After nine eight days walking Hadrian's Wall we wanted to celebrate with a steak dinner. Sadly it…read morewas an expensive "meh". First, they sent me and our party to an address with our confirmation which took us to an abandoned area half a mile from the restaurant. Comically the restaurant wad three minutes from our hotel. Not ideal after walking 14 miles earlier that day. When I tried to call you cannot get a human being. All AI. No way to share our now late arrival. When we did get there the person greeting us was staring at a computer screen and barely acknowledged our existence). Upon entry I needed the WC. The stairs to the toilet smelled like a sports stadium urinal and the men's toilet looked like one from a bar at closing. Filthy and urine everywhere. Not an impressive entry. Our waitress Amelia, however was the highlight. Charming, attentive and one of the best I've ever experienced. Truly world class. She was a delight. The food however not so much. Starting with the burrata, it was a mostly satisfying start with decent tomatoes this time of year and a cheese that was delicious. Sadly however their famous aged ribeye was tough and had limited favor and no crust. It was unseasoned, and essentially without depth or nuance. My side, mashed potatoes with Camembert, was creamy and delicious but my dessert, crème brûlée, was a boring stale recipe. Very pedestrian. Wine choices excellent but only drank one glass. It was an expensive, not worth it, won't recommend experience and frankly a disappointment saved only by our extraordinary server. Place needs a hard top to bottom executive chef reboot.

First visit here as couldn't get in at Marco Pierre Whites decided to try elsewhere, superb move!…read moreThe service was friendly efficient and helpful, ordered the sirloin with surf and turf, the streak was cooked to perfection, melted in my mouth with full delicious flavour, the lobster thermidor and pawn side complimented it beautifully and they have peroni on draft! I'll be visiting again!

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.

Okay, last two weeks I had a privilege of visiting this venue nearly every other day. Tried all…read moreburritos, parmos and variety of other meals that guys prepare with such an attention to details there... Food is in general very affordable and portions are great, can't go wrong to go on with lads for some serious bite... not to mention desserts on the way out . Dangerous place I'll give you that

We went to Man vs Food a couple nights ago. The service was pretty good. It was very good. The…read moreshareable dinners can definitely serve 2 or more and are worth it to try all the meats. The food was good overall however I thought the Beef was a little dry.

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.

What a fantastic night, ten of us went here for a friends birthday meal and we were not…read moredisappointed. The food was amazing, the portions were big, the staff were friendly, nothing was too much trouble for them. We all agreed we would be back in the very near future! Thank you for an excellent night!

Staying, on two occasions over a short break, at the adjacent Premier Inn we decided to opt for…read moretheir meal deal. It seemed a good bet and we weren't disappointed. The restaurant is clean, open planned and, surprisingly for a Beefeater, has a bar area. This serves the local community admirably as there seems to be no pub within easy walking distance. First, let me review breakfast. Price £9.50 for an all you can eat breakfast. As we walked in, there before us was all the necessary offerings for a continental breakfast or first course in a full English. Bread, pastries, fruit juice, yoghurts etc etc. Nice coffee machine that ground fresh coffee. When ready the orders for Full English were taken. Every combination was available with an 'all you can eat' content. Quality was second to none. Our first breakfast was a lonely affair as we were almost the only people in (it was early Monday) but the second morning (a Saturday, a wedding day group) the restaurant was buzzing but that didn't alter the fast, friendly service. Now to Dinner. As I said we opted for the Meal deal at £24.95 (that included breakfast and two course dinner with drink). First night was quiet in the restaurant but the second night it was packed and we were glad we reserved a table earlier. The steaks were huge and cooked to our preferred medium rare. Service was fantastic and, I noticed, drinks were a more than reasonable price. Then again, I am used to London cut-throat pricing. We finished the evening with a few more drinks in the bar. Service was brilliant, professional, friendly. Thank you everyone, including the kitchen which is always forgotten. Unusually, I will mention one lady who served us on both evenings. Helen was an angel and that smile made the evening even better, thanks. A great restaurant.

Overall experience was great amazing starters, mains and drinks…read more Taco burger and cheese fries, amazing. Waffle burger and a pulled pork platter also enjoyed by friends. Unfortunately there wasnt much cocktail to go arround in our jerrys petrol can, slightly too much lime for me, made it taste a bit like stagnant water :( Friend wasnt thrilled with her salad accompanying her starter, also wasnt too excited about how the salmon was cooked. However, no complaints made as I was unawear she wasnt pleased. Would recommend everyone to experience Rub and go for something outside your comfort zone. Beware the birthday burger! ;) x

It was disgusting at rub ! I had the chicken salad and the…read morechicken tasted like ut came from a tin, my partners burger was rewarmed with partsnovercooked and other items cold still and my sons half chicken was acually raw in parts !!! (He was acually sick in the resurant wjen he saw the raw meat that he had been eating) It cost well over £100 for our meals and the plates didnt look touched ... gotta say very very diappoined and wish we had went to tgi fridays :(

Great food, using fresh, simple ingredients, cooked exactly as required. Steak is an excellent…read morechoice.

Part of a hotel but open to everyone. I may have never had a steak so tender and juicy. I…read moreabsolutely recommend this restaurant. The restaurant is on the 2nd floor with a view over a square in Darlington City. Set in a beautiful old building the dining area looks expensive and beautiful. However, prices are very reasonable. Well, I don't know what prices around this part of England are but they seemed really reasonable to me. I had the Oven Roasted Lamb Rump. Do try it. It costs 12 pounds. The only thing on the menu they didn't have was the vegetarian burger. They serve fish too. There is no draft beer. I remember seeing bottles of Heineken and 'The old speckled hen'. An ale I never heard of before but that should really be tried.