Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
Take-out
Bakery
British
Breakfast
Vegetarian cafe with marked vegan options on the menu, other dishes can also be veganised. Sample menu includes sourdough toasts, porridge, breakfast bagel, and mushroom rarebit. Open Mon-Sat 08:00-16:00, Sun 09:00-16:00.
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51 Central Promenade, Newcastle, Northern Ireland, BT33 0HH
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- Outdoor seating
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 03 Feb 2022 by Guest
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Added by MrsWoodlands on 03 Feb 2022
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14 Reviews
First Review by MrsWoodlands
staceythevegan
Points +652
Lovely spot in a lovely town - Edit
The town is absolutely gorgeous and this little cafe is very welcoming and friendly. Menu is small but interesting
Read moreGuest
M.P.v.O.
Points +839
Perfect place for a coffe, breakfast or lunch - Edit
Vegetarian breakfast- and lunchroom with a nice view at the sea. Most of the dishes on the menu are vegetarian but there are some vegan options as well. We had overnight oats, soup of the day and granola. Good taste, good portions and nice price
Read moreGuest
Krabbypaddies
Points +38
Tasty Food & Relaxing Atmosphere - Edit
My partner and I visited Birch with our dog (thanks for being dog friendly!!) We loved it here. It was relaxing, the staff were friendly and the interior was very cute. We got the dark chocolate, sea salt granola bowl with coconut yoghurt, peanut butter and fresh fruit. Ohhh my gosh it was delicious. We will definitely be back. There’s also a lovely view of the sea here and it’s great for people watching.
Read morePros: Relaxing, Great food, Dog friendly
Guest
mariamc27
Points +1636
Nice little place - Edit
Quite a limited menu but coffee was tasty as was the soup and toastie. Nice selection of items to buy like chocolates etc. shame it isn’t fully vegan but enjoyed it all the same
Read moreGuest
J0Z1
Points +844
Birch pasty agham - Edit
A minimalist style cafe with a beautiful view over the sea right at a more sedate end of Newcastle.
Read moreIt's clearly very popular and offers a good quality fare.
Since I was here maybe a couple of years back, they've stripped down the menu to facilitate quick service. So there are only a few options on busy days, of which Saturday is one, even at this time of year when the town is quiet.
Got soup, coffee, toastie (sourdough plus spiced beans) and a coffee.
Good range of coffees, good range of buns and sweet things.
The soup was very mid, sad to say. Leek and potato has never blown my socks off, and can come off as watery and weak tasting, which they'd tried to compensate for with loads of pepper, but it didn't come off well. Toastie was lovely. Really flavorful and hearty.
Was super super super busy and our seat was right at the toilet, but at least we got a seat. Quick service too.
3 stars is still an above average score IMO and this place is probably the best veggie one in the entire promenade, but for me it wasn't much other than standard. Have had a better menu there before and add on another star if you're going for coffee and a bun (or "caaahheeyk" as the English call it)
Pros: Quick , Veggie
Cons: MOR , Pricey , Slammed busy
Guest
CatCavan
Points +601
Treat yourself - Edit
Delicious cakes , best we have tasted !
Read moreYummy coffee . We sat outdoors in the sunshine .
Pros: Cakes and selection, Friendly and relaxed
Guest
SlickVik
Points +381
Everything on the menu can be veganized! - Edit
I used Happy Cow to find a place to eat in Newcastle while on a walking trip to the area and found Birch which is a vegetarian and vegan cafe. I particularly like to support places like this so thought I’d give it a try and I’m really glad I did. The menu had a wide selection and a note that all vegetarian dishes can be made vegan on letting the staff know - including pancakes which I haven’t had since I went vegan, although I didn’t order this but will next time. I ordered beans on toast which was slow roasted cannellini beans with red peppers and tomato, served on sourdough toast. I also added tofu. I cleaned my plate, it was so good. Also a latte with oat milk, coconut milk also available. Wide selection of sweet treats of which about half seemed to be vegan although again I didn’t try but they looked great. I will most definitely be back here. The service was good, food arrived quickly after ordering, staff were pleasant. I couldn’t fault it.
Read more*** Update - still a very nice cafe but menu had changed since my last visit. I felt was quite limited compared to what was previously on offer but maybe there is a reason for this. I had sweet potato lentil soup with chilli oil and sourdough toast. This was lovely. Also a bounty tray bake (not pictured) which was one of a couple of vegan sweet treats available. And it was delicious! But I was a bit disappointed that some of the food I’d eyed up before was no longer available. Still nice to support vegetarian business but the dairy and eggs seem to be creeping in.
Updated from previous review on 2022-07-28
Pros: Everything on the menu can be veganized!
Guest
tigre369
Points +247
Bounty bar best on earth - Edit
Get their bounty bar! It’s the most delicious baked good
Read moreGuest
LaurentheHermit
Points +44
Not quite right - Edit
Firstly, one star off already for not being fully vegan. (Naughty 5 star reviews on here for somewhere that serves animal secretions).
Read moreWe've been wanting to try Birch for a while. It's always good to support local businesses. So we decided to pop in for breakfast.
Reading all the other reviews, the menu must have changed.
It was one menu for all day (no separate breakfast/lunch menu). It all sounded very wholesome and 'artisan' , but here's the issue. Sometimes, as a vegan, you just want a good tofu scramble or some mushrooms on toast. It wouldn't hurt to add simpler items onto the menu alongside the hand whipped essence of kimchi.
It would make more sense to make the base menu fully Vegan and then if people insist on having animal products on their food, that can be added as extra. Nothing was clearly marked Vegan on the menu (aside from the traybakes), so I wasn't sure which were safe to eat. Having to constantly ask 'Is this vegan?' in a cafe catering for vegans is not ideal. I didn't feel safe enough in my choices (I am Autistic and having no clarity on the menu was confusing for me).
There was also no drinks menu on display, so again, ordering a drink involved an overwhelming exchange of information. Why not just print out a drinks menu and attach to the food one?
The cafe was quite loud and bright (again as a ND person this was difficult) and tables were close to each other so I could hear the ins and outs of a strangers conversation (I know they are working with the space they have but one of the tables for two could be taken away and the rest spaced out more).
I felt unable to relax and just wanted to make the visit as quick as possible.
The biggest thing for me, though, was the cost. For breakfast type meals (toast, granola etc) it was ridiculous. Posh beans on toast for £10!
I walked away disappointed that I essentially had hummus on toast (something I can have at home) and felt like I'd been robbed for it.
The sourdough and the hummus were however both tasty.
I wanted to highlight in this review how businesses need to realise that not every customer is Neurotypical, we live in a world that makes everything so exhausting and riddled with discomfort.
Simple changes like more space, clearer menus and quieter music can make a world of difference.
I still cannot get over £10 for beans on toast!
I don't think I would visit again, my bank account couldn't take it.
Pros: It's good that this place exists in a seaside town, Good hummus
Cons: Expensive, Lacking in atmosphere, Menu not clear.
Guest
stephenco
Points +410
Flavourful food and everything else good - Edit
Flavourful food and everything else good. Lovely setting and staff.
Read moreGuest
LesleyWebb
Points +290
Wonderful food - Edit
Enjoyed an absolutely delicious lunch here this afternoon. I visited with two non vegetarian friends who were pleasantly surprised. My soup and sandwich combo was outstanding - the sandwich filling was imaginative with several ingredient elements and they worked really well together. Great location, pleasant space and friendly service. I’ll 100% return when I visit the area again and I’m confident my local friends will revisit too.
Read morePros: Fully vegetarian, Great location, Reasonably priced
Guest
NelleW
Points +651
Great little gem - Edit
Pleasantly surprised by how good the food was here. It is a vegi/ vegan place that offers drinks and food.
Read moreCute little place with a fantastic view of the sea.
We got soup and a sandwich to share which cost £10. Soup changes weekly I think.
Got pumpkin soup - it tasted like it had a curry flavour and it was delicious!
The sandwich was butternut squash, hummus, salad and I think it was chilli jam or something. It was all really good and the sourdough bread was really good!
Good customer service.
Guest
MrsWoodlands
Points +2608
Check opening hours before visiting - Edit
Two branches - caught out a few times due to changed opening hours.
Read moreWe had the veganised eggs and greens. It was smoked tofu (instead of eggs) on a bed of cabbage, green beans and broccoli with kimchi, sweet potato wedges and a tahini dressing. Quite an original lunch. They had two sweet options - a lime and coconut scone or a biscoff cup. We tried the later with coffee and it was good - like a very dense/firm caramel square. Look forward to trying other items in the future like the mushroom rarebit (apparently they have a vegan version). There is another branch in Castlewellan which is open on Mondays unlike the Newcastle branch. Castlewellan does not have a kitchen so it is a more limited menu.
Revisited Newcastle . Now open everyday and refreshed menu. Had a to die for Reuben sandwich. Haven’t expanded their sweet offerings yet.
Updated from previous review on 2022-03-14
Pros: Great location on the seafront, All items can be veganised, Vegetarian cafe
Cons: Can get busy
Guest
Benkei
Points +566
Lovely little place - Edit
Very friendly staff and most if not all options can be made vegan. Perfect also for grabbing a coffee and going for a stroll by the beach. Will definitely be back next time we visit Newcastle.
Read moreGuest
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