Majorca Café, Fenwick's, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK...

Inside the Majorca restaurant in Fenwick's Newcastle

Newcastle-upon-Tyne is an interesting place and I've always loved it. When it comes to caffs and teashops, there's plenty to choose from, but one of the best places I've experienced is the in-store caff at Fenwick's. You can't beat a decent in-store caff and the one in Fenwick's, Newcastle, is fantastic. And there's plenty of choice as there are effectively three restaurants next door to one another, the first a kind of coffee shop, then the Majorca café and then Tivoli – they go up in quality from the coffee shop to the cafe to the restaurant and I'm guessing they're all good.

I visited the Majorca café with two companions. There's a servery, cafeteria style, so you'll need to remember your tray. My dad once told me a good joke about cafeterias and it went something like this: "I took my mother-in-law to a really posh restaurant and she let me down – she dropped her tray." I know.

Anyway, back to the Majorca café. It might have been spelt 'Mallorca', can't remember, but either way it was top dollar. The servery starts off with cakes and then there's a hot servery selling excellent meals, like mince with dumplings or a gammon joint and an array of vegetables, such as carrots, green beans and cabbage. Seriously, this is what a caff is all about and I found myself at the Majorca on two occasions: day one I had the mince with dumplings and day two the gammon. This is what you might call 'wholesome food', comfort food, all that was missing was a decent apple pie and custard. There was another occasion when I went back for a scone and tea.

Mince, dumplings and vegetables – amazing food!

Question: why can't all restaurants be like this? A day or two earlier I went to Jamie's Italian (yes, there's one in Newcastle). Well, first, he's not Italian and my advice to anybody considering an Italian meal is simple: go to an Italian restaurant, they're miles better, believe me.

Gammon and vegetables – also amazing!!!

What the UK needs is less of the Jamie's Italians – as I said, he's not Italian and nor is the food, go to an Italian trattoria instead – and more of the Majorca restaurant in Fenwick's, which offers good, solid, enjoyable, tasty, filling food that is unmistakably British. I loved this place so much and if ever I find myself in Newcastle again, I'll be going there for sure.

The bill for three on both occasions was something like £28, so under £30 for a decent, wholesome meal. My companions ordered broccoli soup with bread. All amazing!!!