County Durham
The Brawns Den

The Brawns Den

Winchester Drive, DH7 8UG, County Durham, United Kingdom

Pub • Vegan • Chicken • British


"Visited on a Sunday for dinner with my partner and my child a couple of weeks ago. Lovely inside and staff friendly, also a decent choice of beer. However, extremely let down by the quality of the food. We were informed that the pork was not being served because they weren’t happy with it (fair enough I’d rather the staff be honest I guess). I went for the chicken breast and my partner went for the roast beef. The chicken breast came and was pretty plain, and my partners beef can only be described as a slab of meat. The vegetables that came with it were a small dish of peas, carrots and some swede mash. The veg looked very dull and one little dish between 3 dinners (mine, my partners and my sons who had a small dinner) was vastly inadequate, so I had to ask for another portion of veg. The chicken breast was alright, but average at best and just plain, and my partners beef was very tough and dry. She did mention this to the staff when the plates were collected after having left half of the meal, for her to be informed that it had been frozen. I then asked if that meant it had been reheated, to which I didn’t really get a response. Nothing was offered as way of an apology so we just skipped looking at the desert menu and after paying, decided to cut our losses. Such a shame because have been here several times before for a drink and had high hopes for the food."

The Distillery

The Distillery

1, 1-2 Red Rose Ter, Chester-le-Street DH3 3LN, UK, County Durham, United Kingdom

Pub • British • Cocktail • Establishment


"Me and my partner went in after seeing a sign advertising 50% of selected gins. Upon arrival we were greeted by a female who was one of our hosts for the evening. She informed us that they were still serving food however this would be from a takeaway elsewhere. We were given a drinks menu but this did not highlight which gins were included in 50% off. We asked a male member of staff who pointed at the blackboard. However this was not visible from our seat, we slightly stepped away from the table to view, but we could still only see half the board. We selected one gin and two different mixers, and the staff member asked if we wanted singles or doubles. We asked to view a food menu however, they said they were unable to produce one and just named some pizzas for us. We told them our choices, not knowing what toppings or price. After 30 minutes the manger came over and apologised for the delay for food and said it was unacceptable and offered us some free drinks. We waited a further 20 minutes before receiving our food. Once our food arrived we asked for napkins and sauces and they told us we should have ordered that with our food and that they don’t provide it as they don’t make the food. Once we had finished our food they asked us if we were ready to pay without asking if we wanted more drinks or how our food was. Making us feel rushed to get out. We asked to view the bill before we pay and they informed us they could not provide one. We thought the bill sounded very expensive so asked them to provide us with a breakdown, in which they said that’s not possible. They verbally told us the prices for the gin which we questioned, and they told us that at the bottom of the board it says it’s only off 25ml not 50ml. However this was not made clear and the staff member asked us if we wanted a single or double knowing we wanted the 50% off. When we asked for our free drinks which the manager had said earlier she said we could not have them and 10% had been taken off the food, however we were not able to see that this had been done due to not receiving any receipt or proof of prices. We said we were not happy paying until we saw the prices for our food in which the female staff member responded aggressively informing us they would ring the police for not wanting to pay our bill. There was no management available for us to speak to because she left when our food arrived. The staff repeatedly did not stick to government guidelines, removing masks when talking to customers, pouring drinks and sat on our table when discussing bill. The female member of staff became defensive and hostile. We payed the bill as we wanted to remove ourselves from the situation. It is the worst customer service we have ever had in our lives and will definitely not be returning. We did not feel comfortable or welcomed and did not receive an apology for the way it was handled. Would NOT recommend!"

The Churchmouse

The Churchmouse

Front Street, Chester Moor, Chester-le-Street DH2 3RJ, UK, County Durham, United Kingdom

Steak • Pizza • Pub Kitchen • Establishment


"I would have given 5* for the pub, as it lovely. But the service we received was poor. Stayed for 1 night in the travel lodge next door . Decided to have dinner early at 5pm. The pub wasn’t busy when we were seated, shown to a table opposite the fire, lovely and cosy. Didn’t wait too long for a waiter to come with menus. We were asked if anyone has an allergies, I told waiter I do, he presented me with a tablet and said don’t bother reading it that’s their disclaimer! … umm I think I need to read what’s in what I’m planning to eat?! So it doesn’t make me ill! This was the start of utter chaos… I ordered the chicken schnitzel, I just wanted it breaded with no sauce or anything else it came with, apart from the chips. My partner ordered the signature burger he ordered only 1). Our grandson ordered the gammon. Mains arrived, mine came out 1st, plain chicken and a few chips with a couple of leaves of lettuce! Not what I asked for. I told waiter I wanted it breaded. The waiter did apologise, took the plate back to kitchen. My partners food arrived. Two signature burgers! Told waiter we didn’t order two burgers. I did get what I asked for, about 10 minutes later, who knows if the cook just added breadcrumbs to my original chicken that was brought to the table? As it was bland, hardly any flavour. A few chips and same leaves of lettuce. Partner and grandson did enjoy their meals though. We asked for the bill. Charged for two signature burgers! This was rectified after explaining again to a different waiter, only had 1.. The service was poor, staff need to be trained better. We have been to a few vintage inns and the service has been fantastic just a shame this one wasn’t the same!"

Duke Of Wellington

Duke Of Wellington

Darlington Road, County Durham, United Kingdom, DH1 3QN

Kebab • Steak • Mexican • Western


"Very poor disappointed in service food. We reserved a table for 7 prior waited over 5 minutes at the bar as staff were serving other people, fair enough but a slight acknowledgment or a “we’ll be with you in a minute” would of been nice as one member of staff was actually standing right in front of us doing a hand pull pint, ignoring anyone’s existence. 7 people, 1 starter, 7 mains,5 desserts. I had a rump steak, it had a lot of gristle, most of the steak was left, poor frozen chips, garden peas, tomato and mushroom (very limp), the onion rings were really nice and the peppercorn sauce tasty without being over the top. 2 people had the slow roast beef rib and it looked beautiful, and slid off the bone, the roasted root vegetables with this looked lovely and were tasty. Very short on the gravy tho, it was served with an accompanying small gravy boat, however this had only been filled to approx a third full. Aasked the waiter for another bottle of wine as he brought a coffee out his reply was “youll have to go to the bar, ive got to bring your desserts out” fair enough, but could of been said slightly nicer. i went to the bar, again a long wait, three lovely more mature ladies followed me but managed to get served before myself and a gentleman who had been there before me. He actually spoke up (very politely) said he had been waiting so long and the member staff just said he woukd be next, failed to acknowledged this comment and continued, when the ladies walked away she said i did not know they were gonna order separately( this is irrelevant, they should of have been served in turn. I returned to our table with the bottle if wine after about 10-12 minutes, having missed all the desserts alot of the conversation Overall a poor experience, the place definitely needs more staff at busier times we were booked at 6pm on a Saturday night some training in customer care"