Biz-R Coffee House in County Durham

This was our second visit So lovely thank you

I usually pick Biz-R for a coffee if I’m in Durham and have been in many, many times - but today when me and my mum stopped there to get a drink at 4.40pm (on a mild, sunny autumn Saturday) we were turned away as they had “stopped serving” despite being open apparently until 5pm. Durham today was really busy and all the coffee shops were heaving…. Maybe Biz-R don’t need the custom and if that’s the case good luck to you but I would have thought that’s not the case and to turn customers away 20 mins prior to closing on a lovely Saturday afternoon on the lead up to the colder months when I would imagine custom is slower - to me was crazy. We instead took our pick of all the other coffee shops that were still welcoming customers and chose the Riverview Kitchen (which is open until 8pm!) and thoroughly enjoyed our drinks and will head back to there in future! Such a shame!

Amazing value. 3 coffees a cake and juice for around £14. Delicious coffee too. Definitely be returning.

Staff very obliging, good coffee.

Smoothies were great, cakes were good. Everything was brought to our table quite quickly. yumyumyuymyumyuym

Lovely coffee shop. Great view of the castle.

Lovely place to go for a cup of tea and piece of cake .

It has great food great drinks and the style is amazing and very nice staff

Love it here come.with my sister we love it

A very tranquil place to sit by the river, especially if you are changing buses.

The coffee and the tuna melt sandwich were amazing. The view from the outside sitting area is great too ( in the pic). Definitely worth a visit if you need a break.

Stopped off for a coffee on a stressful Saturday afternoon. Staff friendly, even helping me figure out which artists were playing on their Spotify playlist. Lovely cakes, nicest choc flapjack I can remember having, spot on coffee too 👍🏻

Always good coffee and friendly staff. Our dogs love it too!

Food and drinks were great quality, staff friendly and helpful. Only downside was the table was a bit sticky but the staff were straight over to wipe it down when asked. Would definitely visit again. Iced lattes were excellent 👍

As an American from Arkansas in the UK, I'll admit it can be hard to find good iced coffee (which is how the majority of people drink it back home - people here seem to prefer it hot, which makes a lot of sense). Well...this place had INCREDIBLE iced coffee, as well as a large selection of hot coffees and smoothies and food. The atmosphere was absolutely perfect as well; lots of space, lots of seating, and great for both working and socializing. The service was incredibly quick and friendly, and the cake was to die for. I wish I'd found this earlier in my stay, because it definitely would have been an every day kind of stop for me.

Please try the milkshake and paninis they are just perfect.

Their caramelised onion panini was an absolute delight! I had it with an iced coffee and really enjoyed my brunch. The service was also good. I also noticed the toilets were well maintained which gets a huge thumbs up from me. I only wish that they had given me the option of having a small salad or coleslaw as a side, instead of crisps.

Worst coffee and worse customer service

Nice cup of coffee over looking the river

Lovely coffee, very polite staff. Nice vibes

First time here and I absolutely reccomend, the staff are lovely, the service was quick and the carrot cake is incredible!

Great Location....Pot of Tea & Bacon Roll... Very Nice...🤪👍

Nice feel to the place, coffee not that strong in flavour, my flat white was more like a latte

Visited for coffee, going to find a place to sit and read for a while. The barista asked me exactly how I wanted my coffee and it was a good coffee. I liked the poster artworks and the airy upstairs area. However, the table we sat at was quite sticky. Clean, but sticky, if that is a thing.

On a visit to Durham and popped in for a coffee. Lovely place with nice views. Friendly staff and good service. Would recommend.

Just had a coffee so unable to retrieve the food but the coffee was very good.

Handy position is the centre of Durham (Milburngate Centre) with nice food and first-class coffee. There is seating inside as well as outside, staff are friendly and the service is quick.

The chocolate essence really came through in this hearty espresso. The great company heightened the flavour and the faux Christmas tree next to which my espresso was drunk bought out an earthy tone I havnt experienced before. However, the noisy atmosphere accompanied by the subtle aroma of the river really humbled my experience.

Always a nice experience, friendly staff & nice coffee/cake

Coffee shop with a view on Riverwalk. Simple Coffee and friendly service.

we asked for a strong pot of tea. It Arrived like lightly tinted water. Requested an extra teabag. They charged us 45p. My calculations would make a 600 pack of Yorkshire teabags costing £6.99 on EBay a mere £270. @bizR coffee house Durham. Shocker. Won’t be back.

It was very good really nice cafe and the staff are very polite and helpful especially of your disabled my self and my sister when we come to Durham often use this Cafe before we head home

Friendly staff, great service , good selection of cakes and coffee.

Place is bigger than it looks from outside. Setting at the rear & also upstairs in addition to outside with view of the river Wear. I only wanted a latte which was good but nice selection.of cakes & paninins in the display cabinet. Staff friendly.

Quaint cafe on the Riverwalk. Serves good coffee, as well as yummy pastries and cakes (especially the carrot cake). Underrated for its quality and kind staff.

Good service, great coffee, as always

Nice staff nice and clean hot choc and coffee were spot on to say there were not alot of people there it took quite a long time to get served but well worth the wait could do with being a bit quicker making drinks when drinks were brought out they came one at a time where r the trays doubling the work load

Nice setting with good views of the castle if you sit outside. The coffee and service are good, although the prices are slightly higher than other local places. One star off due to masks still being required and the staff wearing them, which nowhere besides Starbucks still does. Although I wasn't challenged when I didn't.

Spot on! Wide range of muffins ( cream cheese and blueberry!?) and smashing mocha. Friendly staff as well.

Quick service, friendly patter at the tills and tasty food/drink. Can't ask for much else in a quick lunch stop.

Best coffee in Durham, always hot and great service

Machine went wrong wasn't s flat white long wait.

Lovely little coffee shop. Really nice friendly staff, good prices too!

Love this place excellent coffee staff very friendly great place to sit and people watch

So pleased it is open.Lovely coffee,food and staff

Nice coffee and cakes to take out at the moment.

Very welcome Cappuccinos to take away. Nice!

Beautiful place to visit. Excellent food, drinks and service. There are also tables outside if preferred.

Lovely coffee Friendly staff and great service Very clean

Nice place for sandwich and coffee or tea love the music

Lovely and clean inside. Great friendly and efficient staff. Lovely atmosphere too.... With a great selection of cakes! 😉❤️

Spacious and clean. Friendly helpful staff.

Biz-R Coffee House is located in a really pretty area and we enjoyed sitting outside and watching the world go by. I had a hot chocolate, which was great. The prices are reasonable and the staff are all really friendly and helpful!

Wonderful service.. Lovely homemade cheese scones. Great views of the river..

We stopped here for a caffeine fix, one latte and one americano, both of which were of a perfectly acceptable standard. We sat outdoors on the terrace overlooking the river. It's a fascinating place for people watching but it's a bit of a mixed bag by late afternoon, with a gin bar as the neighbouring premises, with several folk on the adjacent outdoor tables clearly the worse for wear by this point. Can't choose your neighbours, unfortunately. Would imagine it's a quieter prospect in the mornings (not to mention a sun-trap on a nice day!)

Tasty drinks and a nice atmosphere!

I've only visited once. But the black americano I was served was extremely weak. I knew before I tasted it that since it was translucent brown, instead of black, it was weak. But the taste showed it to be the weakest I've ever had anywhere in the world. I admit I am a coffee coniseur who grinds his own beans and has a proper espresso machine at home. So I do judge by a high standard, but I've had coffee in cafes I would give 5 stars to, this unfortunately is not one of them. Come on Biz R you can do better let's have some decent coffee in Durham. In response to your reply. Along with an espresso I was once served in a cafe in Keswick your Americano was the worst coffee I have ever bought. Hence I stand by my one star review. It really was that far off the mark. I believe you when you say you buy good quality beans but we both know that how you brew and pull the shot is even more important. Therefore I believe you have a member of staff who either does not know how to pull a shot or when they make a mistake doesn't care and serves it anyway. Your suggestion of an adding an extra espresso shot to increase the strength would I presume cost extra, making your Americano a rather expensive way to achieve a strength that is available for a more normal price from other cafes.

Friendly and clean and good espresso

So love this place ,good coffee ,wonderful cakes and friendly courteous staff 😊

Lovley latta & panini. cakes beautiful. staff very friendly defo go bk cosy little coffee shop

Lovely hot chocolate and muffin...shared with my beautiful daughter and grand daughter

Good service, great coffee and flapjack choice very wide.

This place sells the best bacon butties in Durham

Lovely local coffee with very friendly staff. Nicely decorated, by the river with nice view. Coffee was nice , cakes delish and fresh.

Perfect. Lovely friendly place...great stsff

One of my favourite places for a coffee. Highly recommend

Quiet and composed. Recommended.

Great coffee, very relaxed. Very good for a light lunch I've been here many times for meeting. I cannot recommend it high enough. Like

Great coffee and lovely pastries. Nice paninis too. Lovely setting and staff. Recommended

Excellent service and food. I only discovered this place recently.

Enjoy coffee very much staff always freindly

Some of the best coffee I've ever tried and a lovely atmosphere

OK.. Toilets upstairs, so not for disabled

Friendly staff and good choice to drink and eat

Been here many times, lovely atmosphere, sat outside today with the dog. Lovely toasties, tea and coffee and the jazz/blues music in the background is very relaxing.

A lovely cafe along side the river and the bridge with the view of the Durham Castle😊 Served us some fresh coffee and sandwiches😊 A nice cafe to visit and be seated enjoying the view & your coffee😊

Great coffee shop near city centre. Always good service and excellent prices. A must for a snack

Always polite and the scone.s are the best this side. Of Heaven

Lovely coffee and cakes, good selection of paninis and snacks.

Top cafe Great place for a cuppa and a catch up

Decent tea and coffee, professional staff.

What a joy, so unexpected. We walked across the bridge to see some outside seating and a coffee shop. Great coffee and panniers had with a view of the river, bridge and cathedral. Having good weather helps as well of course, but I'm not going to review that, not here anyway. We parked somewhere else and walked through the city centre.

Always good coffee. Double espresso that's all you need

Staff cud be a bit more friendly and smile

I found the service slow, my latte luke warm and over priced.Nice view mind.

Serves the best cappuccino in Durham. Great staff, good choice of music, is clean, and gets a selection of newspapers every day.

Relaxed atmosphere and good coffee what more could you want

Still some of the loveliest and most caring staff, combined with a passion for baking lovely cakes and snacks, and excellent coffee. We go regularly, it's a welcome bolt hole when Durham gets a little too busy, we have a couple of favorite tables at opposite ends, one with squishy seats that overlooks a pedestrian square (although this is often occupied, everyone else's favorite too) and the other with excellent daylight for reading, and a view of the people that come and go with all their foibles. They include free WiFi from Purple WiFi - you should be able to just sign in and go

Friendly service. Nice outdoor area if sunny

Extremely clean room, excellent ensuite bathroom and lovely host. A***

Not bad coffee and good range of snacks cakes and sandwiches and staff family friendly

Excellent service staff and coffee