local eats :: pleased to meet you!

I don't know about you, but I love me a good gin bar. I'm actually half way through writing a post where I declare my love for said gin. So, when O and I decided to go to Newcastle for the afternoon, I knew exactly where we were headed. Pleased To Meet You is nestled on a little side street called High Bridge and looks pretty unassuming from the outside. Inside, however, it's glorious exposed brickwork and super comfy leather benches seriously woo you.

We arrived around noon, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves, which meant the service was impeccable. We started off with some beers whilst we perused the HUGE menu (it's about two feet long!). O ordered a craft beer (can't remember the name) and I got a bottle of Anchor lager, which I loved. Nothing nicer than a cold beer to start off your afternoon! Their selection of craft beers is pretty epic, even O was impressed.

After much debate we decided to order the Meat Slider sharing platter with herb fries. Oh my. Firstly, those fries were to die for. Crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy on the inside. The mini burgers were so darn cute. They all had some kinda quirky flavour, not your usual run of the mill slider. We had brisket, pulled pork and salt beef to choose from, and luckily for us, they give you two of each, so no fighting over them! 

The sharing platters are just the right amount of food to line your stomach before embarking upon one of their infamous cocktails. It literally took me half an hour to choose which cocktail I wanted. The descriptions themselves leave you slightly drooling...

In the end, I went with a "Pleased To Meet You No1", which was a concoction of: Gabriel Boudier saffron gin, Yellow Chartreuse, Licor 43 and DiSaronno Amaretto. It was served ice cold with a "spray of orange blossom flower water". Hells yeah! You really need to enjoy oranges if you want to like this bad boy, which luckily, I do! It was served in a champagne saucer, which is seriously my favourite cocktail glass. I want these beauties in my wedding! I was initially planning on ordering one of their many gins, but I have a least twenty different gins at home that I can have anytime (I'm not an alcoholic, I promise! Just a collector...). 

O decided he was feeling too manly to get a cocktail, so he ordered a whisky. A Japanese Hibiki 17 year old, which was also pretty darn good. The only problem with this, is that O now wants to buy a whole bottle of it!

All in all, we pretty much fell in love with this place. Don't get me wrong, it's not the cheapest gin joint I've ever been in. But I'm a sucker for quirky places with atmosphere and PTMY definitely ticks this box for me. It covers most bases, good food, it boasts hefty whisky and gin lists, craft beer and some seriously interesting cocktail combinations. Do yourself a favour and nip into this joint for a wee dram, a slider or some lush gin.