Simla Restaurant

The Side, Newcastle: A Street That Earns Its Reputation

The Side is one of those addresses that does quiet work. Running steeply between the Quayside and the medieval heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, it functions as a kind of geological cross-section of the city's dining history: old stone buildings repurposed into restaurants, the river visible at the bottom of the hill, and a foot-traffic pattern that rewards venues willing to hold their ground across years rather than seasons. Simla Restaurant sits at 39 The Side, and the address alone positions it within one of Newcastle's most layered and longest-standing dining streets.

For context on how competitive that street-level position is: Newcastle's restaurant scene has consolidated significantly over the past decade. The upper tier is now anchored by venues like House of Tides, which operates at the ££££ bracket with Michelin recognition and a Modern British format, and Solstice by Kenny Atkinson, another ££££ property with a similarly formal proposition. The mid-tier, represented by venues like 21 at £££, absorbs a large share of the city's regular dining spend. Into this field, Simla occupies territory defined less by price signalling and more by cuisine tradition, specifically the South Asian cooking that has been part of the British restaurant fabric since at least the 1970s and remains, nationally, one of the most-visited cuisine categories.

South Asian Dining in British Cities: Where Simla Fits

South Asian restaurants in the UK operate across a wider quality spread than almost any other cuisine category. At one end sit destination-level operations, including Opheem in Birmingham, which has achieved Michelin recognition through a modern Indian format that repositions familiar ingredients within a tasting-menu structure. At the other end sit legacy neighbourhood restaurants whose value proposition is consistency and community rather than critical acclaim. Most cities of Newcastle's size contain both types and everything between them.

Simla's positioning within that spectrum is not verifiable from publicly available awards data, which means its case to prospective diners rests on the venue's physical presence, its location's historic credibility, and whatever reputation it has accumulated through years of operation on one of the city's most scrutinised dining streets. That absence of formal critical decoration does not diminish the category: the majority of South Asian restaurants that Britons visit weekly hold no starred recognition, and many of the most respected names in regional Indian and Pakistani cooking have built loyal followings entirely through word of mouth and returning custom rather than guide listings.

For the broader Newcastle dining picture, including venues across cuisine types and price points, our full Newcastle upon Tyne restaurants guide maps the current scene in detail. Comparable editorial depth on venues in adjacent categories, such as Blackfriars and Al Dente Cucina Italiana, gives a sense of how diverse the city's offering has become.

The Booking Experience: What to Know Before You Go

The editorial angle that matters most here is logistical honesty. It places Simla in a category of restaurants that require slightly more planning effort than those connected to third-party reservation platforms, but that effort often filters toward diners who have done enough research to know what they want.

The address at 39 The Side is precise enough to navigate without difficulty. The Side runs off Dean Street at the Quayside end, and the street is well-served by public transport connections to Newcastle Central Station. For visitors arriving from further afield, Newcastle sits within a broader North of England dining circuit that now includes nationally recognised venues: L'Enclume in Cartmel and Moor Hall in Aughton are the headline names in the northern tier, alongside southern England destinations like Waterside Inn in Bray, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxford, and Gidleigh Park in Chagford. Simla operates at a different register from all of these, but knowing the broader map helps frame where a Quayside-adjacent neighbourhood restaurant sits relative to a multi-night dining itinerary.

For diners approaching from the fine-dining end of the spectrum, venues like CORE by Clare Smyth in London, Midsummer House in Cambridge, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood represent the formal end of British dining. Internationally, Le Bernardin in New York City and Atomix in New York City anchor the kind of tasting-menu precision that sits at the opposite pole from neighbourhood Indian dining. Placing Simla against that wider grid is not unfair; it simply clarifies that the restaurant's value proposition is different, and that different is not lesser.

Planning a Visit: Practical Framing

The physical location at NE1 3JE places the restaurant in the commercial core of Newcastle city centre, walkable from the central rail station and from the cluster of hotels along the Quayside. Early evening visits on weekdays tend to offer the most predictable table availability at independent neighbourhood restaurants of this type, though weekend trade in Newcastle city centre is substantial and advance enquiry is worth the effort regardless of day.