Stuart Forster provides an overview of Sunderland Restaurant Week, which gives diners opportunities to eat discounted meals in Wearside restaurants, cafés, pubs and bars for £10, £15 and £20.
Disclosure: Some of the links below and banners are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Sunderland Restaurant Week is held twice a year, in mid-March and mid-September. The dates of the autumn 2025 Sunderland Restaurant Week are yet to be announced.
Babaji, Diego’s Joint and German Doner Kebab are the venues that have participated previously. So too are Mexico 70, Pho 179 and Slice, the pizza specialist.
The event provides opportunities for northeast England food lovers to enjoy a three-course dinner for just £20. Two-course meals at participating dining venues are priced at £15. During the daytime, participating venues feature £10 offers.
Restaurants on Wearside serve a broad variety of cuisines. In addition to long-popular Indian, Italian and Mediterranean restaurants, the area’s offerings include restaurants serving modern British, Egyptian and Turkish dishes.
Sunderland Restaurant Week provides dining establishments with an opportunity to showcase their dishes and win new customers. For diners, the event is a reason to dine out and try new places. It’s also a reason to head out to revisit a venue for a reasonably priced meal.
Sunderland Restaurant Week
Dining establishments in and around Sunderland city centre are eligible to participate in the restaurant week.
Organised by Sunderland Business Improvement District, the body commonly known as Sunderland BID, Sunderland Restaurant Week has been held since 2016.
Foodies living in North East England may be familiar with the concept from the twice-yearly Newcastle NE1 Restaurant Week. Involving restaurants in and around Newcastle city centre, that event usually takes place in January and August.
Sunderland Restaurant Week
Take a look at this video created in 2022 to get an idea of how to download vouchers to eat at participating dining establishments during Sunderland Restaurant Week:
When is Sunderland Restaurant Week
Typically, the culinary event takes place on Wearside twice a year, once in springtime and the other in autumn.
The dates float, year by year. Sunderland Restaurant Week is usually held in March and September. The autumn edition is often during the third week of September.
Venues participating in Sunderland Restaurant Week
BURGeR, The Engine Room, Chili Mangoes and Spice Empire count among the long list of venues that have participated in Sunderland Restaurant Week.House of Zen, Enfes and Fausto Coffee and Ttonic have done so too. The Old Vestry, Spent Grain, Asiana have also participated. 808 Bar and Kitchen, Sweet Petite and The Palm are also on the list of venues that have been involved.
Head to the Sunderland BID website to see the full list of participants and download vouchers to take advantage of Sunderland Restaurant Week offers.
If you want to dine at one of the venues, you are encouraged to make a booking and present the restaurant week voucher(s) on arrival.
Here’s a look at some of the bars, cafés, pubs and restaurants in Sunderland city centre that have participated in Sunderland Restaurant Week:
Asiana Fusion Restaurant
Asiana Fusion Restaurant (Echo 24 Building) has floor-to-ceiling windows providing outstanding views of nearby Wearmouth Bridge and the River Wear. The University of Sunderland’s St Peter’s Campus is on the far side of the river, next to the National Glass Centre.
Asiana’s name hints that dishes served in the restaurant are inspired by the cuisines and flavours of Southeast Asia.
The menu includes a mixed platter, ideal for sharing, featuring succulent Peking ribs. Aromatic crispy duck and kung po king prawns count among Asiana’s signature dishes.
Grinder Coffee Co.
An independent coffee shop, Grinder Coffee Co. operates two venues in Sunderland. One of them is inside the Hills Arts Centre (Waterloo Place), which opened in premises long occupied by the Hills bookshop. The other is on Durham Road.
MyDelhi Sunderland
MyDelhi (39 Borough Road) opened its Sunderland premises in the spring of 2022. Colourfully decorated, this restaurant serves dishes that are popular in India’s national capital. Cauliflower Manchurian (an Indo-Chinese dish often called Gobi Manchurian), paneer tikka and Punjabi dhaba chicken count among the flavour-packed dishes being served on the Sunderland Restaurant Week menu.
Port of CallPort of Call (1 Park Lane) is a bar and grill restaurant. If you enjoy smokehouse-style dishes look for the barbecued pulled pork and brisket. Pulled pork tops a six-ounce beef patty and cheese to create Port of Call’s smokestack burger.
Flatbreads and loaded fries (chips with toppings such as cheese and bacon) feature on the menu. If you enjoy hefty chunks of meat you’ll enjoy making this a port of call.
Map of Sunderland
Zoom into the map below to find cafés and restaurants in Sunderland city centre.
Travel to Sunderland
Grand Central trains operate direct connections between London and Sunderland.
The Tyne and Wear Metro connects Sunderland with Newcastle and other urban hubs in the region. The Metro journey to Sunderland from Newcastle International Airport takes 55 minutes.
Hotels in Sunderland
How about making a night of it? Book accommodation in Sunderland:
Further information
Follow the #EatDrinkSunderland and #SunderlandRestaurantWeek hashtags on social media to find information about Sunderland Restaurant Week, including food photography posted on Instagram.
View the My Sunderland website for an overview of attractions on Wearside.
Thank you for visiting Go Eat Do and reading this post about Sunderland Restaurant Week. If you are planning on visiting Sunderland, you may also enjoy this post outlining the best things to do in Sunderland.
Stuart Forster, the author of this post, is a food and travel writer based in North East England. Born and raised in Sunderland, Stuart knows the region well and is available for editorial and copywriting commissions. His work has been published by BBC Good Food, Great British Chefs and Love Exploring.
Photos illustrating this post are by Why Eye Photography.
If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for the free Go Eat Do newsletter. It’s an easy way of getting links to posts once a month.
‘Like’ the Go Eat Do Facebook page to see more photos and content.
Use Pinterest? Pin this, showing Sunderland’s Wearmouth Bridge, and share Go Eat Do’s blog post about Sunderland Restaurant Week.
JelenaM
October 12, 2021 at 07:57I appreciate a good sized portion. Hate it when I am left hungry and the bill is unreal.
Go Eat Do
October 20, 2021 at 15:26Look at that tower of meat served at No 2 Church Lane. Hopefully you’ll be satisfied in Sunderland.