El Coto in Newcastle upon Tyne

Very disappointing, especially given the past reviews. Quality of the food was below average, portions were small... The service was great instead. The waiters were all very attentive and quick. However, the dining experience itself was not something I'd recommend.

Perfect meal with my daughter 5🌟

Have been here three times. The atmosphere is always chatty and vibrant. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. Very quick to take your order. Food arrives quickly. Had fantastic food at a reasonable price. we have not had a bad experience in any of the times we have been there. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good evening and good food with a great atmosphere

We had the set meal for two , really good quality , so many choices , will definitely be going back. Reasonably priced too :)

I can’t believe I had never been here before. The food is amazing. The house white is really good quality. It’s so big inside, from the outside it doesn’t give that impression. I am looking forward to summer so that I can dine in the courtyard.

Lovely little place. Fab food and service, and a good price. Don't be put off by the front: i got there and nearly got put off as it looked empty. It wasnt. That was just the front bar; the restaurant was in the back and it was lovely and busy. Food was served quickly and was delicious. Will be back.

The service was great but the food was terrible. Honestly save your money or go somewhere else . 2 prawns in a dish.

Visited El Coto for a pre theatre meal. Ordered before 5pm so was able to benefit from their 3 tapas for £14.75 Not only was this great value but it was also great tasting, quality food. There was a very good selection of tapas to choose from too. The wine was reasonably priced and the portion sizes more than adequate. With a nice friendly welcome and good service I think it’s safe to say that we’ll be back.

Gorgeous stew and meatballs, can't wait to go back

Thoroughly enjoyed the food and ambience. Lovely helpful waitress. Reasonably priced. Good varied menu.

Love this restaurant. Really good tapas, full of flavour. The sangria is to die for and the service is extremely good. One of the best tapas restaurants in Newcastle and excellent quality for the value

I've been a few times and it's always been great

We keep returning to this lovely and cosy place. The food is amazing, the atmosphere is great and all staff are so friendly. Silvia provided top class service effortlessly. Special mention to GM Charlotte - such a hard working lady who made our visit perfect. We will be back for more indeed. Thank you guys Great job👏👏👏 David Lloyd Newcastle Reception Team

first visit to El Coto enjoyed my meal very much Understated decor made for a friendly atmosphere. Ample portions served promptly and good service all round. A comfortable upholstered dining chair would be good for less mobile customer. Hope to come again

3rd time back. First time poor, second time much better. Busy evening this time and the place was packed - a good sign. Food menu is extensive - again good for tapas with the selection. Unfortunately one of our dishes never arrived - but still was on the bill. So something it's quite all there with the system. Never mind - this happens. So on to the food: - Papas bravas o con ali-oli. These were fine. Crispy and seasoned potatoes would have been better. The ali-oli was the right side of garlic, but the tomato sauce could have done with a little kick - Chorizo frito. This was poor. Looked boiled rather than fried. It says it is with "garlic and white wine" but they come in a bowl with no sauce at all. Avoid I'm afraid. I cook much better chorizo at home. - Gambas al ajillo. These were nice and you could really taste the flavours. I'd recommend this dish. - Pollo al ajillo. This was bad. We didn't eat it. The sauce was meant to be "garlic, parsley and white wine", but it was as though it had curdled. And not a great taste. - Berenjenas gratinadas. The best dish of the night. Like a melanzana parmagiana. Really nice. - Ropa vieja. Again - really nice. Would recommend this one too. the flavours worked really well. - Croquetas de queso y jamón. These were fine. Not amazing. But fine and quite tasty. So having recently returned from Barcelona I had high hopes for more tapas. Unfortunately El Coto disappointed me and didn't live up to expectations.

Great food, good service. I had the chorizo (delicious), chicken skewers (great) and potatoes with peppers (ok). I'd definitely go again.

El mejor restaurante de tapas españolas de la ciudad, estuvimos un fin de semana y lo encontramos por casualidad. Los propietarios son españoles y saben muy bien lo que hacen, las tapas muy ricas igual que las podrías encontrar en España. Muy recomendable para el que le gusten las tapas

Walked in, short notice without reservation. Excellent service and food.

Date night with a gorgeous lady friend of mine who’d booked the table in advance, only trouble is I rocked up 30 minutes late getting my times mixed up, a great start! Staff were great on my entrance and saw the funny side of my lateness and took me straight to the table where my date was sat waiting, already settled with a bottle of red opened, clearly relieved that she hadn’t been stood up. We immediately ordered a set meal for three as I’m a big eater and thoroughly enjoyed the starters of olives, bread, ham and cheese until the mains started arriving. The mains soon followed and various plates of goodies kept appearing on the table, everything that turned up was absolutely delicious, believe me! We done in a second bottle of red and opted for desserts, both having the chocolate incased mint ice-cream which was lovely. A great night, a great experience, lovely staff, great venue, fantastic ambience, full marks and I’m more than happy to recommend El Coto.

Made a group booking for 20 people (work night out). Fantastic service from start to finish. Wasn’t an easy order as we all chose different tapas or paella but the team were quick to respond to emails and I was pleasantly surprised just how organised they were on the evening. Food was amazing and we all had a brilliant night. Thanks so much.

Excellent venue for pre match food. Enjoyed the experience friendly helpful staff & delicious food. Rearranged tables to accommodate us

Awful! The food was clay cold and not worth the price paid. Cafe Andeluz is far superior and much cheaper

Lovely atmosphere and great for gluten free and dairy free meals.

For a place that's quite highly rated it was very disappointing. Very uncomfortable chairs & too crammed together. Average food in toddler portions for a premium price. £44 for 10 tapas you could of fit on 2 small plates. Won't be returning

Great food, friendly, fast service and a lovely quirky restaurant. Sadly since the Durham restaurant closed we don't get to go very often, but when we visit the Newcastle one, it's always will worth it!

Lovely food and a brilliant deal for restaurant week. Great staff and quick service. The prawns, lamb meatballs and calamari were our favourites!

The small plates make this restaurant a fabulous choice for either lite bites or a full meal. We are a family of vegetarians and one of my daughters has coeliac disease so is gluten free - because of this we are sometimes limited to a small number of options but not here - we all had a wealth of choice which was refreshing and much appreciated. We choose manchego, olives, mushrooms in garlic, tortilla, lentil stew, chickpea stew, aubergine topped with cheese and tomato and garlic topped bread, patatas bravas and padron peppers. Everything was cooked and seasoned to perfction - in fact we enjoyed the lentil stew and manchego so much we ordered seconds! We ordered many small plates and copius amounts of alcohol and the bill was a very reasonable £121 for the four of us. The atmosphere was great, the service was attentive and the food was to class - highly recommended.

Absolutely brilliant food amazing

I came with a group of friends for my 50th birthday, we chose the £20.90pp set menu. There were about 20 dishes hot and cold. This is the best meal I have had in Newcastle and we were all full to the limit. The service was amazing and the staff friendly and helpful. Eventhough it was quick service we never felt rushed and they didn't push us to leave once we had finished the meal. I definitely want to come back, I cannot find one fault. 5 star plus

Best restaurant in Newcastle. Beautiful food with huge variety..been 3 times now and.never been disappointed

We visited today with family from Leeds as it was recommended by a friend for authentic Spanish tapas. It did not disappoint. We have two vegans in the family that were catered for also and their food was delicious. For the 3 none vegans the food was amazing! Marcia, could not have helped more if she tried, she recommended food for a fussy 12 year old, who demolished his food! She also helped us to order in Spanish, and a few other words we asked for! Such a beautiful lady. Thankyou so much. We will definitely be back.

Decent but unremarkable Spanish tapas restaurant. Very helpful staff, but spoiled a bit for us by a very noisy office party

I recently had the most amazing lunch at El Coto with my friends for one of the ladies 40th birthday treat. It was my first visit and I was a bit of a novice. We opted for the lunch special 3 tapas for £14.75 and with 12 dishes between the 4 of us we had an amazing feast. The meatballs are to die for, the alioli is so moreish and the papos a lo pobre where delish. I can't wait to visit again!

Excellent food. Never been to anything like it. Best ever experience

Amazing authentic tapas, best in Newcastle. Set meal is best value around. Ambiance superb, a true experience and staff are super efficient. We will be back

What an amazing authentic Spanish tapas restaurant. Met up with some friends and ordered lots of dishes to try. Chicken and chorizo stew was so tasty and the chicken and date dish was lush. Staff were very efficient and friendly. We had a waitress called Erin who was super helpful and could explain the dishes to us.

Pretty crowded but fantastic food

The food was absolutely delicious and the tapas menu comes with so many options! You can also order a paella for the table which is absolutely stunning. Have been here multiple times and will come many more times in the future.

We enjoyed lovely veggie tapas served in cosy surroundings in the centre of town. Staff lovely too. Will definitely return .

Good selection of tapas 3 for £10 during restaurant week. Crowded tables and a bit noisy with an ok selection of beers. Service was quick and attentive. On the whole a place to go for quick food and then on to somewhere else to drink.

We were taken here by friends while visiting and meeting them for the first time. The food was amazing, and the service so friendly. If this isn’t the best Spanish restaurant in Newcastle then the others must be amazing.

Staff were very friendly lovely atmosphere but disappointed with the Food everything was very garlic to the point where that’s all I could taste we got the bread first with garlic dip and the tomato bread had no taste whatsoever. The potatoes just looked like...

We chose the two person tapas menu, which was excellent and great value for money. The staff were friendly and helpful without being intrusive.

Delicious selection of authentic and tasty tapas. We had a wonderful family meal here, ordered several dishes to share and jugs of sangria. We'll be back.

Visited El Coto after having read great reviews on here, as we were going to be staying in Newcastle for a few days. We were supposed to be dining with friends who live in Durham, but they made a mistake thinking it was the following...

Lovely food definitely recommend it.

Very disappointed with our visit today, food seemed reheated and very dry. Had plenty of 5 star meals here over our time, so hopefully just a one off poor show.

Fabulous lunch. Tapas was perfect, came at the right speed. Staff couldn’t do enough,food was delicious and sangria gorgeous. We sat outside and could of thought we were in the Mediterranean. Well done!

Have been several times; great food, lovely staff, prompt service and good value. The whole experience would be enhanced by some comfy sofas to sink into after the meal, while finishing your drinks.

First time eating here, the garlic Mayo is absolutely gorgeous and the baked aubergine dish is so beautiful I could have eaten just that all day! Will definitely be back 😃

Amazing food and attentive service. Wonderful

The staff here are so helpful and the food is lovely. Particularly liked the atmosphere as it’s relaxed but professional.

Honestly the best Tapas we have ever had anywhere in the world! We have grandparents and parents who live in Spain and our whole family agree this is the best Tapas we have had anywhere! We have been regularly for the last few years and...

Quaint restaurant with good ambience. Five of us tried the lunch special 3 tapas for £11.95. Food was amazing. All had different tapas and each dish was excellent. There was so much choice. The pork with blue cheese and mushroom sauce was especially good. The...

Saw this restuarant while looking on trip advisor walked past it on the day didn't look much from outside and was extremely quiet. We thought based on reviews we would phone and book a table. Arrived a bit earlier than planned and again thought it...

up in Newcastle & Tynemouth for a few day days , never had a bad meal but this was the best. Great choice for all dietary needs , great service , but the quality of food was what made it.

We visited today for lunch amid the wet & windy day outside! Great food lovely staff and big portions! Definatley put on your list if you havn't been.

Lovely food, lovely atmosphere, some of the party attending were vegan, we felt as if the staff could have been more organised, as had to ask several times what food was what.

A group of seven of us arrived Thursday for food and drinks at a pre booked table. I was sitting nearest the hatch to the kitchen, and the waitress kept delivering bowls of food for me seemingly to actually sort out, with no explanation of...

THE most amazing food. Oh my gosh I am absolutely stuffed. Phenomenal choice, all freshly cooked, great choice for vegetarians, and the wine is lovely.

Had a lovely tapas meal, home cooked authentic food. Lovely place, great service and value. Would eat here all the time if we lived in the city.

Wonderful food will visit again. Good wheelchair Access

We stumbled upon this restaurant by chance and discovered a hidden gem. We had the set meal Tapas for 3 which was deliciously authentic. The restaurant is rustic, no frills and homely. The waitresses were excellent and food and drinks were served quickly. Prices were...

Service was swift and polite, and the food was amazing. Thoroughly recommend.

Good tapas with very generous portions, 5 tapa between 2 was more than enough for us. Great service and nice drinks.

Food was lovely serve lovely . Got told you could nt smoke in the garden so had to go to out side to the front of the restaurant. . Came back in the assisting manger friends where aloud to vape . In the garden area...

Food was absolutely amazing, each tapas has its own authentic taste. One of my lovely Cumbrian friends was worried there wouldn’t be enough! We had more than enough the Tapas just kept coming, our table was full. Will definitely be coming back and telling others.

We were over in newcastle to leave our daughter to uni. We went to this restaurant on a recommendation from a friend. It was fabulous. We could not decide which dishes to order from the menu so we ordered the selection for 2, cost £18.95...

Great food, always love my visits here

Fantastic food & drink at great prices. The restaurant has a really nice ambience and the staff are very friendly. Highly recommended.

Food portions were larger than most other tapas restaurants. The service was great! And the food was very tasty!! A decent amount of vegan items which is what I was looking for! And the restaurant had a nice Spanish vibe to it.

Took my wife for her birthday, and the food was amazing quality and extremely varied options on the menu. The team were extremely attentive and service was excellent. They also helped arrange a special birthday dessert for my wife too. Muchos Gracias!

Went here for a birthday lunch after reading very good online reviews. Food is authentic fresh and very well cooked. Choice of tapas is second to none and you need at least 15 minutes to decide as there is so much choice. When we went...

Looked closed or empty from the street- main area is towards the back of the building. Rustic simple look but wonderful welcome and service. Excellent food- yummy sangria! A lovely meal out.

We came here in the evening and had just the most awesome blow out feast for 13 of us. Food just kept arriving as did the wine. Staff were lovely too. Highly recommended.

This is mine and my wifes favourite restaurant. we have been goping for the past 10 years and never been dissapointed yet. The service is always fantastic, the food is tremendous. This time we had: Pork and blue chese, patatas bravas, meatballs, beef stew, prawns...

Myself and my husband picked El Coto for a lunch date whilst shopping and I’m glad we did!! The portion sizes are the perfect size and the pricing is great too. We had 6 tapas between us and bread and we were stuffed and it...

Visited with family on a Thursday evening Very Spanish feel to restaurant Friendly and helpful staff . We chose the set tapas menu . Excellent food , probably the best tapas we have had in UK Good value too Atmosphere was lively even for a...

Oh my a must in any visitors itinerary, a little off the beaten track so so so worth it. Staff excellent as is the food, too much to eat absolutely brilliant

We were greeted with a warm welcome and decided upon the tapas for two and a bottle of albarino. We were not disappointed it was brilliant. Great service and such a great atmosphere. Would highly recommend and will be coming back again when we're in...

My husband took it upon himself to book this place. We were just missing our sunshine holiday this summer and wanted paella. To be honest I wish we had just kept walking and went to red mezze..our favourite restaurant.. but we wanted to give this...

Me and my wife visit el coto on a regular basis and we are never disappointed. Really authentic tasty Spanish food at a really good price. We always feel welcome by the staff, really friendly atmosphere. Definitely worth a visit.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Really nice place with amazing food and friendly staff. We have eaten a lot and spent not too much. I will visit soon this place. Highly recommend!!

Best tapas outside of Spain! Huge patatas bravas, light fluffy croquetas, crispy calamari, rich delish chorizo, creamy chicken in wine sauce, and loads of crusty bread and aioli. Lovely sangria, great service, can’t fault it!

Absolutely amazing authentic tapas with such perfect service - it was raining outside but we felt like we were in Spain! We will definitely be back!

Great service. Very friendly and efficient staff. Food is very flavoursome and rustic. Good size portions. Would go back.

Bloody fantastic every time can’t wait to go again thanks so much thank you so much for lovely food it was a takeaway but that was still amazing and service from staff on collection was excellent thanks

My favourite restaurant. visited bank holiday with family. Was a bit disappointed. Croquettes were cold and stodgy. Chef salad sparse and distinctly lacking in flavour because of this. Patatas with spicy tomato sauce… potatoes perfect as per usual however that ‘sauce’ was literally bitter raw...

Lovely service from start to end! Chose tapas for 2 and added on 3 extra dishes, definitely more than enough! Very authentic and tasty food!

First time visitors. Definitely not our last. Food and service great. King prawns, my favourite. Good size portions. Thankyou Charlotte. Highly recommended.

My favourite tapas restaurant!! Was so nice to dine in again. Friendly staff, service was spot on and the food was amazing. I could eat the chicken and dates every day!! Can't fault this place. Highly recommended

Went on the 17/05/2021, the day we were able to dine out again. Excellent as usual. Been loads, croquettes and the pork in blue cheese sauce are amazing.

This had to be first place we visited and did not disappoint. Was so lovely seeing so many out and hearing Spanish people out enjoying themselves. Food and service amazing as always.

Didnt look as big from the outside, but its tardis like...plenty of room and well spaced for covid regs. Really enjoyed our meal there, sangria is a must!!! Ordered a paella, as it our daughters fav, the staff said it could take up to 50...

I've walked past this place in Newcastle so many times and discounted it because it looks small from the outside. However, once you're in it opens up massively beyond the bar into a large, open area. The menu has a huge range of tapas, including...

Great atmosphere, great food, warm and welcoming staff.

Excellent long lunch with a good price offer, very pleasant house wine, friendly and efficient service. More than enough food for a reasonable price - my only meal all day. Very quiet on a Tuesday daytime - more people should know about it.

The owner invited me back, so I was willing to give a second chance. And I’m glad I did. The food this time was very tasty and the flavours worked well. The pork cheeks were under seasoned but cooked really well. The potoroos were again...

Great tapas and friendly staff. Made me wish that I was back in Spain.

We shared a lovely bottle of red with a variety of different tapas dishes which were all outstanding. Amazing flavours and the best fried chicken I have ever tasted! We will be back for sure.