If you're looking for a bit of glamour this is the place!! Having only been open a few weeks and…read morebeing an avid wine drinker I felt an obligation to check out this new swanky champagne and whiskey bar so I put on my posh frock, high heels and sparkly jewellery, to make sure I looked the part, and headed out. Very elegantly decorated with classical black and white contrast and ornate chandeliers, in keeping with the desired contemporary glamour and ambience of the bar. There is also an outdoor cigar terrace if that takes your fancy so it's definitely a throwback to the decadent 1920's! Excellent selection of drinks but some can be relatively pricey (particularly their speciality drinks but this would be expected). A glass of champagne starts at £6.90 and whiskeys or draught beers from £4.20. Wine is the usual price for city centre indulgence. The cocktail list looked really interesting and I'd be keen to sample next visit! The only criticism I currently have is the lack of seating or even perches for your drinks....lots of people left standing which seems to work in a pub but takes the shine off this bar. Maybe it's worth a visit midweek as I did attend on a busy Saturday night. Also bear in your mind your attire as it's certainly not the destination of choice if you're a jeans and boots girl like me!

Pub itself is nicely done out but the music is the same old pop. Only had food in here once when it…read morefirst opened and didn't really rate it but it may have changed since then.

Looks Good & Foods Okread more

I thought this place was very overrated. While it has potential to be a good place, I found it far…read moretoo small for how many people were in there at one time, massively overpriced for what it is, and jam packed with pretentious, egotistical people. Compared to somewhere like As You Like It or Livellos; House of Smith just doesn't measure up.

Some friends and I recently attended celebrations for a birthday at the newly opened House of…read moreSmith. Truly a place that would make the likes of Daisy Buchanan flap it is truly reminiscent of the world one finds themselves in as they read F. Scott Fitzgerald. Decadent, luxurious and exclusive it provides a VIP experience that is second to none. The King Booth provided for us a unique experience particularly as it was raised above the dance floor. The bar is also round the corner from the booth so as the Hosts bring round the champagne and sparklers they have to walk through the dance floor which means all eyes on you. It's not difficult to feel a million dollars sipping Dom Pérignon.

loved this place, it's close to the quayside but not right on the water. the food was exotic - i…read morehad sea bass, and my partner had kangaroo burger - very different! this is your typical posh restaurant though, there was nothing about it that really stood out to me though the food was of course very nice.

Ventured into this new bar for the first time last week, warm friendly atmosphere seemed well…read moresuited to the urbanites that were socialising there, Ice buckets of champagne on the bar and fridges fully stocked with premium lager.

Like this Bar 2nd best in town. It looks great, drinks are…read morea bit pricier than I'd like but one of the better looking bars. Trendy place with good decor and music. Recommended drink Desperados Awesome It's hidden out of the way like my 1st favourite bar Both in Sunniside strangely enough. I used to drink where all the bars are but I now prefer Sunniside (Anyone not know Sunniside it is where the cinema is and nandos) Mini pub crawl would be here then Infinity need more cool bars down this way!

Similar to a Werherspoons. Open, clean, centrally located, family friendly casual fare…read more Breakfast, lunch, supper menus available. Full bar. Lots of meal deal options. Most items under 10 pounds. Not necessarily a local gem, but it's a decent chain restaurant.

I came in with my boyfriend a few weeks ago and we were served by joscelyn. Service was brilliant,…read morethe drinks came very quickly and joscelyn was very polite and friendly.

Formerly known as Chase, now revamped and called The Boathouse, this funky bar is popular with…read morestudents. It's in a nice setting right by the side of the River Wear. I like the comfy seats and coffee tables look, as well as the music played there. Its speciality is cocktails which it does really well, and prices aren't bad, in fact it's very cheap if you go there between 8pm Sunday and 8pm Thursday as they do offers where you can get cocktails for £1.99, although the bar staff don't seem too keen on giving the 1p change from £2! They also do a good range of mocktails for anyone who prefers to avoid alcohol.

I have to give this place a one star as when we were here on september 8th 2012, we ordered nacho's…read moreand chilli which was fine, and also spaghetti bolognaise, which was fine too, but the staff have to communicate with each other more and communicate with customers more, as we also ordered chocolate fudge cake which said on the menu it comes with ice cream, so when it came to our table we had custard with it for some strange reason and I asked the girl who brought it too our table why it was custard and she asked me if I asked for custard which I hadn't, so she went to ask and came back and told us they had no ice cream. What she or other staff should have done imho is ask before serving if we wanted custard as they were no ice cram. thanks. never again.. But going with the reviews maybe the should stick to being a pub and keep food out thanks. Also they use rectangular plates so imho you get less on the plate, but the boat ride outside is better, we had an excellent view of the Durham Cathedral from here and you get a history behind Durham, very interesting ,I don't mean the canoe's thanks.

Spooky. Tiny. Locals. No food. Authentic. Ghosts and history. Near the river…read more ..... .... ...... ......

This place was amazing, just what I thought a real English pub would be like in my American mind…read more Super cozy with friendly service and a decent selection of gin and whisky despite the small size of the establishment. Highly recommended if you are in Durham.

I unfortunately have to update my review to remove a star. Though it is truly not what I want to…read moredo, as this is a beautiful building in a great location, I was quite disappointed on my last visit here. Two friends and I were at the Swan before a dinner event for some pre-dinner drinks. We decided to have wine. Yes, I know this is more of a beer crowd, but the real issue I had was the fact that our wine was served in half pint glasses instead of one of the many stem glasses at the bar. I found this to be very odd and not at all an appropriate way to serve wine- even if it's the cheap stuff.

Brilliant pub! Good location by Elvet Bridge, nice atmosphere, good service. Often very crowded…read morethough, so go prepared.

Absolutely fantastic. Had the melt burger fantastic twist on the classic BBQ burger same with the…read moreBarbie chick pizza.The staff are amazingly kind and caring. The outdoor part of the bar is just fantastic and with wonderful weather a great place to have a meal and a drink on a busy day out.Overall great atmosphere.

Large open plan pub very modern feel on a number of levels with a beer garden looking out over the…read moreriver . has three local cask ales on tap as well as craft beers all at an OK price . also does the usual bar food .