Copy Benny’s Newcastle Pub Crawl
After spending the day doing the relaxing, tasty and occasionally educational things Katie did during her day in Newcastle, I was sure my evening in Newcastle couldn’t be better than her day. Somehow, at the time of writing, more viewers seem to think that my night in Newcastle would be their choice out of the two itineraries. The thought of it makes me blush as I type this so before reading on, watch the episode if you haven’t yet.
I was worried a pub crawl might be too predictable but I hadn’t planned much (yes, I am allowed to plan in this series if I want) so I decided it would be the easiest option. Luckily, with a diverse range of late night venues, Newcastle is a brilliant place for an evening of bar hopping. Here is what I did and what you should try too!
Parry Street Garage
Newcastle local and long time viewer Jesse Hutchison told me about this place which has half price pizzas in the evening. Unfortunately, due to my lack of planning (yeah, yeah Katie), we arrived an hour after these special prices but with pizza this good I honestly don’t care. Somehow, due to TikTok, I’ve become somewhat of a know-it-all when it comes to pizza and I can easily say this one was tasty and gooey and the perfect stomach liner for the night ahead.
The Rogue Scholar
Without their own diverse and unique locally brewed beer selection, The Rogue Scholar would still be worth a visit due to it’s quirky ambience and upbeat live music culture. And yet, it was the beers that called me to this dive, brewed courtesy of a man who has the unique distinction of being a local to two Newcastles (NSW and UK). Sample a few beers at the bar, pick your favourite and check out a live set and you’ve just added a fun new stop to your pub crawl.
Coal & Cedar
Read the sign out the front of the law office, text the number out front, be greeted by the appearing bartender and be ushered into this secretive whiskey den that has long been beloved by Newcastle locals and their friends visiting from out of town. The beer selection is minimal as Coal & Cedar is a place for whiskey lovers featuring a huge international range (including Irish Powers Whiskey) and a big selection of whiskey cocktails (disregard what non-whiskey lover Katie thought of hers).
Foghorn Brewery
There is simply too much I love about Foghorn. I love their story, I love their beers. I love the expansive space, love their seasonal stout and I don’t know the staff that well, but giving our shared love over the Dune Rats, give it a bit of time and I could love them too. The house-brewed beer range is all over Newcastle but at the brewery it is so expansive you could have a whole beer crawl right there. A great place to chill out, watch the footy, chat with mates and toast to this fun loving city.
Falcon Restaurant
Obviously, if you’ve watched the episode, you know that at Falcon’s Restaurant I had to strongly enforce rule five of traveling rogue and Make Friends With Disappointment. Falcon’s is known as a place for a late night feed but we got there 20 minutes before regular kitchen closing time and were told we were too late to order their much loved chorizo fundido dip. It was of course a bummer but the cosy and lamplit venue was extra welcoming due to the kindly staff and affordable local beers. When in doubt, another round makes a great late night feed.
And that concludes my five stop Newcastle crawl! I recommend you start a bit earlier to take advantage of half price pizza at Parry Street (5-6pm) and so you make it to Falcon Restaurant in time for a final feed.
I return to Newcastle a lot of house sitting work so if you know a proper place for an authentic Newcastle drunken feast, please let me know!
For more craft beer guides to Newcastle, check out this great city guide and outer Newcastle guide written by Crafty Pint writer Neil Richardson.
