Geek Retreat in Newcastle upon Tyne

Never seen product so violently marked up as it is in this store. You'd think with two competitors parked directly opposite they'd make an effort but they rarely do. Wish they'd use the premium they get from rinsing customers to invest in some air fresheners and AC as well.

Great place to have a bite and play games with your family, friends etc.

No longer smells, the staff are pleasant and the geeks have gained some hygiene.

Huge variety of games making for the perfect spot for a little hang out and game, or to meet passionate fans of all things tabletop Also try the London Fog drink (I think that's what it's called). Never heard of it before and it was a nice new experience, highly recommend!

Not bad for a place to grab a cup of (expensive) tea and play board games for free

great little store, i messaged them about keeping me some lorcana items back on release day due to work and they did this no problem for me, i'll 100% be back to buy more!

Nice coffee. Very clean and tidy. Staff were friendly.

This place has a very relaxed environment there are free to play games and there are a variety of snacks/food/drinks/deserts you can choose from. Staff are really helpful and are always open to having a friendly conversation!! I particularly enjoy the Saturday Pokémon card trading events. Its a great place to buy trading cards or anything of that sort. Whether your just looking to go for somewhere to eat or whether your going to an event. Im sure you’ll enjoy it just as much as I do!

Nice cafe to sit down with friends or even meet new people who enjoy the same nurdy games from d and d to retro gaming and even sessions on how to play new hobby eg learn how to play d and d wheelchair accessible

Went up to Geek Retreat with my son as he wanted to go and find out about Pokémon etc , can honestly what a place this is staff, customers are great can't recommend it highly enough!

Took nearly an hour for a coffee, it was communicated that it took a while for the coffee machine to heat up but no time estimation. Staff were pretty much on their phones the entire time. The cafe itself was a chilled atmosphere with what seemed to be a lovely community for card trading and playing. The coffee (once turned up) was tasty.

Yesterday was my first time in Geek Retreat, luverly spacious shop and helpful staff.

Stopped in today and ended up getting some food and drinks and staying a while. Food was really decent for the price with generous portion sizes. The milkshake was delicious. The atmosphere was really good - a few folks were playing at a table and it felt friendly and pleasant. LOVE the inclusive toilet signs and the provided hygiene products- a wonderful idea which felt non judgemental and discreet. Will definitely be coming back!

Lovely staff with a good selection of food and drink on offer, one of the best safe spaces for all gamers and nerds alike with different events on almost everyday. There is are a selection of boardgames free to use while you visit

A safe place. Good for nerding it up 🥰

Great place to relax and play games, super friendly staff and a great little community

The best place in the city for easy access to other tabletop RPG or TCG fans, with plenty of tables available to play at. There are games provided if you just want to hang with some friends or weekly tournaments for Magic the Gathering and Pokemon TCG (a registered Play! store as well). Not to mention plenty of stock of said games to expand your decks. Just a great spot!

Son1 review: very good great Pokémon cards bought base set blastoise very happy would recommend ham and cheese panni Son2 review: Very good staff,oasis and panini's. Great Pokémon singles! Though they only have one set of Pokémon (chilling pain/ reign) Dad review: Nicely surprised by the cafe section. Good value, good quality food. Very friendly staff.

Found a hard to get expansion for one of our games here at a good price and the missus and I had a very nice Panini and cup of tea each. Atmosphere OK apart from the open door onto the street which unfortunately is right on a busy bus stop so get people sheltering (and smoking) from the rain.

Good place for people interested in Pokémon cards and playing against each other.

Absolutely brilliant place. First time visiting with my son for his 13th birthday. Great day playing D&D. Thank you so much to all the wonderful staff.

Great place to kill a few hours. A few coffees and learned how to play some board games - great fun!

Awesome place to go and relax and meet like minded people into card games and things of the sort (YuGiOh, Pokemon, MTG, etc.). The staff are always very friendly and willing to help you out! Plenty of drinks and quick food options as well if you're staying for a while (Card gaming or DnD). They also put on competitions and events from time to time which are great for finding people with specific interests and for theory crafting decks. 10/10 location for all card collecting and playing fanatics!

A great place to just chill and play games with friends and the staff are friendly and really helpful.

Was running low on TCG energy cards and popped in to see if they sold any at their Newcastle store. Lovely atmosphere with loads of people playing different games from Yu-gi-oh to magic. The staff gave me a few energy cards, kindly, for free so I feel like the least I could do is give them a really lovely review. Definitely go down if you love anything card games! Thanks guys :)

Great staff, very willing to go out of there way to help and throw in extras when making a good sized purchase. If I want to buy digimon tcg this is my go to shop

Amazing place! Excellent Milkshakes. Autism aware and friendly. XxxX

I absolutely love this place. The food is good l, that martian manhunter milkshake is an absolute must buy for fans of Oreos and mint choc ice cream. Staff are friendly and they have great prices. I'll definitely be coming back again. More than a few times I think. A lot more

Erin was fab, helped me find a gift for my dad

I'm a regular customer who has felt incredibly welcomed by all the new atmosphere staff since Covid. I am most excited when I order my usual cheeseburger and see that Craig is making it. Everyone does it good but that man makes a mean burger combo

Been coming to geek for a while now, it’s a great place to socialise and play games. Toni has always been a very friendly staff member and Whenever I’ve been there she’s always recommend good games to play and food to try!

Getting served by Ryan on YuGiOh Thursday always makes my day better. Such lovely customer service and makes the overall experience of geek retreat so much better. Such an asset to the team :)

Often feel a bit overwhelmed with a lot of hobby shops, but staff were friendly and knowledgeable, shout out to Erin who talked me through the D&D 5E starter kit.

Great chilled atmosphere on Thursdays for weekly Yu-Gi-Oh! Events. Stores TO Ryan makes it an enjoyable experience and helps keep things running smoothly. Heavily recommended for anything Yu-Gi-Oh! based.

Great shop, played in a quite a few tournaments here. Ryan is a great judge and is excellent at running tournaments.

Had a great time at the geek retreat! Thanks to Erin for being super friendly and making a great cuppa!

Just want to say a huge thanks to Erin for being so friendly and helping me find exactly what I needed. This was the first time I’d visited Geek Retreat and I’ll definitely be back!

Always a good vibe in here. Erin really cheered me up with her amazing latte art ☕

Nice selection of free games to play and lots of table space. Good food and customer service from the staff. Friendly and helpful people.

Visiting newcastle and had some time to kill so popped in to look at games. Ended up coming back to sit and have some snacks and drinks whilst playing some amazing board games! Super friendly staff and awesome atmosphere.

Brilliant atmosphere, geek in the extreme! Fine selection of drinks and snacks. Shop, game, dine it’s such a cool place. Nice situated near other geeky outlets such as Travelling Man and Forbidden Planet

Voy dos o tres veces a la semana y siempre está ocupado y lleno de gente, me encantan las noches D y D y la gran selección de juegos de mesa que tienen.

Lovely vibe, gamers and shoppers together. Simple menu done well. Great for a quick lunch or snacks and cuppas.

Went here to meet a friend who was playing in one of their tournaments. I hadn't played any of the games GR support and was keen to see what it was all about. Within three minutes of watching my friend play, I was approached by someone who had no name badge on or staff uniform on who told me: "We have a fair use policy at Geek Retreat so if you want to stay you need to buy something". The shop had maybe a dozen or so people in playing a card game at tables. I understand a place having a fair use policy and the need for this. However, if someone walks into your shop and you haven't seen them before this is not the most ideal customer service experience. Perhaps open with "Hey, are you looking for anything here today?" - This would have opened some dialogue that might have resulted in my buying something. If it didn't and I hung around to chill out with my friends for 15 mins or more then I can understand telling me about the fair use policy. Very poor experience. Must do better than simply being rude to a potential customer who then walks straight out the front door. You need to draw a line between fair use policy and chasing away potential sales.

Cafe is canny but busy if card gamers are in. Sellls geeky items can be expensive versus others, well work a visit

The Geek retreat cafe has a ton of activities on most nights. Card tournaments are held regularly, there are a ton of board games and some video games are available too. A great place to spend the evening with friends

Called in today for a coffee with the family. Definitely different but in a GOOD way. Staff were brilliant make you feel welcome and happy to answer and questions you have about all things geeky lol. Nice to see somewhere in Newcastle for people to be themselves and not be made to feel uncomfortable.

Estoy tan contento de que Newcastle tenga un lugar al que recurrir. Muy diferente de tu cafetería habitual. Muy agradable ambiente agradable y el personal era muy encantador. El café era más barato de lo normal en Newcastle y obtienes un cómic gratis con cada bebida caliente que compras. Hay mucho que leer mientras están allí, y tienen algunas máquinas de juego retro antiguas en las que también puedes jugar. Puedes comenzar clubes aquí y usar el televisor para ver películas. La comida sonaba increíble y era bastante barata. Definitivamente regresaremos.

Visited here with my children (youngest is autistic) she has a melt down, no batted an eyelid, no one noticed apart from a young man (Anthony) who came and offered me a seat. Then he ordered a hotdog and shared with my daughter, following that he gave her a couple collecting card. Lots of very sweet and kind young people here. Really nice experience.

It was lovely, I love comic's and my boyfriend loves games. So was ideal. We went had a look and it was fantastic, great atmosphere and brilliant place to relax and chill with friends.

Love coming here staff very friendly and always have some great offer on. Great place to meet other geeks and learn how to play games , my children love it and I find it relaxing.

We were visiting the area and found this gem of a place. Atmosphere was warm. The staff were friendly and very helpful with my GF needs. Food was lovely when it arrived. The kids loved they could read comics from the rack whilst there. Loved perusing the MTG cards and games. A wonderful experience.

Loved my visit to geek retreat, great food, I had the burger in a wrap with jalapeños. Free comics with hot drinks, and a good range of free games to play. Arcade games, pinball and consoles and sofas all add to the warm atmosphere. The shop also has a retail section and done shelves of 2nd hand comics. Staff are superb, very attentive and courteous. Loved it.

We visited here yesterday. Really just to see who would be happy to be called a geek . The place was mobbed !!!! Obviously very popular. If you're a geek give it a go

I popped in for a coffee before work nd was pleasently suprised very helpful staff and a delightful place recomend to anyone

Así que soy un mágico reproductor, y no creo que estoy pensando en un gran nivel, pero mejor que la de la mayoría. Así que mi mejor amigo y yo fuimos a Geek refugio para una FNM, y nos vamos a jugar moderno. Ahora ya sé moderno etc. es competitivo, pero la actitud de los jugadores fue tan malo ni siquiera para el final, fue tan mal. El lugar en sí es muy sucia y tiene el ambiente de una noche Arrojaban los juntos a sentir. El personal era desdeñoso en el mejor de los casos, y odioso en el peor de los casos. La gente de allí tenía la actitud de que hay grupos y, como tales, no eran atractivas para jugadores nuevos. He jugado en muchas cafeterías diferentes y las tiendas por todo el país y todos de ellos muy atractivo, pero este lugar ha sido el peor que he estado, y no recomendar o poner a alguien a través de la tortura de ir a este infierno.

Mis hijos de 13 y 14 años les encanta este lugar. Las mesas de distintos tamaños en una gran sala rodeada de sillones, sillas de escuela etc. simplemente encontrar una mesa y jugar juegos que sea más prefieras. Todo lo que pedimos es que al comprar algunos refrescos, comida o bebida, una vez por cada hora que te alojes en el establecimiento. Los batidos son muy buena relación calidad-precio y muy sabroso, dos sabores I. e Oreo y Nutella, etc. por £2.25 . Cómicos y tarjetas de juego también se venden en los locales y tienen un precio razonable. Mi marido y yo fuimos de compras mientras los niños nos alojamos y jugamos Magia de la reunión es la única manera que podemos conseguir que venga a Newcastle con nosotros ahora. En el refugio es un ambiente agradable y todos los jugadores son amables y serviciales. Es un lugar único para la comunidad de juego

What an amazing discovery this was. Listed as a restaurant but more of a social place/club. Yes it does serve food and drinks and...if you want to stay there you are expected to buy one item of food or drink per hour. I had the most amazing peanut butter milkshake and hot fudge cake. Highly recommended. Son had a burger which was basic but pleased an 11 year old. At the back of the venue is a "shop" area with comics and superhero merchandise. There are board games available to play; arcade games (donkey kong style) around the room to play. On the day we visited they had a large tv opposite a comfy sofa which was set up with retro game consoles (free to play). My son did not want to leave! Perfect hang out for comic and game fans. Everyone town should have a "geek retreat".