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

Middle of nowhere, casual dress, Michelin-starred…read more My husband and I went out of our way to eat and stay here. Was it worth the 3 hour journey from London (2-hr train ride, 1-hr by car) to make our reservation from 6-months earlier? Absolutely. Courses are small, but plenty. Staff are immensely courteous and thoughtful (they made a custom menu for our dietary needs and even had the chefs sign it before we left). And the setting couldn't be more idyllic. I'd suggest getting the wine pairing as it really completes the meal. Go ahead and stay the night as breakfast is included the next day. Just make sure to work out your travel from the train station to the restaurant. It really is out in the sticks.

An absolutely fantastic experience enhanced by the charming and beautiful countryside that The…read moreBlack Swan at Oldstead is nestled within - an area that I wouldn't have visited otherwise but am grateful for having done so. Make sure to make a small detour to Kilburn to see The Kilburn White Horse which stands firmly in the hillside. The Black Swan is a beautiful picturesque old pub full of warmth and charm. Upon arrival you are welcomed into the bar area for aperitifs where a log fire crackles and glows. Make sure to notice the Robert Thompson mouse carved into the bar. Great selection of small batch gins - I enjoyed a glass of Sir Robin of Locksley from Sheffield with tonic. Amuse bouche are served here before moving upstairs to the restaurant. The Smoked Eel and Apple Tartlets were light and well balanced in their flavours whilst the Chicken Dumpling was rich, satisfying and would sit well on the finest of dim sum plates in Hong Kong. The restaurant is more modern in decoration with an "open kitchen" where some of the dishes are prepared with a clear artistic love and attention to detail. Service is friendly, knowledgeable and attentive without being intrusive. Good selection of wines for most palates and wallets. I had the 10 course tasting menu which, at £85, felt like a bargain compared to the price of Michelin starred food in major cities. To start, a Mussel with Oyster Leaf canapé - so perfectly decorated that it felt wrong to eat it, but so tasty. Next up Langoustine with Caramelised Whey, served like a lollipop with a twig to hold it with - lovely textures and cooked to perfection. Venison Tartare followed - a small dish but rich in flavour and beautifully prepared and decorated. Sour Bread and Sour Butter was distinctive and a good filler in preparation for the main courses. The Monkfish with Asparagus and Onion, although delicious, was probably the weakest dish. The sauce tasted like heavy sweet soy sauce and was a bit overpowering in its saltiness for the delicate flavour of the fish. Still very enjoyable though. The Slowly Cooked Crapaudine Beetroot was the star of the menu. Cooked in beef fat (I believe), the beetroot takes on a heavier composition and is chewy and almost glutinous with all of the accompanying decorations providing broad and bold flavours. Absolutely fantastic! Scallop Cured with Rhubarb was another standout with the smoothness of the slightly charred scallops countering the tartness of the rhubarb, all tied together with a rich and balanced sauce. Herb-Fed Chicken with Wild Garlic from this Year and Last was another amazing creation with a blanket over the chicken in the form of a garlic leaf. The chicken was more warm than hot but extremely tasty. The first dessert was ice cream (or iced yoghurt?) Lollipops which were wonderfully innovative with their unique flavours. The Sheep's Milk with Douglas Fir Oil was also an memorable dessert with natural tastes of the season. The final dessert, served with coffee was Cake made from Artichoke, Chicory Root and Thyme. The combination worked well although the chicory root (?) was slightly bitter. A great end to a fantastic meal and experience. For most who visit The Black Swan at Oldstead, a significant journey will be involved but don't let that put you off...It's well worth the effort and will be one of those great food experiences.

Went out for lunch here today. Having passed it many times & always appeared to be busy. The menu…read moreis extensive with a huge specials board. Tons of seating in coves & circular/square tables. A large bar to stand at if required. Vast amount of space for disabled customers. The food was pretty good & we got 2-4-1 so a bargain really. I had heard some good reviews hence the visit. Would return to try some other meals in the future.

Stopped by this pub for a pint & bag of crisps a year ago and it looked pretty nice. This year…read morepassing again, decided to have a tea time meal. Not very busy, quality standard pub fayre. Staff very helpful & attentive. Not priced to badly for a lovely setting. Would recommend & if passing again would return. Nice size car park to rear.

The Coach Inn looks like someone has taken it off the front of a chocolate box and popped it down…read morein the equally charming village of Lesbury. It is so pretty in the summer when it is adorned with flowers that you just can't help but want to stop off there as you're passing through :-) Inside it is rather more modern than you might expect and quite smart for a pub. There is a bar area, and a room off to the side with leather chairs and sofas and a TV. At the other end of the pub there is an extensive dining area and the pub does seem heavily geared towards dining. We had just popped in for a beer and there was Black Sheep and Old Speckled Hen on both of which were very pleasant. The staff were welcoming and friendly and we spent a relaxing and very enjoyable hour there.

The Floaters Mill is an excellent restaurant as well as a pub. I have been on numerous occasions…read morefor pub style meals and they have always been tasty, well prepared and piping hot. The staff are very friendly too. In my opinion, the best meal you can get there is their cavery. It is very reasonably priced for what you get and they also have the biggest yorkshire puddings i have EVER seen which is amazing! I'm not sure if they still do it but in the summer i had a delicious devonshire cream tea which was to die for.

From the owner: We aim to provide a warm, friendly, family atmosphere, a wide range of food and drinks at a great…read moreprice. We have cask ales and use locally sourced ingredients.

Call me pernickety if you will, but when I'm paying over £20 in service charge, I expect my…read morewaitress to actually deliver the cheese I order. Is this too much to ask or has diligence been flushed down the toilet along with manners, of which she too, was devoid. This was the cherry on the icing of what became a slightly soured cake over the course of two hours at the White Room in Seaham Hall. But before you cancel your reservation, let me add that carelessness was strictly limited to service, and only on this visit. On previous outings, service at the White Room has been spotless. On every occasion, food has been excellent. A terrine of chicken liver and foie gras with pea purée, apple and pea shoots was exquisite. Similarly, a main of belly pork was mouth watering with celeriac purée and roasted parsnip. Kenny Atkinson's cooking is faultless. It is just a shame that front of house let him down. When my cheese selection finally arrived, that too was exceptional, with over thirty varieties including a delightfully runny Époisses. I recommend a visit to the White Room as value for money is outstanding, not to mention the beautiful surroundings. You just better hope that your meal ends up on your plate and not on your lap.

Have visited hear a few times over the years and have stayed on a cycling weekend in…read moreNorthumberland. This visit was for Sunday lunch with my mother. Rang up before hand as my mother needs to use a wheel chair wanted to make sure of access. Told to pop in when we arrived and they would open a fire exit to help access to the dining room. Duly arrived, very friendly staff let us in and we had a table very close to the entrance which meant we were not having to manoeuvre around the tables. Choice of two menus, Sunday lunch, 3 course for £16.95 or A la Carte. We went for the Sunday lunch option. Ham Hock salad starter, Roast pork with trimmings and a very tasty and light baileys cheese cake. all in all a nice meal, pork a little dry but couple with excellent and attentive service would go back.

Absolutely delicious food and the service was very good. Employees were especially friendly. It…read morelooks like a pub but definitely higher end plates. Our bed and breakfast host recommended it, and she was not wrong.

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.

Walking into the Back Bull pub in Gilsland, England, was a real treat. The pub is over 300 years…read moreold and oozes charm. However the service and the food were absolutely terrible. We would order something and 20 minutes later were told that they didn't have it. Several times. Finally 1 1/2 hours later we got our food. My order of fish and chips was the worst meal I have ever eaten. No fish to speak of, just extremely over cooked batter. My suggestion. Go for a beer then go somewhere else for dinner.

My brother and i stepped off the Hadrian's Wall path looking for a pint and some sustenance. Tucked…read moreinto a corner of Haltwhistle's market square we found a charming pub. As we walked inside we found the right space was packed with locals at the end of the working day. The cask ales (a variety of yummy local brews) came quickly as did our meals. The fish and chips were big and hearty as was the chicken fillet my brother ordered. I noticed that a young lady near us seemed to have some piece of more gourmet fare. This was just the experience we were hoping to find: busy and unpretentious (although the wifi password was painted in handsome script above a doorway). If we didn't have to get back on the trail we'd probably come back another day.