Bottomless Prosecco at Newcastle’s No28

‘It is the hour to be drunken! To escape being the martyred slaves of time, be ceaselessly drunk’ – Charles Baudelaire

My hubby and I have a short history with bottomless drink offers. When we were in Vegas in 2009 we took advantage of the bottomless martinis from 4pm-8pm in the bar in our hotel thinking we would pre load before going to dinner. Needless to say I almost got into a physical fight with a 40 year old with a face like  a 70 year old who tried to pinch my bar stool and had a serious and vocal rant about Jesse McCartney’s blatant wish to become Justin Timberlake before both passing out in out beds and waking up the next morning having lost a night of out holiday. Good times!

Having learnt a valuable lesson that day (namely that drinking hard spirits at 4 in the afternoon will get me thoroughly kippered) and being  ever so slightly more sensible these days, we were pretty excited when we found out one of our favourite bars in Newcastle, No28 had introduced the concept of bottomless prosecco on a Saturday afternoon. Quaffing prosecco in Newcastle is way classier than getting piss-eyed in Vegas anyway. Besides, Dave had just done his latest running triumph and completed a 100K race the weekend previous, our super clever nephew graduated from Leeds University with a First and I, well I was just pleased to approaching my 34^th birthday without having severely injured myself or anyone around me. We were celebrating!

The deal is 2 tapas dishes each, from a wide selection on offer and free flowing, unlimited prosecco, served every Saturday between 12-5pm. Reservations are essential so we made sure we arrived bang on time at 1pm. On arrival we were shown straight to our table and offered our first glass.

So here’s the scoop. The deal is available 12-5pm and you have 2 hours o enjoy your bottomless drinks. Due to Newcastle City Council licensing laws I must point out that management reserve the right to refuse or withdraw service to anyone they deem too intoxicated, so basically as long as you’re not a knob about it, the booze will flow as long as you’re in an appropriate state to accept it.

 

After your first glass you’re given the rest of the bottle to finish off, which is nice, as in my experience the first glass doesn’t even touch the sides, so asking for a top up after approximately 5 minutes would just be awkward for everyone. Choosing off the food menu was difficult, it all sounded amazing. You hear tapas and you automatically think patatas bravas, however the menu at No28 has an Asian persuasion to it meaning it all sounded like nothing I’ve tasted before, and I wanted it all. On the recommendation of Iain, the general manager Dave went for the roast pork dumplings and the risotto arracini (kind of like deep fried cheesy risotto balls) and I had the chicken won tons and chilli beef nachos.

 

The food was nothing short of exceptional. The spanish/thai fushion makes for a refreshing change when they could easily offer chunky chips and onion rings like everywhere else. The tapas style really fits with the cool quirky ambiance of the bar; real social sharing food that makes you want to drink more and talk louder. The roast pork dumplings were a particular Newman favourite, not gloopy or oil and jam packed with meat and flavour. Everything had the right amount of spice in too; spicy enough to taste and not too spicy that it’s over powering. Portion wise, it was just the right amount for an afternoon snack, the last thing you want is to be too full to fit in any more Prosecco.

I’m often wary about drinks offers like these as it sometimes smacks of somewhere that’s gotten hold of a load of ropy booze and are selling it off on the cheap but the Prosecco was really good quality, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s not the same quality that’s offered to all. Staff were friendly and attentive and after out first bottle kept us topped up whenever we needed it, although they say to go to the bar when you want some more, we never needed to as there always seemed to be someone walking around waiting to refresh you.

 

 

Of course deals like this always depend on how much you drink, If you’re a one glass wonder then it’s probably not the offer for you, however for a seasoned prosecco drinker like me, I certainly felt like we got our £20 worth, the food itself would have come to £16 had we ordered separately. As fair as I’m concerned it’s the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon with your other half or as a respite from an afternoon shopping with the girls. I’ve always loved No28 as it offers a classier more cosmopolitan feel than the many swanky hipster bars and Wetherspoons that Newcastle has to offer and now they have bottomless prosecco?! Well, that’s a sure fire way to win my heart for life.

*UPDATE* No28’s Bottomless prosecco menu has changed, click here for the updated review

Bottomless prosecco is available by reservation only. Call 0191 447 5590 to book

This has been a collaborative post but all views are my own.