St Vincent was an immediate favourite of mine from the day it opened, and I’d constantly been asking the staff in the other 21 Group venues when it would be reopening post pandemic, where it was used as the base for the popular 21 at Home concept. Thankfully, it’s back, complete with new seasonal menu, wines and cocktails. I was recently invited to go and enjoy and evening to try it out, and spoiler; it was faultless from start to finish.

Disclaimer: We received a complimentary meal at St Vincent in Newcastle in exchange for an honest review.

They’ve made a few changes during their closure, but overall it’s still very much the same St Vincent’s wine bar and restaurant that it was beforehand, with the same familiar faces running the show as well as some new ones, and a revamped menu and wine list.

Personally, I think the menu has greatly improved. I really enjoyed breakfast there in the past, but I tended to visit more in an evening for the wine bar aspect as a pre or post dinner spot. Now though, it’s absolutely somewhere I’d be booking a table for a full meal and drinks after.

We began our evening with a drink in the window, on the high seats next to the bar. Ideal for watching the world go by over a bottle of your choice. For our whole evening, we decided to let the manager Matt put his expertise to great use and choose pretty much all of our food and drinks for us.

We knew we were in good hands with the first glass he poured us, a cloudy prosecco that was so refreshing, ideal for an after work or early evening drink even if you’re not having food.

We enjoyed this with some olives and coated almonds for a bit, before we were shown to our table. I always feel like St Vincent is a mix of an Italian wine bar in Florence, and a Parisian side street cafe, with the small round tables, wines stacking up the wall, and the general feel of the place. The type of spot you could pop in for one and still be there hours later having a good chat with friends or even the bar staff.

At this point we decided we would definitely go for a selection of smaller plates, along with a bigger main to share between us and whichever sides best complimented them. Matt asked us to tell him anything we definitely did want, and anything we definitely didn’t, and then he would choose a selection to give us the best combinations taste combinations.

If you’re anything like me you’re a creature of habit, and tend to always go for the same things, so it was really nice to let someone else make the choices and see what we got. The dishes we discounted were only really for allergy reasons, but we said we absolutely had to try the monkfish tail main, and the Shetland King scallops – the rest we were happy to be surprised.

We were poured a very crisp glass of Turckheim Edelzwicker Vin D’Alsace, with a promise of it being a great one to start with, and some focaccia bread and olive oil, as well as some sliced chorizo to begin our food.

As we finished these, a plate of crispy soft shell crab with Tarragon mayo, and a summer salad with feta arrived. I’d have probably ordered the crab myself being such a big seafood fan, and it was delicious, but the real surprise was the salad. It was so good and refreshing we finished it first, so nice with the chunks of feta and the wine.

After a bit of a break, and a bit more wine, our scallops arrived swimming in a mouth watering garlic butter. This was shortly followed by the grilled monkfish tail, asparagus covered in cheese, and a bowl full of zucchini fries.

Clean wine glasses were handed to us and in splashed the next one, a Christophe Muret St Vincent Chardonnay. The staff had tried this as part of training the night before and loved it, and again although it probably wouldn’t have been one I chose, it was perfect for our next course.

I can’t explain to you enough how amazing the monkfish tail was, it’s one of my favourite fish dishes anyway but it was so so good. The fries also were incredibly more-ish and we kept those back to graze on for a bit even after our plates were pretty much licked clean. It really was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.

Our final wine was a sparkling red, which we had while we browsed the desert menu. Tutti frutti semi fredo with raspberries for me, and Rachel had the Affogato.
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It truly was all incredible, I’ve been telling anyone who will listen about the monkfish tail ever since. A real treat, and although I might sound like such a fan girl, this whole meal just reminded me of exactly why I used to love coming here. It was faultless.

If you’re a picky eater, or want to branch out to try new things you might not necessarily always go for, I’d really recommend telling the staff if you visit because they got it so right for us based on what we told them. Equally, if you have your favourite dishes then you’re guaranteed to have a great meal. Rachel even bought vouchers as a gift for someone after trying it for the first time – so it’s not just me who loves it here!

We were there on a Friday night and it was busy, with a great atmosphere and full house on the Saturday too, so if you’re fancying a visit make sure you book online on the St Vincent website. Their opening times have changed slightly since reopening, so they’re open Tuesday – Friday from 4pm for drinks and charcuterie, with the food menu starting at 5:30pm, and all day Saturday with food from 12-3pm and 5:30-10pm.

It’s not just wine they do, there are also cocktails available, great coffee, and happy hours are available. The best way to keep up with what they’re doing is to follow them on Instagram here. They often host events, and share when they’re doing team wine training so you know there might be some new ones on the menu afterwards!

I’m really looking forward to visiting again, and seeing where they take the menus over the rest of this year.