‘If this was from Heston, we'd be hailing it as genius’

Inside Greggs' first pub – with all its quirky trimmings

- KEVIN DONALD

Ever had a hankering for a cold pint of beer that tastes just like a glazed jam doughnut? No, me neither.

But in The Golden Flake, the pub just opened by the seemingly unstoppable bakery chain, Greggs, anything is possible. The quirky popup in Fenwick's department store in Newcastle is the sort of place that might have been conceived by Willy Wonka - if he'd bought a little boozer on his retirement from the confectionery trade.

Certainly one of its signature beers, the Pink Jammie Pale Ale, brewed in honour of Greggs' famous doughnuts of the same name, was just too weird for some customers - though to be fair, the more you drank the less you noticed the cloying sweetness.

There's a more basic brew on the pumps alongside the Jammie – the Gosforth 1939 Stottie Lager, this one with a strong hint of another fabled Geordie delicacy, the stottie cake (a flat bread bun to those who have never had the pleasure).

Most customers, however, have come for the food, a gentrified version of the simple fare available in Greggs' 2,600 stores across the UK.

I ordered a steak bake mixed grill (£12.50) which consisted of Greggs' popular pasty, a fried egg draped over the top, a side order of chips and a grilled tomato. The arrival of a gravy boat was confusing - had it been brought by mistake to the wrong table?