The Tiny Toad, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Now called The Tiny Toad, I doubt this place will retain its Good Beer Guide status for the 2026 Guide. Most of the micropub's 4 handpulls have been removed, leaving just the one which was dispensing Vocation Bread & Butter on my Saturday afternoon visit. Cider could be found on top of a fridge with a good selection of cans and bottles. The 5 ciders on were Seacider Rhubarb, White Peach & Blood Orange ciders & Weston's Old Rosie & Vintage Organic. The pub now appears to be majoring on their keg selection, which included Vault City Sugar Plum Spritz, Camden Eazy & Stout, Galway Hooker Lughnasadh, Black Sheep One For The Toad & Allendale Pennine Pale. There are a couple of small rooms. The front room with the bar has just one table and a drinking shelf. We occupied the table which is in the window. I sat on one of casks which act as stools at the table. I was expecting there to be to some kind of padding on top of the cask, but it was in fact just a loose cushion directly on top of the cask, making it extremely uncomfortable. There is a second room to the rear with more seating. The one other customer who came in ventured into that space. Whilst I never visited the premises when it was the Heaton Tap, I get the feeling that it has gone downhill and the changes made have been for the worse. Hopefully this place gets more custom at other times of the day. Otherwise, I fear for its future.

Facebook page of The Tiny Toad - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Tiny Toad - www.facebook.com

Narrow side-street micro-pub, with only enough room for a few tall stools in the compact bar area, but further seating is available in the back room and at a few small tables out front. All beers - cask (up to four) and keg (up to seven) - served from taps on the bar-back. Although tempted by some of the latter, I went for an Ossett White Rat (£4.80) in the end. Also has a range of canned and bottled offerings in the fridges.

A two roomed micro with some seating out the front, a small bar positioned in the corner of the front room, along with a small room at the rear. Four cask ales on our visit, along with some keg beers and a couple of ciders, plus an extensive range of cans from the chiller cabinet along the right hand wall. The owner was chatty and informative about the pubs in the area and Newcastle city centre. We went for the Orkney Red MacGregor.