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??

Appalling service from staff and management has terribly bigoted views against potential customers…read moreand outwardly advertises this, alienating people for no reason. Would not recommend. Also food was cold and overly expensive.

Where does one begin? I ask thee, where does one begin? The beginning is usually a good point. My…read moreSomalian friend, Jared, told me about how he stayed here when his Tinder date had apparently went 'pear-shaped' and he was waiting for his taxi to arrive, he told me that The Buck Inn was a 'zestful lark into classic British cuisine' and gave me the two thumbs up. My Nubian friend is right about most things so my partner Theon and I decided we would check it out for ourselves. It sounds silly now but I'm not sure when we arrived (it was at the 60th minute of the Portugal vs Hungary game, if that helps). Upon disembarking and entry I was immediately taken aback with how aesthetically unappealing the two bartenders were (it sounds shallow but I wouldn't have commented on it had other events not transpired), I didn't let it bother me as I am a supreme gentleman. Theon and I sat down and I ordered drinks for us both from the more appealing of the two staff members, for the sake of privacy I will call this person Joe. This scoundrel tried to charge me £13 for two triple V&Cs and he only put in a single measure of Vodka and when I pointed out this mistake to him and he said 'that's a serious accusation' before walking into the restaurant section of the building, this would be the last time he spoke to me directly for the rest of the visit. Theon and I sat, rather confused, watching the soccer match, waiting for the 'zestful lark' to begin but for a while all we got was accusing and potentially lustful stares from Joe. A while later, the other bartender approached us with a crudely written menu on a small piece of paper, he spat as he talked and lacked the vivacious character I was expecting. Our food arrived after what seemed like an hour, Theon had to engage in a swift session of verbal fencing with the other bartender (I will call him Jordan) to get our sundries. I ordered a chicken Parmesan, as did Theon, the cheese and Beshemel sauce was adequate, the chicken however was clearly undercooked in places and when Theon took this up with Joe, this rapscallion simply said 'it's ligaments' and handed him the food back (which he didn't eat). Now at this point I was quite upset, Theon managed to calm me down and we stayed for dessert and I'm glad I did as the dessert was delightful, shame about the young fiends serving us however. It took some time to receive service as well because Joe kept on bragging to a barmaid from The Tuns about something called 'The Division' while the other feckless bartender was struggling with putting card payments through the till. We stayed to watch the ROI vs Italy game and then we left promptly, I was still pulling the daggers out of my back that the young hoodlums had stared at me as we left. I cannot say for certain if it's because I and Theon are gay but it certainly felt like a lot of the cold and surly service we received was because of that. The prejudiced glances was not the only lingering effect from our visit as me and Theon were both struck with a bout of food poisoning that crippled us emotionally and physically for two days and made us unable to attend a civil rights rally of which we were very much looking forward too. To summarise, 2/5, dessert was very tasty but poor service given to us by incompetent gremlins and food was undercooked and made us ill.

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 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

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.

Family party of four, Saturday evening. We were greeted by the staff, served drinks and seated…read morewithin a couple of minutes. We ordered a wide selection, and without exception all of the food tonight was super good. It was obvious everything had been freshly prepared and cooked to order. The home cut/cooked chips are the best I've had in a very long time. Food was served hot, and the staff couldn't have been more helpful. Attentive but not intrusive. This was our first visit to The Farmers Arms and I would have no hesitation in returning. A real gem for the local area.

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.

Been to this pub just once before about 15 years ago. It has certainly gone up market. Went this…read moreevening about 4.30 with family. 3 Adults and a child. Service good but only one other family in so it should have been. The food we ordered, all different was nice/warm & hearty. This included steak & mushroom pie, cornerstone burger which was massive & a Mexican dish, child had hot dog & chips. Overall we enjoyed it & reasonable price. No Alcohol as we drove. I would certainly return & recommend. A little like the Copper Mine on the other side of Crook.

Fantastic family friendly pub which serves fantasic food at amazing prices. Not to mention the 2…read morefor £10 deal. Superb place to go for sunday dinner aswell with the choice of 3/4 different meats and all the trimmings. Famous for the massive portions.

First class experience delivered time & time again! Great food great service & great atmospher!read more

Been there twice with colleagues, everyone loved their food, from starter to dessert. service is…read morereally good compared to other restaurants I've been to in this country, a bit on the pricey side tho.

Still a fantastic place to chill out in the Durham countryside. Food is exceptional from breakfast,…read morelunch through dinner. Hotel rooms are quaint but top floor rooms would benefit from power showers to increase water pressure as it takes a while to get wet. Loved the cask Double Maxim on taps, much better than I remember from Vaux! Prices are very reasonable for large portions.

We are repeat customers to the Old Mill, the food is always great, and lots of it…read more You have to grab a table, and choose what you would like to eat from the blackboard in the main dining room. Once you have chosen what you would like to eat, go to the bar with your table number and order. We have been on a number of occasions, and service is always great (have been when every table has been taken, and was told 40 min for food, but received it well within 30 min) Have never had a bad meal from here, or a bad word to say about the place