The Mackem Foodie

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The Mackem Foodie

I'm Steph & as you've probably guessed I'm from Sunderland!

My foodie page showcases all of the restaurants, cafes & bars I've visited across the North East & beyond...you never know my photos & reviews may make you go & visit too!

06/06/2026

Only taking nearly 2 years but finally got round to visiting 🤤

We ordered:
▪️ Garlic mushroom and white wine pie (v)
▪️ Chicken pesto pie

Banging pies, gravy and mash totally worth it and certainly hit the spot. Both pies were full to the brim inside with filling .

29/04/2026

Looking for tapas in Knaresborough? has you covered!

Located on High Street and very close to the train station, this family owned bar and restaurant offers tapas and pizza dishes.

I was definitely going for the tapas after seeing the dishes online and ordered:

▪️ Salt and pepper squid
▪️ Lime, garlic and chilli king prawns
▪️ Patatas bravas

I underestimated the portion sizes of the tapas and left absolutely stuffed, so would recommend maximum 3 dishes per person.

Ross ordered the flat iron steak with fries, side salad and peppercorn sauce.

Our little one is obsessed with pepperoni pizza so it was the usual order for her 🩷

I'd recommend booking especially if you visit on a weekend as it's quite a small seating area. They do have an outdoor terrace which would be lush on a warm day but Storm Dave had other plans when we visited.

23/04/2026

Looking for a brunch spot in Knaresborough? It has to be ☕️

This quaint cafe nestled on Market Place in the centre hasn't even been open for a year yet but is a huge hit with the locals and tourists (me 🙋‍♀️). When we went it was really busy but we managed to squeeze on a high table. There's also extra seating upstairs too.

Now on to the food, my word, these were such simple dishes that tasted amazing! We ordered:

🍯 Honey Hummus Smash
Smashed Avocado with Hummus, Hot Honey, Crumbly Feta, spring onion and Bagel Seasoning

🥑 Tommy's & Feta
Smashed Avocado with Cherry Tomatoes, Crumbly Feta, Spring Onions, Basil 0il and Balsamic Glaze

👧 Kids scrambled eggs which was past serving time but the staff allowed us to order with little legs being fussy at times 🩷

And for the drinks: Green ginger smoothie,
Iced latte and kids hot chocolate.

Overall I really enjoyed our visit and the food was sooo good, I'd definitely recommend and return.

06/04/2026

A taste of Japan in Newcastle 🇯🇵

I was recently invited to the Maki & Ramen Newcastle restaurant to try some of their ramen and sushi dishes 🍜

We ordered:
✨️ Sushi dishes
▪️ Salmon panko roll
▪️ Volcano roll

✨️ Ramen dishes
▪️ Veggie black garlic tonkotsu (with tofu)
▪️ Chicken

✨️ Side dishes
▪️ Prawn tempura
▪️ Edamame
▪️ Spicy chicken teriyaki

✨️ Mocktails
▪️ Volcano
▪️ Mount Fuji

Overall, the staff were very attentive and all of the food was unreal particularly the sushi rolls which were my fave! If you're looking for some authentic, Japanese vibes and food in Newcastle, make sure is the place to go.

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26/03/2026

Recent long weekend in Amsterdam with my faves consisting of food, lots of laughs, late nights and seeing the sights 🇳🇱 here's some of the places we had food and drinks, not one place disappointed us!

- hands down the best sourdough bagel I have EVER had. I went for the lox bagel which was salmon and cream cheese and added in the avocado. The vibes inside were class too, house music blasting at lunch time and quick service for how busy it was. 10/10 recommend!
amsterdam - just wow - I'll be adding a reel on this so you fully understand. Cocktails were lush and the food sounds basic on the menu but tastes delicious. Quite a lot of the dishes are cheese focused but not overpowering and there's plenty of vegetarian options. I chose the calamari for starters and 'all green'

- a must visit when in the dam, offering a huge cocktail and drinks menu. This pornstar martini and mojito was lush!

- pizza, pizza, pizza what more do I need to say. These are huge so I'd recommend sharing these if you're massively hungry. They are quite thin though. We ordered Ortalana (veggie) and Regina.

- a cool bar close to our hotel offering cocktails and a selection of beers. I just went for a hendricks and slimline tonic while here to ease myself in 🙈
brunch - THEE breakfast/brunch place to try when in Amsterdam. Loads of choice but I went for the classic eggs florentin with salmon gravlax (quite different to UK) but still delicious.

18/02/2026

One of the best pizza places in Sunderland...

down Deptford.

Offering small plates and a huge range of wood-fired pizza flavours which they mix up throughout the year. The 12" bases are so thin but have a lovely soft crust, perfect for dipping in the garlic sauce 🤤

On my recent visit as a family of three, we ordered:

🍕 The OG (margherita with basil) with added roasted mushrooms and garlic butter swirl

🍕 The ODB (essentially pepperoni and oregano) with added roasted mushrooms as our little one is obsessed and you can spot her hand in shot on one of my pics clearly not letting me get my content!

🥔 We couldn't not order the crushed potatoes with green garlic and herb sauce and parmesan, absolute heaven on a plate.

🧄 2 x garlic dips (do you think we like garlic 🤣)

As per, the pizzas were top notch and the service was great. You can order to takeaway too but you need to collect. New to the city centre at corner too, the team have recently opened , serving pizza slices. That's next to visit on my list.

07/02/2026

Forever one of my favourite Sunderland restaurants, family owned italian 🇮🇹

I think it says something when a restaurant has been around for years. Me and my husband used to visit regularly in our early dating days around 2010/2011.

On my recent trip with a close friend (her first time), we ordered:

🧀 Bruschetta Sarda (goat's cheese)
🍖 Polpette al Sudo (meatballs) - my friend is a massive meatball connoisseur and is always on the hunt for the best ones, these ones entered her top 3!
🦐 Gamberoni Allo Spiedo (king prawns in a spicy arabiata sauce)
🍝 Homemade Lasagne

The portions were huge, we left very full and satisfied, so much so, my friend brought her partner back the next evening.

If you haven't visited Angelo's recently or at all, I'd recommend booking in. They also offer unreal cocktails too 😍

01/02/2026

Dry January, wet February is the saying right? 💦

If you're on this wave length, this month is the time to support Sunderland's hospitality sector. is on until 8th February and with a wristband, you can enjoy cocktails from £5 at over 30 bars and restaurants across our city. Here's some of the spots included in the week, in order:

▪️.bar - me enjoying a bramble
▪️ - pornstar spritz and a range of small plates. The garlic prawns were 👌
▪️ Sam's Bar with a bramble and sour puss cocktail
▪️ / - bumbu storm
▪️ - mojito, s*x on the beach, cosmopolitan and espresso martini
▪️ - not included in the offer as far as I'm aware, but their espresso martinis were devine.
▪️ / - spicy margarita 😍

You can purchase a wristband from page.

[Ad-Invite] to the first four bars and restaurants mentioned.

06/01/2026

Finally got round to trying and it did not disappoint 🙌

I ordered the half tuna melt which was absolutely massive so god knows what size the full is 🤣

The tuna melt included tuna spring onion mix (you can choose which blend), all salad, mayonnaise and cheese popped under the grill to melt the cheese 🤤

I went for the meal deal so added a bag of crisps and drink for £9. Definitely worth it for the size of the sandwich, I was stuffed.

You can usually choose which bread you want, but they'd been particularly busy that day and not long after Christmas so were waiting for deliveries, so only brown was available on the afternoon I visited which wasn't an issue for me.

There's a small bench with some seating inside if you want a quick pit stop to eat your food.

I'll definitely be back to try some of their veggie options.

23/11/2025

.soulfood have recently launched their winter menu with more dishes to be added in the lead up to Christmas 🎄

Located near Barnes Park and Sunderland Royal Hospital, Sana Soul Food offers a range of healthy, fresh juices, drinks and food.

We ordered:
🍲 Powerhouse soup with kimchi cheese toastie which is a thick creamy soup packed with goodness to get you through any winter colds. Served with a super gut friendly sourdough cheese and kimchi toastie which was unusual and not something I'd usually order but was so nice!

🍵 Cinnamon crunch iced matcha

🧋 White chocolate chai

There's plenty of seating inside but you can also takeaway too. I'd definitely recommend this hidden gem and look forward to my next visit 🩷

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