Black Knight Restaurant in County Durham

REALITY: 0 STARS - APPALLING. This is my email to Lumley Castle yesterday, 6 November, still awaiting acknowledgement/response: To the Sales Department: With regard to attached booking for afternoon tea TODAY at 2.30pm, for my 67th birthday TODAY, my husband and I arrived early at approximately 1.40pm to check if we could have a look around the castle prior to tea. I had tried to telephone and enquire late morning, but the phone message states that the 'telephone number you have dialed does not exist, please check and try again'. When I checked your website, there is a notice that due to the recent storms, communication was affected, although nothing about the actual phone no. I am absolutely FURIOUS. Having arrived today, a representative from a 'private event' being held until 8 November, informed me that doubtful whether there was any booking for us as the kitchen was closed. I showed him the attached confirmation, which shows the booking AND the £20 deposit made and ACCEPTED by you. He then kindly contacted Castle staff and a rep came out and advised that no, no booking for afternoon tea, due to the private event. A very weak 'sorry about that, but nothing we can do' was uttered, 'I'll get someone from Sales to contact you'. Today is my 67th birthday - not that this information is of any concern to you, as obviously the 'private event' would create much more income than an afternoon tea for two. Having worked for over 30 years in the corporate hospitality business, I cannot believe that such an error could happen. My booking was made on 9 October. I cannot believe that a private event would have been booked AFTER that date. Do you not have a reservation system??? Are bookings not even checked?? Even if your phones are not working, doesn't a member of your team have a mobile telephone to and have the COURTESY of contacting, apologising and advising guests of the double booking??? I require the £20 deposit to be refunded IMMEDIATELY to the card used for the reservation; fuel cost for the XX mile round trip and some form of monetary compensation for the inconvenience, humiliation and stress caused by this incompetence.

We booked for an afternoon tea today for my mams 80th Birthday and how disappointing I am with you. Turned up to find the castle was closed. Spoke to one member of your staff to be told we didn’t have a booking. I tell you here is my email of my booking and deposit paid. He was so argumentative. I give you 0 stars for your lack in communication. Did nobody have the decency to contact me. Lumley Castle I wouldn’t book again and hope when people read this they think twice too. Oh dear can’t give 0 stars. Shame because you don’t deserve any more.

Turned up for a pre booked afternoon tea for a relatives 80th birthday to find a sign stating that the castle was closed. After searching for a staff member and going into the labelled reception which is now no longer a reception, we were told we ‘don’t have an afternoon tea book today as castle is closed’. Email proof showed it was booked for today and the castle have £30 deposit from us that I’m now left to chase up with the staff member telling us we’d have to wait till the castle reopens on Wednesday to enquire about our deposit! Terrible.

Great hotel and room but the evening meals are very expensive for the money Mains start at about £ 25.00 Bottles of wine start about £27.00 you only get one sort of veg as well , we only ate here once all week, plenty of other places At half the price that are good

Afternoon tea was beyond disappointing. Poor customer service and the afternoon tea is served in the same area as those having Sunday lunch. Tea and milk served in one set of crockery and teacups and plates in another. No choice of type of tea and no additional hot water or additional tea offered. Sandwiches were basic to say the least. No cucumber with the smoked salmon and the ham consisted of one cheap thin slice, egg was barely recognisable as egg Mayo and cheese savoury was almost tasty but bread starting to dry out on some of the sandwiches. There was no menu given to us but on their website the menu has a slice of quiche and sausage roll as additional savouries. No quiche but the thin slice of sausage roll and it was by far the best item. The scones were ok but came with no butter, one portion of cream between two and a catering jar of blackcurrant jam each … not the traditional strawberry or raspberry. The cake fancies were dismal. Basic mass produced sponge cake that had been cut into fingers and tarted up with a piping of butter cream and a raspberry perched on top as with a miniature chocolate tart with a large unripe strawberry on top in an attempt to make them look more interesting and add some colour to the drab selection. There was also a square of tray baked brownie and a miniature choux pastry. My husband attempted some of the cakes but I did not. The staff seemed more interested in getting cleared up and at no point did anyone ask if everything was alright. At £25 per head it was extremely poor. We went because we had gift vouchers and it was my husband’s birthday. Never again!!!

First of all I can say the staff are great but it goes down hill after that. The sandwiches were cold and stale as if they had been in the fridge all day the mustard over powered the ham. The egg mayo just tasted of butter. The scones were rock hard and the pastry on the lemon tarts was soggy. Do not waste your money much better afternoon teas out there. Also the hole place seemed a tad dirty.

Afternoon tea for 2. This place is as bad as it gets. Customer care is noon existent. We were seated in the edge of a freezing cold room on a mid January day. We waited 10 mins for our tea to arrive, the tea was fine and hot. We then waited a further 35 minutes for our afternoon tea to arrive. By this time we were well down on tea which was now lukewarm. The sandwich selection was poor and the bread seemed a touch stale. The filings were, salmon, ham and mustard, cheese savoury and egg. There was a mixture of white and brown bread. All lacking in flavour the bread was freezing, almost like it had been recently defrosted. The star of the show was the fruit scone, which I have to say was excellent, a proper scone, nice and warm, well cooked with cream and jam. The cake selection looked okay, however, it was all far from appetising. There was carrot cake which was very wet and tasteless. There were other various cakes that we tried, but unfortunately we couldn't eat. there was a cheese scone which looked okay, but we decided to give it a miss In the time that we were there, no one came and asked us how our food was, did we want any more tea or coffee, was everything okay. We were just left! The establishment seems very short staffed, it's an absolute shambles. I total rip off for the money. We were freezing cold and with no sign of any staff appearing, we got up and left. This place has to be one of the worst I have ever been to. I am not sure how they get away with it! Whatever you do don't visit unless you just want a scone.

Dined at The Black Knight restaurant. Slow service and underwhelming food - a starter to feature a roast peach was presented with a rather dry plum in it’s place. Bubble and Squeak was a shred of cabbage, daughters chicken tagliatelle bland. However a very kind and unexpected touch right at the end, was a presentation birthday plate with 3 mousse shortbreads so thank you for that.

Went to Christmas night with 22 people tonight. Food was late, then only one carrot and onr parsnip, although it didn't taste bad Asked for a song to be played at 11.30pm and not only did the Dj not play it he even asked if we were leaving soon!!! The event was advertised as finishing at 1am, I will definitely not be booking anything in the future.

Very disappointed at the service we received today at Lumley Castle . On arriving in the restaurant for our breakfast, we asked if we could be on a table for 4 as we were with friends . A member of staff told us no as all the tables are allocated but our friends were on a table near us (behind a massive pillar). Our waitress asked if she could take our order but we had just sat down and not even told what the menu was . We asked the waitress where the buffet was and she was totally unaware of the directions to go . Our friends arrived and we’re told where to sit behind the big pillar . They were obviously not comfortable with this so quickly moved onto another table . Within a minute, a very rude and abrupt waitress came over and said very loudly “you can’t sit there “ and moved them again. Appalling service for such a lovely place . My own breakfast , French toast , was soggy eggy bread. Wont be going back !

I attended a medieval banquet with my family and friends 15 of us each paying a substantial ticket price to celebrate my 70th birthday. Whilst we all enjoyed the entertainment unfortunately the '5 course banquet' was less than disappointing...the food was actually inedible and not as described on their menu and certainly not to the standard advertised in their star rating or reflecting the price paid. Some of my family had to leave early to go elsewhere to eat. Some of us as vegetarians were served a small dish of uncooked rice in a sauce described by the waitress as risotto, whilst others were served 1 piece of fat grisly 'spare rib', my main dish consisted of half an uncooked cauliflower I sprig of broccoli and 2 miniscule carrots that should be still in the ground or the guiness book of records! I am not joking! Completely inedible and not what we paid for. The wine was so watered down and vile we wondered if it was really to dip and clean our fingers in. A waitress tipped over another drink bought from the bar which spilled over soaking the sleeve of my friend but did not offer to replace it nor apologise...I could go on. My grand daughter asked why we were not being served the food advertised we had expected and was told the chef wanted to try something different! Before leaving we waited 15minutes for the manager to attend us and discuss the issues but he/she did not show up. My daughter emailed the venue the following morning with a complaint and received a reply admitting they did have issues in the kitchen on the evening we attended however I am still awaiting an acknowledgement to my complaint sent on behalf of myself and our party. The medieval banquet was held on 6th November and I emailed the venue on 8th November but to date have not even had an acknowledgement let alone an apology. Such a shame my 70th birthday celebration we had all looked forward to in the beautiful castle will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Disgusting uncooked food and disgraceful poor customer service.

Attended the Black Knight restaurant for a family celebration as we have done on many occasions for 20 years. We were given soft pork cracking with our drinks in the library to start our experience. The library was filled with the repeated sound of here comes the bride from a plastic skeleton in the hall, after six renditions it became somewhat wearing. Starters -duck spring rolls burnt crispy black on the outside. The salmon was 6 salmon strips with 4 microdots of sauce that was at best bland. Mains- rump stake was inedible, undercooked and could not be cut with a steak knife. It was saturated with salt, very unpleasant and actually inedible The tomato arrived whole and slightly warmed on the outer skin with the centre being fridge cold. The mushroom was undercooked and covered in garlic oil with chips overcooked again and burnt. The cheese sauce had little or no taste at all. This is my first ever post on Tripadvisor but wanted to warn against an extremely disappointing experience with very poor customer care.

We were bought a virgin experience voucher for afternoon tea. As we walked into the castle I thought to myself wow this is going good will be really nice. How wrong could I of been. We went to reception showed the booking on my phone. The lady was very plesent and directed us to the restaurant. As we got to the restaurant we were greated by a lady who seemed in a rush. She asked for the voucher so I showed her the phone. She sent us back to reception to get it printed off. As we walked back out there was a large que. Which made us feel like we were doing the walk of shame for not paying cash. Anyways we got to the reception and she said they could of sorted it in the restaurant. So off we went back to the restaurant. We gave them the codes from the voucher and the other code that we paid to upgrade and get prosecco. We were then shown to our seats. They came and dumped afternoon tea along with tea and coffee. It was a game of guess what was what As it wasn't explained to us. one lot of the sandwiches only had cucumber in which we thought was a bit odd. Never in the whole time were we asked if everything was OK for us. There was no conversation between customers and staff. As it was coming to a end my Sister asked where our prosecco was. She said oh did you upgrade. Yes we gave you the upgrade code when we came in. she said oh they will do it now. They were cleaning the tables were disgusting. They still had food on them and only wiped round the stuff that was on the table. Another 20 minutes went by and still no prosecco and poor service so we left. We spoke to duty manager who we tried to resolve it with but unfortunately didn't get resolved either. No way would I be paying £58 for that.

Location lovely however for somewhere that advertises itself as fine dining the quality of the food was very poor. Went for Sunday Dinner and did not get off to the best start when the waitress asked if it was red or white pinot grigio we wanted!! The starter of crunchy poached egg was basically a battered boiled egg .. no juicy yolk and the accompanying black pudding was very sparse. Waited nearly an hour for mains when they arrived the topside of beef was inedible full of fat and tough. the veg arrived 10 mins after the meat and yorkshire pudding ( more like a flat bread) when we complained the waiter said we needed to speak to management who was not available, lots of others complaining so I guess he hid in the dungeons. Then to round things off we realised we had been ripped off by 15 quid for meals we did not have .. never again .. rubbish ... go to chester le st golf club better food and cheaper!!

Looked forward to lunch for a birthday treat. After waiting a long time for service Our lunch arrived cold this included all the veg. We asked for our food to be changed. When our food was returned there was no difference to our meals. Our sweets was not very good either. We felt very sorry for the staff, they had a lot to deal with as we were not the only table to return food. Very poor for a high price. Very dissatisfied and unexpected for Lumley Castle

I booked Sunday lunch for our 12th Wedding Anniversary as a surprise for my wife. Starter’s we had Crispy Poached Hens Egg, Bacon & Black Pudding Salad, Whole grain mustard dressing - outstanding, even though it a crispy the yolk was perfect and still runny....

Horrible experience. Was in the library. Tables were mirrored rusted pub tables from the 1980's. No table cloths in sight. Ours had drinks stains on and had to ask for it to be cleaned when they brought out the tea. Food terrible. Scones were small...

Two of us went for afternoon tea which consisted of the usual finger sandwiches a single fruit scone with lots of cream and 4 cakes for normal diet and strangely only 3 cakes for gluten free. The normal afternoon tea was very nice. In the...

Food was not fit to feed a rat ,£40 for raw food and rubber chicken , staff were very rude, beautiful place , but disgusting food. After the last two years these kids have you could of made a good night for them ,don’t go

Situated in Lumley castle, a well appointed restaurant. Friendly , efficient service and good food. The surroundings make it special, for that romantic evening.

Just enjoyed a very good Sunday lunch in the Black Knights restaurant. From entering to leaving the restaurant it was a very enjoyable experience. Both the service and food were excellent. The beef was cooked beautifully. I would highly recommend a visit there if you...

I booked for afternoon tea for Mother’s Day for myself, mam and sister. When I booked online and paid I was given option of 1pm or 2.30 pm. We chose 1pm. I read a couple of reviews on here and one mentioned that there had...

not enough choice on the menu and to expensive even less to chose from if your vegetarian wine over priced ,

Visited today for afternoon tea. Having read a handful of reviews we weren’t sure what to expect. We were very pleasantly surprised, although one or two slight niggles, hence 4 stars. The castle itself is rather grand but showing signs of poor maintenance and some...

We do like Lumley Castle,our daughter was married there,so we decided to book a meal there for my daughter and my husbands birthday , the food was fine ,but way overpriced,we had a drink in the library bar beforehand and was brought a very small...

Only had one dinner at the castle, not a lot of choices but enough to satisfy and what we had was very good indeed. This dining room is lovely. Staff very friendly and helpful. Breakfast in this restaurant is also really good and there are...

My brother in law booked afternoon tea for his wife (my sister), myself & our parents to celebrate her birthday, he booked us in for the Monday during the previous week, paid and had an email to confirm payment. On Monday morning my Mam rang...

The restaurant is very atmospheric but the wine is overpriced and the quality of the food leaves a great deal to be desired.

Needs better service, a better menu and better pricing. Our Lumley Castle package included dinner and breakfast in the Knights Restaurant within the castle. Unfortunately the restaurant was what let this place down the most. The castle itself is a magnificent structure. However, our experience...

You don’t get what you pay for anymore. Attractive looking building but placemats dirty, cold food, items listed on menu not presented, poor quality, mix ups with table sizes. £10 for a glass of tasteless ice billed as a cocktail! Just far too ordinary to...

Stayed at the castle on an inclusive package. Good selection and choice of starters and mains. Service was excellent. Some of the food a bit salty for my taste, but we are very low salt users, all other meals OK, this obviously is personal taste...

We stayed at the hotel and enjoyed dinner in Black Knights. We found the staff very attentive and helpful. Delicious food and wine. Will return when next in the area.

Felt very safe with their covid arrangements. Parties spaced well apart and a one way system. Afternoon tea very nice. Very fresh sandwiches, if not very adventurous or interesting fillings (egg mayo/cucumber/ham+mustard/cream cheese+smoked salmon). Nice enough mini cakes, again, nothing to get too excited about....

Lovely helpful staff. Overall ok breakfast but sent back my near raw fried egg. Also food was just warm. Waited longer than ideal for a hot drink. Overpriced.

We stayed in the castle on an overnight Travelzoo deal with breakfast included and 15% off the evening meal. The restaurant had been refurbished and reopened just the week before and it looks amazing with a very good ambience. We did wait a little while...

Our evening meal here was very nice - meals are not overly large for the price but I would say this restaurant is about the experience of dining in a castle, not a big chain style restaurant. Presentation of meals was well done. We ordered...

The food in the Black Knight Restaurant is superb a good choice of dishes, the steak is always a good bet. The breakfasts are superb, plenty of choice a good way to start the day.

We waited 15 minutes to have our order taken, then waited a further 50 minutes to receive our food. The room was dark and cold to the point where you can only just see the menus. The prices are very steep for the small portion...

Used this restaurant for a evening meal, breakfasts and afternoon tea whilst staying at Lumley Castle.

Poor ambience for a Christmas Fayre Food was mediocre and really small portions ..no coffee included Restaurant was freezing and no Christmas music was allowed until week after..! So much for "Christmas Fayre" Very expensive ...advertised at £29.99 a head but you have to remember...

Booked a table for our sons 21st Birthday and we weren't disappointed. Service from entering the restaurant to leaving was faultless, all the staff we encountered were very friendly, polite and went the extra mile to make sure we had a fantastic experience. The food...

Having attended an antiques fair in the morning, the four of us decided to treat ourselves to a Sunday lunch at Lumley Castle expecting it to be top notch. It wasn't. Problems started when we arrived and they had trouble finding our on line booking....

I went with my husband after receiving gift vouchers from one of my bridesmaids (we got married here 2 years ago) Portions are small, but the food exquisite. We had a bottle of rioja, 2 mains (we both had lamb) and shared a full cheese...

We went for the steak and stay promotion, and I have to say that it was a very poor experience. We have previously dined in the Black Knight and it was very good - but the quality of the food was extremely poor. The steak...

Lovely. Black Knight very quiet which was nice as felt peaceful. Lovely sandwiches and scones still warm. Not too much which was great. Always love coming to Lumley as we got married here. Huge pot of tea and coffee as well.

Arrived Saturday 31st August for afternoon tea which had been a treat off our son , we had been so looking forward to it . Approaching Lumley Castle was lovely with the flowers all in bloom and a hot sunny afternoon. Reception told us where to go , as we were early there was only another group of 4 at the top end . We were put near the kitchen swing door where staff were going in and out with the door constantly SQUEAKING . A member of staff came over and asked if we would like tea or coffee, while we were waiting for our tea and coffee to arrive there was a waitress propping the door open talking to the chief and the DISGUSTING LANGUAGE that came out her mouth was shocking, I could not believe what I had just heard coming from a young ladies mouth ,this made me a so angry. I pulled another member of staff over to let her know , she went and got another member of staff who was acting manager as the manager who deals with the complaints had been in a meeting . Sarah the acting manager apologies and took our details as I said I would like to be updated with the manager Nathan Cook , Sarah did say that the manager would be dealing with it as they don’t tolerate bad language , I did say I would like to be updated by the manager. I had no reply in a week so rang up and explained to another girl she said she would pass the massage on , I rang again a few days later as I still did not hear anything. Within minutes Nathan Cook rang me back and said he had rang on the land line , but got no reply, I said that because you got no reply you should have sent an email explaining. All I got back was that they were sorry and they had dealt with it . I think that the way this has all been dealt with is shocking and the fact that I had had an awful afternoon meant nothing , just sorry. Our son had gave this as a gift but they didn’t care . DON’T GO and expect any help from NATHAN COOk

The Black Knight restaurant is impressive although something seems to be lacking. The staff are very friendly and helpful, but seem a little disorganised and we were often asked by a number of different staff if we were ready to order even though we already had.

Beef Wellington remember to ask for the veg or chips as they are an additional cost, Breakfast fantastic and Buffet is well stocked

Our evening meal in the Black Knight was spoiled by disorganised service. The lack of organisation started in the cosy library bar where three different waiters were involved in simple pre-dinner drinks, each asking us if we were dining. Drinks came quickly so the attentiveness was welcomed. But then when we went through to eat it took around 20 minutes for our order to be taken. The menu is OK, if not exciting, and offers acceptable value for money, as does the wine list though my wife was not impressed by her Australian Shiraz. Once we had finally ordered the food came at an appropriate pace. The breakdown came with a 30 minute wait for our plates to be cleared and dessert menus offered, by which time we we had lost all enthusiasm to continue. The staff were all friendly and there seemed to be enough of them. It just seems that something has gone awry with allocation of duties.

I really don’t know what other reviewers have found so distasteful, but our experience here for the second time was just lovely. Service was good and prompt, even though the restaurant was quite busy. The food was gorgeous. 4 sandwich fillings...salmon and cucumber, ham and mustard, cheese savoury and tomato and beef and horseradish. All very tasty. Next, fruit scone with jam and cream. Scones were warm and delicious. Finally 4 small sweets...a lemon and raspberry tart with cream, a chocolate macaroon, a heavenly, rich chocolate creamy affair and the most delicious, light strawberry cream mousse in a type of thin, red pastry. Others have accused the restaurant of buying these in frozen, but they certainly tasted homemade and gorgeous to me. Plenty of tea and/or coffee. And all at £27 for 2 (we had £5 off as we had just done the escape room there). We thoroughly enjoyed our meal amongst cosy, relaxing surroundings, and hope to return again very soon.

The food is perfectly OK, and in a nice, sort-of-faux, setting. Yes, it’s in a real castle dating from 1390, but the room has a bit of a Renaissance Fayre feeling. Service is a bit slow, but cheerful. Most of the business at the castle is catering for weddings and other functions, and the food reflects that. Here you will receive a fine meal, but without much heart.

Anniversary meal with my husband which we both thoroughly enjoyed. The restaurant itself, the food and the staff were all excellent. Also had a delicious breakfast in the restaurant as stayed overnight at the castle. Would definitely return.

Excellent service, excellent locally soured food. We were there for a ruby wedding anniversary, did not disappoint.

Came here to have a "nice" evening celebrating our anniversary, cant fault the food at all but the staff was absolutely disgusting ... were given a menu to look at desserts which we were still looking at 25 minutes later, got up to pay the bill and my husband mentioned it to which we got a half hearted sorry from what we assume to be the supervisor as she was in a black dress... felt like we were ignored by the staff for larger parties while we were in the restaurant ... we then went and sat outside and got a drink, the supervisor walked past us and so very obviously looked the other way so she didnt have to acknowledge us...

Lumley castle - The Black Knight Restaurant

Came for afternoon tea last week and must admit I have had several in the past at various places and this one was very disappointing on arrival we were greeted by 2 lovely waitresses and showed to a table (luckily by the radiator as the room was freezing) Several other parties arrived and were also seated we were offered tea or coffee which was promptly brought to us and we ordered a bottle of prosecco and were given quite a look when we said a large one not just a glass, never the less she brought it, one of the waitresses then said bye and left the other one to it! what started off as a nice experience then turned into one poor waitress running round like a headless chicken trying to sevre about 8 tables at once really felt sorry for her and being in the trade felt for her. The afternoon tea then arrived what a joke, a few little sandwiches, no other savoury at all, what happened to a sausage roll or a little savoury tart, a fruit scone each (best part of the tea) and 4 each individual sweet things obviously bought in and just taken out the freezer one bite and they were gone! The menu in reception had totally different homemade cakes listed on it and had I seen this on arrival would have said something. All in all a very disappointing afternoon with a very sub standard afternoon tea £15.95 for frozen cakes and nothing savoury. I dont think is acceptable will not recommend and certainly wont return

My husband and I enjoyed a delicious meal in the Black Knight Restaurant, as part of a DBB package for our 10th wedding anniversary.

This review is purely based on the quality of the food as I have never been forced to admit that I will not be going back to Lumley Castle again even though I have been many times before before. I understand that going to places such as Lumley Castle you pay a bit more for quality. However sadly on this occasion the profit came before choice, portion size, quality and taste. Two couples celebrating their wedding anniversary. Firstly there was a lack of choice on the menu from a range of priced dishes. An example of main courses being a small steak £33 against lamb being approximately £20. There was not enough choice for starters for all four of us. Only 3 of us could find a starter, 2 scallops and 1 mackerel. The scallop dish consisted of 1 small scallop 1 domino sized black pudding in pastry and two small blobs of something. The mackerel dish was a small piece of mackerel which came cold (not supposed to be). We were able to chose 4 main courses (4 lamb). The lamb dish consisted of 3 lumps of lamb (tea bag size - 1cm deep), rectangle of chilli potato (3inch x 2inch), tiny portion of broccoli (2 x 10p sized), one blob of fat, 6 fine French beans, a tiny bit of cream sauce over the lamb. Can you believe mint sauce did not come as standard with lamb dish. We had to buy another portion of vegetables for the men which came in a very small desert bowl which was exactly the same as described on the lamb dish itself (at an extra £3.50). At £7.50 we thought the ice cream was a little steep. Only the 2 men had a dessert. One cheese cake and one panacotta/poached pear. Cheese cake was the size of a vanilla slice with tiny black current sorbet. The base of the cheese cake was so hard that a man struggled to get a spoon through it. The panacotta/poached pear was normal sized but pear was very small and just a small slice. This meal with one bottle of wine and a bottle of tonic water came to the grand total of £150. The best bit of the evening was guitar player but he set up in front of the fire exit which was our exit for the disabled member of our party. We had pre-arranged this with the staff because the nearest main exit was locked/closed. We had to do this because when we came in we found that it was too far for the disabled lady to walk back. Unfortunately she had too because the guitar player was still playing and we did not want to disturb the entertainment. A disappointing night overall as we didn't even want to stay for the coffee.

Despite being a local resident this was my first visit for afternoon tea at Lumley Castle Hotel. On arriving you can not fail to be impressed by the stunning architecture and beautiful gardens that surround the castle. Stepping inside you step back in time and can enjoy everything this wonderful castle has to offer. Making your way along the stone corridors you get to the Black Knight restaurant. Over the years I have been very fortunate to have taken afternoon tea in many high class hotels and restaurants in the uk. As Lumley Castle is described as “no ordinary Hotel” I was looking forward to having a memorable experience. On arrival we were greeted by friendly staff who showed us to our table and offered us tea or coffee. Here I was a little disappointed not to have been offered a choice of blended teas like Ceylon, Earl Grey etc. The arrival of our champagne quickly helped us to put this behind us and we looked forward to receiving our afternoon tea selection of sandwiches and cake..

Such a cosy restaurant and there is seating from two persons up wards. Staff are so friendly and helpful

It can get a little busy in the morning so you may have to wait although in your room you should find a letter from the catering manager advising what time to come for breakfast if you want to avoid the wait.

After visiting the castle a couple of previous times, I must admit this was the worst. Booking Mother’s Day lunch for 4, costing a hefty £120 excluding drinks, we were expecting a delicious meal. Having a cheese tart for a starter, it was absolutely beautiful. Creamy and cheesy, and a perfect size. The main however, disappointing. I had Beef Dinner... the meat was fatty, the vegetables were raw and the Yorkshire puddings were burnt. After retiring to the lounge, we then had some drinks... I had a Gin and tonic which set me back £10!! Most expensive gin I’ve ever had. Great setting but disappointing food.

We ordered 2 afternoon teas, 1 regular and 1 vegetarian. The sandwiches on the regular were fine if not a bit basic but the avocado sandwich on the veggie one was overly salty and the rest weren’t much better. The scones were nice and fresh but 2 fruit scones each is too much, maybe 1 fruit and 1 cheese would be better. The most disappointing thing on both afternoon teas were the little cakes and pastries.. all were very bland and many had absolutely no specific flavour other than plain cream. The filled choux pastry on the regular tea was filled with a pink cream that was so subtly flavoured neither of us could distinguish what the flavour was. The same can be said for the small tart which was topped with oats.. this seemed to be plain whipped cream and was very bland. The cakes in this afternoon tea need a complete overhaul with more flavours being used in every item, looks aren’t everything. Would not return based on this experience.

We ordered 2 afternoon teas, 1 regular and 1 vegetarian. The sandwiches on the regular were fine if not a bit basic but the avocado sandwich on the veggie one was overly salty and the rest weren’t much better. The scones were nice and fresh but 2 fruit scones each is too much, maybe 1 fruit and 1 cheese would be better. The most disappointing thin on both afternoon teas were the little cakes and pastries.. all were very bland and many had absolutely no specific flavour other than plain cream. The filled choux pastry on the regular tea was filled with a pink cream that was so subtly flavoured neither of us could distinguish what the flavour was. The same can be said for the small tart which was topped with oats.. this seemed to be plain whipped cream and was very bland. The cakes in this afternoon tea need a complete overhaul with more flavours being used in every item, looks aren’t everything. Would not return based on this experience.

Had breakfast after staying here the night. Options for vegetarians in a nice atmosphere. Continental and cooked breakfast options. Portion size in the cooked was a bit on the small side. Lots of fruit which was good.

We went to the Black Night restaurant on Sat 30th March 2019. We have had our Wedding at Lumley castle, Anniversary stay there and a few meals in the restaurant over the years for various celebrations. The 30th was a night was to celebrate my wife's 50th Birthday on 30th March and we booked a table for 7pm, arrived at 6.40 and went to the bar area. On all our previous visits, we are welcomed by someone, our drinks order taken, the menu was given to us and our food order was taken. Then we were walked to the restaurant and our table for the allotted time. After we sat for 10-15mins with staff coming and going and not coming over to us, I went to order drinks at the bar. Eventually we were given a venue by a member of staff but at 7.05pm I had to stop one of the staff to ask what we should do about ordering our food and whether we should go to our table. They did take our food order at that point and eventually we were taken to the table at 7.30pm.

The food here is to die for. Good quality, locally sourced, delicious, we went for steak. Beautifully cooked. The dessert was the best salted caramel I've had. Staff are professional and work hard. The setting is fantastic, very romantic.

Been coming here for a long time and got married here as well as celebrated many events, however, this time we had very poor service, virtually ignored all evening from arriving to end. Staff seemed to have tunnel vision towards certain tables, ignoring the rest and didn't even make eye contact so you could attract their attention. No contact during meal to ask if all was OK, or ask if we wanted anything, never brought drink we ordered and one bread roll was delivered with tongs, not even in a bread basket so we could choose. One sauce missing off one main course and my husband ended up having to go to entrance way half way through his meal to ask staff where it was in the middle of eating. Massively long waits and no one even asked us if we wanted desert or coffees. It's not cheep either and although my husband loved his steak my chicken dish was nothing to write home about for the cost. Butterfly breast with chunky chips, rocket, tomatoes and green beans isn't fine dining to me which it should be for the cost. We were celebrating my 50th Birthday and were going to book our 20th Wedding Anniversary here in 2021 but that won't be happening now. We have heard the same thing from other friends who have been coming here for years so I have no idea who they are employing now but their staff need to learn basic servicing standards. Not at all worth the money.

I thought this would be a real treat for a family birthday but ended up being quite disappointing. The surroundings and staff were great but the tea itself needs improving. Four finger sandwiches (fillings weren't very imaginative), a fruit scone with jam/clotted cream, and then four patisserie style cakes which weren't very tasty and didn't seem very fresh/homemade. Overall I think the afternoon tea needs an overhaul; it seems quite dated and needs a modern twist.

Underwhelming to be honest. Cheap nasty teabags unforgivable really. Food was only mediocre though the service was good it couldn’t make up for what could have been Iceland frozen cakes. Room cold and lack of atmosphere and signage in a very old castle with multiple rooms.

The chef and waiters made our evening extra special by offering great service and prepared a beautiful birthday message with our meal.

Previously dined here before and knew that we were both in for a treat!

Have been going to Lumley castle for some 25 yrs, the occasion this evening was my wife's birthday. Service slow, inattentive staff (though a lot of them), interminable wait to order and longer to eventually sit, starter came quickly but main ages, so opted to leave, a thoroughly disappointing evening - what's happened, new regime? Food not up to the normal standard either? Regrettably will not be going again, will find a better restaurant to spend my very hard earned cash in, a shame as had really been looking forward to the evening.

Many small changes have been put in place, but amount in total to a completely different experience. My husband and I have always loved Lumley, dining here together for special occasions over many years, however, our last visit had us vowing never to return...unless the old ways came back. (tea and coffee was no longer included in the offer price, and the carvery dinner was now for Sundays onlyI...! Well stuff that! Even the 'uniform' was now a uniform instead of period dress.) Then the rest of the food was average, nothing special, as it had always been before, & the prices and offers were no longer of any real value to the customer. Nope!!

Been sometime since we ate here, magnificent setting of course, but the food and service could in my opinion be better.

Positives - Lumley castle is an absolutely gorgeous building inside and out.

We had called in here to purchase some gift vouchers for Christmas presents and decided to have lunch .After a very short wait, bearing in mind that we hadn't booked we were shown to our table and given the menu, it was a fixed price of £30.00 per person which for a restaurant of the calibre is a very fair price.I chose the terrine starter and it was superb. We both ordered the beef for mains and with the amount of beef and all the veg it was beginning to look like a bargain so I was happy. Desserts came and were consumed with eagerness. We both had coffees to finish off a wonderful meal .It was a great way to get into the festive spirit and I really cant recommend a visit to here enough!!

This was booked for our parents as a surprise anniversary gift.

We were disappointed at the Christmas Lunch, which for £30 each, was not cheap. Not able to provide any non alcoholic drinks, no cordials, no alternative to wine or water. Starter average, main Christmas Lunch consisted of mainly a gigantic Yorkshire Pudding, no bread sauce, cranberry sauce had to be spooned onto plate by waitress. obviously a pre carved and shaped slice of turkey, average dessert, had to ask for coffee and mince pies, supposed to be offered hot, arrived cold dumped on a plate. Dreadful cheap Christmas Crackers, Altogether a disappointing experience.

Visited for Festive Afternnon Tea, 5 in party, therefore £100. Very poor quality. If there was £7.50 worth of food on the table, I am being generous to them. Tasteless and meagre serving. Wafer thin “budget, smart price” ham. Cheese filling was a scraping, a £4 block of cheese would have served the entire county with these portions. Smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwiches as finely spread as I have ever seen. Turkey sandwich slightly better. Barely enough sandwiches to serve 2 people never mind 5. Not dainty, just greed in the name of profit. Portion control of jam and cream very obvious as not enough to “adorn” the scones which were small. Cakes on top tier of cake stand clearly bought in, I recall something similar in the Tesco Meal Deal, except this was one portion cut into 5. Tasteless. Not particularly attractively served. Tea and coffee plentiful. Asked for small bottle of water as 1 party member not drinking tea or coffee. Told “will have to pay for it upfront” nearly £3 for small bottle of water. Venue lovely, but at £100 for a fiver’s worth of food, you are “having a laugh.”

If you are looking for something a little different this is the place to go. We went for a birthday lunch as we had not been to this restaurant for a long time thought we would give it a try and we were not disappointed. The special lunch menu on offer was excellent value we had 3 courses for 2 people for £35 and the choices were fine for us.I had a parmesan balsamic tart for starters and my husband had a pork terrine both of which were lovely. We both had the venison main course which was perfectly cooked and we followed with plum tart and a strawberry dessert which were very good. The waitress was very friendly and the service was very good. We had mentioned that we were celebrating my husbands birthday and after our meal he was presented with a lovely dessert with a candle which was greatly appreciated.

We had lunch & dinner,staff & food were fantastic,great ambiance & historic surrounding's our table was in a raised corner nook,delightful

Reserved a table here whilst staying at the castle itself. Unfortunately we were told that the table wasn't ready so had to wait in the lounge, it took an hour to finally be seated.The food came out fairly quick as we'd put our order in whilst in the lounge , however we had to get someone's attention to ask if we could order drinks so we had the first half of our meal without anything to drink by the time they arrived. The food was worth the wait it was excellent so much so we ended up ordering a pudding too. Another problem was when we got our bill we'd been charged for various items we'd not ordered, the staff changed this once we'd informed them but it just felt like the night was unorganized and everything took a while to sort.

We visited on Thursday evening at 8.30 we had a lovely table and were served drinks straight away, we were given menus and even though it seemed expensive at first glance after eating i thoroughly enjoyed my meal and had no complaints. The staff are very attentive and I enjoyed my evening here. After we left the restaurant we had another drink in the lounge in front of the big fires, it was warm, comfortable and prices for drinks are good. Staff at the bar were very friendly too

Restaurante ubicado en el castillo. Paredes rebosantes de historias y secretos que nunca seran revelados.

Exceptional staff and and avery high standard of cuisine the staff are very proffesional and the setting is a one off experience

We arrived at the hotel and booked a table for a time.

Booked for Sunday lunch, having previously enjoyed a banquet here. We stood for 5 minutes before staff even acknowledged we had arrived. Shown to a nice table and ordered our drinks which came after a few minutes. We ordered our food straight away and then the long afternoon of waiting started.It took 30 mins for our starters to arrive, which were less than average quality (dry cheese souffle and dry ostentatiously described, chicken bon bons, commonly known as chicken nuggets).Neither a pleasure to eat. Another 30 mins and our mains arrived, two roast lamb dinners. Food was just warm, ploncked in front of us by disinterested staff and lacked any real flavour.We left the majority of this. Our coffee cups were promptly brought to the table but another 40 minutes before the coffee itself arrived with the desserts. Cheesecake with no substance and chocolate tart that didn't taste of chocolate, with horlicks and malteser ice cream, both tasted bland, the ice cream had ice crystals in and had never met a malteser, but the addition of a mint leaf made us feel pampered. What a shame that such a brilliant venue cant get the food right, or train the staff who seemed plentiful but ineffective.

Part of a Dinner, B&B; deal, the meals in the Black Knight were the best part of the stay in Lumley Castle.

I'd start out by saying the castle itself is a great piece of history and worth a look. Also we didn't stay there, so my comments only refer to the restaurant... which wasn't great. Having been to other castles and stately homes in the area, my expectations were pretty high. But that didn't last long. In the bar before hand, the service was slow. We moved through to the restaurant and I thought the menu was limited and not very exciting. My starter to be fair was pretty good, but the main was average at best - something the whole table of 6 people felt about theirs. The staff in the restaurant were nice enough, but we were sat right next to a guy playing guitar. Nice idea to have the music but deeply unpleasant if you're right in front of him. But here's the bit that really isn't acceptable. The bill came, which we then paid. We were finishing up and the waitress came over and told us there was a mistake and some of the food was missing from our bill, which we needed to pay for. OK these things happen. But then the unthinkable happened. Another waitress came over and literally lectured the table about how we should check the bill item by item before we pay it. Like their mistake was somehow our fault. This is not acceptable and to be honest, anyone this rude shouldn't be working in your restaurant. Get the basics right guys...

Received a Virgin Experience voucher for tea for two as a present. Castle was nice but restaurant quite dark. We each had 3 plain finger sandwiches - no dressing or garnish. A small selection of tiny cakes which with the exception of the lemon tart were either sickly sweet or tasteless. A cream scone each completed the food. We were shown to our table and served with a tea and a coffee - no refills were offered. When the cakes were served the waiter just plonked the stand down without any explanation of what the cakes were. I had asked for my sandwiches to have no spread on and had to ask which were mine. He didn't know so took them away again to check - both had been made without spread!

We experience afternoon tea at lumley castle yesterday. Although polite the waitress did not advise us of the selection of sandwich’s so it was a guessing game for content. The sandwiches were the smallest finger size I have ever seen and were poor. The scones were again very small and nothing special. The cake selection was also poor and again sizes were really small. There were two glass cylinders on the cake tray that we had to ask the content of. The mousse in the cylinder was quite nice however we were not given a spoon to eat it with! Overall a disappointing afternoon tea.

I have visited the Black Knight restaurant several times, but the service this time around was very disappointing.

We had a lovely day out with friends.

The Aternoon Tea was excellent, the choices was great, the atmosphere was lovely and the staff were attentive friendly and professional

Came for the afternoon tea on Sunday 12.7.18 with my friend. The place it self is lovely, & was greeted at the reception with a warm welcome. Going onto the afternoon tea its self, the service was a bit slow & noticed that maybe a member of staff should always be around & checking if everything was alright or if anyone needed anything else.

We have just been to For a meal for my mother’s 80th Birthday and all I can say is it was shocking from start to finish. We paid £150 for a room for the family of 12. They couldn’t even manage to set the table properly. We received our starter over a 15 minute period and they were all cold. We had ordered wine and it had not arrived so at this point I made my first complaint. We received our wine but there was no one to keep topping it up and I had to get up and do it myself. When our main course arrived once again it was cold. At this point I complained again and they took 2 meals away the rest of the family were too embarrassed to complain again. My father and I had to wait 30 minutes to receive our meals and it appeared like the lamb had been heated up in a microwave. The only positive was that the deserts were very good. This hotel claims to be a high end establishment but it was not as good as aToby Cauvery. Shocking service shocking food shocking price.

We booked our afternoon using a Virgin Days voucher that we had bought for Christmas. I had high hopes for a lovely afternoon tea but I left feeling a little disappointed. I am not sure if the service was different as everyone else seemed to have vouchers too. We arrived at around 1.50pm for our 2.00pm seating but were told that they were closed and to go for a walk or too the bar, no problem. We got a drink (the lady in the bar was lovely and very welcoming and friendly) but when we arrived back at 2pm the room had lots of seated guests that clearly weren't turned away. Odd but never mind. We were seated and I was expecting a list of speciality teas. It does say this on the website and in the reception, but we were offered just tea or coffee! Our tea arrived and shortly after our sandwiches and cakes. The sandwiches were nice and fresh but the cakes and scones were tiny. I have had many afternoon teas over the years and never seen cakes and scones so small. I have never been able to finish an afternoon tea without having to take some home, but I managed this one with no problem. It was quite sparse really. We were never approached to ask if everything was OK or if we wanted more tea, which we would have had as we ran out. Afternoon tea isn't the place to be trying to flag someone down to get more tea, you should be asked. We had finished everything by 2.45pm and there wasn't really much of a warm atmosphere in the room, so we left. The dress code that they allowed also was disappointing. Some very casual wear/beachwear was allowed. I really do think that we didn't get the standard afternoon tea because we had vouchers. I missed out on the Christmas afternoon tea last year and was going to book it this year but I don't think I will bother.

Had to wait to be seated, tables too close together, member of staff with a couldn’t be bothered attitude, nice choice of cakes and sandwiches.

Although a bit on the pricy side but it is inside a castle building, the food and staff were amazing, the rib-eye cooked to perfection came with all the trimmings a sheer delight - go on treat yourself