I was the first customer to try Greggs’ pub – and the Sunday roast blew me away

The best British boozers are often tucked away in odd, obscure locations.

But, to my knowledge, there’s only one located on the first floor of an upscale department store, a single staircase away from beauty counters and racks of designer jeans.

But that’s not the only unique selling point of The Golden Flake, which opened over the weekend within Fenwick in central Newcastle.

This is a pub created by Greggs, complete with its own carvery.

With a steak bake as a centrepiece, alongside cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, roast potatoes and, of course, a generous pouring of gravy, this might just be the first step towards the baked behemoths playing as central a role of the Great British Sunday as the Premier League and Songs of Praise.

I was the first customer through the door of this curious new addition to the Newcastle pub scene when it officially opened on Saturday morning.

Built from scratch in the last few months, I expected to find a ‘pop up’ type space that resembled one of those ersatz pubs you find at British airports along with an overkill of Greggs’ branding covering every inch of wall space.

Not a bit of it. The wallpaper is a retro anaglypta of the type you’d find in a hostelry from the 1940s while the colour scheme is what you’d either call toffee- or nicotine-hued, depending on what pub era you grew up in.

Our travel writer Rob Crossan was the first customer through the doors of The Golden Flake, a pub created by the Greggs bakery chain

Inside there’s a fireplace, Chesterfield sofas, a piano, frosted glass windows, a cabinet full of old Toby jugs, bar stools and even some vintage framed photos of the original Greggs

‘Even as a Greggs sceptic, I have to admit to being blown away by their Sunday carvery’, says Rob

There’s a fireplace, Chesterfield sofas, a piano, frosted glass windows, a cabinet full of old Toby jugs, bar stools and even some vintage framed photos of the original Greggs – it opened in this city back in 1951.

In fact, the only thing that gives the game away that the Flake hasn’t been here for decades in this highly odd location is the ceiling which, for now at least, is far too white and clean looking.

I visited on both the Saturday and the Sunday. Alongside a mix of locals who ranged in age from twentysomethings to pensioners – just as a good pub should be.

There was, thankfully, a welcome lack of influencers taking selfies but there was a lot of interest in the flatscreen which (soundlessly) showed classic Newcastle matches from decades past on a loop.

‘I think this is the only telly in Newcastle in which the ‘Toon never lose’, remarked one local, as I supped my pint of stottie bread ale.

Made by the local Full Circle brewery, the yeasty beer is named after the locally renowned ‘stottie’ bread.

Served in every branch of Greggs in Newcastle (and there seems to be one on every corner in their home city), the bread is a thin crust, soft, square shaped bread that’s also put to good use here as part of the Greggs ploughman’s.

This arrives on my table as a handsome plate of garlic ‘stottie’ bread, pickled onions, chutney, slabs of sliced ham, celery, walnuts, a cheese and ham bake and a sausage roll. It’s the star of their daily full pub grub menu.

The Sunday roast features a steak bake as a centrepiece, alongside cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, roast potatoes and, of course, a generous pouring of gravy

Pasty taking the place of a joint of  meat doesn’t initially thrill Rob – but he finds out to be ‘sensational’

The Golden Flake opened over the weekend within Fenwick department store in central Newcastle

It’s a steal at just 14 quid. 

Of course, Greggs aren’t novices at these kinds of temporary (the Golden Flake is open until February next year) experiments.

They’ve previously attempted a bistro and champagne bars, both of which passed me by. 

But even as a Greggs sceptic, I have to admit to being blown away by their Sunday carvery.

The idea of a pasty taking the place of a joint of beef or pork doesn’t initially thrill me one bit. But it turns out a Greggs Sunday roast at The Golden Flake is sensational. 

The spuds are crisp on the outside and soft in the middle, and the cauliflower cheese is pungently cheddar-heavy in the best possible way.

The gravy worked wonders on top of my steak bake – creating something not too fancifully removed from the taste of a beef Wellington.

With a none-too-loud soundtrack of some of Newcastle’s best (Roxy Music, The Animals) and not so hot (Jimmy Nail) musical exports, the Golden Flake feels very far from a mere cynical cash in stunt by Greggs.

The soundtrack features some of Newcastle’s best musical exports, such as Roxy Music and The Animals

To my amazement, this is a pub I could see becoming my local. Or at least I could if I didn’t live 300 miles away (and if it didn’t close in six months’ time).

‘If Greggs turned all their branches into pubs, then they’d be bigger than Wetherspoons’, a fellow diner tucking into their carvery remarked to me.

Should Sir Tim Martin, the boss of Wetherspoons, be feeling nervous? Maybe.

Britain’s best loved bakery is turning its thoughts to boozers and roasts. As it turns out, there are far worse combinations to be had on a Sunday than a pasty with a Yorkshire pudding on top.