As sunny Sunday afternoons are a very rare occasion these days we thought we'd take the opportunity to soak up the sun and try out the Penny Black's menu.
We weren't looking for a roast dinner, just a light bite to satisfy our appetites and enjoy in the sunshine.
The Penny Black is Alnwick's newest café bar. It has a light and airy feel about it, with modern décor and the smell of newness.
As we entered the pub there were a few people dining but the spacious dining areas were fairly empty. But it picked up later with more customers joining us outside.
Menus were scattered across the bar and on tables inside the pub.
The menu has a great selection of meals with a continental feel. There were pizzas and pastas, as well as some traditional pub food, but no roast dinners.
I decided to go for a chicken, chorizo and mozzarella panini with chips (£5.50) and my other half a Penny Black Pizza (£5), which was topped with tomato, chicken, mushroom, garlic and mozzarella.
Other options were paninis with tuna, ham and cheese, cheese, onion and tomato (all £4, or £4.90 with chips) or bacon and brie (£4.60, or £5.50 with chips), £5 homemade pizzas, margarita, Hawaiian, pepperoni and Neptune (tuna, onion and mozzarella), penne bolognaise, penne Romana, tagliatelle carbonara, tagliatelle alfredo (all £5) and lasagne al forno (£6).
Traditional pub grub was also on offer with traditional battered fish with chunky fries and mushy peas (£7), wholetail scampi with chunky fries and garden peas (£8), flame-grilled burger with fries and garnish (£6), with cheese (£6.50), with cheese and bacon (£7), traditional Northumbrian fishcakes with salad and sweet chilli dip (£6.50) and breaded brie wedges with salad and Cumberland sauce dip (£5.50).
Also on the menu was a list of dishes to share: Basket of chunky fries, basket of battered onion rings, basket of seasoned potato wedges and chilli dip, (all £4) basket of battered calamari with lemon mayo (£5) and basket of breaded wholetail scampi with tartar sauce (£9.90).
The bar also boasts a specials board.
The service was brilliant, despite nearly giving my panini to the wrong table outside.
When it was given to me it was delicious. It was a little dry, but was generously filled and the cheese was nicely melted and gooey.
The pizza was definitely the best of the two, it was a decent 10'' with a thin but doughy base and piled with topping.
A good portion of mozzarella topped it off with chunky pieces of chicken and fresh mushrooms. It was obviously home-made and fresh, which definitely receives a thumbs-up in my book.
I got chips with the panini, which were also good and served in a separate bowl on my plate.
With that sweet tooth nagging we spied the home-made puddings on the specials board and decided to treat ourselves.
Two sweets were on offer, apple crumble and white chocolate cheesecake (both £3.90), so we went for one of each.
The crumble was just the way I like it with lots of topping, it could be served with pouring cream, custard or ice cream so I opted for cream. It was delicious, crispy on top with the crumble softer underneath, and a slightly caramelised topping. The apple was also good with the right balance of sweetness and decent sized chunks. My only complaint would be that it wasn't warm enough as I like my crumble to be quite hot.
The cheesecake was delectable! A huge portion was drizzled with chocolate sauce and the creamy chocolate mousse matched perfectly with the crunchy, biscuity bottom.
The total for the meal with four diet Cokes and two coffees came to £28.10 which I thought was fairly reasonable.
The Penny Black is a cheap and cheerful café bar. It offers good food, at good prices, with quick service and friendly staff. I will definitely be going back and taking friends with me.