Intu Eldon Square: Grey's Quarter - Giraffe World Kitchen

Another day, another visit to Eldon Square's Grey's Quarter to check out a new restaurant. With new doors opening every time I stroll through I'm beginning to think my mission to work my way round every restaurant before Christmas may be a bit of a tall order. Lat week it was the turn of Giraffe World Kitchen, a restaurant that I'm very familiar with.

Giraffe is probably a restaurant that most people in the North East don't know much about as the Eldon Square branch is the first to open in Newcastle. I remember Giraffe when it first appeared in London. I became so obsessed with their brunch offerings that I made it my mission to visit every Giraffe in London which I think probably makes me one of their earliest and biggest fans.

 If you were to challenge me now to work my way round all of the Giraffe restaurants I think I'd struggle as there are 52 Giraffe restaurants in the UK, the latest being Giraffe World Kitchen in Eldon Square.  I took the lovely Kelly along as my dining partner, and was excited to hear that it was her first ever experience of Giraffe.

The menu at Giraffe is varied, showcasing the best flavours from around the world, it's a great place to visit when you just can't decide what kind of food you fancy. There really is something for everyone on their menu.

Treated to one of the best tables in the house we had a great little booth at the back of the restaurant with a huge window looking down on the street below. Perfect for a little people watching, although not for food photography so please excuse the dark photos!

Going all out I began my meal with Prawn Saganaki (£6.25) - King Prawns cooked in garlic chilli, white wine & tomato sauce, sprinkled with crumbled feta and served with bread.

Up until a few months ago I would have avoided all dishes containing chilli but having a new appreciation for light spicy flavours I decided to take a gamble in the hope that it wouldn't have too much of a kick for me. The Saganaki had a great heat, not too spicy and a great compliment to the fantastic King Prawns.

I'm very impressed that I managed to resist the temptation of the Burger Menu (there are five to choose from and they all look lush!) and instead turned my attention to the World Plates menu. I ordered the Blackened Salmon (£14.50) - Salmon fillet rubbed in spices and served with brown rice & kidney beans, corn on the cob and mango salad.

A different choice to what I'd usually pick out, I decided to go for something that would hopefully showcase Giraffe World Kitchen's flavours. The salmon was perfectly prepared with a lovely pink middle and the spices made it extra delicious, especially mixed with the mango salmon. I wasn't as keen on the brown rice which was a bit gritty compared to the fluffy white rice that I'm used to but this was very much down to my personal taste.

I finished my meal off with White Chocolate & Passionfruit Cheesecake (£5.50) which looked stunning and tasted just as good. I love the flavour combinations of white chocolate and passionfruit and it was a dessert that I could definitely see myself ordering each time I visit.

 We both really enjoyed our meals and I am so happy that Giraffe finally have a home in the North East. I recommend that you all go and try it out.

We received a complimentary meal for two people for the purposes of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.