REVIEW: Tiger Grill, Tiger Tiger, Newcastle

Beyond the blaring tunes and downing of shots at this behemoth of a nightclub there’s actually a restaurant. Does Tiger Grill earn its stripes as a venue for food?

On our visit we were impressed.

The dining area’s through some sound-proof glass doors on the ground floor, which helps to make it feel like a venue in its own right.

Last time I ate in a nightclub ‘restaurant’ it was basically just a small area where you could eat your burgers and chips in a basket.

This very much has a restaurant feel, and a nice one at that, where padded booths, black and red hues, French-style chairs and pictures that verge on the Pre-Raphaelite create a boudoir-esque feel.

It’s a large area, one that’s perfect for large groups, and it was a Christmas get together that brought us here.

There’s private rooms at the rear for those who want more of an exclusive feel, but we sunk into one of the booths instead.

On our visit, it was running its Christmas menu, but you can order from the standard party menu too and our group mixed and matched.

I chose from the non-festive menu which offers a concise choice of classic dishes priced at two courses for £15 or three for £20 (there’s a much larger menu if you’re dining as a non-party group.)

It’s nothing too out of the ordinary but is better than your bog standard choices you usually get in places that cater for large groups, with choices such as meatballs in bloody Mary salsa and Korean-style popcorn chicken.

We’d placed our orders a few days in advance, so service was perfectly swift.

I tucked into halloumi and pepper skewers, which is one of a good choice of vegetarian options. There’s plenty of gooey cheese for your pounds which comes with grilled peppers on a springy bed of peppery rocket.

For mains I chose the crispy duck salad which was like tucking into those duck pancakes at a Chinese restaurant, minus the carbs. It didn’t skimp on the main ingredient and there was plenty of tender aromatic duck for me to tear my way through.

Feeling festive? The Christmas dinner menu is priced from £17 for three courses. Christmas party menus can be split into the good, the bad or the ugly. But, judging by the rest of the group’s response, this was definitely the former with a broad range of starters and mains.

My friend tucked into a hearty tomato and basil soup to start and a pretty impressive-looking bacon-wrapped turkey parcel with all the trimmings and smothered in a rich gravy which left me eying up her plate. Suddenly my duck salad had lost its shine.

Considering the number of groups they have to deal with – there was a lively hen do opposite us – service was spot on and, as you’d expect from a nightclub there’s plenty of drinks choices to work your way through. Indeed, this must be the only restaurant where we’ve ordered shots for pudding, but, when in Rome.

To keep the party going, if you’re not too stuffed from your Christmas dinner, you can take your pick of the venue’s no less than seven bars to dance off your pigs in blankets.