A Story of Food, Culture and Community
On the edge of the iconic Tyne Bridge, where Newcastle meets Gateshead, Raval has been welcoming guests since 2007.
We began with a simple ambition: to share a broader story of Indian food with Newcastle and the North East.
Not simply the familiar dishes Britain already knew, but the flavours of India’s regions and coasts — food shaped by different landscapes, communities, spices and traditions.
Since 2007, that idea has remained at the heart of Raval Indian Brasserie & Bar.
Food brought us here.
People made it home.
Our Home
Where Newcastle Meets Gateshead
Raval sits at the foot of the Tyne Bridge, between Newcastle and Gateshead, overlooking one of the North East’s most recognisable skylines.
But our building had a story long before Raval arrived.
Our home forms part of the historic Snowball & Son building, once home to one of the region’s best-known department stores and remembered as the “Harrods of the North.”
Generations passed through this part of Gateshead long before us.
The river changed. Newcastle and Gateshead changed. The Quayside was transformed.
Then, in 2007, Raval became another chapter in the building’s story.
Once home to Snowball’s — famously dubbed the “Harrods of the North” — today, the site is home to Raval.Snowball & Son — part of the history of the building Raval calls home.
Buildings have memories. We are simply the latest custodians of this one.
Since 2007
The Doors Open
When Raval opened in 2007, we wanted to create an Indian restaurant that felt different.
Because Indian cooking has never been one cuisine.
Travel from Kashmir to Kerala, Punjab to Bengal, Goa to Tamil Nadu and the ingredients, techniques and flavours change enormously.
That diversity became our inspiration.
The heat of the tandoor.
Cooking over charcoal.
The seafood and coconut of India’s coasts.
The slow-cooked dishes of the north.
Spices toasted, ground and layered in the kitchen.
And above all, food cooked with care and generosity.
Raval in its earlier years.
From the Beginning
Lobster & Mango
Restaurants change.
Menus evolve.
Some dishes disappear.
Others become part of the story.
Lobster & Mango has been part of Raval since the beginning.
It represented something we believed in when we opened: respecting Indian flavours while refusing to be limited by expectations of what an Indian restaurant should serve.
It remains part of Raval today.
Lobster & Mango — part of the Raval story since 2007.
Our Food
A Journey Through India
Our menu continues that journey today.
Darjeeling Lamb Cutlets.
Assam King Prawn.
Kochi Salmon.
Mangalore King Prawn.
Kashmiri Rogan Josh.
Railway Lamb.
Tamil Chicken Madras.
The names are deliberate.
Behind each is a place, a cooking tradition or an inspiration from the enormous country we call India.
Some dishes remain close to tradition.
Others have evolved through the hands of our chefs.
Together, they tell the story of the food we love to cook here in Newcastle–Gateshead.
A Raval Signature
Maska Chicken Tikka Masala
Some dishes become more than something on a menu.
They become part of a restaurant’s identity.
Maska Chicken Tikka Masala is ours.
Maska means butter, and our interpretation takes one of Britain’s best-loved Indian dishes and gives it a distinctly Raval character.
Chicken tikka cooked over fire is brought together with a rich, buttery masala before arriving at the table in its own lidded pot.
Then comes the moment we want people to remember.
The lid is lifted at the table.
The aroma escapes.
The Maska is revealed.
Familiar, comforting and unmistakably Raval.
Maska Chicken Tikka Masala — a Raval signature.
Our People
The Heart of Raval
Restaurants aren’t really made from tables, menus or buildings.
They are made by people.
Raval comes from a family with four generations of experience in Indian hospitality.
Over the years, chefs, waiters, bartenders, managers and many others have become part of the Raval story.
Some stayed for years.
Some were with us for only part of the journey.
Each contributed something.
And every evening, the ritual begins again.
The kitchen comes alive.
The tandoor heats up.
The tables are prepared.
The doors open.
And our guests arrive.
Our Guests
Thousands of Stories
The most important stories at Raval have never been ours alone.
They belong to the people who have eaten here.
First dates that became anniversaries.
Birthdays.
Graduations.
Family dinners.
Business meetings.
Proposals.
Old friends meeting again.
And countless evenings that needed no particular reason at all.
Since 2007, thousands of people have crossed our threshold.
Some came while visiting Newcastle or Gateshead.
Others have returned year after year.
Some families have celebrated more than one generation around our tables.
We never take that for granted.
We’re not in the food business. We’re in the people business.
Atithi Devo Bhava
The Guest is God
There is an old Sanskrit expression:
Atithi Devo Bhava.
The guest is God.
For us, it captures something very simple about Indian hospitality.
A guest should be welcomed.
A table should be generous.
And when someone chooses to spend an evening with you, that choice should matter.
It is an idea that has travelled a very long way from India to the banks of the Tyne.
And it remains at the heart of how we want Raval to feel.
Part of Newcastle–Gateshead
Our Place on the Tyne
Our location has become part of who we are.
The Tyne Bridge rises beside us.
Across the river is Newcastle.
Around us are some of Newcastle–Gateshead’s best-known cultural and visitor destinations, including The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and the Quayside.
That location has brought an extraordinary mixture of people through our doors.
Local families.
Business travellers.
Musicians.
Actors.
Artists.
Visitors discovering Newcastle and the North East for the first time.
And people who have passed Raval for years before finally deciding to walk through the door.
Everyone arrives for a different reason.
Once inside, they share the same tables.
Along the Way
A Few Familiar Faces
Being part of Newcastle–Gateshead’s cultural quarter has brought some familiar faces through our doors over the years.
Actors, musicians, performers and personalities have joined us for dinner — sometimes before a performance, sometimes afterwards and sometimes simply because they wanted something good to eat.
There have been memorable evenings.
There have been photographs.
And there are plenty of stories that stayed inside the restaurant.
That’s part of the fun.
Recognition
A Proud Moment in Our Story
Recognition came along the way.
National and regional restaurant awards, wonderful reviews and recommendations from diners have all meant a great deal to our team.
Then, in November 2025, Raval was named National Champion in the British Indian Good Food Guide.
For a restaurant that had opened beneath the Tyne Bridge in 2007, it was an extraordinary moment.
We celebrated it.
We were proud of it.
And then the doors opened again.
Because an award belongs to a moment.
A reputation has to be earned every evening.
An award belongs to a moment. A reputation is built every evening.
Today
Still Cooking. Still Evolving.
Raval today isn’t exactly the restaurant that opened in 2007.
Nor should it be.
Menus change.
Kitchens evolve.
New people join us.
New ideas appear.
But the principles remain remarkably similar.
Cook with care.
Respect where the food comes from.
Be generous.
Welcome people properly.
Never stop learning.
And tomorrow, try to do it a little better.
The Story Continues
Perhaps This Is Your First Visit
Perhaps you have been coming to Raval for years.
Perhaps you celebrated something important here.
Perhaps you visited once a long time ago and have been meaning to return.
Perhaps you have driven past us a hundred times and always meant to come in.
Or perhaps you have only just discovered us while looking for somewhere to eat in Newcastle or Gateshead.
Whichever it is, our story isn’t finished.
Every evening brings another table, another conversation and another memory.
And we’d be delighted for the next one to be yours.
Welcome to Raval.
The Raval Family
Near The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, BALTIC and the Quayside.
Opening Hours
Monday–Saturday
5:00pm–10:30pm