North

You're heading out past Roker towards the coast when North reveals itself—a proper neighbourhood restaurant that doesn't need to shout about what it does. The kitchen takes British ingredients seriously, treating them with the kind of precision you'd expect from somewhere charging London prices, except it doesn't. There's an understated elegance here that feels refreshingly unpretentious for Sunderland, the sort of place where diners actually linger over courses rather than rushing through. It's become a proper locals' spot, the kind you recommend to mates because you genuinely want to keep it good.