A Family Day Out At The Gate Newcastle With Young Kids

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Now that all three children are in full-time school and the other half has weekends off work we make sure that weekends are family time. We like to have a day out somewhere but we find that we normally end up visiting the same places all of the time. So when we were recently invited along to The Gate complex in Newcastle city centre for an afternoon of family fun we knew this would be a nice change for the children. We visited with our 4 and 5-year-old on Saturday afternoon after Jacob had finished football, as the teen was out with her friends. 

The Gate is somewhere that I have such fond memories of, I partied there with my friends in my 20s, I visited for first dates with my soon to be husband, I met up with friends for a cheeky Nando's and catch-up and it is also somewhere I regularly visited with my teen when she was younger for cinema trips in the school holidays. However it is not somewhere we have visited much with our younger two children (aged 4 and 5 years old), we have taken them for a few meals at Pizza Hut over the years but until recently they were too young to take to the cinema or to enjoy a relaxed family meal with. 

 The Gate 

The Gate is an entertainment complex right in the middle of Newcastle, spread over three floors it is home to bars, restaurants, an escape room, casino and even a new gaming lounge which looked like lots of fun. The top floor is home to a top of the range Cineworld cinema with a 4DX screen which we tried out on our visit. 

The Gate is really easy to get to as it is just outside of the Eldon Square shopping complex and just a short walk from the Haymarket bus and Metro stations, there is also an onsite car-park at the rear (in Chinatown). 

On the second floor where the gaming lounge is we noticed lots of giant games dotted around such as table football and table tennis which were free to use. We didn't get a chance to try them out as we visited on a Saturday afternoon so they were busy but we will try and have a game next time we visit as the kids were keen to have a try. 

Dining In The Gate 

There are lots of dining options in the Gate with a Wetherspoons, TGI Fridays and Za Za Bazaar world buffet on the ground floor and a Pizza Hut and Nando's on the second floor. There are also a few bars that serve food too such as Tiger Tiger. As we were dining with the children we opted to dine in Nando's which is always a firm favourite in our house. 

Despite being busy we were seated after a short wait and the kids were giving colouring sheets and crayons to keep them entertained whilst we waited for the food to arrive. Service was quick and friendly and we did not have to wait long for our food, which is always a blessing when dining with young kids. The children ordered off the Nandinos kids menu which was only £5.95 for a main with two sides and a drink. 

Sophia ordered a plain chicken burger with side of chips and corn on the cob and apple juice to drink. Jacob went for the chicken breast strips with sides of garlic bread and corn on the cob and apple juice to drink. 

I am a creature of habit and always order the same thing when we visit Nando's lemon & herb spiced grilled chicken burger with peri-peri chips and spicy rice (£9.95). 

The other half had the hot double chicken wrap (£13.25) with peri-peri chips and coleslaw sides plus a portion of grilled halloumi (extra £1.50). We also got a couple of refillable oft drinks to cool our mouths down from the hot sauces we added to our meals. 

The 4DX Cinema Experience At Cineworld

After our meal, we headed upstairs to the Cineworld cinema to watch the new Avengers film End Game on the 4DX cinema screen. I used to visit the cinema in the Gate loads back when it was Empire cinema (many years ago) but haven't been since Cineworld took over and I have to say I was impressed. The whole lobby area was transformed with twinkly, sparkly flooring that my 5-year-old was amazed by, and a giant curved screens showing movie trailers that captivated the children's attention. There was also a Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's counter and plenty of counters to purchase cinema tickets. 

We went to see End Game which is a 12a, I was a bit worried that my kids would be too young for this film but as my son is a huge Avengers fan we decided to let them see it. There was a tiny bit of swearing in the film which the kids didn't even pick up on, my 5-year-old found one part of the film a little scary but my little boy loved it and was in his element. 

It was our first time trying out the 4DX screen and I was not sure what to expect if I am honest but we loved it and it was a whole new cinema experience. The film is in 3D so you are given glasses to wear to watch the film with but also the seats move throughout the film, there are blasts of wind throughout the film and flashing lights and even squirts of water hit you through the film. The extra features definitely made the film more enjoyable. The kids absolutely loved the experience of moving seats and water and wind machines, although they were just old enough to get in as it is not suitable for under 4s. 

We had a really lovely afternoon at The Gate, I was impressed with the changes that have been made to The Gate recently and we found it so family-friendly with lots of families enjoying meals, the cinema and the games area. I was a bit worried it would be full of drunken people watching the Newcastle match in the bars downstairs and while the bars were busy the dining and cinema area was very family focused. Local bloggers Here Come The Hoopers also visited The Gate for a family day out with their older girls if you fancy a read here

On Twitter, The Gates name is  Good Times The Gate and we certainly had a good time at The Gate, I can see us visiting a lot more as a family in the near future. 

The Gate Newcastle

Newgate Street

Newcastle Upon Tyne

NE1 4XQ

Open 7 days a week until late, opening times and further details can be found at www.thegatenewcastle.co.uk

Disclosure We received a complimentary meal and cinema tickets and were compensated in exchange for this post.