Just back from the River Tyne at Newburn is the Keelman, a little pub nestled between the trees and bushes which line the aptly named Keelman's Way, the trail which followers the river.
After a gentle stroll, stopping off for a spot of Sunday lunch seemed like the sensible thing to do.
Thirst things first. As the pub is owned by the Big Lamp Brewery, the level of quality when it comes to real ale should be second to none. A quick taste of the Sunny Daze (£3.40), confirms this - a lovely light and hoppy ale. To be fair, any one of the pints available would quench your thirst.
The Keelman at Newburn, Newcastle, has seating inside and out, as well as in a large conservatory, and is mostly housed in an attractive stone building which was once a water pumping station.
The pub has a full menu to choose from including fish and chips or a burger if you fancied, however, Mrs Eats and I stayed with the traditional Sunday meals.
For starter, we had potato skins at £4.20 per person bypassing the soup of the day (£3.75), prawn cocktail (£5.25), spicy chicken strips (£4.75) or an intriguing black pudding stack (£5.25).
The skins were more like chips! Whoever had skinned the potatoes perhaps needs a new technique - not that we were complaining because topped with cheese and a couple of rashers of bacon, it was a tasty start to the meal.
For the main meals, the prices are £10.45 for a roast with one choice of meat, a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, mash, and vegetables.
I went for the beef but had, perhaps foolishly, waited until late afternoon and thought that the food didn't look at its freshest, defined by a limp Yorkshire pudding. The few roasts on the plate were tasty, as were the mash and parsnips ... but the beef simply wasn't up to scratch. It wasn't dry or burnt or undercooked - it just seemed to lack flavour.
Mrs E went for the chicken, ham and leek pie at £9.95 - served with peas and mash. The temptation of homemade mince dumplings (£8.25) and the gammon steak (£8.95) was there, but the pie it was.
This turned out to be a small circular pie, homemade, with lovely pastry. Mrs E said she enjoyed it but felt the filling wasn't chunky enough - and that it lacked something to "bring it to life." That flavour issue again.
To sum it up, the food did the job and we would have left full but willing for more, until we were handed the dessert menu.
The choices again were plentiful but we settled on a chocolate caramel sundae topped off with cream each which was just a superb ending to the meal.
It really hit my sweet spot, and the ice cream was some of the best I've tasted in a long time.
The service was spot on with the staff nice and friendly, and that added another tick to a meal which did the job.
