Civic Brasserie - Newcastle

Now remamed Civic Digest. Recently renovated. Located in the Civic Theatre ground floor on Hunter St Newcastle. Good coffee, friendly staff. (Trip Advisor- I cant download photos any more for past couple of months, I used to have many photos I added in my many previous reviews)

It was at the civic theatre, so you have dinner or lunch then you go to the show , all under one roof, meals lovely, service great, and the atmosphere was terrific.I hope this is the same as the McGourty cafe at the civic theatre, It was winter when we went and we had a home made pie and it was lovely, the conveniance of it being in the same building as the theatre made a great differance. Going back to a show in june so will be having dinner again there.One of my friends left her little trinket of pills on the table and at the end of the night after the show he was waiting for us to give it back to her , we didn't realise it was left so thats service...

Have only had lunch there on two occasions and on both occasions found the food to be very good, well presented and tasty. The atmosphere of the footpath and vehicle passing parade is complimented by the large windows, with the restaurant well located for a show at the Civic next door. Pricing is acceptable, not expensive and value for the dishes served.

Myself and two senior ladies had tickets to see the ballet at 7:30 PM and didn't want to have dinner somewhere and then have to drive, find a park at the Civic Theater and feel rushed, so we decided to have dinner at the Civic Brasserie, which is contiguous with the Theater.I had booked a table for three people at 6:00 PM, but we arrived a little early at 5:52 PM. This was not a problem and we were shown promptly to a table. The restaurant was fully booked and it is necessary to make a reservation for a pre-show dinner.Waitress and menu appeared rapidly The menu is not extensive, with no entrees and onlyfive choices of mains and 3 desserts. An OK wine/beverage list.Despite the limited choices, however, the mains chosen were simply delightful! Myself and one other had the crispy skinned salmon on paris mash, confit garlic , slow roasted tomato and salsa verde. The dish appeared pretty on the plate. The salmon was perfectly cooked and tasted fresh, with the other elements also well done and complementing the fish very well. The other member of the party had crispy skin chicken supreme with caramelised chorizo, brie and pea risotto, which also looked attractive on the plate and she stated it was very good.One of the best things about the meal, however, was how quickly the meals were served after ordering, with everyone having finished their mains by 6:25 PM, leaving plenty of time to talk and relax before the show. We were only a hop, skip and a jump away from the theater and felt relaxed and unhurried. We also reserved the same table for the interval, arranging to have desserts coffee and drinks served then, My two companions enjoyed an interesting looking panacotta, which they polished off with gusto and one said the white wine she had accompanying it was delicious. i had only opted for a cafe latte, which was fine.Service was friendly, but due to some inexperienced staff and being fully booked,it was not particularly attentive, but perfectly satisfactory and when asked, staff were very helpful.Toilet facilities are shared with the Theater and require one to negotiate some stairs, which is very difficult for me.So an interesting but short menu, well-presented and very well cooked, conveniently located for one attending the Civic Theater for a show. The staff seemed very cognisant of the fact that when one has show tickets that one can be on a tight schedule and do their best to make sure they patrons do not feel pressured and the option of desserts during the interval was very welcome. It wasn't fine dining, but certainly several cuts above a pub dinner and the convenience of it being contiguous with the Civic Theater and the staff being used to patrons on a schedule makes this restaurant the premier choice for a pre-show dinner and/or interval package. Book now for the next time you plan to see a show at the Civic Theater!

We were a group of four having a pre-theatre show dinner on a Saturday evening. I called on Wednesday for a reservation and left a voicemail, asking for a confirmation. The next time the 'phone was answered was Saturday and the person responding denied the existence of any voice mail. I don't make these things up for the fun of it! When the drinks were broiught to us, the rather large waitress stood at the table with a tray of drinks and barked James Boag!? Semillon?! It wouldn't hurt to just be a bit more polite and ask who ordered which drink. She was the same at each table, and arrived at ours again with Ravioli?! Salmon?! etc. The food at Civic Brasserie is very good - it is carefully cooked, well presented and hot on arrival. The kitchen should be comnmended. The dessert menu has no cheese and no ice cream, which is a little disappointed, so we skipped them.