Dun Cow Durham in County Durham

Old pub with very cheeky and bigoted staff.. Won’t return

Lovely cozy pub, very friendly welcome and great real ales.

Came to Durham to see the castle and cathedral was very nice wanted to have a drink after, so me and my wife found this nice little place and staff was very friendly. The drinks was very fresh as I had the Guinness was one of the best I’ve had.

If I had been served by the member of staff compared to the second visit (on the same night) to the bar in the lounge I would not recommend this venue to anyone. Seemed an effort compared to the friendly and enthusiastic approach the bar staff member of the first visit (on the same night).

Stopped in on the pub and history tour and what a cozy little pub this is. Split into two bars its warm and snug which makes very welcoming. Very good selection of real ale and lager. Annoyed that i ran out of time and couldn't go back for another pint.

Great little pub with good real ale.

Friendly service, good selection of beers 🍻

Unfortunately the cow was a big let down, when we got there the lounge was locked so we went to the taproom but couldn't open the door, this is because it's a slider not a puller. The beers were from Castle Eden Brewery and we're past their best, also we were the only two people in the pub. A bit of a cold lifeless place with a barmaid who doesn't want to talk.

Durham’s oldest pub and must for any visitor. Excellent beer collection that’s well looked after. Please support traditional pubs like this.

Beautiful little jewellery box of a pub. Great atmosphere and good beer. Love it! Best pub in Durham.

A nice cosy old bar with a great vibe!

Emma, Sarah, and Tracy were all amazing behind the bar, and we will always treasure our time with them and local legends John, Nigel, and Nick. Despite having a strong group of regulars, we were welcomed immediately. Our favorite pub in the UK. Love, the two Californians who can tolerate Piano Man.

A trip down memory lane after half a century. It has hardly changed.

Awful atmosphere, the middle aged lady at the bar was extremely rude and condescending. She shouted at a few of us when we were not causing trouble, so we left immediately. Never going there again. Hi, thanks for the response- this took place on Saturday 25th May 2024, at around 3pm.

Excellent pub a bit off the beaten track but worth a look in...

First opportunity to visit, it's a bit out of the way, you have to know where it is. Therefore it can be a bit quiet, that is good if you like reading.

Great drinks, cozy atmosphere and friendly staff, highly recommend.

Awful experience, shouted at by the bar woman when we just sat down not causing any problems. Never going again

Unsettling atmosphere and dreary inside. after finishing me first drink, not even 2 mins went by and I was getting harassed by the barmaid to buy another. Place shouldn’t bother hiring any bouncer since a threw myself out after that.

Very rude bar staff, for almost £6 a pint I expect a lot more.

Typical place to spend the evening and eat well

Great place for quiet drink Sunday evening. Fond memories of drinking in back room 45 years ago.

Great little pub in the heart of Durham

Beer is mostly warm and stale, also the adjacent alleyway has some strange foot traffic, I did not feel safe there.

A truly one of the last traditional old pubs and the oldest in Durham

Durham has several real old world pubs and the Dun Cow is up there with the best. Lovely beer, friendly staff and a nice atmosphere.

Very friendly staff and customers, with reasonably priced drinks. Don't know if they do food or snacks as we only stayed for 1 drink. We sat in bar area which was warm and welcoming. Dog friendly pub with water and biscuits for man's best friend, there were 4 dogs when we went in which was quite lovely as were the dogs. 1 little cutie in particular was a miniature poodle named honey, so friendly and it's like she's smiling when she comes to greet you. Overall a pleasant visit, only regret is not staying longer

Quaint little pub, nice atmosphere and nice clientele.

Expensive drinks and staff not very friendly

Lovely real Ales. Good, friendly bar staff. Old fashioned English pub.

Great find. Very historic with good atmosphere and really friendly staff.

Nice small family public house nice and cosy like a country pub in a city also been there tonight and it's bouncing

Rave from the past.. Down memory lane!! No food... Limited beer selection BUT Great location and staff friendly and helpful..

Good service. Friendly atmosphere and excellent pint of Guinness. 👍

Great old school pub with very friendly bar staff 😊

First class traditional pub with great ale and atmosphere. Well worth a visit.

Easily my favourite Durham pub. Old building with a 'snug' at the front, a mini bar with a few window seats and a larger bar further in at the back, fireplace, lovely old pub atmosphere. If it's possible to stay here I'd love to know prices. Said to be the oldest pub in Durham.

Good Oldenburg Pub, top friendly Service

Said to be one of or even the oldest existing pubs in Durham. Has a quaint old atmosphere. Friendly. I tried 3 traditional hand pumped beers , all were well looked after.

Small pub with a distinctive atmosphere.

Have been visiting this amazing pub in Durham City since I was 18. I'm 75 now. After many, many years away from my home town, I popped in for a pint last Friday afternoon. The Dun Cow was exactly as it has always been - great beer and a lovely welcoming atmosphere. I remember it best when Tommy was in charg. There may have been an odd, misty something in a corner behind the bar last Friday: I'm not quite sure. Hope I get to visit again before too long. Cheers!

A beautiful traditional pub in the heart of beautiful historic Durham .A fine selection of Ales served by a very welcoming bar staff and friendly regularly to make a stranger seem welcom.

You feel like you've gone back a few years in this pub- and I love it! Small bar at front and larger one at back. If it's not busy only front one will be open. 3 or 4 hand pumps with different beers. Everything feels very old fashioned but it's popular with all ages. Toilets are outside at the back.

Excellent pub and a good selection of local beers with friendly staff

Proper pub! Good beer and atmosphere!

Not a big choice of ales but friendly staff

Great place going therefore for years with my brothers always very welcoming

Decent olde world pub in Durham that serves a good pint

Schöner uriger Pub im alten Ambiente, wenige Minuten vom Stadtzentrum entfernt. Kurios ist, dass der Pub quasi geteilt ist, d.h. ein Raum vorne, einer hinten und in der Mitte die Theke. Mindestens für Beer & Crisps kann man hier immer einkehren.

Not a reflection of this establishment, more of a criticism of the lack of updates on Google. We walked here with our dog looking forward to good beer an pub grub. Sadly the pub grub was a victim of COVID and has not restarted. A great pity as it looked a very atmospheric place. Hopefully the meals will restart in the future

Old drinking place 50 years ago. Great place. Hasn't changed!

Coole Platz für das Frühstück am Wochenende.

Had a small pub tour of Durham, didn't dislike any of the others, but this was our favourite. Happily return here.

First visit in a long time. V good and friendly.

Lovely little pub. Very friendly staff. Definitely be going again.

Best old pub in Durham city. Love stopping by to take in the traditional pub setting. The building is old and supposed to be haunted! Has historic ties to the old hangman for the court not far away. On another note, had a pickled egg once, I'll put that down as a life experience!!! This is the pub to visit in Durham city if you are there.

Very friendly service, a couple of nice craft beers.

This is a statement on behalf of the Dun Cow Durham, as unfortunately we are unable to reply to reviews. Firstly, thank you for all the kind comments the pub has received. Sadly, it has come to our attention that a false accusation has been made regarding the pub. Within further investigation we can see this person has also written the same review on the Darlington Dun Cow page. This review is regarding individuals being turned away from the pub based on their heritage (being Scottish). I would like to point out that this is absolutely false, we welcome every individual no matter what your heritage may be. I can also personally tell you this is simply not true seeing as though I have worked here for nine years, and I myself am Scottish. So, I highly doubt I would have a job within this pub if this were the case, nor would I like to work in an establishment that had this mindset. It is disheartening to hear that the individual has been subject to this discrimination and if you would ever like to come and visit the Dun Cow DURHAM you will be welcome and made to feel comfortable with no judgment, I can assure that. Thank you.

Lovely old traditional pub , well worth a visit if your ever in Durham

One of the best little pubs in Durham . Shame no food available not even a toastie?

Lovely proper pub. Great selection of drinks, very friendly!

Great traditional bar. Just gey more choice of real Ales in please.

Helpful and friendly service from bar staff. Lovely beer. Cosy pub sit down and old fashion chat and enjoy time over a beer with friends.

Bit expensive Not much larger selection All real ales

This is my favourite Durham pub. Atmosphere , beers good and staff are cheerful. What more could you want.

Lovely pub on the edge of the city centre. Great place to have a pint or two.

Lovely old pub. Friendly staff.

Lovely cosy bar area. Not the cheapest but good quality pint. Sells castle eden which you can'tget in many places and it was a lovely 🥃

Grabbed a quick pint in tiny front bar.

This place hasn’t changed in years. It’s reasonably priced, service is quick, staff are awesome and the atmosphere is nice.

Nice little pub have few pints of John Smith smooth pint 🍻 staff behind bar

Fantastic little pub, good beer and great service.

Great locals pub and good beer, well worth a visit 👍😋

How glad were we to be stranded here for the afternoon whilst it rained cats and dogs!. Banter and stories (including resident ghost) all afternoon several pints and single malts. Thanks Jackie..great meeting you.

Great old pub good service. Only downside was a friends dress which was ruined by old chewing gum under the table

First time visiting today, Safe to say I will never be returning and anyone else who is Scottish I suggest you don’t as they will refuse service to you based on your heritage. Me and my family went to order and we were told we would not be served due to the fact we are Scottish. Absolutely disgusting behaviour I will be taking this further as discrimination

Very friendly place for a couple of drinks. Tiny little haunted bar & a terrace at the rear

Contender for best pub in the world.

Busy busy for Durham Miners Gala, the staff handled the queues very well. Nice cold beer for a red hot day

Lovely little pub with a cosy friendly atmosphere. Bar staff are very friendly and welcoming.

Really old pub, good to visit friendly staff.

Nice small pub, enjoyed a local blonde beer

Unfortunately, nothing special about this pub, other than the descriptive history panel at the entrance,!

Great local pub. Great service and some cracking local beers. Weldone to Bill and his team.

My favourite pub in Durham. Cosy and charming and welcoming with good Guinness

Traditional pub with good real ale

Good old style pub, with friendly staff & a good selection of beers.

Lovely cosy atmosphere and great choice of draught and drinks; occasionally there's very tasty homemade food, run by polite and friendly staff. Was my favourite Durham pub during my stay in Durham from 2016-2022 and would recommend!

Great friendly pub in the heart of Durham

It's a 4 star. But 5 star of Sarah is working.

Fantastic relaxing pub with perfect Timothy Taylor's Landlord, which is my favourite cask ale.

Super pub. Best room is the cosy snug at the front with a real fire! Nice way to spend a few hours!

Very cosy friendly pub. Castle Eden ales.

Popped in here after going to the lumiere, great friendly staff. Highly recommended. But don't bother with the lumiere, nothing even if it was free 0 out of 10 for the lumiere. 10 out of 10 for the pub.

Compact, cosy and chatacterful. Definitely a must visit whilst in Durham

Decent castle Eden and traditional front snug

A real old fashioned boozer with plenty of character and a decent selection of good beer. Parking difficult so be prepared to walk.

Proper old school pub. Comfy, cozy, good people and good booze. 'Nuff said.

Lovely old pub seems to be original with sliding doors and separate rooms

We stayed here last night after a wedding at the hardwick hall the manager and staff were amazing the manager even took us to our venue and brought us back we could not fault this would definitely return well done to you all xx