Northern Soul Kitchen in Northumberland

Terry, Lucie and I were heading back to the car when we stumbled across the Northern Soul Kitchen. Terry had heard about it, but didn't know where it was. This was our chance to find out more ! First surprise, this was a community run kitchen. Run for the community, by the community ! Next surprise, meals are made from food that's donated or intercepted ! Next surprise, pay what you feel ! The only menu item that's priced is coffee, £2.50. On the way in a couple already enjoying their meal recommended the Balti Chicken, so Terry and I opted for that. Lucie, after studying the menu opted for the sausage sandwich incorporating black pudding and cheese. The chicken curry was delicious and Lucie's sandwich was HUGE ! We all enjoyed our lunch ! Good food, friendly staff, great atmosphere ! We'll be back ! A great discovery !

Fantastic food and service. Best chicken casserole I have ever tasted. Would eat there everytime i went out if i lived in Berwick. Make sure to pay it forward!

Great place to eat as you donate what you think for your meal, the food is donated by local shops so the menu changes daily but the money they raise helps those who cannot afford a meal, a brilliant idea. They do accept card and cash.

A warm welcome into a spotless cafe. The food was well presented and very tasty ( although nothing to do with " Northern Soul" music)

Lovely wee place and such a great idea behind the business - making what they can with food donated to them that would otherwise go in the bin. Food was excellent and I was surprised by the amount of choice on the menu. The staff were so friendly and had a passion for what they were doing. Would highly recommend visiting, we'll definitely be back next time we're in the area.

My mum and I went for lunch here today, both really enjoyed our meals. I had moroccan chickpeas cous cous and my mum had emmental and mushroom toastie with potato and wild garlic soup. We also shared a vegan lemon drizzle. Coffee was great. It is amazing that this cafe repurposes food that would have otherwise been wasted into great meals and so the menu is always changing depending on what they have in. It also allows you to pay what you feel so is accessible to anybody. Lovely volunteers and nice atmosphere, we will definitely be back.

I had spicy cauliflower and coffee. Both excellent. Never had a bad meal here, always several great dishes to choose from and always at least one vegetarian. They are are just expanding to a second shop across the road, so good luck to to them. Amazing place, lovely people.

Excellent soup Will definitely return to try more fayre. Lovely ambience Friendly people Wishing you success

Such a cute atmosphere in here - awesome food and service! Support local & community driven projects in this space <3

Truly great food, incredibly friendly welcome and service with great decor and vibe. The honesty policy for paying is tribute to the way this cafe does business for its wonderful cause

Amazing food, people, ethics!!! We love northern soul kitchen, it is such an amazing little place to have a tasty meal and chat to all the lovely people who volunteer there.

Wow! Outstanding food, great vegan options - we had roasted cauliflower and chickpea curry with rice, mango chutney and pitta, spinach pesto pasta and bread and butter pudding with vegan custard. All gorgeous. The curry was far nicer than the curry we had the previous day when visiting Edinburgh at one of Edinburgh's most highly rated indian restaurants!!! Very friendly, talented staff and it's pay what you feel the food is worth. Doing an amazing job ensuring excess supermarket produce doesn't go to waste. Thoroughly recommended!!

Many places to eat in Berwick but only one with such a great eco friendly way of working! Using left over produce to create imaginative dishes is the way to go. Every supermarket should have one of these to use their waste at source!!! Friendly staff, food freshly prepared and now branching out into jams and chutneys to make sure everything that is donated to them is used. Pity this isn't in a more prominent position but worth searching out. Hope diners continue to come in and feel happy to donate a realistic amount for their meals. Only one thing, it is a pity the menu board isn't on prominent display in the window to attract more customers. Well done Northern soul, our first chance to visit but we will be back again soon.

I am a regular visitor to Northern Soul Kitchen for my lunch, always excellent and imaginative recipes and you pay what you feel - putting £££ in a zipped cotton envelope and popping into the box. What's not to like?! But I have also discovered they do outside catering now too - I needed finger food lunch for 30 of us at a Textile Group meeting .... I discussed beforehand with Millie who runs the kitchen the options available .... we had an amazing variety of savoury and sweet foods, everyone was very impressed and also liked the fact that we were saving food from going to waste. This outside catering has a range of fixed prices per head, to suit the customer. I will be using the Kitchen again, and cannot recommend it highly enough! Other groups needing catering - take note and try out Northern Soul Kitchen!

Thank you for providing the delicious and varied lunch at Foulden in the Borders on Saturday.Yum yum

different menu each day - depends on what has been donated to them as they use unsold food from supermarkets, shops, organic farms etc. I had a plain egg mayonnaise sandwich and the eggs were delicious - from happy hens. also a lovely cup of tea in a china teapot, cup and saucer - tastes so much better. Friendly staff too.

This is a brilliant social initiative which uses unsold food sourced from elsewhere and you pay whatever you feel it's worth when you've finished. You can also pay a bit more if you are able and 'pay forward' for someone else. The café is run by volunteers who are a friendly bunch. We had a quick bite and some tea and it was all very tasty. A great idea that's helping both helping with the issue of food waste and also ensuring everyone has the chance to enjoy decent, well cooked food. We hope to visit again.

Found this place while looking for dog friendly cafe.Staff were super friendly and the food was delicious. Four of us ate, we loved the ethos and wish there were more venues like this around the country. Well done to all involved, if we are ever in the area again would definitely come back. Please give it a try.

My husband and I found this little gem of a cafe by chance tucked away in West Street. This cafe is different as all the food is donated to the cafe. We both had a delicious lunch. I had Avocado on Sourdough Toast with a Fried Egg and my husband had Bean and Chilli Stew with Rice. Both meals were excellent and served by friendly, polite and chatty staff. They don’t have any prices on the menu. Everyone puts however much they feel their meals are worth into a envelope and place it into a donation box. We would highly recommend this cafe which is nicely decorated with art on the walls of the local area. It is also run by volunteers. We were just visiting the area but would definitely return if we revisit the area.It’s a shame there aren’t more eating places like this. Well done to all concerned, you are setting an excellent example, and can just wish there were more establishments like this.

I love Northern Soul. It intercepts food that would be otherwise wasted by supermarkets and the founder Millie, whips them up in creative hearty food for vegans, veggies, gluten-free & omnivores. It's also pay-as-you-feel- but anonymously, so it's not embarrassing. The food is delicious and the mission of the cafe is genius! #stopfoodwasteDuring the school holidays, Northern Soul does breakfast / lunches for families who might be experiencing financial difficulties. I love Northern Soul and all it stands for & wish more cafes were like this! The staff are very friendly volunteers & the music is great too

Fantastic vibe and ethos in here. What this cafe is dong is refreshing and needs to be embraced by more. Love that that the food changes so regularly and is based on sustainable means. Lovely staff. Friendly and attentive. I encourage you to walk past the chains and the multis and support the Northern Soul Kitchen.

The food is always good and the menu depends on what has been donated by supermarkets so is always a suprise. Could be soup, sandwich, pasta, stew.. what ever; there are delicious cakes and puddings too

This place cooks up unsold food before it gets wasted, at the price you decide (given at the end in an anonymous envelope). When we visited there were lovely fresh flowers on the tables and we were obligingly supplied with what food they had left cooked to our preferences, plus some delicious dessert and tea. Very friendly service, and they definitely know how to cook! It is bigger than it looks from the outside too.