Serving up second chances
Since 2012, the Oswin Project has helped people with criminal records to find employment, training and support in the North East of England.
Find out moreOctober & November 2024 – Before planning your visit, please check our ‘Visitor Notices’ for accessibility updates and one-off changes to opening times. Click here to view.
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NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL
NEWCASTLE CATHEDRAL
A BEACON OF LIGHT
Café 16
Open Monday-Saturday, 10am-4pm
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Established at the Cathedral in 2021, Café 16 offers gorgeous food and drink in a stunning setting. There’s something for everyone, from breakfast to afternoon tea, soups to savoury dishes, cappuccinos to cups of tea, and guilt-free cakes.
The café is staffed by a team of prison leavers who are trained, mentored, and led by charity the Oswin Project. The freshly baked goods served here are sourced directly from the charity’s bakery at HMP Northumberland, where prisoners learn valuable skills to equip them for a fresh start after their release.
Café 16 is named in honour of the 1916 Royal Flying Corps station, which once stood on the site now occupied by HMP Northumberland.
| Breakfast | Breakfast sandwiches and a competitively priced full English Breakfast. |
| Lunch | A soup of the day, a range of sandwiches, toasties, paninis, pies and pastries, jacket potatoes and salad bowls are available all day. |
| Children’s Menu | A dedicated children’s menu with small bites, sandwiches, pasta, hotdogs and pizza slices. |
| Afternoon Teas | Elegant sandwiches accompanied by quiche, a variety of savoury pastries, cream scones with jam and a selection of mini cakes and traybakes. Afternoon Teas need to be booked in advance. |
| Vegan Menu | The vegan menu includes a (fully) vegan English breakfast, soup, sandwiches, toasties, jacket potatoes and salad bowls. |
The opening of Café 16 was supported by LNER’s Customer and Community Investment Fund (CCIF). This video explores the results of this partnership.
“If it wasn’t for the Oswin Project, I think I would have ended up going back to prison. When I came out of prison, I had to live in a hostel. There was all sorts of bad things going on there. Having work in Café 16 and being around good people, it keeps you on track and keeps you away from things like that. It makes all the difference.”
An Oswinner