated in the heart of Ponteland Village, The Blackbird was originally a castle which was destroyed in 1388. In 1935, after many months of restoration work, The Blackbird was opened to the public. The Blackbird Ponteland bar area seats 55 guests and 35 guests in the main dining area. Upstairs is the Minstrel Gallery, a fantastic events space, available to hire for private functions and parties. Their aim is to create dishes brimming with tradition and imagination through an ever changing seasonal menu of country pub favourites combined with contemporary flair. I enjoy food with flair. Excitement brimming; bring it on!

On arrival, around 8pm, The Blackbird is a wonderful sight in darkness. Lit up for all to see, it has a festive vibe that entices you in. Mark, our waiter on the night, gave us the menus and began by enlightening us on the remarkable history of the castle which was great to get to understand what went on there. He also handed us a manuscript of the castle’s past which I have to say added interest, meaning and charm to the experience.

To drink, we went with Mark’s recommendation of the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc named Maota Bay. It was beautiful. In fact, I would go as far as saying the best white wine I’ve tasted. It really was that good. Tropical, fruity and a racy acidity; wow I loved it. I could imagine how even more fabulous it would be sitting outside the castle with a glass in the summer.

To start, I struggled at first as the menu didn’t specify dishes with allergens. Eventually, I went for the Treacle Cured Salmon, Horseradish Cream and Granny Smith Apple at £8.50. What a plate of food! I wasn’t prepared for its dazzling allure – it was so cute and presented magnificently. The salmon itself was breath taking. The horseradish cream mixed with the apple gel was a combination of tangy then sweet that really flexed my palate. Thoroughly enjoyed. My colleague ordered Chicken Liver Parfait, Toasted Grains, Honey & Red Wine Reduction, Onion Marmalade and Sourdough Croutons at £6.50. Such a colourful plate again, he was in awe by its beauty. He couldn’t have asked for a more contemporary starter. It was a triumph in every way.

For my main, I ordered Duck Breast, Roast Beetroot, Potato Terrine, Onion, Spelt and Barley Risotto, and Duck Jus at £15.95. Okay so first things first, this was food of the highest quality. I’d like to congratulate the chefs on providing a fantastic main course. The duck, combined with the jus, was just outstanding and all of the elements took the taste buds on a journey I didn’t know existed. My colleague went for the fillet steak and it was his best steak ever; each time it just gets better and better. It came with crispy onion rings, tomato, grilled mushrooms, chunky chips and peppercorn sauce. It was impossible to disagree with the quality. The Blackbird was surprising. The Blackbird was flying!

Finally, for dessert, I chose the Bread and Butter Pudding at £5.95. It had a soft, delicate texture. The apple acidic tang certainly got my juices flowing. The salted caramel ice-cream and the caramel sauce added sweet decadence to the plate. Yum! My colleague’s dessert Milk Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Crumb, Caramel Ice Cream, Toasted Hazelnuts and Dentelle Wafer at £5.95 was a seductive delight that tasted heavenly.

Overall, it was a night of beautiful company, beautiful service, beautiful surroundings and beautiful food. The night was truly beautiful. Struggling to find a fault other than the menu having specific allergic advice.

Popped in after a day shopping was taken to a lovely table in the tunnel room by a very Pleasant young ladies Emma . Drinks order taken swiftly whilst we pondered over the menu . I had the Haddock Goujons and my daughter the chicken burger both well presented hot and delicious . Would highly recommend visiting .

On our way to the airport and stopped off for lunch xx bar staff lovely food fantastic x definitely great place to stop when doing airport run xx thanks blackbird very nice xx

Had the Asian beef salad there last week when I went with a friend. It was the most delicious salad I have ever eaten. Couldn’t stop thinking about it so went back today and had the same again. We live in Boldon too, so a bit of a hike, but seriously well worth it.

Excellent. I've worked here in the past but I am by no means biased when I write this, it probably makes me more critical of a place if I've worked there.



I called in on Wednesday evening with my son, his girlfriend & my dog. We were wanting an early evening meal in a 'dog friendly' pub.



There were very few front of house staff that I knew but we were still given a very warm & friendly welcome, not having booked or having the dog with us was not a problem. My son & I shared the meat sharing platter & his girlfriend had the haddock goujons & fries.



Goujons & fries lovely fresh & crispy. The meat platter was absolutely lovely. The crispy chilli beef a little too spicy for myself but I'm a wimp, tasty chicken wings, lovely crunchy crackling, the scotch egg perfect runny egg in a very tasty meat surround, black pudding fritters some of the tastiest I've tried & the 'dirty' beans were just fabulous. I loved it & will be back again very soon to have this again, next time I'll make sure I'm not at work afterwards & I'll be washing it down with one of the many local real ales they serve.

Came here yesterday with my fiancé and my dad for a Sunday lunch.The service was very swift,the food came out hot and beautifully cooked.The staff were very efficient,all in all a lovely dining experience.I would certainly recommend this place and I will definitely return.Thankyou so much 😬

Beautiful food, friendly and welcoming staff members. My young daughter was kept entertained with plenty of colouring pencils and books, great choice on both adults and kids menu, great choice of coffee, tea and other drinks.

Amazing food, absolutely delicious.

Owner & staff so helpful & friendly.

Highly recommended. Hope we have chance to go back before our holiday is over *****

I had lunch here, fish and chips. They were excellent.

One of our Party opted for the salad which was described as average at best. Not many vegetarian options, however The service was very good indeed, in fact the only thing that let the experience down was the presence of a child who was loud and not well controlled.

I had waited until the start of term time to go here, yet still had to put up with yet another child who's parent seemed oblivious to the disturbance her offspring was making.

Had lunch yesterday with my mam and daughter we all ordered the chicken burger 2 with fries 1 with chunky chips sorry to say it was awful dry and tasteless chunky chips were like hard roast potatoes such a shame as it was presented lovely staff were nice and pub lovely would go back for drinks but not food sorry

Had Sunday lunch at Blackbird yesterday with family, 7 of us & 2 dogs.

Lovely to visit a pub that is so dog friendly, and mine particularly liked the gravy!!

Service was good, lovely staff. The main courses were all good sizes and tasty, the chips though were over cooked, but some like them that way. Sticky toffee pudding was yummy, but sadly not hot, and the twill, I think that is what you would call it, in the chocolate brownie was burnt, BUT, I would go again, so helpful feedback, not a complaint!

We came Friday night and there was so much noise we couldn't enjoy our meal. The beer was flat, and staff were the least personable we have encountered.

Stopped for a drink before school pick up with a friend today, parked in car park which I thought was ok, seeing as I was a customer. After returning to my car with my children, I was approached by a man (who I assume was the manager, although he didn’t say), who rudely stood next to my car door and waited for me to finish a phone call I was making. He then proceeded to tell me to park in a public car park in future when collecting my children from school, when I explained I had actually been at the pub having a drink prior, he told me that they didn’t want kids running all over the car park for fear of them getting run over. I was under the impression that this was a family pub, and that patrons (of all ages) were welcome to park there, this is obviously not the case! I will in future park elsewhere, and I will also take my business elsewhere!! Such a shame as the bar staff couldn’t have been nicer. What a dampener on what was a lovely afternoon.�

Been here before for a Sunday dinner and our experience was great went back yesterday around 3pm for a later lunch and was disappointed, I ordered the beef burger after waiting ages for it it was very dry and hardly able to chew it! we then ordered a brownie for pudding and waited a further 30 minutes for it to turn up when there was no one else sat in the restaurant area, had to ask the staff which they then conveniently brought straight out so we had been forgotten about basically. My experience yesterday would stop me from going back as there are many other great pubs in the area that are 10 times better service and food wise.

went today 22/07/17. Only people on the premises at the time. Ordered food at 11.45 and told that orders wouldnt go through until 12.00 as thats what time they started in kitchen. Fair enough.. no problem. 6 people in our party, ordered and paid in couples. Personally would have thought that all meals would have arrived at the same time as we paid within minutes of each other but.. alas this wasnt so. 2 meals arrived.. then another two meals after the first couple had actually finished their meals... (only when it was mentioned to staff.).. then myself and my partner finally got our meals, wrongly sent out so had to send back after telling them what we had actually ordered in the first place. Was very disappointed due to time difference of meals arriving at our table as it was an hour after the first couple was served.

Was looking for somewhere to eat last night and this place had good reviews so thought we'd give it a go. When we got there they'd stopped serving food so we decided to stay and have a soft drink before finding somewhere else. It took at least 10 minutes to get served at the bar which even at a busy time seems excessive. It was quite busy in the bar area with people drinking and I'm heavily pregnant so my partner and I decided to go and find a seat somewhere more quiet. We walked into a quiet room at the side of the bar. There were a few people sitting down with drinks but mostly empty tables. Before we sat down a voice shouted excuse me from behind us. I turned around to an older blonde waitress, she talked to us as if she was telling us off. We hadn't been here before, how were we supposed to know the "rules"? She rudely told us that we couldn't sit in the restaurant (until then we did not know that bit was the restaurant, there was no restaurant sign and it was a tiny room with people sat with drinks) unless we were having food or we'd booked a table. I pointed out that the bar staff said they were no longer serving food. She said yes well we're just clearing up. So we couldn't have ordered food, or booked a table? That made her first questions invalid. I can only describe her as rude and inconsiderate. Absolutely disgusting way to speak to customers. We felt completely unwelcome and decided to just leave at that point. As a heavily pregnant woman I just wanted to sit and have a quiet lemonade with my partner, away from all the drunks, and to not be told off and made to feel unwelcome for walking into the wrong room in a place we'd never been before. Horrible first impression so there's no chance of us returning there.