Review: Big Luke’s, Metro Centre

“I can understand why Luke was so big”, we mumbled simultaneously as we lulled back in our seats, eyes rolling, both of us just one greasy chip away from slipping into a food coma. To this day, I have no idea who Big Luke, of the eponymous restaurant, is/was (probably the latter- if heart disease didn’t get him, diabetes certainly did).

We stumbled across Big Luke’s all-you-can-eat buffet at the Metro Centre in Newcastle, and although we weren’t exactly sure what occurred within, The Boy saw a picture of steak on one of their posters and followed his nose inside, and I was close behind.

Apologies for poor quality- I took this picture on leaving the restaurant, by which time I was rolling rather than walking.

After a brief explanation of how the buffet worked (dig in, basically), we were off, making the instant mistake of treating it as a sprint rather than a marathon.

Mainly American cuisine, the buffet mainly focused on meats- ribs, chicken, steaks, in a variety of sauces and cooked to order. Also available were sausages, jacket potatoes, chips, beans, pizza, garlic bread, curry, the obligatory salad bar, curries, pasta....a veritable metropolis of culinary building blocks, expected to culminate in a heart attack.

The food was all well cooked, as if prepared individually rather than batch produced for throngs of hungry Geordies. The garlic bread, for example, was beautifully fresh, rather than frozen and reheated. The only let down was the beefburgers, which tasted cheap, but that’s just personal opinion.

Desserts are also included in the buffet price- a choice of two cakes, or ice cream with an array of toppings. Surprisingly, soft drinks, although an extra charge, were unlimited refills. I was always under the impression that all-you-can-eat buffets made their money by charging through the roof for drinks, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Sadly (although my waistband breathed a sigh of relief) Big Luke’s is only in the Metro Centre, so I won’t be visiting again any time soon. Having said that, my visit was 5 days ago, and I haven’t yet regained my appetite, so the legacy of Big Luke’s lives on.

For more Scribbling Lau restaurant reviews, click here.

The area of the Metro Centre which houses Big Luke's reminded me of Montecasino near Johannesburg.