Flatbread Cafe, High Bridge, Newcastle

Feb 22 2008 by Geoff Laws, The Journal

THE flatbread takes us back to times when bread was the plate that soaked up all the juices and finally was eaten.

In the Middle East the bread also served as cutlery, doing away with washing-up, leaving you to get straight back to ploughing or crusading, whichever was your fancy. Flatbread Cafe in Newcastle is slightly more flexible.

Firstly you get a plate and, secondly, if you really think you can’t manage, they provide a knife and fork. Being confident of my dexterity, I declined the offer and didn’t even tuck my napkin into my collar.

We ordered three dishes each and, when all six arrived at once, the previously sparse table setting disappeared under a welter of mini-tureens and breads.

Turkey tagine was the first challenge. The shredded turkey, sweet medjool dates and crunchy/soft almonds clung together in a rich sauce and obligingly stayed together in the flatbread wrap. There’s something deeply satisfying about mastering a new technique and I confidently moved on to the next stage of difficulty, cucubita.

This mix of chestnuts, pumpkin and sweet potatoes in creamy, spiced yoghurt was so substantial it was hard to believe there was no meat. Once again, the ingredients were hugged by the bread and stayed together without any going astray.

Sadly, this is where the 100% record started to slip and shoko was the thin end of the wedge. The tomato sauce, with its raw hit of green chilli and hint of sour tamarind, was slightly runnier. The beef couldn’t hold its companions back and let them drift out of the wrap and onto my fingers. My companion smirked smugly as sauce dripped onto my once pristine plate. I ignored her, surreptitiously wiped it away and soldiered on.

Neither of us liked the over-sweet dish called medjool, with its cranberries and dates in a creamy sauce, in spite of its helpful viscosity, but the cooling balm of yoghurt, chicken and mango in the mangokun was delicious and reduced my anxiety momentarily, until I spotted a trail of yoghurt and sultanas not only on the plate but over both hands. Finger licking solved part of the problem, but I couldn’t wipe the grin off the Smug One’s face.

Surely the ceviche would be my ally. Monkfish soused in a lemon and lime vinaigrette with sweet pimento should prove too much for her, but no! With a refined twist of the wrist, she parcelled up the fish and cleanly dispatched it. Needless to say, my performance was less polished. Somehow the fine motor co-ordination I’ve come to rely on abandoned me as I repeatedly navigated the path from plate to mouth with incriminating dollops marking each trip.

Amazingly, the Smug One had no trace of anything wayward on her side. It’s probably because her wraps had a bigger target. Now, although it may be true, there’s a price to pay for that observation!

Desserts of super sweet cereal tray bakes with berries and either yoghurt or ice cream and rum restored my composure a little, but the Smug One glowed irritatingly as she wiped a stray flick of cream from the table and said: “Yours, I think.”

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Information

Address: Flatbread Cafe, 69-75 High Bridge, Newcastle. Tel: (0191) 241-5184

Open: Monday-Saturday noon-11pm

Where is it? At the Pilgrim Street end of High Bridge.

First impressions: Unprepossessing entrance leading into an interesting series of spaces.

Welcome: Friendly.

Style, design and furnishings: Dusky aubergine walls with Moorish features in the lanterns and decorative tracery. Colourful, plush divans and dark tables add an element of Middle Eastern allure.

Cuisine: Middle Eastern with splashes of Indian.

Wine: Weston’s Perry Pear Cider £3.50. Started off disarmingly sweet, but as soon as it met the dishes it matched each one very comfortably.

Service: Cheerful, informative young waitress and waiter. Really knew their dishes and guided everyone towards their choices before the sharing started.

Value: At £45.50 the Bedouin menu offer is attractive, especially when you get a measure of which dishes are your favourites.

Parking: Parking bays in the surrounding streets if you are lucky.

Disabled facilities: Not fully accessible.