With the influx of new restaurants to the still reasonably new Grey’s Quarter wing of Intu Eldon Square, tucked away in a corner is one I’ve been looking forward to trying. Whilst the likes of Tapas Revolution and The Alchemist opened to huge fanfare, a smaller, more niche eatery opened on the ground floor…
Crêpeaffaire is a small restaurant that specialises in gorgeous, soft, French style crêpes. Whether you eat them sweet or savoury, these guys are experts in cooking up pancakes with all manner of fillings, and there’s a small selection of waffles available too if you fancy something (slightly) different. Plankton and I were invited along to try out the brand new luxury menu, however on arrival there was some confusion over this as seemingly there is no luxury menu – just one simple, easy to understand menu that’s been around since the Newcastle branch opened for business exactly one year ago this week.
We took a corner seat and scanned the menu with Plankton opting for a Bananalicious crêpe with Belgian chocolate, extra whipped cream, and a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a chocolate milkshake. I went for the Apple Crumble crêpe which I’m told is one of the most popular items on the menu. Promising lashings of cinnamon apple, sultanas, butterscotch sauce and crumble topping, I knew this was going to be good but still couldn’t resist adding whipped cream and vanilla ice cream from the extra toppings menu. I did however wash it down with a Kale smoothie which I think negates most of that right?
Everything is prepared from scratch in the open kitchen and the wait is short, we had our pancakes in front of us in around five minutes meaning I didn’t really need to entertain Plankton whilst we waited. Presentation, if you’re interested in that kind of thing is very good, the ice cream is served in a separate chilled bowl so that it doesn’t melt on the hot crêpes and the cream is served on the side for the same reason. Plankton needed help to cut his up but once sliced, it was polished off quickly with the odd pause to tell me how amazing it tasted and how we should bring Bo along next time.
Mine was completely lush, way better than I expected in fact, after all it’s just flour, eggs and milk right? With the cinnamon, apple and sultana it’s actually a pretty awesome festive treat and a great alternative to the traditional sweet mince pies or Christmas cake you see at this time of year. The ice cream cut through the sweetness perfectly and the kale smoothie made me feel like I was actually eating healthy food. Actually that’s a flat out lie but I’m a massive kale fan and can’t resist a bit of the green stuff in a smoothie if it’s on the menu.
The drinks menu has the regular coffee offerings you expect to see from a place that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner; smoothies and milkshakes and fresh juices as well as a few others. With crêpes ranging in price from £5.10 to £8.50 it’s easy to rack up a bill when you start adding extras – ours would have cost just under £30 in total which we thought was quite expensive for the two of us.
WHAT’S THE VERDICT?
Crêpeaffaire is quick and easy, the food is good. I’m not a fan of savoury crêpes so can’t comment on those but there’s a wide selection on the menu including Eggs Benedict and Mexican Chicken so they’re definitely committed to giving their customers choice. Our crêpes were lovely and Plankton really enjoyed the whole experience but taking kids will definitely jack the price up so beware of those extras! It’s definitely on the more expensive side and portions aren’t huge so after we left, we visited the Christmas Market and bought snacks to pacify our hunger. Looking for somewhere with fast service and a tasty snack whilst you’re out in town? Then Crêpeaffaire will most definitely fill that gap but be aware that it could get costly. Lush, but a little pricey.
Pixie xo
Our meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and impartial review.