- Play Hard
- 25th Sep 2026
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Bandstand! is the new park hangout Newcastle has been waiting for
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It’s a good day that starts with a coffee in the park and a few hours later, ends with a wood-fired pizza and a scoop of gelato in the same spot. That is the entire idea behind Bandstand!, the new food, drink and recreation destination that has just landed in Exhibition Park.
Bandstand! is the work of the team behind Deep North, the Ouseburn-based artisan doughnut and speciality coffee business that has spent the last four years building a loyal following across the North East,
Having proved they know their way around a doughnut and a flat white, they’ve now turned their attention to a more wide-ranging project: a full day-to-night spot inside one of the city’s best-loved parks, with a menu to match.
A new community hangout
Bandstand! took over the café building in Exhibition Park this summer, following a procurement process run by Newcastle City Council to find new operators for the site. It opened its takeaway hatch on Monday 27th July, and has since fully renovated the interior, with a nod to mid-century styling, and is now open to sit in 7 days a week. Open times are from 8.30am until 5pm every day – with evenings opening until 10pm on a Friday and Saturday.
“We wanted to bring something different to the park, serving those people who regularly frequent it but also attracting new people to the area. Our approach to food and drink is about making things in-house, from scratch, working with high-quality local suppliers.”
Deep North owner, Phil King.
Morning: brunch, bowls and something on toast
Bandstand! is doing brunch properly. Steak and eggs comes with a flat iron steak and chimichurri (£15), and there is a full English built around a Cumberland sausage, bacon, hash browns, eggs, beans, mushrooms and sourdough (£13) for anyone after the full works. French toast comes two ways, either with malt mascarpone, banana and chocolate shavings, or whipped maple butter with berries and maple syrup (both £10), and dippy eggs and soldiers (£3) are there for the simpler mornings.
If you’re after something lighter, the bowls do the job nicely: a hazelnut granola bowl with yoghurt and seasonal fruit or compote (£4.50), overnight oats with nut butter and blueberries (£4.50), or fruit, yoghurt and maple syrup (£6), all with vegan options available.
The “on toast” section is where the kitchen has the most fun: think grilled nectarine with stracciatella, candied hazelnuts, honey and nasturtium leaves (£7.50), chorizo with pickled chillies, scrambled egg and parmesan (£7.50), or avocado with confit tomato and dill (£8, vegan). There are proper breakfast sandwiches too, from bacon, egg and American cheese with sriracha mayo (£7.50), to a vegan charred broccoli and kimchi option with vegan mozzarella (£7).
As you’d expect from Deep North – the coffee is good! They have partnered with Newcastle-based roastery Pink Lane Coffee to bring speciality coffee to the park, and are also serving ceremonial grade matcha.
All day: wood-fired pizza worth planning your visit around
Once the pizza oven is on, this is where Bandstand! really shows off. The classics are all there, from a simple marinara (£8.50, vegan) and margherita (£10), up to a pepperoni (£12) and a salami topped with basil, burrata and gremolata (£12.50).
For something a bit different, the squash pizza brings roasted butternut squash, caramelised red onion, crumbled goat’s cheese and roasted pecans (£12, veggie), while the ham and mushroom comes with chestnut mushrooms, prosciutto cotto and capers (£12.50, also available without the ham for a veggie option). Vegans are well looked after too, with a mushroom and truffle base topped with portobello mushrooms, smoked paprika and a vegan garlic sauce (£12).
At the top end, the prosciutto pizza comes with roquito peppers, wild rocket and shaved pecorino (£14), while the fennel sausage pizza is built on whipped garlic ricotta and smoked scamorza (£14). Extra toppings, and a trio of dips (garlic mayo, garlic butter and hot honey), are all available on the side.
And, of course, the doughnuts
No Deep North venture would be complete without doughnuts, and Bandstand! has the brand’s signature range on hand alongside gelato and soft serve for anyone after something sweet to finish. It is exactly the kind of dessert stop that turns a quick park visit into an afternoon.
To drink: draught, cocktails and a proper wine list
The drinks list is more ambitious than you might expect from a park café. On draught there’s The Cold Condition lager from Wylam Brewery (£5.90), backed up by a strong cans selection spanning pale ales, a hazy pale, a mango sour and several lagers, including a yuzu rice lager and a New Zealand super pils from local brewers Full Circle and Donzoko.
The cocktail list leans playful and seasonal: a pistachio oat white Russian, a beetroot espresso martini made with Pink Lane coffee, a peach and chilli Aperol spritz, and a maple and sea salt old fashioned all sit alongside a crispy chilli margarita and a cherry red negroni (£9 to £10.50).
For wine drinkers, check out the well-chosen (all natural!) list running from a South-West France Côtes de Gascogne white to a Bordeaux Lalande-de-Pomerol red, with orange and rosé options and a Cava on the sparkling list too.
Why it’s worth the trip
Exhibition Park is already one of Newcastle’s most-loved green spaces, with its boating lake, tennis courts and Grade II listed Victorian bandstand. What’s been missing is somewhere good to eat and drink without leaving the park gates, and that is exactly the gap Bandstand! fills, whether you’re there for a granola bowl on the way to work, a lunchtime pizza in the sun, or a proper cocktail as the evening winds down.
Bandstand!: Need to know
Location: Exhibition Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4PZ
From: The team behind Deep North Doughnuts, Ouseburn
On the menu: Brunch, granola and oat bowls, loaded toast, breakfast sandwiches, wood-fired pizza, Deep North doughnuts, gelato and soft serve, draught beer, cans, cocktails and wine
Instagram: @thisisbandstand
Website: https://www.thisisbandstand.com
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