Foresters Arms in Darlington

Love it here, always made to feel welcome. Me and my partner come to stay at hall garth hotel at weekend from north shields on a saturday and pay a visit here too, lovely atmosphere, lovely laura shes just the best and everyone in the pub is great too. Better than being at home. Simple as that. Much love from wendy x

Love it here, always made to feel welcome. Me and my partner come to stay at hall garth hotel at weekend from north shields on a saturday and pay a visit here too, lovely atmosphere, lovely laura shes just the best and everyone in the pub is great too. Better than being at home. Simple as that. Much love from wendy x

Lovely little pub, cheap drinks so will be back

Lovely little pub, cheap drinks so will be back

Popped in for few drinks landlady lovely 😍 will be back

Pint of Old Perculier at 5.1% only £3.70. Nice quality ask ale and nice country pub with a games room on other side of bar

Lovely Country Pub with a nice Lit Log Fire on the go, with genuine people running it.. if you want to feel Welcome and enjoy a chat and a beer, this is the place to visit... Nice and clean... Lovely Landlady who's always in to great you and your more than welcome to bring your Furr Babies along with you... Unfortunately they do not sell food but they allow you to order from local take aways and eat in the bar...

Nice friendly local type pub with ales in excellent condition. There were no meals being served when we were there. Worth a visit.

Warm and friendly greeting. Relaxing atmosphere and service was great. Definatley go back!

Best owner have good taste in music what a pub

They don't do food. Nice place and owner. But sadly no atmosphere as there was hardly anyone there.

Lovely staff, very friendly and reasonable prices, will visit again.

Been a while since I have been here, pleased it is still open for business. A reasonable range of ales on offer, went for the theakston Xb priced at £3.50 a pint. Only a dozen people in, so the atmosphere was subdued but friendly. Decor looked the same as a decade ago but tidy. Overall a nice if basic traditional British pub.

Popped in for a drink on the way to hotel ( that's another story!!😱) Lovely atmosphere and super friendly barmaid and owner. They even had scampi fries!! Loved all of the signs and would definitely come back.

Velmi přátelská, ochotná obsluha i pro cizince, turistu špatně mluvícího anglicky .

Fantastic place and the beers n lager are brilliant the owners are lovely too

unfortunately pub doesnt do food but hostess recommended a pizza takeaway which was quickly delivered and very nice

Nice pub, but the kitchen is closed

Very friendly atmosphere in a traditional pub setting. Recently taken over by new management. Friendly staff and regulars. Good selection of beers and lagers and a lovely roaring open log fire. Just what you need on these cold winter nights. Cozy.

Fantastic food very friendly staff

Was a cheap pint but freezing inside should have place warmed up

Great beer, great company, great pub

Lovely pub, just been decorated, looks much better and good selection of drinks.

Went on Saturday night, Chris was dead nice and welcoming, good choice of pints and wines for a reasonable price, rural style pub; no food available as still refurbing the kitchen but snacks available. Animation was on- really good singer! Definitely would recommend.

Warm welcome and lovely roaring fire

Great selection of ales, friendly staff and great service. A good old school British pub.

Nice pint and very nice polite staff

Recently reopened after poor previous tenants. Restaurant not yet open but hopefully soon. The pub is now open every day ,not as previous tenants did opening only when they felt like it. Good service from Chris and clean glasses ,very important to my wife. Very reasonable prices and if this is the standard to expect when the restaurant does open we will be regular visitors.

Dropped in for a drink while staying at the nearby hotel. Lovely pub, friendly staff and great atmosphere.

Very tasty Sunday lunch, would recomend

A lovely location, if you want to travel and walk in the Dales. The staff were lovely. However the French restaurant has zero French influence. The bar area is desperate for a make over. The settees had bare arms and the cushions lost all their support. Terrible choice of music in the pay for listen. Most of the bar was taken with a pool table. Our meals were totally boring but no real competition in the village. We were booked for two nights but after seeing the room we stayed for one and went to Barnard Castle for breakfast. The owner is a lovely man but had little interest in the fact that we changed our booking to only one night with no recompense. Unfortunately we will not return. Our room was squashed and we had to go upstairs to the cramped basic bathroom.

Nice little pub, friendly people, Chris the lad behind the bar, does his best to keep the place going and does a good job of it, it's just a pity his hands are tied if he was left to run the pub it would be a lot better place, as the land lords don't order sufficient stock and it is always running out off things and it is Chris that gets the backlash off the customers when their is no drink in.

Warn welcome from the staff, clean and tidy place. However I ordered a beef Sunday Lunch, plenty of veg,3 Yorkshire puds, not the best I've ever had. But it was find the beef, one miserable piece of beef which wasn't great, not good enough no wonder it was quiet. Sorry but won't be back and certainly won't be recommending it.

Very friendly staff. Nice pint.

Food was really poor but the staff were very friendly as well as the patrons and the pub was very welcoming, get the food right and you are on to a winner

Good service , reasonable priced drinks but food of poor standard and quantity not impressed

Drinks, ok. Food dire. Out of the 4 meals one was ok, 2 of them looked like they had come out of a tin and the 4th was barely edible. How hard is is to cook a steak? All 4 meals delivered separately, nearly 10mins between the first and last. And nearly an hour from ordering to actually getting our food. Wouldn't recommend it at all.

I went for some lunch because I thought it would be a good idea and it turned out to be amazing.An amazing pub and amazing food.Dog friendly and great entertainment.Would visit again.

This pub had been in the same hands for many years, it built up a great trade with locals and passers by. It was also known for its live music nights. Sadly the owner retired, the new owners moved in and within a few short weeks Ruined this wonderfully built up pub trade and its reputation with its poor often rude attitude and just as poor service. NOW THANKFULLY ...... The pub is in New Management Hands that are genuinely trying very hard to restore this pub to its FORMER GLORY... You are Welcomed and Treated as Family and just as Warm and Welcoming is Their Food, their Range of Drinks and the Cosy Ambience of which Embraces you, as you Enter, along with its Open Log Fire. No One Deserves to have the previous owners Ruin the business, And No One Deserves more the Reward of Building that Business back to its Former Glory Than The New Owner It Now Has.

A very traditional Country Pub on the trail from Darlo' to the A1m; A decent drink, a meal and a pint, ideal for 'er n 'im! Cosy, Rustic with Parking and a View ; Occasionally a local 'Turn' will entertain as one passes through!!

Went in for a few drinks as we were staying at hall Garth manor, who actually recommended them. Within 5 mins they were making disparaging remarks about the food at the hotel which were both untrue and unnecessary We finished our drink and left very unprofessional

Visited after being recommended by hall Garth manor Arrived and within 5 minutes they were making unfair and uncalled for comments about the hotels Maybe they should take a leaf out of their book as the glasses were smelly like rotten eggs

Fantastic great service fantastic good food cooked to perfection

Now open Tuesday's to Friday's at 5pm and weekends

Delicious home cooked tasting food, highly recommend

Called in here for Sunday lunch as looked lovely from the outside. Place was filthy inside and the women's toilets were disgusting. Young lad behind the bar was trying his hardest however all drinks we recieved were in dirty glasses. I can honestly say that the Sunday lunch was the worst I've ever had it was all luke warm all the veg was frozen and the Yorkshire pudding the only thing that tastes home made was burnt will definitely not return and would not recommend no wonder it was so quiet when most pubs are bustling on a Sunday

called about 8pm hoping food still be served , had very nice home cooked meal, good prices, nicely done out inside too, sure we will be back

We were really pleased to see life back in the place as we’ve missed the foresters, we’d call in every few months when in the area. I was also pleased to see a pool table (I know not everyone will be but they are few and far between) . We stopped for Sunday lunch, the new people seem really nice and keen to get things right so I hope they find this review helpful. There was no bird option at all which will put many off including me, but I decided to give the veggie options a go. The veg sausages were ok but if there is only one veg option why not make a home made quorn or veg dish like lasagne or mince pie yourself this may appeal more, there was nothing green on the plate which made it look bland, I don’t know anyone who enjoys white cabbage and the carrots were soggy, there was no stuffing as advertised, on the plus the rosaries and mash were excellent, we eat out quite a lot and we wouldn’t say what we ate was a £9 lunch but it looks like it’s early days I hope it gets better so we can return to give it another go

Really friendly and welcoming new owners. We came to a karaoke night on a Saturday and had a great laugh with many of the staff joining in too. Decent selection of drinks and all reasonably priced. Recently started doing Sunday lunch too I believe.

New owners . Small and cosy, food starts this week.

My colleague and I called in at The Forresters whilst working in the area. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and enjoyed an excellent pint of Black Sheep. The pub is under new management and has recently been refurbished, providing a comfortable lounge (with real fire) and games room with pool table. Food was not available when we called but meals will be offered in the near future. The Forresters has definite potential and I wish the new management all the best for the future.

Where do I start? Being a 'country pub' one would expect to be able to walk in at 8pm on a Saturday night for food. It was like a ghost town with what I could only assume would be local alcoholics sitting around staring at us. We were then told the kitchen was closed. Well, I have been to many much more rural places and never been told this on a Saturday! Rude, rude, rude! Basically given our matching orders. I understand all about fresh produce etc but nothing left at 8pm and not a soul sitting and dining? Must've been no food for a long time. Been once before about one year ago and although very underwhelmed with your dining experience, we thought we'd try again. Bad choice!

First time for a meal Sunday lunch food was very good. Good variety of vegetables 8 in total. Plenty of beef and a large Yorkshire pudding.

Having read the review from dml80 I must say that some people are difficult to please. My husband and I have been going here for sunday lunch for quite some time and have never ever had a bad meal yet. Sylwester is an excellent chef and he and Emma deserve nothing but praise. We also went on Christmas day last year and they excelled themselves with an absolutely stunning menu. Well done to both of you and keep up the good work.

after reading the good reviews I went for sunday lunch with my husband,we had the chicken which was ok,califlour broccoli and carrots were raw,frozen Yorkshire puddings to I expected a home made on it was the worse meal I have been out for awful.

I would have loved to review this pub but after checking it was open we walked there and although according to the sign on the door it was open .... it wasn't so

Nice selection of ale traditional pub and easily reached from the A1 so give it a try.Great atmosphere and food very good

Excellent food. Extremely tasty. Loved all the fresh ingredients. Would recommend to anyone passing by. You won't be disappointed.

Nice pub and food but limited menu.

Friendly staff who can't do enough for you

Work / birthday celebration. Saturday night and there was only our table of 7 in. The menu is what I would say sparce to say the least but don't let this put you off. The food was REALLY nice and QUALITY ingredients used. Every one of out party was Impressed with both the main's and the dessert. Just such a pity that it doesn't seem to be getting the recognition it should.

We were on a hen weekend, went to the pub at 5 and were greeted by the chef and a lady who worked behind the bar (not sure if she is the owner). Asked if they could accommodate 12 people, weren't too concerned about getting our food at the same time as we ordered at different times, food was fine in fact the starters and platters were very good. However, unfortunately the lady behind the bar was just rude as if we were an inconvenience being there. If she is a landlady she needs to be warm and welcoming not cold and rude to the point she couldn't even crack a smile. Also as a pub it would be good if they actually had a choice of drinks.

Saturday night, 8.15pm unable to walk in for a meal. 4 punters drinking and nowt else - this place was closed a few months back, doubt it will be long before it's closed again.

Firstly I must say the Sunday lunch - all 3 courses - was lovely

Lovely atmosphere and excellent service

Two menu's on offer, a Pub Classics and A la Carte. We had fish pie, fish and chips and burger and chips. All very good - exactly what pub food should be. A la Carte looked very interesting too - £16.50 average price, whilst classics £11-£12 (cheaper at lunch time and before 7pm

We had a family gathering here on Xmas eve. The service was excellent and the variety on the menu was brilliant. 6 of us all with completely different dishes and they were all very good.

HI i had lunch with frends i the foresters the food and service was good but the pub had a poor range of beers and no real ale .But i can recomend the food .j

My wife and I recently ate here and the food was very pleasant. The chef was obviously very busy as there was a large party in, however, he found the time to come out and apologise for the slight delay we were experiencing. As a further gesture we also recieved a free starter. Overall the chef came across really well. My wife had a rib eye steak that she thoroughly enjoyed. I had the mixed grill which was very nice indeed. I would recommend.

We were here for lunch which was a tasting menu and very extensive. Altogether we had something from everything on that menu so that was 3 starters, a lovely sorbet, 3 mains and 3 desserts and a choice of tea or coffee. It was fantastic and everything was beautifully presented and very, very tasty. Brilliant idea. Thank you to Emma, Sylvester and Gosia plus all staff in the kitchen for making our Christmas lunch special.

We've eaten here twice with family and have been thoroughly content upon leaving. Great service, good portions and superb quality of food.

Fantastic lunch. Food is first class and plentiful with lots of choice too. Would recommend it to anyone. Compliments to the chef, Sylvester, to Emma and to Blake who always looks after us so well.

We went midweek to get an early evening meal. There were only a small number of people in whilst we were there. We could not understand why as the meal was exceptional for both of us. It was freshly prepared using quality ingredients. Wewere pleaseantly surprised however we had been given a good recommendation for the food. We were surprised at some of the previous reports and were a little apprehensive. I had chicklen parmesan which was not what is found in many resraurants and was a large freshly prepared whole breast with fries , coleslaw and a salad. Suffice it to say we were more than pleased with the service, quality and exceptionally good value. Highly recommended if our visit was anything to go by. Give it a try.

Just been for sunday dinner me & my husband it use to be a carvery which was always lovely now its a normal sunday dinner £8.95 there was very little on the plate one of the worst sunday dinners we have had.1 piece of meat,2 small roast potatoes,1small piece of broclli,1piece of colly, teaspoon of mash & turnip & small parsnip & 1 yorkshire pud. Wont be going back...

Just had lunchtime special Mixed Grill for 2. Excellent price and service, well cooked tasty. Just 5 minutes from A1 near Darlington. Sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and ice cream for afters. Yum. Will definitely call again. Couldn't cook it myself for the price charged.

Four of us booked for an evening meal...no need, we were the only people eating from 7.30 onwards. No frills, the menu is purely pub grub, but when it came (which took a while!) it was quite nice

I write this review as someone who has always had great service at Foffanos in Darlington.

Just had the most wonderful birthday party here. Authentic Italian food and first class service. The courtyard at the rear had a small marquee over it with lovely seating areas with table flowers and candles. They had a small bar area where our guests were served superb prosecco on arrival. It's a lovely area with lots of space for little ones to run around. Great weather helped too.Really good feedback from our family and friends about the food, ambience and service. Loved it and would definitely recommend.

Recently travelling up the A1, heading for Newcastle, looking for somewhere to eat.

Called in for a quick drink on two nights last week. On both occasions they had no decent bitter. Black sheep was not available on either evening. The staff were very uninspired and looked rather bored. No wonder the place is empty. Will not be going again!

Abosolutly fantastic little pub would highly recommend!! We went for my daughters 18th last minute due to another pub letting us down on the booking and they couldn't do enough for us. The food was all homemade great portions and was exceptionally tasty. The service was second to none a wonderful friendly atmosphere. Thank you for a making a special day even more special😊👍 We will be back for sure!!

Fantastic food all home made would highly recommend

Called in as driving north on the A1 and sat nav suggested this as nearest watering hole. Place was just opening up at 17.00 so check opening times, nice table to sit outside and enjoy the sun. Plenty of parking and kids play area. Would like to pop back for food sometime soon.

First visit - turned away as no lunches left (staff sat eating & were very put out that we disturbed them ! )

Popped in on the off-chance on the way back north from a visit to Darlington. The pub looks a little tired but the beer was good (Black Sheep) & the food very fresh & so tasty. I had an amazing fish pie with cod, mussels, calimari, prawns & a gorgeous sauce, with veg & chips on the side - hubby had a lasagne with salad & half of my chips !!

10 of us went up for a family lunch having not been in years. The food was some of the nicest I have ate in Darlington. Good portions, deep flavor, well cooked and all round delicous food.

Great little stop on the way back from Darlington apart from the commercial vans dealers on their mobiles.

We went early evening and found the female on duty behind the bar less than welcoming, which set the scene. The television was on in the compact eating area, showing cartoons, and I asked her to turn it down, which she did, but immediately turned on some music which then provided a stereo effect with the low volume of the TV. I took exception to her moving my glass by covering the rim with her hand when she brought the food. Unhygienic and rather rude. Fortunately she was replaced by a more pleasant young lady for the remainder of our meal.

We called in here as we needed a comfort stop while driving south on the A1 and it seemed a more inviting place than a manic motorway service area. On a winter Saturday lunchtime we found a blazing fire, good beer and a light lunch: the soup and sandwich combo very good value.

This pub / restaurant provides excellent Sunday lunches. Pleasant, welcoming atmosphere, helpful staff good food. Ticked all boxes for me.

Was staying in hall garth hotel locally and tried foresters arms for dinner. Was fantastic, been here two nights for dinner in a row as food is amazing!

Would recommend this pub to anyone - very friendly and the food is fantastic. If you stay at the Hall Garth hotel it is a short walk but well worth it!

Great pub with great food. Service great and only a short walk from Hall Garth Hotel.

Had dinner here recently with my wife and it was a very good experience. Although it was a Saturday the restaurant was half full with a warm fire at rear of room which gives a nice atmosphere in which to dine. I had the black pudding starter followed by fillet steak (medium) and cooked well!, the food was very good and we will eat here again, recommended!

Went here a few months ago after new owners started and food was excellent. Went back last night and was very disappointed with food. Ordered steak and ale pie,pastry gorgeous, meat needed trimmed as rather fatty so left most of it.

I was staying at the nearby Hall Garth Hotel and decided to pay a visit. Well, I was not disappointed. The food i had was gorgeous. So much so I returned for food on the following 2 evenings and had different meals on both occasions. Overall it was excellent. Well worth a visit.

We booked for a Sunday Carvery after hearing that the pub had been taken over, with reasonable expectations for a good meal. I'm sorry to say we were honestly disappointed with what we had. The first point is that both the website and the board outside advertised a carvery - in fact what was on offer was a standard Sunday menu with set portions served on the plate from the kitchen. Not been too concerned about this we ordered from the menu. I was glad to see a vegetarian option 'Blue cheese and roasted vegetable crumble (sounded nice enough) and my partner ordered the beef. The portions that arrived were smaller than expected - smaller than most Sunday lunches we've had. My partners beef was, he said, ok but there wasn't that much of it, the other bits were ok too. My 'main course' was what can only be described as a side dish. Basically they had taken some of the ready prepared vegetables, crumbled the smallest speck of blue cheese and dried herbs on the top and stuck it under the grill. Slightly browned boiled veg (the couple of roasties included had been soaked in the water at the bottom of the bowl) with a hint of stilton. Come on chef...that is not a main course! I'm no cook but I would have easily added a nice creamy stilton sauce to the veg and a tasty savoury crumble topping is easy enough. I do mean this to be constructive criticism - not just having a go, but you have to admit this is lazy. I do really will local small businesses and country pubs to succeed but real improvements to the food are needed here. The staff - pleasant enough, the surroundings not bad but sadly this isn't enough when there is such competition around.

Went for sunday lunch today and frankly couldn't fault it its not a carvery as advertised but there was more than enough food on our plates and everything was cooked beautiful and it left enough room for a mojito cheesecake which was unbelievable will definitely be going again

Despite having a reservation for 7:30pm we didn't even get to see the menu or get offered a drink until 8:15 and then only after I'd complained to the bar maid as the waiting staff had simply disappeared. Starter was OK, black pudding a little tasteless but the Wife's chicken liver pate was truly excellent, the mains however were very disapointing. All the pub classics such as steak pie, sausage and mash etc had a £4.50 additional charge if ordered after 6:30pm! How they warrant such a charge is beyond me and this will cost them regular visitors. I opted for the Surf and Turf; the Sirloin steak was tough and the Surf part was two shelled king prawns in a dish! My wife's steak was also rather tough. The red wine by the glass was an Italian syrah (shiraz) and I can see why Italian shiraz has taken off, it was frankly awful! I'd go back for a drink (not wine). The beer was very good and I'd possibly try the food again but certainly before 6:30pm. Its a shame the food and service was so poor, under the previous owner we visited the pub for evening meals at least once a fortnight. Ironically the Oswald's restaurant at the Hall Garth Hotel only 1/8 down the road from the Foresters offers silver service dining with excellent food for the same price (and less in many instances). I for one will continue to visit Oswald's and the Blacksmiths arms as a regular until this place gets its act together regarding food and service.

went sat 12-00 pm had chicken with goats cheese and hand cut chips , wife had chicken Diane both were very good , the chips were excellent