Charlestons Coffee House in South Tyneside

I came here today for a tuna sandwich and chips. Was a great meal Very busy from what I saw but no issues at all. The staff did brilliant 👏

The staff here are always spot on, been coming here a while now. I would say the best food is their tuna melt panini and it is very lovely homemade food Keep it up!

We went to get a Sunday lunch each this morning & to be honest the full dining experience was terrible. Bar/severs had no people skills at all, we walked in and the first thing we got asked was do you want a menu I'm just sorting something out upstairs so they are just there, straight away that had my wife & myself stumped. We took a seat waited about 5 minutes & no one came over to us (probably because there were too busy talking to each other) My wife went to the counter ordered two Sunday lunches and some drinks. When the food came out we were pretty disappointed some of the food was lovely and some of the food wasn't the best. The gravy had already been poured over the food and we weren't asked if we wanted gravy or not or how much gravy we wanted, me personally I like a small amount of gravy. The Yorkshire puddings were soggy due to the gravy being poured all over them which was a total let down because Yorkshire puddings should always be nice and crispy. The portions were very small there was a literally two scoops of mashed potato a small amount of cabbage one bit of cauliflower 2 roasties a small amount of green peas & some carrots. For an extra £5 we could have went to the Toby and had a fantastic meal. And to top it off we were not even acknowledged when we were leaving.

Just had a mince and dumplings, her indoors had mince pie and chips. Came to £20.00 for the two meals a latte and a cappachinno. Excellent quality and good size portions. Would definitely recommend. The service was quick too.

Horrible place you need to drink up and move quicker then the staff do no time for a chat unless you are staff

In for lunch with family when visiting the area, was a busy Friday lunch, but we were seated promptly, with plenty of space for the pushchair. High chair delivered quickly to the table. Orders placed at the counter, drinks and food delivered promptly. Fish and Chips, a Wrap and old fashioned Ham, Egg and Chips all generously portioned and tasted great. Staff were very welcoming, even though they were very busy taking the time to respond with enthusiasm to waves from our 16 month old every time they passed. Really nice place, would recommend.

Managed to get a table in this very popular and busy little cafe. We were required to give our name and contact details for track and trace purposes. The tables were all cleaned in between customers and the staff all work very hard to provide a quick and efficient service. My husband had the mince pie, chips, peas and gravy which he said took him back to his childhood and he loved it. I had a jacket potato and beans with salad as I don’t eat meat, fish, eggs or dairy and it was the only option available. If you are lucky enough to get a table I would recommend it.

The girls here are always absolutely fab! Lovely, chatty and overall really down to earth people along with the owners who are always in chatting with customers making sure everything is as it should be. Most of these girls work 6 days and week and some even 7. I am a regular and see how hard they work and never complain and I take my hat off to them for always the best service , best coffee and lovely homemade food day in day out. Well done girls !

We popped in this morning for breakfast as our usual stop wasn't open.. Wish we had never bothered tbh.. Waited till the lady serving had a ful blown conversation with some fella over his garden while another shop worker stood listening instead of serving us.. When we got served ordered 2 brekkie and 2 cups of teas.. Sat at table food came no cuppas.. So had to go and ask for them.. Food.. We've had better.. Overall staff are to busy talking to give full attention and are very ignorant.. Will certainly not be going back and letting all our friends and families not to waster their time with the place

Stopped in for midweek lunch recently. Ordered a jacket potato & bolognese which was filling, and was tempted by the ‘slimmers special’ of poached eggs/ avocado. The eggs were perfectly cooked and came with a toasted English muffin. The avocado was unripe and had been grated + placed under the egg. It looked good, but sadly the avocado was inedible. It baffled me how the chef even thought to use it. Clearly popular with locals, it would be nice to see a little spruce up which could really raise the game here.

Visited with my mother and two daughters aged 11, one of whom is coeliac and diabetic. Upon arrival I asked what gluten free options they had for my daughter. The waitress shouted over to chef who replied with a question “salad??” before then disappearing back off into the kitchen. At that point we should have left. The waitress (dark haired and pleasant) suggested the breakfast was gluten free, except ‘probably not the sausages’ (chef didn’t offer to check) and there was no gluten free bread. My daughter opted for 2 poached eggs and 2 rashers of bacon (she didn’t want the tomatoes, beans or mushrooms which were offered).I appreciate not everywhere is geared up for offering alternatives for Coeliac’s but in this instance I felt the chef’s attitude was disappointing. Being coeliac is not a choice and South Shields isn’t exactly remote! I had the full English breakfast which was standard but ok. Other daughter had a bacon bap, which she said was “nice”. Mother had a fruit scone which was “ok”. Girls had fruit smoothies which they both enjoyed. Lattes were weak and served in those god awful ‘old fashioned’ tall glass cups! Menus and tables felt sticky. It does sadden me that we always struggle to find anywhere decent to eat breakfast when we return to our home town to visit family, which we do regularly. We nearly always end up on the north side of the Tyne, where independent cafe owners just seem to ‘get it’ - the quality of offering and the level of customer service you want to rave about!!

We have just had a fabulous breakfast in this clean bright and airy restaurant. Located opposite the Metro, so a perfect location. I would definitely eat here again and the staff very friendly.

Afternoon tea and lovely catch up with friends. Tea was amazing, great selection of sandwiches, scones, quiche, coleslaw, crisps, scones, cake everything you could wish for. Beautifully presented, lots of tea or coffee Just could not fault this tea at all. Great value would advise anyone to try it. Staff are lovely and so helpful. Great place to visit.

Just wanted 2 flat whites- one decaf. Easy enough you would think. What arrived looked like old dish water with grey scum on top. Didn't smell good either. We left it, we left the cafe. Couldn't be bothered to complain, just wanted to get out. £5 plus wasted.

Great prices, friendly staff, the food is super tasty and excellent value for money. A gem of a place. The kitchen staff/chefs are out in amongst the diners; I don’t know how they manage it. The relaxed and welcoming manner of the staff adds to the relaxed dining experience.

I have used this cafe for years, since Franchi's closed down, and have had no problems. Recently though, a member of staff has been downright rude. I only eat a small portion, and the staff are aware of this and allow me a child's portion. I am only one of 2 people allowed to do this as they know about my disability. The rude staff member in particular took my daughter to task only the week before she had a go at me for the same thing. The kitchen staff are very pleasant, I don't have an issue with them and their food is home made and very tasty. When leaving the last time, having had to justify myself once again, and being told I would only be given one fish bite in the portion, I asked her to cancel the fish rather than argue over it. She then seemed annoyed at that and told me how much to pay. I had to ask whether or not I was having fish and chips or just the chips. She also told me that I would have to pay more than for a child's meal, which is what I usually am asked to pay for. Upon leaving she shouted 'byeeee' in an unacceptable manner, then smirked when I told her her behaviour wasn't funny in the slightest. I am disabled and thought I had found a nice place to eat in Charlestons. The attitude of this staff member means I won't be going there again. Shame, because the owners are also nice people. It is awful how one person can destroy a long time experience of enjoyment by her nasty actions. The poor service score is only for the staff member who is rude, it would be higher otherwise. She is bringing down this business.

Great place for lunch or coffee with friends. Go every week to meet up with my friends for lunch, the menu is very good and everything i have had is very tasty and the service is great.

I have visited here frequently before for the salads and they are amazing!

What a great find. A great traditional friendly cafe serving freshly cooked local classics at a great price. Sunday roasts seemed to be the regulars favourite during our visit

Maravilloso personal muy servicial en la guía a través de un menú de ofertas especiales, nuevos productos y lo mejor de todo, a través de las tradicionales comidas que ojalá se pudiera hacer en casa. El almuerzo puede parecerse a sus comidas favoritas pero preparado mejor. Este se ha convertido en una parada regular para nosotros después de un día en la costa. . . . . Bueno tomó bien cocinada y sin pretensiones

Its the best sunday lunch in south shields. Food is cooked fresh and the choice is wonderful. the price is excellent you have a choice of a small dinner of a large dinner.

Three of us went for lunch a week ago. Excellent food and drinks, good service. Lovely surroundings.

I like this cafe, the food is all home cooked which makes all the difference. There is a lot of variety on their menu, it has a good kids menu and also kids toys.

Llamado al visitar la ciudad de negocios. Decide dar una oportunidad a esta casa de té y no me decepcionó. El servicio era rápido y amable y los precios razonables a más de £4 por dos bebidas. Me di cuenta de que había una tabla que muestre especiales del día y no parecía ser una buena opción con precios razonables. Lo haremos cuando esté en la ciudad.

Visité por primera vez Charlestons hace 2 años mientras visitaba familia localmente. Mi madre y yo los rollos calientes cerdo con lados de patatas fritas y aros de cebolla. Todo era realmente agradable.

He estado yendo a esta cafetería bastante tiempo ahora y me pareció que últimamente se va un poco. Se ha comenzado a aumentar los precios de la comida y bebida, pero la calidad no mejora en absoluto. Hay demasiados mesa y sillas, que parecen estar cambiando constantemente y creo que debe haber una limpiadora como las plantas y las mesas están un poco sucias y el lugar se podría limpiaran. En el lado positivo, creo que el personal es muy amable y parece que trabajan muy duro especialmente en los periodos de máxima ocupación.

El menú es fantástico, la comida es muy fesh y la comida es deliciosa, el personal es increíblemente servicial y amable. Los precios son muy competitivos con los altos estándares este lugar produce. Soy más ordinario ahora y yo soy muy exigente en lo que comía. El restaurante es muy limpio, ordenado. Incluso los clientes parece para adaptarse al ambiente de este espíritu. No te decepcionará 10/10

Un ambiente agradable donde sirven una excelente comida y bebidas a una corta distancia a pie de la terminal de autobuses y la estación de metro. Vale la pena una visita.

lloviendo mucho fuera necesario una bebida tenía un buen chocolate caliente hizo un poco de trabajo de papel calidas y disfruté de mi bebida, lo único negativo fue el baño agradable y limpio, pero la luz era y no pude encontrar el interruptor!!!! Así que mi teléfono

this place has a fair range of food and drink. it is quite a small area and not much space between the tables but the staff are friendly enough and they also do a loyalty card where you can collect stamps when buying coffee and when you have acquired so many you get a free one

They have the most amazing Sunday lunch I've ever tasted. I just love love love this place can't give enough reviews on how good it is!! The Sunday lunches are fab. Instead of shoving it all on my plate they put the veggies in a little bowl but never mind on how good it looks it tastes so gooddddd! Been too many other restaurants and never tasted anything like it. My favourite place to be on a Sunday! Well done to the staff of Charlestons xx

We loved it from start to finish , very helpful staff as well as friendly very good choice of Old English dishes well done to all your staff

We have been to loads of places looking for the perfect place and we have found it at Charlestons. We now go every Sunday and we will not be going anywhere else. The meals are lovely home cooked and the staff are very friendly. We are made very welcome every time we visit.The meals are piping hot and delicious.It is very clean and airy.Can recommend the pie and chips and the beef dinner.

I normally visit this please when I'm in South Shields and the food is normally amazing but today was a different story. I arrived there late this afternoon I decided to try something different and order the chicken with Diane Sauce I wish I never bothered now. Before I had my meal I decided to have a drink I ordered a strawberry milkshake which to my horror not only cost just under 3 pounds but was served to me in a small plastic takeaway cup not very happy at all. Getting back to the food I ordered it arrived a little while later as I looked down I seen a couple of pieces of chicken swimming in what looked like gravy watery sauce chips and salad. The chicken was obviously the last pieces the sauce was not tasty at all and the salad was plonked on the plate and there must have been at least 6 chips on the plate disgusting is not the word it was also charged 6.95 what a total rip off for left over dry chicken and the worse sauce ever known. I will certainly be boycotting this place from now on and the staff on shift today not friendly at all I hope the owner of this cafe reads this review instead of concentrating on the profits customer service should come first.

Food was fabulous and definitely the best coffee in shields. The staff where amazing and very fast. I took a few photos of the food and I'm sending it to friends and family the presidentation was so good!! I was extremely impressed. I'll be back!!

god dam awful place , take a bit of advice go else where , I was looking forward to a nice time, nice food and drinks but all I got was hot air and wont be going again

I went there with my mother and son for a relaxing catch up. Unfortunately our meeting did not at all go to plan. The food was cold and when we asked for it to be replaced, we were spoken to with such rudeness! When the manger arrived, we were totally patronised. Definitely avoid!

I had a mocha and apple pie. The crust of the apple pie was a little underdone, but it was chunky and well flavoured. The mocha was made with hot chocolate powder which gave the mocha a very powdery taste, the glass wasn't particularly clean either. My mother's coffee wasn't a palatable blend, tasted cheap. Daughter had a cookie. She liked that. All in all, it looked clean and the staff were lovely, but they need to improve the core product, coffee!

I've visited Charlestons on many occasion but never wrote a review till now. My husband often has the hot meat sandwiches with chips and he said both are very nice and tasty and you get plenty. There is a good choice of coffee also milkshakes and smoothies. There is plenty of hot meals to choose from as well as sandwiches and salads and you get good size portions. I'm sure I have seen a childrens menu as well. Staff are friendly and helpful. If you are a regular visitor to Charlestons you also get to know some of the people who go there because quite a lot of people like myself are regulars there. I have had Sunday lunch there. I don't eat a lot of meat so just had a vegetable dinner. Only down side was that they had no vegetable gravy only meat gravy. My son loves the chicken kieves from there and the milkshakes. Also has a small seating area outside. Will keep visiting with family and friends.

Good sized portions, piping hot and delicious. Loved it will definitely go back. Staff very friendly, place clean comfortable.

PT :-) and I are still on a hunt for the best vegetarian Sunday dinner but unfortunately Charlestons Coffee House didn't deliver any more than a nice piece of homemade quiche with vegetables.My Sunday Roast however was very good, I had lamb which was obviously cut from a joint rather than shop bought slices which can often be served up. Ample vegetables (even though we were forced to share and PT :-) disliked half of them) and great taste will definitely have me coming back again, although our mission for a vegetarian Sunday dinner continues.SW :-)

Nice and pleasant place. The staff are very friendly and the fare is good value and at a good price.

After all the other pubs/bars were full (Great North Run day) we came here for some food as the menu looked nice. Inside, the venue is nice with plenty of seating. Staff were very friendly.We had soup which was nice. Then I had the chicken bites. Chicken was nice but nothing amazing. My girlfriend had a beef Sunday Roast. This was the first Sunday Roast she could not finish. The Yorkshire pudding was more chew than crunch, mash potato was lumpy and the veg was a bit plain.Plus we had a wait a long time between starters and mains. To the point I was getting bored. I think the place would be good if you wanted something simple, like a full English Breakfast or something but once you become more complex the place you can't keep track.

My honest review would be go at a quiet time and just for coffee. If it's busy, standards drop drastically. The food isn't great but for a mid-morning cuppa it's a nice venue.

Having read the six reviews all giving it an excellent rating we decided to give it a go. Did I go to the right place? I was bitterly disappointed. Dirty tables with staff standing chatting to friends. Music too loud. We both ordered quiche which proved to be poor, served with a bland salad. Looking at other meals coming from the kitchen, if you like your plate piled high with food this could be the place for you but I prefer quality to quantity so won't be going back.

I went as part of a family of four on 19th July 2014 - We all opted for very different meals and each loved what we ordered! They have a wide variety of hot and cold meals, and it's absolutely gorgeous! They were very accomodating to our needs - this place is a little treasure hidden up a side street and is well worth a visit.So many places could take a leaf out of Charleston's book - nothing beats home cooked food - I will definitely go back.

Loved it, meals are lovely, best coffee latte I've had for a long time!!! Martin(I think it's his name) best coffee maker!!! Would go back 10/10

A lovely place to eat. Quality of the food and levels of service are top notch and the price of the meals are very competitive.

Try the fish and chip they have best batter I have ever tasted.the coffee was amazing .the staff were pleasant andcould not doenough fo you

Love this place the Deco is fab! Coffee and food is lovely too! Great place for a Nice coffee and a chat with Friends!

Superb home cooked food friendly staff reasonably priced, we had roast beef and the roast lamb and it was so tender it was like putting I hot knife in butter. Been back again and it was the same, we'll definitely visit it again.