Autumn Favourites at Gusto, Newcastle

My favourite time of year for food is definitely the Autumn. I love when restaurants change their menus and suddenly you can order the most beautiful comfort food that warms up your insides like a giant hug.

Gusto on Newcastle's Quayside is one of my favourite places to visit at this time of year. It's so cosy in the evenings with its beautiful lights and warming atmosphere and when it comes to Autumnal dining these guys really know what they're doing!

I popped along recently with my lovely friends Sam and Katie for some nice warming food to fill our bellies - we all agreed we were in need of some good hearty dishes so were looking forward to seeing what new additions there are for Autumn on the Gusto menu.

Not being able to decide what we wanted for Starter we decided to order some deli boards whist we studied the menus.  The deli boards at Gusto are the perfect treat when you're dining with friends (they're even better with a glass of wine but unfortunately on this occasion we were all driving).

Each board is served with rosemary focaccia, marinated olives and sun-dried tomatoes and we decided to order the Meat Board (£7.95) covered in prosciutto ham, salami soppressa and coppa and the Cheese Board (£7.95) covered in goats cheese, dolcelatte and smoked provola.

Now usually when I head to Gusto you'll see me devouring a mammoth pizza or tucking into my favourite, the Gusto Burger, but on this occasion I decided that a meat dish would be an ideal way to welcome in Autumn.

I ordered the Pan Roast Duck Breast served with buttered winter vegetables, aged balsamic and honey (£15.50). There's something so lovely about colourful dishes in the Autumn and the Duck looked beautiful sitting amongst the greens and oranges of the vegetables.

 My knife slid so effortlessly through the pink meat and I'm happy to report it tasted just as good as it looks. Gusto never fail me when it comes to their meat dishes.

Now I hope you're sitting down because I'm about to say something truly shocking. We didn't order dessert! We somehow managed to resist, which just gives me the perfect excuse to return.

I'd best loosen my belt, something tells me I'm in for a very foodie Autumn!

Gusto invited us to try out the new Autumn menu and our meals were complimentary. All opinions and words are my own.