Restaurant in Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Serious tasting menu, neighbourhood prices, book ahead.
Rebel is a Michelin Plate (2025) tasting-menu restaurant in Newcastle's Heaton neighbourhood, delivering technically precise, seasonal Modern British cooking at the £££ level. The 10-course menu and thoughtful organic wine list outperform the price point, and the intimate, personally run room makes it the strongest special-occasion booking in its tier in the city. Book two to four weeks out for weekends.
Getting a table at Rebel takes some planning, but it is not the months-ahead scramble of Newcastle's top-tier tasting rooms. Expect to book two to four weeks out for a weekend evening sitting, less for the shorter five-course option available earlier in the week or at Saturday lunch. The effort is worth it: Rebel holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and a Google rating of 4.8 from 105 reviews, and it delivers a level of technical cooking and service attentiveness that is rare at the £££ price point in the North East. If a special occasion is on the horizon and you want somewhere that feels genuinely considered rather than simply expensive, this is the booking to make.
Rebel occupies a narrow, art-lined room on Heaton Park Road in the Heaton neighbourhood of Newcastle, about as far from the city-centre restaurant strip as you can get while still being in the city. The space is deliberately personal: art by a family member on the walls, tree-trunk tables, a sit-up kitchen counter, and edible flowers growing under lamps. For a special occasion, the intimacy is an asset rather than a compromise. There is nowhere to hide, and nowhere you would want to.
The restaurant's name comes from chef-owner Lindsay's boyhood dog, which tells you something about the register here: serious cooking delivered without ceremony. The Michelin inspectors noted that hospitality is done superbly well, and the language used by regulars, who describe the vibes as exceptional, suggests that the room lands the way it intends to. For a celebration dinner or a significant date, the combination of a focused tasting menu, an attentive young team, and a room that feels personal rather than performative is a strong case for booking over the more formal options in the city.
The standard format is a 10-course tasting menu, with a shorter five-course version available earlier in the week and at Saturday lunch. The kitchen works with local produce and a seasonal framework, and the cooking is textural and technically precise without being showy. Dishes on record include a cod tartare and roe tart with crackle and crunch, a charred hen of the woods mushroom slice in a creamy mushroom broth, and a Jersey Royal preparation with onion jam, whipped cod's roe, and pecorino that reportedly reads, in spirit, as a single magnificent cheese and onion crisp. Where the kitchen is playful, it earns it. A wild garlic kimchi added to pork loin with charred hispi cabbage and parsley yoghurt shows the kitchen is willing to push salt and heat in ways that less confident restaurants avoid. Finish with macerated rhubarb and sorrel sorbet for a lighter close.
Wine list includes organic and biodynamic options, and the pairings are considered worth ordering according to multiple sources. British wines feature, which is consistent with the kitchen's broader commitment to sourcing close to home. If wine matters to your occasion, the pairing route is the right one here.
On the question of late-night options: Rebel is a tasting-menu restaurant, not a late bar, and the experience is structured around a set sitting rather than a flexible evening. The 10-course menu will take the better part of three hours, which means an early-to-mid evening start is the practical approach. If you are planning a special occasion that continues after dinner, the Heaton location means you will want to arrange onward transport into the city centre in advance, since the neighbourhood is residential and quiet after dark. Rebel is the dinner, not the whole night.
For Modern British tasting-menu dining in Newcastle at the £££ level, Rebel's closest peer is 21, which operates at the same price tier with a more conventional format and a longer track record. If you want a tasting-menu experience with more ceremony and are prepared to pay at the ££££ level, House of Tides and SOLSTICE BY KENNY ATKINSON both operate in a higher bracket with higher booking difficulty. Rebel sits between those two tiers in price and effort, and it outperforms its price point on the evidence of its Michelin recognition and guest response. For a special occasion where you want serious cooking without the full formality or price of the city's most decorated rooms, Rebel is the practical choice.
If budget is the priority, Nest and COOK HOUSE operate at lower price points with a similar commitment to local and seasonal produce, though neither matches Rebel's tasting-menu depth. For context on where Rebel sits within the broader Modern British tasting-menu category nationally, the benchmark restaurants are L'Enclume in Cartmel and Moor Hall in Aughton at the upper end, with Rebel operating at a more accessible level but with comparable ambition in its seasonal sourcing and technique.
Book two to four weeks ahead for weekends. The format is a tasting menu, so this is not a drop-in dinner. The 10-course menu is the standard experience; the five-course option is available earlier in the week and at Saturday lunch, which makes it a more accessible entry point. The kitchen is seasonal and locally sourced, the service is attentive without being stiff, and the wine pairing is worth adding. Rebel holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and sits at the £££ price level, which is competitive for the quality on offer in Newcastle.
The restaurant is described as intimate with a narrow layout, which suggests capacity is limited. For groups larger than four, contact the restaurant directly before booking to confirm availability and seating arrangements. The kitchen counter seating is likely better suited to pairs or solo diners. Phone and website details are not currently listed; check Google or the restaurant's social channels for current booking contact information.
The kitchen counter is a strong indicator that solo dining is welcomed here rather than tolerated. Tasting-menu restaurants with counter seats generally offer a more engaged solo experience than table service, since there is a natural interaction point with the kitchen team. At £££, it is a considered solo spend, but the Michelin Plate and 4.8 Google rating suggest it delivers consistently, and the format works well when you are eating alone and want to focus on the food.
Yes, at the £££ price tier with Michelin Plate recognition. The 10-course menu is technically precise and texturally considered, with dishes that show genuine kitchen confidence. The wine pairings from the organic and biodynamic list are recommended by multiple sources. If you prefer a lighter commitment, the five-course version available midweek and Saturday lunch is a lower-cost entry point to the same kitchen. Compare this against House of Tides at ££££ if you want to assess what the extra spend gets you in Newcastle.
At £££, Rebel is among the better-value tasting-menu options in Newcastle. The Michelin Plate (2025) places it in a competitive set that includes SOLSTICE BY KENNY ATKINSON and House of Tides at a higher price tier. For the level of technique, service attentiveness, and seasonal sourcing on offer, the price is justified. The organic and biodynamic wine list with pairing option adds further value relative to the cost. For nationally comparable cooking at a similar price bracket, see also hide and fox in Saltwood and Hand and Flowers in Marlow.
For a step up in formality and price: House of Tides and SOLSTICE BY KENNY ATKINSON, both at ££££. For a comparable price tier with a more conventional format: 21 at £££. For lower-cost local and seasonal cooking: COOK HOUSE and Nest. See our full Newcastle Upon Tyne restaurants guide for the wider picture, and our Newcastle Upon Tyne hotels guide if you are staying overnight.
Yes, with the right expectations. The intimate room, personally run service, and 10-course tasting menu make it well suited to a celebration dinner or significant date. The kitchen counter adds an interactive element that works for some occasions and less so for others; if you want privacy, request a table rather than the counter. The location in Heaton is residential and quiet, which makes the dinner itself feel considered and unhurried, but plan your post-dinner logistics in advance if you want to continue the evening in the city centre. For nationally comparable special-occasion dining, CORE by Clare Smyth in London and Gidleigh Park in Chagford represent what the upper tier of the Modern British occasion-dining category looks like at higher price points.
For more on where to eat, drink, and stay in the city, see our guides to Newcastle Upon Tyne bars, Newcastle Upon Tyne wineries, and Newcastle Upon Tyne experiences.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebel | Modern British | £££ | Named after chef-owner Lindsay’s boyhood dog, this intimate, personally run restaurant has a quirky narrow shape, art by a member of the family on the walls and rustic wooden tables. The seasonal set menu offers small plates with a light, modern touch. The wine list includes some interesting organic and biodynamic choices, and it’s worth going for the pairings.; 'Hospitality is done superbly well' at this ambitious but easy-going spot, incongruous on a student street in suburban Heaton. The biggest act of rebellion here is in making old-fashioned standards of service and technique feel so contemporary. That's helped along by the full complement of experimental pickles, British wines and edible flowers growing under lamps – as much a part of the calming aesthetic as the North Sea art, tree-trunk tables and sit-up kitchen counter. Tasting menus run to 10 courses as standard, with a shorter five-course option earlier in the week or at Saturday lunch. Dishes starring local produce are neatly seasonal and texturally effective, from the crackle 'n' crunch of a cod tartare and roe tart to a charred, meaty slice of hen of the woods mushroom in a creamy but bright mushroom broth. Often, the kitchen plays tricks with the familiar, as in a charred Jersey Royal with onion jam, whipped cod's roe and a generous blanket of pecorino, which is, in spirit, a single, magnificent cheese and onion crisp. Elsewhere, it nudges the boundaries – witness the stridently salty-hot wild garlic kimchi added to pork loin with charred hispi cabbage and parsley yoghurt. To finish, macerated rhubarb with sorrel sorbet is a gentler prospect. For those who've made Rebel their 'regular treat', a young team delivers every time. 'The vibes,' it is said, 'are exceptional.'; Michelin Plate (2025) | Moderate | — |
| House of Tides | Modern British, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| SOLSTICE BY KENNY ATKINSON | Modern British | ££££ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| 21 | Modern British | £££ | Unknown | — | |
| Broad Chare | Traditional British | ££ | Unknown | — | |
| Osters | Seafood | ££ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Rebel and alternatives.
Go in knowing you are committing to a tasting menu format, not a la carte. The room is deliberately intimate and narrow, with a kitchen counter where you can watch service up close. The 10-course menu is the main event, though a five-course option runs earlier in the week and at Saturday lunch. Rebel holds a Michelin Plate (2025), which signals cooking that earns attention without the Michelin-star price premium you would pay at House of Tides.
The room is described as narrow and intimate, which makes large-group bookings a practical challenge. Rebel is better suited to tables of two to four than to party bookings of six or more. If you are planning a group celebration, contact them directly before assuming availability, and consider whether the tasting-menu format suits everyone at the table.
Yes. The sit-up kitchen counter is a genuine asset for solo diners: you get direct sightlines to the kitchen and service that is described as personally attentive rather than perfunctory. At the £££ price point, solo tasting-menu dining at Rebel compares favourably to the lonelier experience of eating alone at more formal Newcastle rooms.
For the format, yes. The 10-course menu uses seasonal local produce with enough technique to justify the sitting — think textural contrasts, fermentation, British wines, and a kitchen that takes familiar ingredients and does something unexpected with them. If tasting menus feel too rigid for you, Rebel is not the right call; the five-course option on certain days offers a lighter commitment.
At the £££ tier, Rebel punches above its suburban Heaton address. It carries a Michelin Plate (2025), operates a full tasting-menu kitchen with wine pairings that include organic and biodynamic bottles, and delivers the kind of hospitality that reviewers specifically call out. Compared to SOLSTICE BY KENNY ATKINSON or House of Tides at similar or higher price points, Rebel offers a more personal and less formal experience for the money.
For a more conventional fine-dining room at a comparable price, 21 is the closest peer. House of Tides and SOLSTICE BY KENNY ATKINSON operate at higher formality and price. If you want something more casual and lower-commitment, Broad Chare covers hearty British cooking without the tasting-menu structure. Osters sits in a different register again. Rebel is the call when you want serious cooking in a relaxed, neighbourhood-feel room.
Yes, provided the tasting-menu format suits your group. The personal, owner-run atmosphere and attentive service make it feel considered rather than transactional. At £££, it is a meaningful dinner without the full ceremony of a Michelin-starred room. Book the 10-course menu, add the wine pairings, and request the kitchen counter if you want the most immersive version of the evening.
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