NE1's Guide to Great Pre-Gig Bars & Pubs in Newcastle

Utilita Arena

As Newcastle’s largest music venue, Utilita Arena welcomes big-name, chart-topping acts throughout the year and if you’re heading there to catch a concert, there are plenty of pitstops for a tipple or two along the way.

It’s pretty clear that music figures big at The Dog & Parrot as soon as you rock up to the indie rock ‘n’ roll bar, with David Bowie lyrics and murals of legends like Prince, Aretha Franklin and Oasis adorning its façade. The music theme continues inside with more art, an amazing soundtrack and plenty of decently priced drinks – perfect for a pre-gig glug!

Tucked away on Blandford Street, you’ll find The Tipsy Cow – another pub with an iconic (and befittingly cow-printed) frontage. With tonnes of tasty cocktails dished out by its hilarious drag queen hostesses, it’s a fun stop-off for sure and its terrace is great for an al fresco drink when the weather is warmer.

Maybe you’d like to mix your drinks with a little friendly competition on the way to Utilita Arena? Both Lane7 on St. James Boulevard and the George Street branch of Spot White have you covered if that’s the case. At the former, you can quaff everything from cocktails and shots to fizz and draught beer while enjoying a spot of bowling, beer pong or a few goes on its arcade games and you can probably guess what Spot White offers from its name – plenty of snooker and pool tables – plus more competitive fun in the form of darts and shuffleboard tables (and great drinks too, of course!).

Located just around the corner from Utilita Arena, community-owned bar The Globe is a fantastic music venue in its own right and if you play your cards right you could even enjoy a pre-concert gig alongside your drink! It’s usually open Wednesday to Saturday from 7pm and ideal for getting the party going before the main event.

NX Newcastle

A relative newcomer to Newcastle’s music scene, NX opened its doors in late 2022 and has since brought an eclectic line-up of gigs to the city with acts covering all kinds of genres – from indie and rock to dance and metal – and a packed programme of club events too.

Newcastle’s cobbled Pink Lane conveniently leads almost to NX’s front door and it’s home to a handful of brilliant bars too – you could even have a mini pub crawl on the way to your gig! The Forth has been a popular Pink Lane watering hole for many years and offers a laidback vibe, quirky interior and a cosy courtyard roof terrace for enjoying its refreshing drinks.

Mosaic Tap, meanwhile, is brilliant for beer lovers with an impressive line-up of craft brews sourced from independent breweries around the UK and further afield. They serve lots of lovely natural wine (that’s wine made from pure fermented grape juice with no additives, for the uninitiated!) too.

Heading deeper into Pink Lane, you’ll come to The Mad House. It’s a cocktail bar that certainly lives up to its name with a crazy interior featuring seating areas inspired by different rooms in a typical house – a comfy living room, a garden with swings and a sandpit and even a “bathroom”! The cocktails are just as crazy – creative concoctions served in the likes of lab beakers, mini disco balls and dog bowls (yes, you read that right) – and bound to get you in the mood for a night in the mosh pit.

You can’t get much closer to NX than sports bar The Geordie Star, conveniently located just across the street from the music venue on Westgate Road. Take a seat in its Newcastle-inspired interior and sip on one its Geordie-themed cocktails before rocking out at NX – may we suggest the “Great North Rum” or the “Get Off the Metro Now”?

If it’s cheap and cheerful you’re after, look no further than The Mile Castle – one of several Wetherspoon pubs in Newcastle city centre. Gig-goers can grab everything from beer and wine to cocktails and spirits without breaking the bank and The Mile Castle boasts a hotel with 26 bedrooms too, ideal if you’re travelling to Newcastle from further afield!

O2 City Hall

Opened in the late 1920s, the grand, Grade II listed City Hall was one of Newcastle’s first dedicated concert venues. Now known as O2 City Hall, it’s operated by the Academy Music Group which brings top-class acts and tribute concerts to the Toon, alongside stand-up comedy shows and talks.

Nearby Percy Street is home lots of great bars including Crows Nest, a homey and traditional pub that’s had various incarnations over the years but has been dishing out drinks to locals since the early 1900s. It’s a welcoming spot for a pre-gig pint and serves some tasty pub food favourites too.

A short walk away on St. Thomas’ Street is Mean-Eyed Cat, a fabulously quirky independent pub catering to craft beer and real ale fans with brews sourced locally, nationally and internationally. All that, plus a jukebox full of American and garage rock tracks to get you in the mood for the night ahead.

Over on St. Mary’s Place, there are two more fantastic pubs conveniently located just a few doors apart. Like Mean-Eyed Cat, The Town Mouse Ale House is an independent pub specialising in quality keg and cask brews from the UK, Europe and USA. The two pubs are firm friends too, so no hard feelings if you choose one over the other (but really, why not hit them both on the way to O2 City Hall?!).

Just a hop, skip and a jump away there’s The Five Swans, another great local Wetherspoon pub with plenty of space inside and a cracking little terrace perfect for a pint and spot of pre-gig people watching when it’s warmer.

Or how about a drink at City Tavern? Located at the end of Northumberland Road, it’s pretty much a straight line from this much-loved local pub direct to O2 City Hall’s doors and with a bar stocked with lots of great ales, gin and wine, you’re covered no matter your pre-gig drink of choice is.

Boiler Shop

The building that Newcastle’s Boiler Shop calls home was once the site of The Robert Stephenson & Co. Locomotive Works where the ground-breaking Rocket steam locomotive was built, but is now one of the city’s top cultural venues and welcomes thousands of music fans to its gigs every year.

Cocktail bar The Vampire Rabbit is just a short walk away on the corner of Collingwood Street and Westgate Road where talented mixologists whisk up creative concoctions like the Toon Espresso made with their very own homemade Newcastle Brown Ale syrup – a caffeinated kick that’ll keep you dancing the night away at the Boiler Shop!

If cosy and traditional pubs are more your vibe, then The Bridge Hotel – nestled in the shadow of Newcastle Castle – is a must-do. Take a seat in one of its snug nooks or crannies and choose from a huge variety of cask ales to keep you hydrated and libated throughout your Boiler Shop gig.  

For more great beer, head over to aptly named Beer Street on Forth Street. Located in a former railway arch, it’s a fab little micropub with an amazing selection of cask ales and plenty of bottled and canned beers too. It gets busy though, especially on Boiler Shop gig nights, so head over early!

And last but by no means least, The Telegraph on Orchard Street is but a two-minute walk from the Boiler Shop so pretty much perfect for a pre-gig drink or too! The vibe is chilled and friendly and they’ve got plenty of crowd-pleasers behind the bar (Guinness, Moretti, cocktails and the like) plus craft brews from local producers including Anarchy Brew Co and Cullercoats Brewery.

No matter who you’re seeing or where you’re headed, Newcastle has no shortage of spots to kick off your night in style. From quick pre-gig pints to full-on warm-up sessions, the city’s bars and clubs make sure the energy starts long before the first note. All that’s left to do? Pick your place, grab your drink, and get ready for a night to remember!

Main Image: People at Concert / Photo by Vishnu R Nair via Pexels / Free to use under the Pexels Licence

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