The Chillingham

Head to Chillingham Road in Heaton and you'll find yourself in a pub that's genuinely about the drinking and the company rather than trying too hard. The kind of place where the bar staff know what you're after before you ask, where the regulars have their spots claimed by 6pm, and where you can actually hear yourself talk. It's got that neighbourhood comfort—good ales on tap, decent enough pub food that doesn't pretend to be something it's not, and a clientele that ranges from builders to pensioners to students who've discovered the place actually does what pubs are meant to do.