Gusto Aperitivo - Summer on Newcastle's Quayside

Gusto on Newcastle's Quayside is one of my favourite restaurants, and home to the best dessert in Toon - the Chocolate and Coffee Mousse (it's served with homemade mini doughnuts, need I say more).

This month Gusto is about to get even better with the launch of Gusto Aperitivo, a perfect way to enjoy the Summer evenings.

For those of you not familiar with the Italian tradition, Aperitivo is the name given for that little period after you finish at your desk and head out with friends for a cocktail and some shared nibbles.  It's all about switching off after a hard day at work with chat and some lovely food.  

Ignoring the fact that Newcastle was yet to receive the Memo about Summer and that the Quayside was shrouded in that horrible misty rain that makes your hair go frizzy, I headed to Gusto to try out the new menu.

Browsing the cocktail list at Gusto is always a pleasure, and having indulged in their cocktails before I knew whatever I picked would be good.   I decided on the Elderflower and Peach Martini (there's something about Elderflower that just screams Summer at me) - peach puree, elderflower liqueur, Grey  Goose, lemon and gomme.  It was refreshing and delicious.

The Aperitivo menu gives you a choice of Italian Cured Meats and Italian Fine Cheese for you to create your perfect Deli Board, served with rosemary focaccia and a delicious tomato chutney they are great for sharing with friends.

For the meat lovers there's bresaola, prosciutto ham, salami ventricina, salami, soppressa and speck ham.

And for the cheese lovers you have the choice of dolcellate, goat's cheese, taleggio, smoked provola and buffalo mozzarella.

I enjoyed a mixture of meats and cheeses and it was a wonderful light meal that would be absolutely beautiful eaten outside on the terrace in the sunshine ... come on sun!

After all of that delicious food I decided to turn my attention back to the cocktail menu.   Having done my usual thing of getting drink envy I decided to order the Redcurrant Mai Tai, beautifully presented, the redcurrants, Barcardi, Cointreau, Lime and Almond Syrup was a perfect Summer evening drink.

The new menu will be available this Summer Monday to Thursday from 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm and is priced at £15.00 for two cocktails and a Deli Board.

Luckily since writing this post Summer has well and truly arrived in the North East so it's an ideal time to head to Gusto.  Sitting in the sunshine by the Tyne doing it like Italians is a pretty fine way to spend a Summer evening!