Stag Nightlife Guide to the Bigg Market
| Top Reasons to Visit Bigg Market |
|---|
 | Bars - The Bigg Market's bars are renowned for the lively, rowdy and unforgettable weekends. |
 | Restaurants - There are several cool restaurants, including Kafeneon, a Greek restaurant that does mouth-watering food and there is even a 24-hour Greggs across the road. |
 | Music - Oompah bands take to the stage at Bierkeller and impressive singers perform at Filthy's. |
 | Shopping - The most shopping you'll do here will be booze and a Greggs sausage roll at 3am. |
 | Art - Stand outisde one of Newcastle's loudest bars at 4am and take in the 'art' of the street. |
Formerly the spot of Newcastle Zoo, not much has changed in the Bigg Market… Herds of party animals flock to the site to eat, drink and, quite possibly, find a mate.
Anything goes at the Bigg Market. We’re talking dancing and singing on the tables, swigging from steins, performing on stage to a huge crowd and getting a burger from the van – slap-bang in the middle of the street. The central nightlife district is so busy each weekend, the crowd of Newcastle natives, tourists, students and everyone else, spills into the nearby zones. But, once you are in the Bigg Market – you’re in there for the duration, pet, as the lights do not come back on ‘til the next morning. Whey aye.
You can get entry to quite a few of Bigg Market's bars, as well as The Diamond Strip's bars with our fantastic Newcastle Nightlife Wristband that gets you into 10+ great bars and clubs around Newcastle
The Bigg Market has a massive reputation, and even bigger clubs. As legendary as you can possibly imagine – these places will leave you with more than a few memories of your stag do…
01. Stein Bier Keller
Visit Website13 Bigg Market, NE1 1UN
You’ll not get much louder, or more German, than the Bier Keller. This chain is sweeping the nation, serving massive steins of beers to stag groups in lederhosen. With those biers in mind – you’ve got nine on draught to sample, as well as pretzels and frankfurters to soak up that Bavarian booze. This underground bar also has frauleins in bier maid outfits and a live Oompah band that gets everyone bonding – ready to end the night thigh slapping or stomping, on the benches and tables.
- No. of Bars: One
- Sports: Shown here
- Beer Garden: Smoking area
- Live Music: Live Oompah band
- Fancy Dress: Yes
- Happy Hours: Yes
- Opening Times:
Mon - Thurs: 18:00 - 03:00
Fri: 16:00 - 03:00
Sat: 12:00 - 03:00
Sun: 18:00 - 03:00
02. Filthy's
Visit Website3-4 Bigg Market, NE1 1UW
Filthy’s, directly opposite, is the archetypal bar of the Bigg Market. The Irish-inspired venue is built for stags, with actual stag heads on the wall, fake grass in the smoking area, quirky couches to fall into and live bands and singers on stage every weekend. Basically, it gets louder the later it gets, with pints flying about regularly… it’s our favourite bar – and you’ve got ‘til 3am to enjoy it, ya filthy animals.
- No. of Bars: One
- Sports: Shown here
- Beer Garden: Yes
- Live Music: Yes
- Fancy Dress: Yes, but tasteful
- Happy Hours: No
- Opening Times:
Mon - Thurs: 19:00 - 03:00
Fri: 17:00 - 03:00
Sat: 13:00 - 03:00
Sun: 19:00 - 03:00
03. Revolución de Cuba
Visit Website1-3 Cloth Market NE1 1EE
You’ll be Havana a good time, having a ball at this swanky Cuban themed bar. Revolucion De Cuba will transport you to the other end of the world with its bright colours, live music, funky tiki tables and holiday vibes. They’ve got a lovely sun terrace where you can relax, with a fruity cocktail in hand, and pretend you’re in Cuba, providing the weather has been kind of course! This slice of paradise was just made for rum lovers, with more rum on the menu than you’ve ever seen before (probably), it really is rum with everything. Don’t worry if rum isn’t your thing, they have gin and some fun non-alcoholic cocktails too. The best thing is they often have epic deals on cocktails and their tasty tapas will have your mouth watering. Cheers to Cuba!
- No. of Bars: Two
- Sports: No
- Beer Garden: Terrace
- Live Music: Yes
- Fancy Dress: No
- Happy Hours: Yes
- Opening Times:
Mon - Thurs: 11:30 - 00:00
Fri: 11:30 - 02:00
Sat: 11:00 - 02:30
Sun: 11:30 - 00:00
04. Market Shaker
Visit Website34-36 Cloth Market, NE1 1EE
If you’re in the market for a good time, then check out Market Shaker. Consisting of a bar, dance hall and beer garden, this is a great place to come in the day as well as at night. They do cocktails and craft beer, as well as pizza by the slice from Scream for Pizza, which in Newcastle is top tier, crust us! Market Shaker often streams live sports, making it a great place to grab a beer and catch the match. When it starts to get dark, the party really gets going with the DJs playing disco, funk and soul with some cheesy bangers thrown in, so you can dance under their disco ball until the early hours.
- No. of Bars: One
- Sports: Yes
- Beer Garden: Yes
- Live Music: DJ booth
- Fancy Dress: Yes
- Happy Hours: No
- Opening Times:
Mon - Thurs: 20:00 - 02:00
Fri: 18:00 - 02:00
Sat: 14:00 - 02:00
Sun: 20:00 - 02:00
05. Passing Clouds
Visit Website2-4 Bigg Market, NE1 1UW
Passing Clouds is an altogether different vibe, the flirty sister of Filthy’s. It’s decked out to resemble a French boudoir, and is thought of as a hipster haunt on the rowdy street (checked shirt optional). As is to be expected, it also hosts top live music on a big stage and is open ‘til 3am on a Friday and a Saturday. It’s a welcoming secret den-like venue – especially for stags and hens – and has an outdoor terrace to watch the goings-on of the Bigg Market. You’re going to want your camera…
- No. of Bars: One
- Sports: No
- Beer Garden: No
- Live Music: Yes
- Fancy Dress: No
- Happy Hours: No
- Opening Times:
Mon - Thurs: 16:00 - 00:00
Fri - Sat: 13:00 - 03:00
Sun: 13:00 - 00:00
06. Pumphreys
Visit Website44 Cloth Market, NE1 1EE
Bringing a dash of southern soul to the Bigg Market is this fantastic and great value bar. This is the place for cheap pints and a game of pool as it has 3 American style pool tables available. Pumphreys screens sports too on their 80” screens making it a fab place to chill out and enjoy the game. Think this is just your average bar, think again! If you look hard enough, you’ll find a hidden wardrobe door which will take you upstairs to a speakeasy bar where DJs play the very best disco, funk and soul late into the night. It’s like going to Narnia, except with less witches and more booze!
- No. of Bars: Two
- Sports: Yes
- Beer Garden: No
- Live Music: DJ booth
- Fancy Dress: No
- Happy Hours: Yes
- Opening Times:
Mon - Fri: 16:00 - 02:00
Sat: 12:00 - 02:00
Sun: 16:00 - 02:00
07. Popworld
Visit Website14 Bigg Market, NE1 1UW
Popworld is as cheesy as they come. Dedicated to the heydays of the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s – it has a bigg reputation. The club is huge, with a massive dance floor and platforms to showcase those moves. It’s open ‘til late, 2am on a weekend, and it’s likely you’ll bump into one or ten hen groups in a matter of minutes. Enough said.
- No. of Bars: One
- Sports: No
- Beer Garden: No
- Live Music: DJ booth
- Fancy Dress: Yes
- Happy Hours: No
- Opening Times:
Mon - Wed: 20:00 - 01:00
Thurs - Fri: 20:00 - 02:00
Sat: 17:00 - 02:00
Sun: 20:00 - 01:00
08. Cosy Joes
Visit Website27-31 Groat Market, NE1 1UQ
All of this Dutch courage will come in handy for Cosy Joes – you’ll know it well after this weekend. Newcastle’s ultimate karaoke bar is set in an old pub, over two floors, and attracts locals in their droves. It has separate karaoke rooms if you want to belt out the ballads in private, but for the rest of the mere mortals – you’ve got the upstairs or downstairs stage. It actively encourages fancy dress, welcomes mega groups and serves the likes of the lethal Cosy Joe Rum and The Glitterbomb.
- No. of Bars: Two
- Sports: Shown here
- Beer Garden: No
- Live Music: Karaoke
- Fancy Dress: Yes
- Happy Hours: Yes
- Opening Times:
Mon - Thurs: 21:00 - 02:00
Fri: 19:00 - 03:00
Sat: 15:00 - 03:00
Sun: 21:00 - 01:00
09. WC
wcnewcastle.co.ukWC, NE1 1UW
Don’t be put off by the name, if you’re expecting a toilet then urine for a surprise as what was once a public toilet is now a super swanky gin bar. Sorry, that wasn’t a very classy pun, but this IS a classy venue with its gorgeous dome shaped skylight roof with a chandelier hanging down from it and upmarket drinks such as the Champagne Cosmopolitan. The only downside is it is quite small, so it probably isn’t one to pay a visit to if you’ve got a bigger group. If you’d like to check it out (it’s a really cool unique experience) we would highly recommend booking a table on their website.
- No. of Bars: One
- Sports: No
- Beer Garden: No
- Live Music: No
- Fancy Dress: No
- Happy Hours: Yes
- Opening Times:
Mon - Weds: 14:00 - 23:00
Thurs - Fri: 14:00 - 00:00
Sat: 12:00 - 00:00
Sun: 14:00 - 23:00
10. Twenty Twenty
Visit Website5 Bigg Market, NE1 1UN
Not only an awful year, but also a fantastic bar! The name comes from the 20 Signature Cocktails they offer and their delicious (and massive) 20” Pizzas. This lovely rustic bar is a great place for a boozy lunch or dinner. Their cocktails have amazing names such as It’s Britney B*tch, Dawn of the Dead and Basil Brush (this bar will defo make your night go boom boom!). If anyone says size doesn’t matter then they’re right, unless we’re talking about pizza. Twenty Twenty’s 20” pizzas are shockingly more than twice the size of a large Domino’s pizza – now we want a pizza that! They’ve also got hilarious names like I'm Blue, Da Ba Dee Da Ba Di and Honey I’m Home.
- No. of Bars: One
- Sports: No
- Beer Garden: No
- Live Music: No
- Fancy Dress: No
- Happy Hours: Yes
- Opening Times:
Mon - Thurs: 12:00 - 00:00
Fri - Sat: 12:00 - 02:00
Sun: 12:00 - 00:00
Cash, Cabs and Kebabs
Cash Machines
The Bigg Market's long 'strip' is bursting with bars, but you've got cash machines leading your way to the next venue. There’s one just opposite the aforementioned Filthy’s, but it does charge you. However, there’s a free one just down the street. Grey Street, just up the road, also boasts a massive HSBC, lined with cash machines (and the iconic Monument to guide you).
Taxis
The Bigg Market is right in the centre of the city. In simple terms, the Diamond Strip is a three minute walk, Grey/Dean Street another three minute stumble and the Quayside around 15 minutes away. However, you have got taxi ranks dotted all over the street, in front of Filthy’s and The Gate. Diamond Strip, just around the corner, even has its own cab rank - you're proper spoilt.
Takeaways
Bigg Market is also the undisputed king of takeaways. You’ve got pizza shops (home to the Parmo...) circling the taxi ranks, as well as burger vans at the top - just outside of The Gate - and another outside the ever-popular Filthy's. You are well catered for here.
The Bigg Market is Newcastle personified, and will provide you with an unforgettable (we hope you'll remember...) night. To sort out your stag do in The Toon, you can build your own send-off on our Newcastle stag weekends page.
*We know all there is to know about the Bigg Market, and all info on the zone was correct at the time of publication - 31/05/2023. Probably.