Byrons Bar & Grill in County Durham

Just stopped by for lunch. Although it's a beautiful hotel in lovely surroundings I would not recommend having a lunch from the bar menu. The sandwiches were priced £12-14 which we would have been happy to pay had the quality of the food matched the place itself. Bread was basically thick supermarket sliced, the fillings decidedly average, a few crisps and a miserable offering of salad. The teas looked amazing, other guests were having these at lunchtime and we can see why given the rubbish we were served!

We are local to the hotel and often have treatments in the hotel spa which is excellent. We always want to support our local business so we booked for 10 for afternoon tea @ £42 p/head. It was for a special occasion so family where coming up from London and staying at the hotel and entertaining four nights during their stay in the dining room . We where guests on one of the evening for dinner but unfortunately they couldn’t accommodate my son who would be happy with a grilled chicken and other family who where dining on the second night they couldn’t offer a vegetarian option, basically the chef said if you don’t like the menu it’s tuff.ok!!! Long storey short the attitude of management is shocking that’s if you can find any to speak to . The whole event was cancelled and moved to a hotel where the service was impeccable from start to finish.

An in hotel dining room that aims to be fine dining. Food quality is quite good, but portions are miserably small and no matter the at-the-time feedback to the chefs (via the waiting staff), there was no attempt to respond or provide a better portion. Had had such a lovely day in the spa and had a healthy appetite, but both went to bed hungry. Had to further order food from the room service menu. With the dining room meal at £90 each and drinks bringing the bill to near £300, shame to have to spend another £60 on room service in an over `£500 a night hotel room - some anniversary let down!

Delicious tasting menu, some unusual but very tasty combination and great wine matching of each dishes. Excellent, friendly and knowledgeable staff and very chilled evening. We both enjoyed it thoroughly. The cheese with the small peach and almond tart was incredible. Breakfast was also excellent.

Having read mixed reviews it was with some trepidation we booked a table. From the beginning to the end the experience was excellent. Great service from knowledgeable staff, tasty food and we had the full six courses from the set menu with wine pairing and it was all wonderful. Just excellent and a lovely birthday treat.

We visited this afternoon, whilst on an extended honeymoon. The Georgian room was welcoming, stylish and well lit, with views to a beautiful garden.We ordered our food, which tasted delicious, but our drink order was not correct. We waited the entire meal for our waitress to complete my wife’s request for a drink of lemon tea. It was simply not good service.

Visited for mother in laws birthday and was underwhelmed by the whole experience. Dining room felt like a cafe, cold sausage rolls without any condiments, lack lustre sandwiches and poor cakes.Lovely sunny day but no seats on terrace and staff hid so we couldn’t order any drinks. I gave feedback as requested via website and have heard nothing.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!! I ate here for two nights whilst staying at seaham hall. We had the set tasting menu both nights which was just gorgeous, the food was so tasty, service was amazing and they also were totally accommodating of dietary requirements. Can’t wait to come back!!

I've left a Review of the hotel experience over all, which was great, apart from the Dining Room. We have eaten here at least 10 times in the last 15 years. This was close to being the worst one. The current theme is one set menu, 5 courses for £65. There are no options to change it. What can I say? Firstly, the cost of ingredients must have been so small. We are big foodies, especially Michelin star and Taster menus, so we know what portions should look like. Course 1 - a carrot (a very small carrot) sliced into various different shapes and a few pieces roasted, with a blob of whipped cheese Course 2 - Pea and Ham - a bowl of Broad beans, pieces of sliced ham, the weirdest looking Egg yolk I’ve ever seen (somehow it had been set so it was like a fondant) in a creamy sauce that tasted like Bachelors soup Course 3 - Monkfish, maybe 3cm x 5cm, being generous, no knife, only a fork and spoon. Murdered by too much Dill Course 4 - 2 slivers of Duck with some dressing Course 5 - Custard Tart - like you get at Greggs, I’d suspect it was bought in Tiny portions, terrible taste, 2 out of 10. I’d say the worst experience we’ve had so far The staff wear a very odd uniform of ranch type jeans, which makes it feel more like a Harvester. £65 is a lot of money for a restaurant with no Michelin or equivalent, and such tiny portions. A Taster Menu has 1 course that’s more like a full course, with some Carbs etc. Because there were no carbs at all, you were left feeling really not at all full.

Sandwich’s tasteless, fish gougons burnt, sent it bk was told nothing was wrong with them and they were brought bk to the table

I booked dinner for me and my wife, to celebrate her birthday. We chose Seaham Hall because the menu was extensive, I.e. 4 starters, 6 mains and 4 deserts. The venue The Hall is lovely, well kept and beautifully furnished. The staff As you will see later, we didn’t have a long time at the Hall, however, what time we had was great, with lovely attentive and knowledgeable staff, they were great. The meal. We were asked if we would like to peruse the menu in the bar, before going through to the Dining Room, to our surprise the menu was 2 starters, 2 mains and 1 desert. I spoke to a member of staff who said the menu was a new idea, rolled out that week. I asked why the sample menu was totally different to the one we were presented with and he was surprised that the ‘old’ menu was still on the website (as I am writing this, the sample menu is still showing 4 starters etc). The upshot was that my wife couldn’t eat either of the mains, or starters, I was pretty much the same, whereby we paid the bar tab and left. I have to raise the question why the menu was so limited when the only option was to have three courses, that meant that if you didn’t like the desert, what would they do?

My son in law had booked and paid for afternoon tea for me,my daughter and his mum. Last minute his sister wanted to join us so we added her to the booking and we were told that there would be one afternoon tea to pay on the day as the others were paid in full. The tea itself was good, the table service was attentive. However when we went to pay for the additional tea and a bottle of Prosecco that we had added we were asked to show proof that the other teas were paid for In full. The female member of staff said she had no record of full payment and so asked my daughter to find proof- she rang her husband to try to get the requested “proof” In the meantime we were asked to stand to one side whilst another member of staff went off to check. Whilst waiting one of our party looked at the booking sheet which clearly stated 3 paid in full & 1 still to pay. As we were pointing this out to the female staff member the other staff returned and he said it’s all sorted. He also said sorry about the mix up. The female staff member then said “oh well it’s sorted now” Her attitude was condescending and it should have been her that apologised. Why should it be the customer who needs to “prove” full payment? Why when it was noted in front of staff members eyes was that not sufficient? Why had she not been trained to treat paying customers with respect? Where was her apology for making us feel like deceitful customers? This soured the whole experience and so we won’t be back again. I just hope she can take a leaf out of the other member of staffs book, at least he was proactive in trying to clarify and did not put the onus on us to “prove” the payment status.

The food was mostly satisfactory without being exceptional, which was our expectation, however the service was appalling! Staff were inattentive, badly trained and had to be constantly reminded of requests. It is also a first for us in a high end restaurant to have been offered the dessert menu before we have even had our main! Would not recommend and certainly not value for money, which is a real shame because it is a spectacular venue!

i was recentely for dinner with family. the place is very beautifull and the staff very helpfull. the foos was not perfect, but at the same time some of the dishes were excellent. we ordered thr pollock which was not really great, but they replaced it and made good for the error. the venison was perfect

Went to the main restaurant. Chose the pigs head for starters, main was steak and an awuful desert. Seaham Hall is a nice place. The menu doest inspire the same. Awful bland starter ridiculously over priced main and absolutely shocking desert. I've had better steak in local pubs and nowhere near the price. Waiting staff were nice enough, attentive without being in your face

No price list for spirite . One vodka and soda water, no slice of lemon or lime 13.20 , no up front menu showing scandalous prices, totally robbing people

I expected this restaurant to be quite formal and stuffy as per most 5 star hotels. But I was wrong. People were chatting away, not the usual whispering, staff were warm and friendly. Menu is good, found the produce fresh and flavoursome, but quite repetitive over our 4 night stay. Not sure if this was due to not them not long opening up again after Lockdown with reduced staff. Although I never struggled to chose and enjoyed nearly all the courses each night. Nice wine list, good value.

We celebrated my wife's birthday with an overnight stay at Seaham Hall and a meal in the restaurant "The Dining Room". The hotel in itself is reasonable with large and well appointed rooms and bathrooms. However the main courses served to us in "The Dining Room" were shockingly poor. I was served a steak which was worse than I could have experienced at a motorway service station and my wife had to send her fish back to the kitchen as it was stone cold. Overall the dinner menu is very, very pretentious and the quality abysmal. This was the worst meal we can remember having in a restaurant, it was that bad. The kitchen also seems to have a consistent problem in serving food at an acceptable temperature as our breakfast the next day was also tepid. At the time we made the hotel staff aware of our dissatisfaction and they were very apologetic, and afterward we provided an online review when requested. The management were also apologetic and offered us a complimentary meal. However we politely refused as Seaton Hall restaurant is bottom of the list of places where my wife and I would like to spend our time dining simply because they are so far off the mark in delivery of an even acceptable dinner that we do not want to waste any more of our time there. Frankly we also want to avoid having to wade through the restaurant's ridiculously over pretentious menu. Finally based on our experience we can't understand how "The Dining Room" gets any positive reviews.

Having stayed at Seaham Hall in the past and used the Spa on numerous occasions including the Ozone restaraunt. The service, food and setting has always been amazing. We’d eaten in Byrons restaurant twice previously and the food was excellent. We thought we’d give Sunday Lunch a go. My wife and I both ordered the chicken. When the food came out it looked amazing. The Yorkshire puddings are the size of a small building lol. You cannot for a second say they skimp on portions because the plate and vegetables are enough to feed a small army. Everything was wonderfully cooked. The roast potatoes were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Absolutely perfect. The only issue was the gravy was salty. It wasn’t overpowering but it was there at the back of the dish. We did mention it to a member of staff and she said she’d pass it on. Fortunately the dessert was excellent. I thought we might of had some feedback on the main but none came. Service as always was excellent. We’ll still go back but the salty gravy let the main dish down

Despite being lots of people in it, it never appeared to be busy nor noisy. Plenty of time to enjoy the excellent food on offer.

My parents attended for sunday lunch with the view to booking the venue for a 60th wedding anniversary party. The standard of service was poor for eg no offer to take coats on arrival. The food was average with their lunch flooded with gravy before being served, surely this should be added by the customers at the table, . They summed up their experience as "poor and not of the standard they would expect from such an establishment

Staff young but attentive and helpful. Had a drink in the bar before our meal - a bit cramped and drinks menu a bit limited. We were surprised that there was no table clothes - just what looked like Formica tables with mismatched plates - some looked like my efforts in school pottery class.We only had 2 courses, starter and mains. My wife’s starter came with a brioche made with mushroom and marmite. I love these ingredients but couldn’t eat this as the flavours were just too strong, however, the sourdough bread was lovely. My wood grilled celeriac was ok but basically a chunk of veg with scorch lines. Wife’s halibut main was the star - loads of perfectly cooked, delicious fish with chips and wilted spinach and a deconstructed tartare sauce - excellent. My steak must have been about 4oz, was over cooked and came with a bizarre side of half a gem lettuce with some black garlic sauce dots and sourdough crumbs. Cold, hard and strange. The potato dish was nice but not enough of it - all for £29. We passed on dessert part of the problem being the poorly described dishes eg. “Chocolate” was 70% cocoa chocolate, sourdough and vinegar - was it a tart, mousse, pudding cheesecake or a block of chocolate in a bun, we don’t know and didn’t care to ask, we were out for a relaxing meal, not playing a guessing game. We had coffee in the lounge instead ( strange room, weird decor)There are better restaurants in the North east, especially when you consider the bill, with a bottle of Argentinian Chardonnay and 2 glasses of Champagne came to over £170. This is special occasion money and although the hotel is a special place, the whole experience was not up to it.

Amazing Sunday lunch for my daughters birthday, food was delicious, service was first class. Staff so lovely. Beautiful hotel will be coming for a stay in the future

We went to Seaham Hall for afternoon team for my Mam's 60th birthday and it was incredible. The staff were very friendly, charming and helpful. The ambience was perfect and the afternoon tea was stunning. Highly recommended

We ate here as part of our wedding anniversary celebration stay at Seaham Hall. I had ox cheek to start which I’d never tried before but really enjoyed. It was melt in the mouth. My wife really liked her beetroot, mackerel and horseradish starter as well. My duck main was again cooked perfectly, pink in the middle and the duck leg pie aspect was particularly tasty. The lamb dish my wife chose cake with a gorgeous Shepard’s pie on the side full of tender, tasty lamb. Our red cabbage, heritage potatoes and parsnip sides were all excellent. Fantastic food in a lovely setting

Sumptuous , elegant. Fine dining food. Stunning architecture and interior design. Very warm and comfortable. Would recommend. Gorgeous! x

We ate in The Dining room during a weekend stay at Seaham Hall, and could not have been more happy with the experience. The Dining Room itself is quite lovely, and we were very happy to be shown to a corner booth; great for eating and people watching! My husband and I love good food but don't get the opportunity to eat at restaurrants of this calibre very often, so we were a little spoit for choice when faced with the menu, but everything we ate was absolutely delicious. And i stand by the belief that the pastry chef is an angel sent from heaven!

We dined in both the Ozone and Dining room during our stay , both were excellent.Excellent choices on the dinner bed and breakfast package and probably the best chocolate dessert I have ever eaten.

Two of us went for Sunday lunch lovely hotel and grounds, Table ready on time and promptly shown menu, Ordered two small glasses of wine and water,, We both plumped for a main course of pork. We were given complimentary bread but the main course arrived not long after. We had to ask again for the water. Main course included large Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes. Three bowls of vegetables arrived but only one had a spoon it was in the cheese topped broccoli. Gravy was on the plate not separate. My pork was a bit stringy. No crackling, no apple sauce no cremes potatoes. I asked for apple sauce but was told they do not do it but I could have mustard or horseradish something you associate with beef. No salt or pepper on the table we had to ask for them. Dessert for us was cherry trifle and treacle tart both very good but we had to again ask for a fork. for the treacle tart. For the price we paid £72 for two courses and two small wines it was a little disappointing.

Not necessarily for those less adventurous with food but right up our street.

An adventurous, imaginative menu, cooked to perfection. Catch of the day was John Dory which I've not had before - delicious.

We had a delicious meal here for our wedding anniversary. Lovely atmosphere in this dining room, and we were comfortably sat in one of the booths.

Dined here during a recent stay at Seaham Hall. Dreadfully disappointing meal - 1 rosette plate displayed in reception. Later found they allegedly have 2 rosettes! Food not in line with expected standard and service lacking also - restaurant manager seated us and that was the last we saw of him. Bread burnt. Butter fridge cold. Ravioli split. Underseasoned mains. 3 crackers and a piece of stale tea bread for 5 cheeses. All in all a disastrous meal and staff that couldn't care less. Breakfast equally poor. No table ready for us. Not expected of a 5 star hotel. Still charging as though they have a michelin star.

From the moment and my wife and I walked into this restaurant we pointed out that it was cold, we were first Seated by the window which might normally be a Very pleasant seat however since this was a December night it was cold and draughty and not helped by the fact that the door at the entrance of the restaurant is permanently open.

Having visited the spa a year or two ago, we returned and decided to combine with an overnight stay in this fabulous hotel.

Great food, attentive service, fantastic homemade bread. Great setting. Would highly recommend. Im a vegetarian and they adapted a dish for me.

The layout of the dining room has changed since we last came - the bar has gone to make space for more tables and the table layout has changed around a little bit. The food was excellent and service also very good as always. We enjoyed the food very much - although now, you do pay for everything! Sides and bread are not included. This kind of pops the price up a bit. However, we love it there and it's a treat, so what the heck!

We had dinner in this restaurant on two occasions, outstanding both times. Our dining experience was excellent, the staff are professional and friendly offering great service with a marvellous choice of food and drink.

We booked a night away and afternoon tea as part of an 80th birthday year celebration. The afternoon tea was rather disappointing - no choice of teas, no hot water to top up the tea, bland food. Nothing special. The breakfast the following morning was equally uninspiring. Offered some orange juice but no top up, the tea was, once again, tasteless and the 'pancakes' were most unsatisfactory: 2 rubbery drop scones would not have been what we would have expected at this award-winning hotel. Generally, the stay was ok but not up to our expectations and experiences of other hotels with excellent reputations.

Great new menus with locally sourced food and prepared to a very high standard - great balance of quality and quantity with first class service.

The spa was fabulous and totally met our expectations, however the experience in the restaurant was very uncomfortable, we were sat at the table and ignored for the next ten minutes, no menus /drinks, staff seemed to be wandering aimlessly attending to clearing tables rather than guests, we had to ask for water glasses to be topped up throughout the meal, lunch arrived with no serving spoons for the vegetables and we had to ask for condiments, overall the food was good but service unwelcoming and disappointing- total contrast to my previous experience in the other restaurant by the spa where staff were very welcoming.

Dined here whist staying at Seaham Hall. Ambience perfect for the Georgian Country House that it is. Friendly staff offering excellent, but unobtrusive, customer service. Food was outstanding.

An incrediblely friendly restaurant offering beautiful food! We were impressed with the food choice and the flavours were delicious! On point servicebwhere nothing was too much trouble! Thank you to Jamie!

5 star Resturant located in the Seaham Hall resort. Perfectly prepared meal in a very posh / cozy setting . Need I say more.

Came here last year and what a disappointment this year.

The food and ambience here is really very nice and the staff are helpful and there when required. Would eat here again anytime.

Good food and delicious wines, which were recommended by the staff. Portions weren't huge but with three courses it was just right.

Having both Dined and stayed at this hotel many times over the last three years, with varying degrees of service over that time, our hopes of fine dining service were lifted last year when the new dining manager Paul was appointed, he raises the bar is service level, he is polite, welcoming and most of all efficient and very customer focused, he has eyes in the back of his head and as a result of which we have ended up dining here at least once a week and spending a small fortune every time. Keep up the good work Paul, your staff are lifted by your presence and experience. Thank you.

The food was Amazing , can not fault it at all , The service was second to none and the...

List of things that were bad during Sunday lunch: - butter with bread is some sort of tasteless "spread" -...

My wife and I had afternoon tea here. We chose the gentleman and chocolate versions which we had to book...

Top notch food well presented with first rate service from the very friendly,local staff. An extensive wine List.

firstly very easy to book online ,decided this morning to telephone and ask for an earlier time slot ,this was...

A beautiful setting to enjoy beautiful food!! The staff are friendly and attentive. A thoroughly enjoyable experience

£26 for 2 gin & tonics would be acceptable from a gin menu paired with matching tonics etc but not for 2 bog standard G&Ts;.

Excellent quality food and service. I had a delicious orange juice, coffee, and eggs Benedict. Can t wait to go back!!

Fresh, perfectly cooked breakfasts and dinner. Portion sizes were just right. The staff at front of House and in the kitchen are excellent.

Both restaurants are a great places to dine wonderful food lovely atmosphere the staff are attentive making your evening a pleasure

Myself and my partner have just recently returned home from another fantastic trip to seaham hall. I was blown away when my partner booked this for my birthday as I absolutely love this place. Every time we stay I come away feeling brand new and revitalised.Everything about the place can only be described as perfection and I was also excited to arrive at the spa to find it has all been renovated so all the facilities are brand new. The spa now features a brand new salt Sauna which left my skin feeling amazing, Asian Sanarium and much more. While we were there we treat ourselves to treatments all I can say about the treatments is wow. For a full 45minutes I drifted in to a subconscious feeling of bliss. When the lady rung the bell at the end I was gutted it was over but felt like a new women. All the stress I had been feeling instantly lift my body after my treatment. We grabbed a snack after inThe ozone restaurant I had the duck to start and chicken chow main as a starter and my partner had fish cakes as a starter and chicken chow main as a main. My partner is a fussy eater and when he asked for a few change to his chow main the waiter was more then happy to help and don't make no fuss at all. The food came in a short time and was freshly cooked. Our meals were beautiful and the bill was surprisingly cheaper then I thought it would be and that was with drinks to. We returned back to the hotel to find we had been upgraded to the penthouse which we literally couldn't stop grinning about walking up the stairs to our room. When we walked in to our room I thought i was dreaming it was like something out of a film the room was absolutely huge. The penthouse has a guest bathroom, study, large sitting/dining room and a Huge bedroom with an ensuite. I first off ran a bath which could home a shark it was that big. It was perfect I lite the candles and the bath faced a window which u could see out to the grounds.We were shattered from our day of been pampered all day so I decided to chance my luck and ring to see if we could have our meal which was involved in our package brought to our room. The lady on reception couldNot have been any more helpful she ran us up a menu from the Bryons and told us to ring down once we were ready. The food arrived to our room piping hot and everything was cooked to perfection. We also had our breakfast in bed for a small cost for room service but no additional cost for the food it was still cover by the package we had. Over all our stay at seaham hall has been one I will never forget and I all ready look forward to returning.

I had high expectations of the evening due to having had wonderful experiences at The White Room on previous occasions, although it had been a while since eating here. In brief the food was ok but lacked any great flavour experience and the choice for vegetarians was a plate of roast root vegetables for £20 - very disappointing.The service was good but not outstanding - upon being served the canapés there was no description of what we were eating, our coats were not hung up, we had to continuously ask for our water glasses to be refilled. Maybe I noticed the lack of attention as I had eaten in a wonderful restaurant the night before where the staff had been very attentive.I did have a good night but considering the cost I do not know if I would return as there are other local restaurants who offer more.

This restaurant has the complete package. Great staff, service and exceptional food. The canapes were in our top 5 of best ever. Inventive and innovative. My husband loved the mini marmite donut. The homemade bread was also outstanding. We had the lamb and duck dishes washed down with a good bottle of prosecco. Both dishes displayed great skill and we sent back empty plates. We shared the chocolate dessert which was rich but delicate at the same time. Julia, our waitress, was efficient, friendly and fun and we left feeling extremely satisfied with an exemplary meal and high level of customer service. Highly recommend eating at this restaurant.

Interesting unusual menu. Great care taken to deal with my nut allergy. Service friendly and efficient. Expensive but worth it for a 'treat'

Set within the historical 5 star Georgian Hotel the restaurant provided a very pleasant venue for a dinner with friends.The warm summer evening started with pre dinner drinks ( Durham Gin- savoury smooth and dry) looking out onto the terrace.The restaurant itself is not large but nevertheless roomy. A window table added to the experience in the Art deco surroundings, lit by glitzy chandeliers,The food was delicious .The produce is locally sourced and dishes are creative complemented by a good wine list . The lamb,particularly ,was perfection.The desert menu is mouthwatering and not to be missed. Coffee in the bar afterwards ,with twilight approaching, was enchanting .Do not miss the Vortex outside the main entrance- a fascinating and attractive water feature installation ,Charybdis,designed by William Pye, that adds to the whole ambience of the Hall.The staff in the bar and restaurant were excellent but the ladies were directed to tiny single, ill equipped, rest room by reception staff. Upon later and further investigation a better equipped facility, albeit located up a flight of stairs ( a lift was available)and through a couple of heavy doors, was discovered - Perhaps improved signage and better informed staff required.

Creative, tasty local produce served beautifully. All needs catered for with excellent service and a fantastic wine list.

Lovely restaurant situated within seaham hall... staff , food and service all top notch highly recommend the lobster and rabbit starters I had the turbot for main course which was to die for accompanied by beautifully cooked mussels my husband had the lamb all very nice thank you.

It is always a treat to eat at Seaham Hall - the building is beautiful. The staff are first rate and the food very good although the trout I had was overcooked. I did prefer TWR - not so keen on the restaurant location in what used to be the bar/lounge. It was nicer to eat with the view of the beautiful grounds.in smaller rooms.

I have just had a lovely afternoon tea with two friends. We were greeted as soon as we arrived by lovely friendly staff. The room itself is beautiful, gorgeous seating and fabulous decor with Lovely views of the garden. The sandwiches, scones and dainty cakes were all beautiful. We spent a couple of hours in this wonderful building. If there is a niggle, it was having to ask for spoons (twice) and sweeteners. Also when I rang up to book I was asked if it was a special occasion. As it was a birthday treat the receptionist asked my friends name. I was expecting a little token or some acknowledgement, but no mention of it when we arrived. Not any point in them asking for a name really. However, this was a lovely afternoon and I will look for any excuse to return.

I wish you could rate this 10* because I would! The food was absolutely fantastic! For our evening meal, I had crab with sliced radish and seaweed tartare for starters, the 175 day matured beef with slow cooked rib and braised onions for main (accompanied by a side of the best tasting chips ever!) and the cheese board for dessert. Absolutely fantastic! We had breakfast there this morning as well and that was faultless too. Everything cooked and presented to perfection.

We had our evening meal and breakfast at Byrons. Both were fantastic. Our waiter was from Morroco, great service,

Menu not extensive But good choice. Helpful attentive staff on hand to look after you. Enjoyed our meals here.

My daughter booked Sunday lunch and spa afternoon. Lovely building and views, however Sunday lunch was a bit rubbish! We arrived about 25 minutes before and where asked to sit in the bar or outside, we went outside, we waited and waited and eventually had to ask if we could go in to eat, staff seemed to have forgot us. We where not drinking so asked for water, which was warm with no ice! Ordered a chicken and beef dinner, the beef was fatty and very little of it, the chicken was not white clean meat and again very little of it. The vegetables where hard and difficult to pick up out of the bowl. We had to order extra gravy, which was very watery. My daughter commented on how much meat the lady received on the table next to us, and wondered if we didn't get a good meal as it was a deal with the spa. For pudding we choose chocolate brownie, this was a small amount but taster than the roast. No coffee offered which would have been nice, but no doubt would have had to pay for. The spa was ok.

We stayed the night in the Seaham Hall Hotel, with a booking made in this restaurant for 7:30pm.From the French mixologist in the comfortable cocktail lounge, through to Frankie, Georgie and Heidi, who served us on the evening, the whole experience was brilliant.Three course meal good value, £45 per person, with all courses enjoyed very much. We'd attend the restaurant again, even if not staying at the hotel.

Visited for the first time and had Sunday lunch. The service was very good, but unfortunately the food did not meet our expectations. We all had beef, which was quite chewy and not what we expected. We were served one small bowl of vegetables between 3. Yet, annoyingly the table for 3 next to us received 2 bowls! It's such s shame as the dining room was nicely decorated and the staff were very welcoming. We won't be returning.

Excellent service! 6 adults & 6 children ages 7 & under. Staff were very attentive. The food & tea were replenished as requested. Memorable family occasion. Thank you.

Cosy and intimate room service good had 3 meals in here and afternoon tea booths and tables for two food great

Works of art served on a plate, creative delicious dishes cooked to perfection. Served in a beautiful room with a warm friendly environment by a first class customer service team.

Went for Sunday lunch. shown into the bar immediately on arrival, and ordered a drink. However, a waitress came up to us before the barmaid had time to start pouring the drinks and told us our table was ready. We were taken to our table, and given the menus.The drinks arrived some 10 minutes later. We were asked if we were ready to order our food,which we did, but had to wait more than 40 minutes for the starter. There was no bread or olives offered to us, and each time a waitress passed the table, all we got was a smile, which can be rather infuriating, when you are waiting for food. I chose the smoke salmon plate, which was fresh and tasty, but without any bread, and my wife chose the crayfish cocktail, which consisted of crayfish dumped on the top of loads of lettuce leaves, and apparently tasted particularly bland. There was no condiments on the table, and I had to request black pepper. For the main course we both decided on shepherds pie, and both agreed it was very tasty. there was only 2 people dining in the restaurant when we arrived, although a few more couples did arrive later for afternoon tea. I think that 40 minutes is to long to have to wait for a basic starter, but what concerns me more than anything is the fact that when I rang to book the table the day before I was informed that the restaurant menu was available, but would be eaten in the lounge. The tables had clearly not been set to accept diners, and also the room was very cold. The cost of our 2 meals including a glass of wine and a coke was £79.50. which we think was slightly on the high side, The ambience and decor of the room is lovely, although little atmosphere, and all in all a disappointing lunch.

I had dinner here last night with my girlfriend. There was a wedding on at the same time. I don't know if this meant that the normal staff had been in use elsewhere but it felt like we were being looked after by amateurs. I have been coming to this hotel for years but haven't been for a while since emigrating and noticed a drop in service to what I would normally experience. I hope this was just a one off. Normally the service is top class however I found the following disappointing. 1) Failed to take my girlfriends coat2) No longer table service while waiting for the table. We had to wait for twenty minutes to get a drink due to the wedding party queuing at the bar. 3) We got the wine package but the wrong wine was given with the dish. 4) Our food went to the wrong table. 5) It felt generally a bit rushed between courses. 6) Our waitress had poor hygiene7) Our water glasses weren't topped upI don't want to appear overly negative. I need to be clear that the food was awesome and the surrounding are beautiful however it was frustrating that they were so many small mistakes. If these happened in a pub down the road then that would be fine however I am sure Seaham Hall is trying to market itself as a high class hotel and restaurant and in those circumstances it fell short I am sorry to say.

Booked for Dinner in the Byron Restaurant 7pm Saturday NightBeautiful hotel, lovely ambiance, welcoming staff but the Bar & Lounge area was empty which we thought was strange We ordered 3 drinks -1 small bottled beer,1 cosmopolitan ,1 double Jack Daniels & Coke £35!!!We were given the menu's and to our surprize only had 1 set menu at £45pp and a tasting menu that everyone had to have at £65ppThe choice for us was poor no beef and was advised after we had reluctantly ordered we had to pay £5pp for a bowel of chips or new potatoesI really don't mind paying but hate to be ripped off so cancelled the food order and asked for a lounge menu which really depleted our evening so we ordered 3 rib eye and that's what we got with 2 mushrooms and a bowl of chips £29pp and we moved into an empty area that ran between the bar and pool table areaSo disappointed

We visited Seaham hall for our anniversary, we decided to eat in the restaurant for a change as we usually dine in the ozone as we love Asian food. The welcome from the staff was as expected, really nice and friendly but very professional. Whilst having a little glass of champagne we looked at the menu. To be honest when I saw it I wished we had gone to the ozone. The menu was very limited, unless you like game or fish there is not a lot of choice. We decided to go for the 7 course taster menu. The last taster menus I had was in the house of tides in Newcastle and Tom kitchins restaurant in Edinburgh. House of tides been the best. We did expect the food to be on par as the cost was greater. The first course was delicious, a river trout, not been a great lover of fish it was superb, the scallop dish was tasty to, other than that very disappointing. It felt they were trying to be something clearly they are not. The bill was just under £200 which I think should have been around £80. I feel so let down as we love Seaham hall and had our wedding there. We won't be back to Lord Byron's restaurant anytime soon. Pity as the service, ambience and my memories of the place are very high in my list of favourite places. Go back to basics .....

I posted a honest review about seaham hall and for some strange reason it got removed , Sunday lunch for 4 people burnt Yorkshire puddings meat so rare it was bleeding on the plate and , and the bill was £160 , tho only good part was the charcuterie board which was cold meats , it was a treat for my mum , and as I said in my previous review I do not mind spending money on food , I have paid up to a grand for a meal for 4 , but the meal we got for 160 was what I would expect to find at a cheep pub chain and I do not go to cheep pub chains

For our wedding anniversary we chose to return to Byron's restaurant at Seaham Hall. We'd eaten there on a number of occasions both evening meals and Sunday lunch and had always enjoyed our visits. The surroundings and hotel are fabulous and the staff always pleasant and professional. Unfortunately the menu had changed radically, on offer was a three course meal with very limited choice or a taster menu. We opted for the 3 courses, choosing sweetbreads and grouse to start then duck and halibut. The starters were ok but it was the main course which truly disappointed. The tiny piece of halibut was dry and every other item on our plates including the side dishes were lukewarm. It was as though they had been cooked then left to be collected. When I mentioned this to the waitress I was told that I could have had it heated up. There really shouldn't be a need to ask to be served your food hot . What was once a favourite place to eat proved to be so disappointing.

We have visited here several times over the years. We normally dine in the Ozone and never have any complaint except that we felt last time that the service was too rushed between courses. So for a change decided on the Byron Restaurant. On arrival ushered through to the bar and chose to have a glass of champagne while we looked at the menus. There were only two choices. The 3 course table d'hôte at £45 or the Taster Menu at an advertised £60. On the 3 course menu for the main course there was only 2 fish dishes and a meat dish. My wife not a great fan of fish or meat and there was no poultry choice so we went for the taster, but decided to have house red (told there was a choice of three and opted for the Malbec, which was very nice) and not the wine selection. The staff were great friendly informative could not fault them. The food although decently cooked was not overly flamboyant, or elaborate. Also there were two desert courses both of which had ice cream which I thought was unusual. Also apart from the appetiser which was served to all dinners there was no appetisers between courses. We have been to many fine dining establishments including Michelin Star ones were this is the norm. The pace between courses was spot on too and didn't feel rushed. When after we left on examining the bill which was a just bit higher than expected we saw the meal was in fact £65 each not the advertised £60 and the 'House Wine' was £32, which was a lot as my wife was sure there was one on the list for less may be not the Malbec, but the higher cost was not pointed out at the time. Neither of us felt compared to other taster menus that we got value for money and next time we would stick with the ozone.

May I start with saying the staff were excellent their knowledge of pairing which wines to which food was very good and the waiting staff very professional and lots of smiles with excellent service. The food however average I have to confess a lot of money for the standard of food maybe an 'off' choice from the menu but we did not eat in the restaurant twice, my starter of sweetbreads arrived to find them deep fried in breadcrumbs and very chewy and lacking in flavour also dish bulked out with small new potatoes my venison was good but only just pink, my husband had grouse which was good but the pickle on top had seeped its flavour into the grouse, fish for main was ok. Drinks expensive but did expect that. We were staying in the hotel and this was only down side.

We ate dinner here whilst staying at the hotel (reviewed separately). We opted for the 5 course dinner (2 starters, a main and 2 desserts). Wine list was comprehensive without being overbearing, and we chose a lovely bottle of white Rioja. The food was beautifully served (apart from my "put it on a plate" bugbear!). The starters we had were the beetroot, the lamb sweetbreads, the mackerel and the smoked haddock and egg. All very nice but had a tendency to be too sweet for our taste. The exception was the haddock dish which was very well balanced. For mains we had the beef and the halibut. Again, the beef dish was a bit too sweet, but was one of the nicest cooked bits of beef we've seen. The halibut dish was beautifully flavoured and balance, but the halibut was slightly overcooked. The desserts were fabulous but, by the end, feeling a little too large! All in all, we'd certainly go back and would love to see everything just a little lighter.

Had a lovely evening here lovely setting etc. Food was nice , my gripe is the price of drinks . They only sell estrella damm lager on draught, and at £6.00 a pint for the north east of England is steep even for a place of high regard. We arrived and they had ran out of it . So they sold half bottles of estrella damm at £4:50 so meaning £9:00 a pint . Had to revert to drink pint bottles of cider for £6. I don't believe they did run out, and for such an established venue it should never happen. The wedding only had 80 guests with a few more on the evening.

We decided to indulge on a rare child free night out and ate at Seaham Hall, Byron's restaurant and we weren't disappointed. We started our evening with cocktails on the terrace, and it was lovely and peaceful, and the cocktails were fab. We chose the 5 course menu with assosciated paired wines for each course. The wine waitress paired each wine up perfectly with each course, the food was amazing and nothing was too much trouble. Staff were knowledgable, polite and friendly and we are already trying to plan our next visit with perhaps an overnight stay as well. Thank you for a lovely evening.

We had dinner here to celebrate a special birthday and the food was not only excellent but initiative. A wonderful evening in a beautiful setting.

I recently took my mum for Afternoon tea as a belated birthday present. We don't get together very often now but I thought a family holiday in Whitby would be the ideal time to take her up to Seaham to see Tommy and treat her to afternoon tea. Neither Tommy or the restaurant disappointed. Our afternoon tea with champagne (Taitinger) was delightful. The beautiful fresh finger sandwiches melted in the mouth with each flavour complementing one another. The black first cut Darjeeling we picked was devine (I could ((almost)) turn tea total for a taste like that. The 2 scones and cakes were sheer indulgence, beautifully presented and we felt bad being unable to finish them. Service was excellent with very attentive staff from the minute we walked through the door. I hope to return one day soon for a longer stay. Thank you everyone. (The picture is of half of the cakes we couldn't quite finish).

Good food ( changed a course that was unsuitable without demur or charge), delightful location but the restaurant wasn't over busy - being a Monday evening - so the female maitre-d really doesn't need to raise her voice above conversational tone when speaking to diners let alone make a railway station announcment to all and sundry ....." you're having the strawberries an excellent choice" when confirming an order. Some diners are quiet,unassuming and really don't want their food choices made public to anyone prepared to listen. Confidence is an essential pre-requisite of the role but public speaking isn't. Still, go for the food it's still the best in the area.

Byron's is worth a visit, high quality food in the North East. The taster menu is good value for money and I would recommend going for the wine flight that accompanies the meal, good service and a special mention for the barman... Friendly and made the drinks just how we wanted them

We were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and this was our treat from our girls. We were greeted warmly by staff in reception and taken through to the restaurant. It was a smaller ante room with plush semi circle booths and ideal for our cream tea. Our waitress, Chole, was so lovely and polite. She brought our champagne and asked if we had any allergies or anything we didn't like. We were OK about everything food wise and hose our tea. This was brought to us quickly and the berry tea I had was the best I had ever had. Our cream tea arrived and we knew immediately we wouldn't be able to eat it all! Well presented and looked scrummy. We ate the sandwiches first which were lovely and a good selection. There were numerous cakes together with two scones each. I personally would have preferred extra sandwiches and just one scone but t was all delicious and we took two scones and two other cakes home. They were put into a box and Chloe wrote happy anniversary on them. Another member of staff then appeared with extra champagne for us on the house as we were celebrating our anniversary. A lovely touch and u expected.The only little thing I could say that was not 10/10 was that we were next to a games room where children were screaming whilst playing table football. They were enjoying themselves and we didn't mention it but it did shatter the ambiance as well as a member of staff standing behind my hubby discussing the layout of the room to a member of the public re a future occasion. I felt that after viewing the room they could have discussed it elsewhere instead of just two feet from us. Other than that I would recommend the cream tea to anyone as I am sure the two Sm items I mention would not be happening everyday to others who visit. Beautiful place and the waitress was excellent. Food scrummy and everything homemade and very fresh. Would definately visit again.

It is a year since my last visit, I had hoped for an improvement but what I got was worse. The food was so disappointing, the caesars salads were sent back, the description being they were horrid. I had the tomato soup, which was a good as a well known brand from a tin. We all the beef, nothing exceptional, except one of the yorkshire puddings flew off the plate and landed on the lap of a diner. Upside down cake average with trifle custard, which is odd, the cheese course was generous and good value. Hence the rating of 2, the wine was good, the service so poor, that for the first time ever, I did not leave a tip. Needless to say I would never ever return, don't know if the chef was trained, but I expect that a greasy spoon would provide a better Sunday Lunch.

The menu is imaginative, but there is little plain food for those with simpler tastes. Also the menu is expensive and only Table d'Hote. A fixed 2 or 3 course does help one plan whether or not to visit, but a surprise to one couple who arrived 'on spec' but had planned a lower meal price than £45 per head for 3 courses! A portion of mixed vegetables was overpriced at £5.00. The wine list starts at £24 but quickly jumps north of £40. We took coffee after the meal (another extra) as it was offered with 'Petit fours'. The latter proved to be disappointing, as it was only 2 filled milk chocolates and 2 milk chocolate anchors. The ambience is excellent, a special atmosphere, with a very smart separate bar to relax in before or after the meal. Better still, it is in the grounds of Seaham Hall, so one can also relax on the terrace overlooking the gardens, as we did in the 24 degree heat of the July weather.

"Beautifully presented and delicious dim sum; next time we'll try the main menu..."

"Pricey and a bit poncey but very nice dishes, service OK only, in a large, bright space, rather self-consciously decorated"

"I would not normally post a review of a development table experience, but there are two lessons to be learnt from this one: Firstly, be warned. Make a point of reading the booking terms and conditions rather than what most punters will inevitably do and rely on what can be misleading information on the online booking page, which in this case states “Additional beverages consumed will be payable on the night”. The normal Fera tasting menu is priced at £110, and we had paid £150pp up front when booking, so we naively understood “additional beverages” to be something over and above beverages included in the prepaid total. Being presented with a bill for £260 for two lots of “matching wines”, which in any case came in minuscule quantities of wines that were unlikely to have been our choice, one being a South African white priced at £22 per glass in the Fera wine list yet costing only £12.47 per bottle retail, and being charged so much was something of a downer. You can actually find a decent bottle on the wine list for rather less than £260 and easily make it last for the whole meal if you ration yourselves to the sort of quantities supplied with the food. Secondly, do try Aulis, even though it is very difficult to get booked. The rest of our evening went very well with a relaxed group of six foodies interacting positively with the expert and informative chef, Raphael, a brief but warm appearance by Simon Rogan and a succession of shrewdly conceived and beautifully presented “development” dishes, small enough to be just tasters, some of which had already been proposed for inclusion in the restaurant menu. In line with the Rogan group philosophy, most of the ingredients used in putting the dishes together were both British and seasonal, probably the Italian tomatoes with the crab being the exception, and sourced largely from the Cartmel farm and even chef’s own garden. The trademark snacks got us off to a very good start and they were all judged to be worthy of promotion. First came a kombucha of red cabbage and apple, dabs of oyster, a pearl barley crisp and a gentle mustard, a wonderful blend in which all the individual elements could be clearly tasted; then mild salt cod with pea shoots, a calamint oil and peas so fresh they just popped in the mouth; a startlingly good mussel custard with dehydrated kale and a hen of the woods consommé; brilliant raw scallop in fermented barley with koji and codium seaweed, this one a prime contender for the restaurant; and finally the only one that, for me, did not come up to scratch, a hollowed-out tropea onion with Tunworth cheese, yoghurt whey and onion ash. A sequence of six dishes followed, all of which, again, were inevitably small portions: tender Portland crab claw meat, some of it shredded, with baby fennel, seaweed pearls, tomatoes and a tomato consommé; delicious compressed pork belly strips with smoky barbecued carrots, the lightest pork scratchings, all decorated with nasturtium leaves and elderflower meringue; baby potatoes with smoked mackerel grated on top, cow’s milk curd, sunflower seeds and watercress; Norfolk quail, breast and superb confit leg with excellent pickled apricot, almond purée and buckwheat; melt-in-the-mouth monkfish cooked on the bone, terrific roe sauce, courgette flowers and lemon verbena; and finally, perfect Cornish lamb aged for 35 days with cabbage which had been fermented over a period of some days, turnip and savory. The finale amounted to three sweet dishes: muscovado cake, cherries compressed in sugar, shaved walnuts and fig leaf mousse, which was quite refreshing; almond meringue with sous-vide gooseberries, meadowsweet, almond meringue and sorrel granita; and, mushroom and sea buckthorn crushed together to form a unique dessert. All very satisfying and promising for the future of meals at Fera, but with the reservations outlined above."

"Solid modern English cooking at a deservedly popular wine bar central to Bath."

We were staying at Seaham Hall and booked Byron's Restaurant for our evening meal.The staff were very attentive with their service but the choice on the menu and subsequent quantity was very poor. Being a non lover of fish or game really limited the menu. With the only choices being beetroot for starters when it arrived one forkful and it was gone, so little was on the plate.For my main course again with either fish or game being the main choices I decided to go with the beef. I enquired were any sides available because non were on the menu thankfully I ordered chips because the total lack of vegetables had I not ordered would have left me with the beef ( very nice by the way) and a very small piece of broccoli and some burnt cabbage. The ten chips for an extra fiver was the most filling and enjoyable part of the meal.finally the dessert was excellent, I chose baked custard and it was very nice.

"What a disappointment; only wanted a casual lunch before the Opera, but this was not up to Bella Italia's usual standards. Service was really slow (way past leisurely) and the staff, although pleasant, seemed disorganised. They were constantly turning people away at the door, which needn't have happened. The food, when it did arrive, was OK, but frankly rather boring; coffee was excellent!"