Magic Hat Cafe in Newcastle upon Tyne

I can't praise this wonderful cafe, and project, too highly. There is no point listing the delicious lunch courses we had, as the menu changes everday according to what perfectly edible, but otherwise wasted, produce has been collected from shops and cafes around Newcastle (1.5 - 2 tonnes per week!). Their cooks must be so talented to continually innovate and produce such wonderfully tasty (and safely edible!) plates and cakes on a daily basis . The Cafe is only open Thursday to Sunday, although we were so impressed and enthused by the whole project that we will hire them to cater for my big Birthday Bash later on in the year. You simply must go - An unforgettable epxerience!

Inventive top quality cooking at a bargain price, enthusiastic staff and lovely chilled ambiance. We go every time we are in Newcastle

There's a friendly greeting as you enter the restaurant and a very relaxed ambience inside. Difficult to choose from the delicious-sounding vegetarian dishes, same with drinks, and all reasonably priced. It was a half-hour wait for the food but worth it!

Wonderful place to eat, great ambience, staff friendly and helpful. Really interesting, inventive and varied menu: polish potato dumpling with strawberries? Who knew...a delightful combination. All food superb and laudable ethos. Highly recommend.

While I couldn’t tell you how the Magic Hat first came to my attention I’ll admit that the first visit was down to the ethos of the establishment. They run a system where (forgive the mansplain for those aware) 1.5 – 2 tonnes of food a week is collected that would otherwise be sent to landfill and turn it into, to quote the website “a high quality daily changing menu” at “affordable prices”. This struck me as a beautiful idea on a few different levels, the part of me that deplores the idea that food is thrown away while others starve and the part that looks at the environmental effect of so much food being sent to landfill. That was the reason for my first visit, the reasons for my subsequent? Last Thursday was a perfect example, having checked Facebook noticed that one of the offerings was strawberry, ricotta and tomato salad with rocket dressing. Now while I’ve never tried such a combo it just struck me that on a lovely bright day that just felt perfect. Upon arrival was quickly seated, offered a menu which was politely declined and an order was placed. Food arrived quickly. The strawberries where firm, juicy and slightly tart, combine this with the creaminess of the ricotta, the acidity of the tomatoes and the black pepper notes of the rocket. A perfect fork. Quite simply the best plate of food I’ve paid for this year. The staff. The staff are an absolute bloody delight, enthusiastic, friendly, you can absolutely sense the pride they take in the product they deliver. Prices, main course including a 15% tip (worked front of house and if you do everything right you damn well get 15%) £8.05. I have paid more than that for an over salted, greasy takeaway. TL/DR Environmentally Excellent, Fantastic food, Superb Staff, Lush location, Perfect Pricing.

Great food.busy,so a bit of a wait,but well worth it! It was good to have an alternative to usual lunch menus,and good that otherwise food would have been wasted.

Visited before but was during the week,which was lovely,decided to visit on Sunday which is pay as you feel on a weekend,absolutely lovely food and service well worth it cudnt fault it, will be back soon thank u

Came here just for two hot chocolates, the drinks were good but took ages to arrive. The waiter did apologise for the delay - apparently we'd come in just after a large group. Nice atmosphere, lots of plants around the place, and plenty of seating. There was a little shop in the corner selling crotchet garments, dried flowers, and what looked like jam.

Visited for the first time last week and loved the ethos, atmosphere and wonderful unique menu. Can’t wait to come back.

The food is great, with flavours well balanced and tasty. The staff are extremely friendly and inviting. The concept of minimising food waste wonderful. The drinks are lovely. The value for money is brilliant. We will continue to return - our favourite brunch spot in Newcastle.

Very nice indeed! A great addition to the city centre and a genuine local cafe in the middle of a lot of chain restaurants.

Since my previous review I have been in twice for lunch and then last night had my birthday party in the Magic Hat. The food on every occasion was absolutely delicious and the cafe is a really nice flexible space which is fully accessible Highly recommended.

We went here for brunch after a friend recommended it and we weren’t disappointed. The food was lovely - I had a roast veg and mozzarella toastie and my partner had masala beans with eggs. The food was very tasty and we also really liked the decor - exposed brick, wooden tables and plants everywhere. We loved the cafe’s mission - to reduce food waste - and they even had food from the reduced sections at supermarkets which you could purchase on a pay-as-you-feel basis. Throughly recommend!

I had my retirement party here recently - it was the perfect venue. Friendly staff, great food, lovely relaxed atmosphere. Space for eating and dancing, and you can play your own playlist over Spotify. Would definitely use it again. There were about 45 of us and the size was perfect.

An undiscovered gem. The Magic Hat is a project of Bind CIC, a non-profit working to make food waste a thing of the past in Newcastle. The Magic Hat combines a great, accessible eating experience with raising awareness on food waste, using surplus food saved from landfill. Eclectic and tasty meals from a daily changing menu and lovely friendly staff. You pay what you think the food is worth at the weekends, but the food is exceptional, so we are always happy to pay a fair price. The market offers great, fresh produce that would otherwise have gone to landfill it, and hampers are available, using surplus food from local businesses. Try this, you will not be dissapointed.

I was looking for a new place to try and stumbled on the website of this little gem. Initially I decided to visit because the idea that millions of tonnes of food in the UK goes to land fill when so many people go hungry...

Delicious food, lovely staff and you get to feel like you are helping the environment. What's not to love? I had a vegetarian main and starter and it was really tasty. My friends had lamb and they said it tasted great. The venue shas a...

📍The Magic Hat Cafe@ Newcastle City Centre What's not to be loved when the food you're buying involves great ethics? 🗑️Zero food waste - ingredients that would have gone to the bin are used here to skilfully prepare culinary delights! There's even 'Pay-as-you-FEEL' weekends, where...

What a fantastic experience we had at the Magic Hat! Friendly staff, superb coffee, interesting menu and delicious food. Providing a gluten free option for me was no problem. It’s hard to believe that the ingredients used would have ended up in landfill. We left...

Called in here for coffee before catching our train back to Manchester.It's a very attractive place with lovely staff. The millionaire shortbread is to die for! We would have loved to stay for lunch, as the menu looked interesting.It's a bit tucked away behind the...

Went for lunch the other day as it was highly recommended. First of all, I was very impressed with the decor and vibe, it's just the right balance of cool but welcoming. The idea behind it is so cool, to reduce waste by saving food...

All the food used in the cafe is surplus so the menu changes daily based on availability . Given this the menu is a little limited but brilliantly executed. I had a brunch bowl which consisted of 2 sausages, a soft boiled egg, crispy broccoli,...

Popped in for brunch and coffee on a visit from Berwick to visit my daughter and new baby grandson. Have been wanting to go here for a while after discovering this place during the pandemic and buying a few of the magic hampers online. The...

Skilled chefs rescuing food that would otherwise have gone to waste, making something great out of it and serving it to you for a fiver. Nice space, friendly staff. A wholly positive experience, get along and support this place.

Brilliant coffee, friendly engaging staff, lovely food and concept. A must visit. Will be coming again and again.

Magic Hat Cafe isn’t just a great concept but their food and drinks are amazing too. I’ve popped in for a coffee (far better than any high street chain may I add!) multiple times. It’s such a relaxed atmosphere with really friendly staff making it...

This place specialises in making food waste a thing of the past--they serve food made from food they receive from supermarkets. It is run by volunteers They even sell food and you pay what you want for it! Very popular with students