Reviews in County Durham

My wife and I came as part of a Spa day with the Garage Spa, the restaurant is lovely, a really nice place with friendly, attentive staff. The food was delicious, the steak burger was perfectly cooked and the chips were some of the tastiest I've had!

Sunday carvery, food was excellent. Service greatly improved since last visit. All that was needed was supervision by experienced staff in the past. Good value for money. Well done.

My daughter and I ate here as part of a spa day. The service was faultless and the food was delicious. We would be more than happy to dine here again in the future. Just one suggestion: a little background music in the restaurant would be nice.

Lovely food. Children love it here It was a very busy night but that didn't change the service or the quality. Thanks for a good night we will return

Booked a table in advance but upon arrival nobody was around to seat us, so we ended up just finding a table ourselves. After sitting for 15 minutes with no service, we went to the bar to order our drinks and ask for a menu, stating our table number. Again nobody came to take a food order so we had to go to the bar to order. Food was disappointing, and didn't make up for the poor service. Fish lacked any flavour and the batter was soggy, mushy peas we've VERY dry and chips were cold. Such a shame as we love the atmosphere here, and particularly how dog friendly it is. We've never had a poor experience in the past but may be reluctant to come back for food in future.

There were five of us having dinner and breakfast followed by lunch. All of our meals were really nice without exception- limited lunch menu but food was lovely. Breakfast was self served with hot and Cold buffet and all of the staff have been helpful.

Great tapas - really delicious. Highly recommend.

Excellent food. The staff were very helpful and pleasant.

Yet again, the service and food are exceptional. The team really looks after you from the point of entry until you leave. So wish there was more places like this in the region with this level of detail and atmosphere.

3 courses for £10 (and supplements for certain dishes if required) was great value for money. Food was amazing and plentiful. Homecooked and fresh. Beat ‘door stop’ chips I’ve ever had! Service was a little slow and we had to keep leaving our table to ask for certain items and, as it was our first time there, we were unsure of the ordering process which I thought could have been explained upon being seated. Lovely decor. Fairly relaxes though a little too cold for my father! We’ll definitely be back though.

I recently had the Sunday lunch carvery in the Prego restaurant and I couldn't fault it. Lots of choice, very tasty and great service. I'll be back.

Great food as always. Atmosphere is excellent and the service is great. Always returning.

Had a lovely meal on Saturday gone the sea bass was beautiful & our Grandaughter loved making her own pizza & the fact that Lewis told her hers was the best. Have had Christmas lunch here for the last 3 years, never disappointed

We’ve eaten at Derwent Manor several times and had our wedding there also, the food is beautiful and service is great. The best Sticky Toffee Pudding I’ve ever had! Highly recommend Derwent Manor whether you staying over or just going for food.

We dined in the restaurant on the first night of our stay, a Friday night. Although the two waitresses were very polite and friendly not overly attentive and when asking questions about the menu had to check with the kitchen. Service was slow and the restaurant wasn't overly busy. The restaurant is a lovely room but no atmosphere and could do with a refurb as looking a little tired. Needs to be more luxurious surroundings to compliment the building. The main courses we both ordered were tasty and presented well. We shared a cheeseboard for dessert and that was disappointing. All the cheeses were very bland & mild. A strong cheddar, good stilton & local cheeses would be my suggestion to improve this offering. We also had afternoon tea during our stay as we had been given a voucher. I personally couldn't see the value in the offering. Again, it was nice but I have had better. You could tell the sandwiches had been made for sometime as the bread was dry and hardening up on the edges. Sandwich filling choices were very basic, cheap fillings. Not value for money. Breakfast offering was ok, not a big fan of buffet style breakfast but it was ok. More fresh fruit would be nice. Overall it was ok but improvements needed.

I stayed for a couple of nights recently at this hotel, with three (mature) women friends. We have been going away for the weekend in January for the last fifteen years or so, it's an important highlight of the year for all of us. Unfortunately for us our experience in your restaurant was disappointing. On the Friday afternoon, the afternoon teas were fine, although the sandwiches had come straight from the fridge. The service was excellent, warm and welcoming. Friday dinner; we booked for 8, ordered by 8.10 and eventually ate at 9.10 after harassing various staff members for attention. In fact I ate even later since I had ordered only a starter, to be served at the same time as my friends' mains. They arrived, my starter didn't. When it did come, the goat cheese pannacotta was bland and rather over gelatined. Sticky toffee pudding did restore my spirits. Saturday breakfast: excellent in range, quality and service. As it was on Sunday. Friday dinner: having complained the night before, we were fast tracked, I suspect. Two of my friends had the steak from the bar menu and really enjoyed it. I didn't care for my starter (cured and torched mackerel) but that was my personal opinion and I did get a lovely big bowl of chips to compensate. Good puds and cheese. Overall - it felt expensive for what we got, the room could do with different lighting and layout as it currently feels rather cold, plain, with overhead strong lighting. More candles could work wonders. The junior waiting staff were delightful and keen to help but appeared to be overwhelmed, untrained and out of their depth. Ideally they would not address their guests as "guys", they would speak more slowly and clearly, providing accurate information. And it's probably best if they didn't comment on how expensive items on the menu were. The senior staff were equally delightful, and capable, helpful, friendly, up to speed. So we won't be returning or recommending, despite the super comfortable and cosy beds.

We had a late lunch there this week. We had 3 courses and the food and service were excellent.