Best find on holiday ever!!…read more Set in a beautiful little village with a huge village green with loads of parking round and about (although im sure that on a mid summer sunny day parking may be somewhat difficult!). The pub has a bar area and a restaurant area - we only ever went into the bar as you could eat int here and it was really cosy (dogs are also allowed!). The staff were incredibly friendly and chatty (lets face it, Yorkshire, particularly North Yorkshire folk are possibly the most friendly on the planet - i challenge you to disprove this!). The food was INCREDIBLE. Nothing fancy pants, just really good food, VERY big portions (trust me on this, you dont need three courses - choose your weapon of starter or dessert to go alongside your main - we made the mistake one night and 1) couldnt eat it all and 2)pretty much rolled home). We spent an evening in the pub, had a meal and then sat playing card games - we felt incredibly welcome. So welcome that we ended up visiting three times in a week long holiday. You cant really get a better recommendation than that can you??

We have eaten at The Ship many times as a family and have always had a lovely time. The service is…read morefantastic, the menu is extensive with something for everyone, the place is very child-friendly, with good quality highchairs available, and I really have nothing negative to say about it at all! We happened upon the place purely by chance when returning from a day out, and I am so glad we did as it is now one of our favourite places to eat! I would recommend this pub to anyone who has a very healthy appetite, as i have never seen portions this big anywhere else! Many of the main meals would be enough to serve two people, especially some of the meat dishes, which are HUGE! Many of the meals have smaller portion sizes available, but to be fair these are still much bigger than you'd get in many other pubs. Even the children's portions are big! We have tried various dishes off the huge menu and all have been delicious; there is a quite a large vegetarian menu which pleased me; the mushroom stroganoff with pasta is lovely, and the puddings are gorgeous too! The prices are a little higher than many pub meals, but this is reflected in the portion sizes and the sheer quality of the food. I can't recommend this place high enough and am looking forward to returning there soon!

The Red Lion is amazing! Would highly recommend staying here. The service was amazing, and everyone…read moreis very nice. They breakfast comes out very quick, and servers are awesome. We stayed in a cottage and a room, and it was great! Will be back!

Set in a beautiful location, but if you go in summer expect lots of children. Food in the…read morerestaurant is subpar and you could tell it was all highly microwaved. We sat in the dining room area and it was very tired and worn, sit in the Pub area instead. Outside seating is very smoky. No A/C or even ceiling fans especially since we were in the new set of rooms. No one opened up the windows prior to our arrival and it was literally like an oven. As secluded as it is there is another hotel/restaurant nearby which we enjoyed better.

Foid excellent, service excellent, we go Sunday lunch, always great, staff wonderful, need to try…read morea steak one night.

Possibly the best steak in the North East?…read more They cook their steaks on a super heated stone at your table to perfection. While the chef does that he talks to you and that is half the fun. If you love your steak, this place is a must.

I found this pub purely by chance and what a gem it proved to be.Perched on a hillside it has a…read morelarge car park overlooking the valley and village below and has outside seating for the more hardy souls amongst us.On entering we were immediately struck by the cosy atmosphere in the bar,greatly helped by a log fire crackling in the grate.The staff were welcoming and friendly and when we enquired about food we were given the choice of eating in the bar or the restaurant.The bar had a choice of cask ales from the Blacksheep Brewery as well as a range of lagers,wines and spirits.The menu was very comprehensive with most of the food coming from local sources and all dishes are cooked to order.Our meals were well cooked,nicely presented and arrived at the table piping hot.Portion sizes were large and very good value for money.I would place the meals at the top end of pub cuisine and say this is a must visit place if you are in the area.

The food was amazing, wonderful service from all of the staff. Love the outlay of the restaurant…read more Highly recommend..

Dear Fox Hole. I have to tell you that in our 21 days visiting in England your food was the best we…read morehad! I can't stop thinking about and wanting your garlic mushrooms in cream sauce! It was heavily! My husband raves about the chicken & brie sandwich he had. The chicken melted in his mouth and was a perfect sandwich. In addition to great food the location and ambience was so pleasant. We wished we could had eaten at the Fox Hole a few more times. It was such a pleasure to discover your quaint and yummy place. Thank you. Debbie

We are regular customers at The Rat because it is such a great place with great food…read more Last night's visit was for my wife's birthday and except for one minor thing it was as good as usual. The Rat is the very definition of an English country pub. Open fires and a cosy atmosphere are exactly what you want from a pub, add in the great food and it is hard to beat. We shared a starter of smoked haddock fritters which was delicious if a little parsimonious for £7. Main courses were superb; slow cooked belly pork and 3 cuts of lamb; delicious, deep savoury flavours that are so hard to accomplish at home. My wife's warm gingerbread dessert wasn't warm which was a disappointment in an otherwise delicious meal.

Love, love, love this place! Have taken four or five different groups of friends or family there…read morefor dinner and Sunday lunch, not one person has come away disappointed or feeling hungry! This is a real gem of a pub, tucked away up the hill just a few miles from Hexham. Have heard this is walkable from Hexham on a nice day but most will need a car - one thing to bear in mind is parking can be a bit limited and a bit of a free-for-all at busiest times, but you should usually get a space somewhere. Alternatively, taking a taxi is a good option, should only cost about £6-£8 from the centre of Hexham itself. First of all, the location and setting is simply stunning. If you park across the road, the views over the Tyne Valley are fantastic. You then go into the pub itself via a lovely garden area with a pergola. Inside is a proper Northumbrian country pub, great traditional decor, roaring fires, with some unusual wall and ceiling decorations (will leave that for you to discover!) Each time we've visited to eat, we've been welcomed by the friendly staff who offer the right level of service, i.e. keeping your table clear, everything in check without being overly attentive. The bar offers a good range of real ales, usually with a local brewery on offer, all of which are very well kept. They have an excellent range of wines and spirits as well, so you could easily go here for a relaxing drink, although the bar area is relatively small. However, if you are here, you really must try the food. Honestly, the Rat Inn has served up some of the best food I've ever eaten, nothing fussy or complicated, just locally sourced ingredients cooked to perfection. What is encouraging is that there are no menus on the tables, instead you'll find the day's menu on a chalkboard, which indicates freshness and illustrates how much they care about what ends up on your plate. In fact, you can find out where the meats and veg have come from as the suppliers are also chalked up on the wall. As the menu changes fairly regularly, it is not really worth recommending any particular dish on here for fear of it not being on next time, but the Sunday roast dinners are superb and the Sticky Toffee Pudding is top notch! Bear in mind you do get hearty Northumbrian-sized portions here, it is difficult to leave here without feeling a tad on the full side... As this place features in the top 50 UK gastropubs, it can get popular and they don't have an abundance of space, which adds to its charm but is also a slight disadvantage - definitely worth booking in advance to avoid missing out. In summary, the Rat Inn really is a wonderful place and one to which I can't wait to have an opportunity to go back soon.

Having only discovered the Shoulder in the last few weeks I've already been twice; for a weekday…read moreevening dinner, and a Sunday lunch. Both food quality and service are excellent and it is my new favourite place to take friends and family. The food is prepared to order so don't turn up expecting your food to be served in 5 minutes. Can't rate this place highly enough. Now looking forward to trying one of their curry nights.

We LOVE the Black Bull. It has had an excellent reputation for many years…read more The only downside is that it is a good way out of town so you need taxis to take full advantage of their fine wine lists and real ales. Food is superb - with the emphasis on fresh fish and seafood; service discrete and sensitive. The private dining rooms and private bar are lovely for a special get together. The main bar is very cosy, particularly in winter with a roaring fire. The perfect place for a romantic or special evening out. I sound like I'm doing an advert for the place - I've no connection other than a very satisfied customer who would love to be able to afford to go more often :-)

After trying the local 'in' restaurants in and around Darlington, what a relief to finally find…read morethis place. Fantastic quality food, well cooked without the pretentious presentation of the michelin obsessives. I think the real test of an eatery is how well they cook their steak. So, we ordered Chateau Briand (for two) rare, and it arrived in that perfect state of of just past blue, where timing is everything, served with a sublimely buttery bearnaise sauce, and what, for me, was a revelation, new potatoes with an earthy taste that were a perfect compliment to the steak, no more fried potatoes for me then. Service was attentive, without the forced 'is everything alright? I'm only asking because I've been told to' manner of many restaurants, and after being crammed into two well known similarly priced Darlington area restaurants, what a relief, space, and room for intimate conversation. The start of a long relationship methinks. Bill: £97 inc wine, two covers.

A warm welcome awaits those that enter this Samuel Smith pub…read more Originally an old coaching house, the pub has charm and character. A wonderful fire awaits those that venture inside on a cold winters day. The beer is cheap, an acquired taste some say but the locals can't be wrong....

A strange and quirky little pub, sometimes feels a bit like "a local pub for local people" but…read moregenerally a nice place and VERY cheap drinks!