If you are staying at our bed and breakfast accommodation and are looking for a traditional carvery you may like to try The Rattler’s which is available on weekdays from 12 noon until 4pm.
Update – carvery hours have now been extended until 7pm.
The Rattler can be found a few minutes walk from our bed and breakfast accommodation on Sea Road. Turn right at our gate and right again at the bottom of our street.
The Marsden Grotto is a pub, restaurant and popular wedding venue just down the coast from us in Marsden, South Tyneside.
The Marsden Grotto re-opens this Wednesday 12th April 2017 at 10am and they begin serving food from 12 noon.
If you are planning a visit their new menus are as follows…
Lunch Menu
Sandwiches – all served with homemade coleslaw and salad garnish (add chips £2.00)
Seaside sandwich (egg, tomato and cracked black pepper) in white or brown sliced bread
Fresh local crab mayonnaise on sliced white or brown bread
Posh fish finger sandwich with tartare sauce in a crispy baguette
“Grotto” club sandwich, Chicken and pancetta mayo with iceberg lettuce in a crispy baguette
Tuna and mozzarella melt in a crispy baguette
Light Bites
A trio of Lindisfarne oysters with lemon wedges
Mug of seafood chowder with crusty baguette
Tempura king prawns with homemade sweet chilli sauce
Smoked mackerel pate, toasted sourdough and pea shoots
Garlic mussels cooked in their own pot, great for sharing
Bucket of whitebait with garlic aioli
Bowl of crispy potato peelings with garlic mayonnaise
Spiced haggis croquettes with saffron aioli
Something bigger
Half a lobster and twice cooked chips with garlic butter and salad
6oz rump steak, twice cooked chips, coleslaw and salad
Our chefs own recipe steak mince and haggis burger in a toasted brioche bun with tomato, sliced red onion and lettuce and served with twice cooked chips and coleslaw
“Grotto” paella, king prawns, mussels, chorizo and saffron rice
Flatbread seafood wrap with garlic butter, prawns, crab, parmesan and twice cooked chips
Battered cod and twice cooked chips, minted mushy peas, tartare sauce and charred lemon
Mushroom and tarragon tagliatelle
Evening Menu served from 6pm until 9pm
To Start
Smoked mackerel pate with toasted sourdough bread and garnished with pea shoots
Tempura battered king prawns with a homemade sweet chilli dip
A trio of Lindisfarne oysters and lemon wedges
Marsden garlic mussels served in their own pot with warm crusty baguette
Our own seafood chowder served with warm crusty baguette
From “The Cave” wild mushrooms on toasted sourdough with garlic, parsley and melted mozzarella
From the Sea
Pan-fried hake supreme sitting on a mussel and saffron broth
Seabass fillets resting on sautéed new potatoes, sweet peppers, red onions and chorizo finished with a white wine and lemon dressing
“The Grotto” paella, king prawns, mussels, chorizo and saffron rice
Crab tagliatelle, prawns, mussels, lemon, chilli, garlic and parsley
Battered cod and twice cooked chips with minted mushy peas and tartare sauce
From the land
“Jack the Blasters Surf and Turf”
12oz rump steak cooked to your liking with tomato, mushroom and twice cooked chips, topped with half a lobster and garlic butter
Chefs own recipe steak and haggis burger in a toasted brioche bun with sliced red onion, tomato, and lettuce and served with coleslaw and twice cooked chips
Mushroom and tarragon tagliatelle finished with Parmesan and rocket (Vegetarian)
Goat’s cheese and red onion marmalade frittata with a fresh green salad(Vegetarian)
If you are staying at our bed and breakfast accommodation next weekend and looking for evening entertainment then you may like to visit Can Can caberet, karaoke and showbar who are celebrating their first birthday.
Can Can Bar can be found at 68 Ocean Road, South Shields, NE33 2JD.
If you are staying with us this Friday night then you may be interested in their St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
If you are staying with us this Halloween weekend then you might want to visit one of the many haunted places in North East England, we’re often asked by guests who stay with us over Halloween for suggestions of places to go so we have made a series of blog posts with all the haunted venues in the North East region that you might like to visit…
Haunted Places In North East England – Marsden Grotto
The Marsden Grotto, known locally as just the Grotto is the closest haunted location to our bed and breakfast accommodation in South Shields. It can be found less then ten minutes drive from us in Marsden on the Coast Road heading towards Whitburn, NE34 7BS.
The Grotto is a public house and restaurant. It is one of the very few ‘cave bars’ in Europe, it is partly dug into the limestone cliff face. Access is via a lift or a zig zag staircase on the cliff at the side of the building. The Grotto has a long history dating back to 1782 with a reputation for smuggling activities. There are several tales of hauntings at The Grotto, mainly relating to a smuggler named John the Jibber who was reputedly murdered by his fellow criminals after selling information to HM Customs. It is said that he was hung in a barrel in a cave close to the present lift shaft and left to starve. A popular story is that a former landlord of the pub would leave out a special tankard of ale each night after closing and in the morning it would be empty. Local DJ and TV presenter Alan Robson drank from the tankard during one of his live Metro Radio shows, allegedly sparking off a series of supernatural phenomena that eventually forced the then landlord to quit. This included flying ashtrays smashing against the wall and flooding in the cellar after all the beer taps were inexplicably turned on. You can read more about The Marsden Grotto here.
You can see a short British Pathé video filmed inside The Marsden Grotto here…
Several local paranormal investigation teams have held vigils at The Grotto and continue to do so, you can visit their websites here (links open in a new window) if you’d like to take part in a group ghost hunt to the pub…
If you are looking for somewhere nearby to have a drink and a meal whilst staying with us then the New Crown pub on Mowbray Road, South Shields, NE33 3NG is approximately 15 minutes walk from our bed and breakfast accommodation in South Shields.
You can even get a voucher for a free drink if you sign up to their email mailing list here: Free Drink At The New Crown Pub, Mowbray Road, South Shields, NE33 3NG. Enter the New Crown’s postcode NE33 3NG and pick the New Crown from the list of nearby pubs to receive the email voucher.
The voucher is valid for six months after your sign up and entities you to one free drink at the New Crown pub in South Shields either a pint of cask ale (excluding Guinness), a pint of Fosters, a 175ml glass of house win, a bottle of J20 or a 14oz glass of Pepsi or lemonade. You need to sign up before hand and present the voucher code to the barmaid when you order your drink(s).
The New Crown pub is about 200 yards from Sandhaven beach in South Shields and they host a general knowledge quiz night every Sunday night at 9pm; a sports quiz at 9pm every Tuesday and a poker night at 7.30pm every Thursday. On Wednesday nights they have a curry and a drink offer for £5.95. They serve food until 9pm seven days a week.
