I've tried other Chinese restaurants in Newcastle, but I keep going back to the Shangri La as the food and service is
always excellent. Forget that old saying about being hungry after a Chinese meal; that certainly doesn't apply here.
The restaurant is located in Stowell Street, the main Chinatown area of Newcastle behind The Gate complex. Parking
is not easy in the immediate vicinity. It is possible to park in Stowell Street on yellow lines, but it is very busy.
There is a NCP car park at the start of Stowell Street, approximately 100 yards from the restaurant, which is located on the
right two thirds of the way along Stowell Street.
The doors are fairly wide (about 1 metre), but there is a tight right turn immediately after the first door leading to
another door on the left at the end of a very short passageway.
There is plenty of room to move around in the restaurant and I have always managed to get my wheelchair under the tables.
The major word of warning about the Shangri La are the toilets. Although the sign at the entrance proudly boasts
that the Shangri La was the first restaurant to have a disabled toilet, don't be fooled into believing it is in any way
an all singing, all dancing accessible toilet.
I cannot get my wheelchair in, and it is fairly small in comparison to many.
To their credit, compared to most of the other restaurants in Stowell Street, they've made an effort and have included
grab rails on the walls of the relatively small cubicle they call the "disabled toilet". This is purely for those of
us who can walk a few paces, as it is possible to get your wheelchair close to the door and walk into the cubicle, which is
all on the level.
