Reviews in County Durham

Great food and good value best in the area in my opinion. Wonderful fish dishes perfect fillet steak and chicken in stilton sauce to die for plus the handcut chunky chips are a house speciality!

Very basic food, 'pub' food, good if you are wanting something quick and simple

I went along to The Joiners Arms in Hunwick (near to Crook) last Saturday. The food was good, but the ambiance was great. This honest good English tucker at it's best with European and African dishes on the Specials Board. I had the mixed grill which is what I normally go for when I am hungry, but this one was a gud'un. My Girlfriend had Nile Perch in Moroccan spices. I had a bit of this and it was fabuloso! Cooked just right. Opaque in the middle, not over cooked like you get at so many places. Great pub. been a few times and the banter in the bar is good. I think that's what makes it coz the prices for food are very reasonable.

Almost full on a random Wednesday night - good sign. Happy hour is until 8.30pm - 2 courses £7.95 - I had the chicken satay and chili beef whilst my husband had the BBQ ribs and sizzling beef platter - all the food was lovely, clean, well presented and served by very polite staff. Would def recommend and we will be back very soon.

Unfortunately The Chequers seems to have gone rather downhill since the above recommendations were written in 2006. WE visited last Saturday night and were surprised at how empty the restaurant was for a Saturday night. The food was average rather than being special and the portions not overly generous. The waiting staff were friendly but all appeared very inexperienced. What was also off-putting was the sheer amount of 'stuff' hanging from the ceiling, walls, and on shelves which made the place feel very claustrophobic indeed and certainly not a classy venue.

This is the coolest place I've ever eaten in. Mexican food full of taste, and the best price ever. A great place to meet people and drink a good cup of coffee and you can sit out side as well when the sun is shining.

I recently had a vegetarian meal at The Blue Bell. Being a Sunday, my two friends opted for the traditional Sunday meal. I was given a choice of vegetarian meals which was a nice change for a pub meal. The service was excellent and the food was prompt and hot and served with a smile. Best of all it was absolutely delicious! My vegetarian option was a savoury bread and butter pudding with a cheese sauce, served with scrumptious mashed potatoes and a variety of vegetables. It was clearly homemade and made with pride. My friends were equally as impressed with their meals. Another nice plus, was not paying ridiculously high prices for drinks. I’ll definitely be going back!

this restaurant is crap and really rubbish please don't go there

What a fantastic Indian restaurant, food is out of this world, service second to none, take away also top class would recommend, go on give it a go you will not be disappointed

food bland and tasteless. wouldn't recommend this place at all. service appalling. staff ignorant and the landlady "joyce" needs to learn some customer skills- she is very rude to both staff and customers alike! I remember the good old days ( 2 years ago) when at least the food was good!

NOW SPORTING LODGE: - Disgusted ! My husband and I stayed here only one night (it was like sleeping in a university dorm) anyway the food - Well my husband is allergic to fish and poultry i.e physically sick if digested; doesn't like salad; veg; mushrooms very much at all; texture of steak/joints of meat so the only thing on the menu he could eat was steak and mushroom pie!!!!! No pasta, lasagne, burgers etc on menu so was stuck!! when meal came I had jacket potato and house salad ( which turned out to be a @side sald or garnish!! - two bits of lettuce 2 slices of onion 1/2 a tomato and 2 cubes of cucumber) the potato wasn't cooked and there were 4 bits of steak in the pie not that he would/could eat them anyway - it came on a massive plate with a saucer sized helping of chips which were burnt. All in all revolting!"!

an excellent white line pub. The toilets are always a hive of activity with numerous half wits visiting every 5 minutes. I often wondered how many half wits can fit in a white line cubicle - well i saw 4 coming out one evening. Not the best place for families

Great atmosphere ,healthy food and very humble and cheerful staff. we love food here .Som Tum papaya is so authentic . NEO

simply the best.

The best indian restaurant in Durham, easily, especially for a vegetarian who is used to over-cooked vegetables swimming in ghee. There was none of that here in this friends local and reasonably priced restaurant with great food!

Visited 09-05-08. Friendliness & attention of staff, speed of service, choice, quality & presentation of food all excellent. Will be returning on a regular basis.

First class food, lively atmosphere, and very friendly staff and management. Fajitas arrive sizzling with an array of dips and flour tortillas, the nachos were that high stacked on the plate we had trouble eating them all. The house wine was served chilled in an ice bucket and was reasonably priced, highly recommended.

Used to be good but has gone downhill. Now serves very sweet curries with glace cherries as garnish! Avoid.