please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Bodega was supposed to be our last pub of the day before the train home yesterday. But, with the train cancelled, we also managed to fit the Newcastle Tap in (not listed on here). The Bodega is always popular immediately after a football match and yesterday was no exception. Ales were Fyne Ales Jarl & Blunder, Big Lamp Prince Bishop, Almasty Creation & Citra IPA, Brass Castle Bad Kitty & Cliffhanger & Bristol Beer Factory Beam Me Up. Although it was almost impossible to select a beer on first arrival, due to the crowds around the bar. Luckily, it started to thin out a little and my choice (the Bad Kitty) was confirmed to be correct, as I'm always a fan of darker beers. Six Nations ruby was on the TVs. Still a decent boozer. But, I couldn't see any real cider on this visit.
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Lovely pub to look at, and a nice pint of Almasty(? 3.20), a beer not seen before or since. The ambience was dented somewhat by a group of braying dolts talking over each other as loud as possible, making conversation for the rest of us impossible. Still, that would be a temporary fault & the pub is otherwise marvellous.
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Relaxed, welcoming and comfortable pub, with wide range of real ale from independent brewers. Friendly and efficient service. A 'must visit' when in Newcastle. 10/10.
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Great staff, good beer, interesting location. More local beers needed but good. Well worth a visit.
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Superb interior. Beer range is wide and quality is good. Often shows football on TV's around the walls. Cash machine. Close to Tyne theatre
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Busy city centre pub with plenty of (necessary) standing room. They had the Stoke -Sunderland game on on live but not a soul seemed (or admitted to be) interested in it. Not many unusual ales on but had a decent pint of Black Sheep.
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An excellent pub, part of the ever reliable Fitzgerald estate. Always a good choice of beers. Gets mobbed on match days but the staff are always on the ball
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Gets busy on match days, but always worth a visit. For my money, Newcastle's best pub. Great beers, brilliant surroundings. Love it.
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Very friendly and informative staff. Eight or so top quality beers. I'd been in previously when nearly all the ales were 5% plus, but this time there was a spread between 3.8% and 4.6% - probably as it was a lunchtime.
Top pub and always worth a visit on a trip to Newcastle. Double it up with a visit to Tilleys a few doors down.
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Very busy the day i visited. very friendly staff
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First visit here for a few years yesterday. This is still one of Newcastle city centre's better pubs, with a good range of real ales, a real cider (Westons Old Rosie) and a nice interior with its glass ceiling at the far end. On match days, it gets very busy. But the service is still very efficient with plenty of staff. Yesterday's ale selection was Durham Magus, Wentworth Chili Stout & Woppa, 8 Sail Victorian Porter, Sharps Cornish Stout and Big Lamp Prince Bishop Ale.
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Lovely pub, friendly staff, a pub worth traveling to even if out of way
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A beautiful looking pub, with some smashing beers.
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In here on Tues 7 Sep when they had Big Lamp Prince Bishop Ale, Fuller's London Porter, Nethergate Old Growler, Durham Magus, Leeds Midnight Bell and a B & T beer. Old Rosie cider and foreign draught beers. Great pub.
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Excellent bar. Clean, superb bar staff, always friendly and easily served even on busy match days. Toilets clean and regularly checked. Great atmosphere on match days without any bother between home and away fans. Kids can go in on match days
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Great pub with loads of character - domed ceiling and drinking booths. Some great beers by Thornbridge and Marble when I visited. The only downside was the state of the toilets. I had to hold my breath as they obviously had not been cleaned for a day or two.
Slake - 27 Aug 2010 14:46 |
Sir John Fitzgerland pub on the edge of the city centre. It's large and open plan, but certainly not without character as there are a number of interesting features, in particular the large dome to the rear of the pub- pictured above. Also a lot of dark wood panelling, some floor tiling and cosy leather-seated booths in which to enjoy your pint.
Usually 5-6 real ales, mostly from local microbreweries, Mordue and Durham breweries usually featuring.
One of the better pubs in Newcastle and definitely to be included on a crawl.
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I agree with the latest coments. We visited on a Wednesday afternoon, it was quite, however that made it better for us to admire the place. Good choice of real ale on offer and good selection of continental beers too!
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Another excellent pub from the excellent Sir John Fitzgerald chain (and how often do you hear the word "excellent" used in connection with pub chains?). Very good selection of real ales, many from local breweries, including the fine Durham Magus when I visited. A top spot to enjoy a pint and admire the unusual ceiling domes.
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Visited the Bodega on a Monday afternoon. The previous comments fairly much sum it up well - it has a nice selection of six real ales on draught, a friendly barmaid and the glass domes are just excellent.
There does appear something missing however, just not sure what it was - possibly the two games machines, possibly the cashpoint machine, possibly the understandably quiet atmosphere, possibly the large size of the place.
I do not know the recent history of the pub, but it's as though it has been refitted recently and lacks a little of its cosy charm which the roof suggest it once had ?
This is a good pub, certainly better than many of the plastic bars in the city - and maybe it is the best real pub in Newcastle, but because of the factors listed above, it isn't a great pub
Do not be put off however, it's near the train station, has great beer and is certainly worth a visit, I'd certainly go again.
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Only discovered this gem late during my stays at thye HI Express! Great selection of beers and mostly well kept though sent a couple back recently (which were exchanged immediately and without a problem). Well worth a visit when in the area - bit like going back in time!
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Fine one roomed pub with a magnificent dome ceiling. Sells a good range of ever changing guests, usually with one from Mordue and one from Durham. Has a couple of alcoves and a separate area to the rear but it is effectively one large room. Always had a decent pint here although one I had from Brewdog was a serious shock to the system (it turned out to be 7.2% and I hadn't noticed when ordering). Has a quiz machine with a strange greenish hue to the screen. Noel Edmonds on the Deal or No Deal game looks like Shrek on here!. Good pub that I always call in when staying at the Holiday Inn Express just round the corner.
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Late comment from August. Cracking pub serving good ales. Enjoyed Brewdog and Saltaire beers here.
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We happened to be staying near this gem. Well worth seeking out.
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Great pub. Beautiful decor. Wide range of ales & plenty of room. Excellent quiz night on a Thursday evening.
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Good beer, nice interior. Also shows sports on numerous large screens.
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The perfect pub, perfect beer, perfect staff and perfect management.
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My normal pre-match bar. Good, decent bar which serves canny beer. Yeah a good bar!
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High quality real ales always available. Gets a broad range of age groups so you will never feel out if place. Highly recommended
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Pretty good range of well-kept beers. Clientele were interesting, to say the least, (but not always in a good way). The fact that it's cavernous is a point against it because they can never manage the layout of the tables. Not bad at all.
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This is my favourite pub in Newcastle. Excellent range of guest ale and served in great condition. I found the staff to be very polite and welcoming. I enjoyed Thornbridge, Oakham, and Mordue ales whilst there.
Slake - 27 Apr 2008 14:28 |
Cracking pub, great ales (6 on handpull), good staff and has Sky and Setanta
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I hadn�t been in here for about 25 years and my dim recollections of the place back then suggested that it has been mucked about a bit. However, I�m sure the beer range and quality have probably gone up. The Durham Magus I had was a very refreshing pint, which I understand is a regular beer, while others rotate as guest beers. The football was on the screens about the bar and if I may be allowed one criticism, the volume was up a little too high. However, I was sorry to leave after only one pint but that was all I had time for.
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I went here recently and was not impressed at all. The atmosphere f the pub upon walking in made me head out the door before finishing my pint.
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Beer is excellent, but my word, whoever did the refit should be *shot*. The place is now a barn with mis-matching wallpaper (white patterend 70s, late 90s patterned brown) and televisions on every wall showing stuff no-one is interested in. The cashpoint(!) has its own dedicated minibar area (with no pumps) and this has to be seen to be believed. If anyone could enlighten me on this... The place is basically a very poor attempt at a trendy bar in what used to be a very fine pub. Mind, as GeorgeXXIII says the Prince Bishop is very very fine. Overall, the pub is worth visiting for the beer and to see how not to do a refit. Nine out of ten for the beer, one for the refit, hence five overall.
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I dunno which pillocks marked this pub down so much that its average is a ridiculously low 7.3, but beerwise (and ats what its SUPPOSED to be about) its got few equals.
Noisy, God yes. Thats perhaps got people marking it down, but its the people themselves not the bar.
PhilK - 12 Dec 2007 10:10 |
Great pub, comfortable yet cosy but with plenty of space; Excellent range of ales served in top form. Close to being the perfect pub for me.
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The beer in here is excellent. Lots of local ones, the Prince Bishop being best of all.I've never had a bad pint of anything in here though.Very friendly and relaxed atmosphere and it's interior, especially the glass domes and the tall tables, are a joy. If it comes a second to The Crown Posada of all pubs in Newcastle that's only because it's up against one of the best pubs in the country.
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First visit and it won't be my last, six real ales on tap and a list of whats next to appear, love the glass dome and the seating arrangements and the wooden floors. Excellent place to visit.
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A beautiful old wooden pub with good food incl. a wonderful steak and Workie Ticket pie at splendid prices. The beer is always of a broad selection and terribly well kept and pulled.
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The Bodega is a gem of a pub. It has the most fantastic Victorian, domed glass ceilings and it oozes history from its old theatrical connections. And as a beer drinker , I love the range of beers and lagers it offers me. The grub is very good too.
What a pub - a pleasure to visit anytime, day or night. The bar staff I have met on every visit have been fab.
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This pub is one of the best pubs i ve had the pleasure of visiting and i now do so on a weekly basis, the pre-match atmosphere is unrivalled as for my money is the quality of the beer. Besides the ever-present and ever-outstanding Big Lamp Prince Bishop (a nicer beer i have yet to have!) there are always without fail a minumum of 3/4 guest ales from all corner of Britain. The staff are experts at pulling the perfect cask ale and are always smiling, if i was to have one more pint in my life it would be a prince bishop in this pub!
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This pub is handily situated five minutes from the station, so therefore it can easily be the first and or the last pub you visit on a trip to Newcastle. Which it should be, as it's one of the best.
The range of beers is good, particularly in offering Durham brewery ales(unusual from my experience outside of Durham City- although I welcome anyone correcting me if it's an error!).
The architecture is fantastic, the toilets are spotless and the booths are very comfortable to sit in and have a chat with a fantastic pint.
J1985 - 16 May 2006 19:32 |
I made my first visit to the bodega on saturday to watch the cup final and thought it was so good i stayed all night. The staff, beer and atmosphere of the place was the best i have encountered in a long time. I will most certainly be coming back
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Brilliant place, good beer, love watching Toon matches in here...on the many 'tellies'.Th Mordue & Durham beers are always in fine fettle!!
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an absolutley cracking boozer this, best in newcastle by far!
think there was a derogatory post about one of the bar staff below, and believe i know who the person is referring to and would like to point out that the bar area at the back of the bar is a non-serving area and as such you are allowed to smoke at that part of the bar.
ive spent many an evening, and much of my monthly earnings in this friendly and affable envirmonmnet with its eclectic and varied mix of people - usually to be found around the top table of the pub either watching the football or just talking about life and taking the piss in general:-)
essentially, to sum it up - its the first local ive ever experienced where everyone truly does know your name, so:
chelsea nick, steve kent, john watling, chelsea nick's susan, owd 'arry, jill, crazy john, ben (the landlord), martin, leeds andy, quiet john, hazel, shona, kevin, lonely dad, lee, linda. scouse tommy et al, i salute you all.....and owe you all a few beers when i get paid because last sunday i was utterly skint!!!
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Just a revist on this pub.
There is a (new)very unpleasant young lady working there, who could damage the pub's excellent reputation. On a recent visit on a friday night my pal lit up whilst next to the bar-the barmaid/manageress 'told' him not to smoke there,not asked. Fair enough, no complaints fag out! But what happens next, is the same girl is seen standing at the other end of the bar sucking away on a Lambert and Butler. Now please if you want the punters to comply, you do to!!
My pal is refusing to go back on a matter of principle-which is a shame, as it is as previously stated a great boozer!
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A lovely stopping point in Newcastle, and particularly convenient for the station. V. pleasant to sit underneath the stained glass domes with a decent bar snack, and one of the excellent beers which are available (I particularly enjoyed the Mordue range, but there are many more). Highly recommended.
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I personally found this to be an improvement on the
much-vaunted Crown Posada.
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Like IceInTheCider I consider the Bodega an excellent spot for drinking at what society deems to be 'inappropriate' times, though I do not share his view on the toilet floor and the eating of meat pies thereoff. A good friend of mine always seemed to drop lots of cash out of the fruities but consistently pumped the shiny metallic nuggets back into the gaping plastic maw, only to leave crestfallen and light of pocket. The interior is elaborate and the staff warm and welcoming. A thoroughly decent establishment.
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This place is good at about 11.30am. It's always good actually, and a good bet if you're struggling to find a seat, or even a space, to watch a match. At risk of sounding like a great big girl, the toilets are spotless. To prove this point, last time I was there I ate a steak pie and mash off the floor. Someone once told me that the building used to be a synagogue, but that may well be a lie. Be sure not to miss the Spice of Punjab if you're in this part of town.
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Excellent beer and a fabulous building.
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Fine selection of real ales, along with the usual draughts, bottles, wines etc. Meals and other foods (chips etc.) are served and are of a good quality!
Staff know their stuff and are friendly, punters are friendly. The decor is nice, a long polished wooden bar with lots of brass and adornments, stained glass domes, and best of all you can carry on a conversation over your ale (ie. no loud music). One of my very favourite pubs.
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Great pub interior on a par with the best I`ve seen,with lots of standing space & various quality beers to match!! Another Newc`astle institution.
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A big up to the Bodega-best 'pub'(as opposed to bar which Newcastle is now full of) in town!
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5 minute walk from the station. Well worth seeking out. The beer selection is outstanding (large selection of local ales inc. Big Lamp, Mordue and Durham breweries) and if you like old style pub architecture check out the two glass domes in the roof. Service is also excellent - a cracking pub on a par with the Crown Posada on The Side - if you're in Newcastle it's a must visit
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Fab pub, great beer and atmosphere especially on match days.
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The 6 or 7 handpumps with a varied selection of local brews and beers from further afield give this a Cobbo wow factor of 9!!
A super drinking place
cobbo - 13 Jan 2005 19:29 |
Excellent bar. Perfectly chilled. Leave your floppy wig at the door.
Sir Edward Prince - 6 Nov 2004 10:18 |
