Fox Cub in County Durham

Called in for Sunday lunch the pub was busy but we were seated quickly by Jack. We opted for the carvery and we weren’t disappointed it was delicious and the was plenty choice of veg and not forgetting a giant Yorkshire pudding. We cleared our plates and with no room for pudding decided to have a cake takeaway for later. The staff were friendly and helpful all smiling. Thank you to all the staff who work hard a special thanks to everyone in the kitchen our lunch was lovely. We will definitely be back and would highly recommend.

Went for drinks Ben served us - lovely friends and very helpful Would recommend Food looks lovely and staff very helpful

Food was great and the staff even better! Lovely to be greeted by happy and attentive staff. My little has asked to come every Sunday!

Ben & Christine where really helpful we are new to the area and had a voucher from a relative oversea, so we Christine processed our food and drink while Ben poured a great pint! Well earned after a hard day DIY

Food and service was amazing. Went with some friends and will definitely be going back. Very friendly and welcoming environment.

The food was absolutely delicious (cheese, leek and potato pie and chips plus apple crumble and custard) and the staff were great, very friendly and helpful. Place was spotless Will definitely be going back!

Great service from Ben and Christine who were both very friendly and chatty during our visit. Only popped in for drinks with a good selection on offer.

The carvery was outstanding brilliantly service by Jack and the kitchen team the carvery was very tasty

Wow we saw on Facebook earlier and went straight down to try both Jack and Ben were very helpful and the music was much better

Dan who served us was very friendly and helpful. Carvery was the best ever. Great friendly atmosphere. Totally recommend a visit to Fox Club

We visited today for lunch both Jack and Leah were utterly amazing and couldn’t do enough for us. Really good it’s dog friendly

Lovely service from our local. We haven’t been in for over a year as the food had become disappointing. Nice choice of specials today. Clean plates by all. The lovely girl Saffron was fantastic. Very polite, attentive and courteous. Will definitely be back next week.

Family of five adults came for Sunday cavery. Average choice, not one of us ate the cardboard Yorkshire pudding, and the gravy was thick and gloupy. Staff were nice, but wouldn’t return .

Wow, been to Fox club several times ( My Daughter lives in Spennymoor). Never had bad service, But think it has new management. Service , facilities, Staff excellent. Can't recommend Fox Club enough.

Jack was very friendly and couldn’t do enough for us. He brung us water for the dog and offered to take drinks to our table. This place is really good for families and we will be back

...Excellent service from Jack !, great food and atmosphere. Highly recommend. pool table music ...................

Went on the Spur of the moment for lunch, we were served by Jack who took our drinks order while we decided what we wanted to eat, drinks arrived swiftly then he took our food order, we didn’t wait long for our food, it was hot and very nice. This pub has a lovely atmosphere and the staff are friendly and welcoming will be very happy to return.

Great for a couple drinks and some food, good customer service too, spot on overall, not too loud either always nice and quiet with calm atmosphere

Very friendly service, food piping hot and very tasty. Noticed light bite menu stops at 3, maybe look to extending times. Overall great experience, keep up the good work and will definitely be back 😃xxx

Come for the quiz every Tuesday. Ashley is a great and entertaining host. Christine and Ben at the bar very welcoming with great service.

Briefly visited with a couple of my friends for some drinks and food. The food was really good, can’t complain. Staff members were very welcoming and went the extra mile to make sure everything and everyone was okay. Would definitely recommend to others. Perfect family pub. Will definitely be going again some time soon.

Service was great, went for a carvery food was lovely could not complain about anything would definitely come back and recommend

Me and my partner went for food on Tuesday 12th. Great service from start to finish from a young lady with dark hair. The food was excellent I had lunch time hunters chicken and my partner had a gammon 10/10 from us.

Great service from welcoming and friendly. Good selection of drinks and product knowledge. Will definitely keep coming back

Tuesday night pub quiz with Ashley is great, we go every week. Burger deal is decent price but other food and drinks are on the expensive side.

Ashley is a hoot, we love the Tuesday quiz and she's a wonderful host, the food is great but a little pricey, nice choice of drinks.

I attend the Quiz on a Tuesday with friends and we all find it very entertaining and thoroughly enjoy it. The staff are very helpful and always go that extra mile.

I go here every Tuesday for the excellent quiz hosted by Ashley, really good night, friendly atmosphere, bar staff Ben and Christine are friendly and helpful too

Ashley is fabulous and always does a solid quiz. We come here every week and thoroughly enjoy it. Would recommend to everyone.

Attend the quiz every week and Ashley is amazing! Such a good host and so helpful! We bring a big group just for the quiz! Thanks

When walking in first impressions were soulless, empty and little to no atmosphere. The member of staff that welcomed us (if that is what you would call it) was lacking in enthusiasm and failed to smile. There was no warm greeting and she could not be bothered to walk around from the bar to meet us at the "please wait here to be seated sign". She just grunted from the bar for us to come over to her. After taking our drinks order she then refused to serve my daughter a drink which was my daughters 18th birthday and as she had not brought her id. I understand that it is the job of the staff to ask for id if required but at the same time as I pointed out a 16 year old can have a alcoholic drink with a meal by law and at what point would my daughter be drinking in excess when having a meal with her parents? The attitude of the bar girls was absolutely appauling no apologies no customer service skills whatsoever. Even the reserved table was in a pokey gloomy little corner small table certainly not suitable for a party of 3. We obviously decided not to stay for a meal more so due to the bar girls awful attitude and as we had not brought our car as myself and wife wanted to have a birthday drink with our meal to celebrate our daughters birthday we had to order a taxi to find somewhere else to have our family meal. We had to wait outside for a while before the taxi came which this bar girl would have seen and at no point were we invited to wait inside. Well as it turned out the taxi driver told us of a lovely welcoming pub restaurant where we were welcomed with a lovely smiling warmth from the front of house staff, nothing was too much trouble their service was impeccible, fantastic home made food which we feel this would not have been the case at the Fox Cub. We will not go back to the Fox Cub again, we have found a lovely pub restaurant who make you feel that you are a valued customer and actually know how to behave within hospitality. It obviously shows there is something wrong at the Fox Cub during half term lunch time with empty tables though the bar girl bad attitude may be a serious factor!

Me and my husband called in tonight for food. After waiting an hour without being told there was a delay in food, we were starving. When the food arrived we were informed there were no tomatoes. My husband ordered sirloin steak with beer battered onion rings and I ordered the gammon. The chips were frozen, the beer battered onion rings looked like they were out of a packet from the freezer, the peas were dry and my egg was raw and wobbly. I had to leave some chips due to them being covered in raw egg. If I hadn’t waited an hour and was feeling sick due to being hungry I would have sent the food back. Take my advice do not eat here

Whole place gone down hill fast, starting with car park, very dangerous lamp collapsed 4 foot piece left without repair another looks ready for collapse, watch your your when parking been like this for a couple of years, Camper vans left parked up for months. Manager mustn’t care a jot! Daily Carvery now gone used to be good, food is cheap frozen food, last visit took over 45 mins for waitress to say what I ordered was off the menu. It’s become a bit of a joke of a place. Also drinks very expensive

Popped back in as we were passing, it had been a while since our last visit, nothing had changed, the food was great, staff were friendly and value for money was top notch, wish we lived closer, will be back for sure

We went as a family of 7 on Christmas day for lunch. Had to wait almost 50minutes for our starters. When asked if our starter would be much longer at 40minutes was abruptly told by who looked like the restaurant manager (lady in red skirt with a face like thunder) "there is an order and it will come when it comes" not a I'm sorry it shouldn't be much longer... like the lovely younger waiteres informed us a few minutes later. The soup was nice, home made and tasty. The carvery was average. The pork fatty and gross, the vegetables were undercooked and greasy. Dessert was exhausting, nobody on our table could eat it. We had apple tart that we had to ask for a knife to cut as it was too soggy to cut with the spoon you would normally use for a Dessert. Some sections of the tart was warm where other parts were frozen cold. Staff, most were lovely, professional and polite. All but the lady with a face like thunder. Advice save your money and go elsewhere.

Fantastic visit for Xmas dinner. Not a fault. Absolutely perfect service and food (especially with the kitchen being understaffed).

Attended the Christmas quiz on 19th Dec, great atmosphere, another fantastic quiz by Ashley, rest of the staff great too. Excellent night👏

Went for our work Christmas lunch today- so wish we hadn’t 😞 . We went last year to the carvery and we’re well impressed and returned this year expecting the same ! It was advertised as a carvery when we booked but when we went today we found that it wasn’t a carvery and we were getting a turkey dinner , all plated up and no choice of meat- Turkey take it or leave it. When we questioned this we were told the pub had changed hands and the menu had changed and the carvery was no longer available and the organiser should have received an email confirming this but no email was received! The meal- the prawn cocktail was fine- you cannot really go wrong with a few prawns and a bit of lettuce The Christmas fayre- Turkey was dry, the roasties were very greasy, the parsnips weren’t roasted, the pig in blankets didn’t looked cooked and the stuffing ball was very hard and overcooked and not very edible. The broccoli was overcooked- Overall the food wasn’t very warm at all. The dessert I chose was described on the menu as a Citrus tart and in the description as a cheese cake but was neither We were told that we couldn’t make separate card payments so had to transfer what we owed to the organiser to pay the bill altogether . They did offer us a discount which caused another problem as we had all transferred the full amount to the organiser who now has to arrange 20+ refunds. All round not a good experience- won’t be returning 😡

Came for the regular weekly quiz which is always good fun organised by Ashley. Food was lovely, much improved from previous visit in March. Staff very friendly and helpful.

Absolutely awful food, paid £14 for a chicken burger that consisted of a cardboard chicken fillet, fake bacon and two hash browns that obviously were cooked 3 days ago.

I don't usually leave reviews, good or bad, in the public domain; however, on this occasion, 13.11.2023, I feel it appropriate and proportionate. We visited the Fox Cub at Durham Gate and ordered three cowboy burgers and one garlic bread side from the main menu. We enjoyed the burgers on a previous occasion and looked forward to doing so again. The food was served at our table within 8 minutes of placing the order, and upon cutting the burgers in half, pink/red meat was noticeable. We hadn't eaten any of the food ordered apart from a side of garlic bread and decided to raise our concerns with a staff member. I explained how when meat is minced to produce burgers, any harmful bacteria from the surface of the raw meat spreads throughout the burger. Unless the burger is cooked right through, these bacteria can remain alive on the inside. The staff member claimed the burgers were probed. Upon questioning if the food probe had been used correctly due to evidence of raw meat suggesting otherwise, the staff member said the burger was the problem. I am not sure why a food establishment would choose to attempt to cook burgers with known issues. When asked, the staff member confirmed she would have eaten the undercooked burger herself but would not eat undercooked mincemeat such as that used in spaghetti bolognese. This staff member's awareness of uncooked meat is dangerous regarding food safety and an oxymoron. For this reason, we requested a refund, which was promptly provided.

Expensive/greedy, unhappy staff and super slow. I’ve only been here a handful of times, and I’ve never been a huge fan, but the carvery isn’t bad. I’ve attended today and the carvery wasn’t on due to some issue - which is fine. So we decided to order off the normal menu and give it another go. We ordered at 14:20 and I was still sat at 15:10 (50 minutes) waiting for a starter, pie and mash x2 and macaroni cheese. Food came and it was piping hot and it was all correct. The quality isn’t the best though, it’s basically freezer food. My partner wasn’t too hungry so she ordered a starter; buttermilk chicken strips and popcorn chicken (£5.95) and a side of chips. Her starter came and her mobile phone was bigger than the bowl it was in, three pieces of popcorn chicken and two strips stuffed next to a pinch of wilted rocket. Please look at the photo attached. I’d avoid buying drinks because they’re a fortune - £3.50 plus for a soft drink. £2.05 for a water + cordial. Blue Light discount only applies to ONE meal for the person holding the card which is kinda understandable but a bit greedy from the company. You can’t even use the perk of holding a blue light card to treat your child/partner to let’s face it, a couple of quid off a meal. The staff are not very friendly at all, not a hello when you come in or goodbye when you leave. We’ll definitely not be back, it’s just very very poor in so many aspects. It’s a shame cause it’s my local. Also, you wouldn’t expect an establishment that charges almost £5 for a Coke to have ACTUAL BOGIES on the toilet walls would you - vile. Above the door it says the toilets are checked hourly. Yeah OK.

Stumbled across The Fox Cub by chance and we’re very happy that we did! Josh and Ben served us at the bar and delivered our food orders to the table. Very polite, welcoming staff, delicious food and great value. We went on a Friday lunchtime. Super speedy service, and a relaxing environment. Would definitely visit again if in Spennymoor.

Booked here for a family reunion we checked in and the staff member pointed to the tables we were allocated,this was a Friday early evening the garden area was quite busy with people drinking but all the tables weren't occupied. Inside was very quiet with about 4 possibly 5 tables taken our group the biggest with 6 adults and 3 children.All food and drinks were orded at the bar and I was told 1 hour wait for food as only one chef in the kitchen ,we were fine with that as we were chatting as a family reunion. The food eventually came to the table 1 hour 15 after ordering with no apologies from the staff for the wait and not asked if we needed anything. Over all the food was very disappointing. I ordered a spicy burger which was bland and a very poor burger for the price .I can not comment on other members of my party's food, but no one was impressed. A member of staff came and cleared the table, and at no point did anyone ask us how the food was ,very poor food, bland, poor quality, and overpriced . Wouldn't visit again and wouldn't recommend anyone else to visit.

Food was amazing fantastic service from start to Finnish especially from the girl who sat us down think her name was Annmarie nothing seemed a Hassel as we did want to move to be near the window . Guy behind the bar Luke was friendly and attentive and as already said food was great we had carvery highly recommended will be back again not worth messing about cooking when you can go here prices spit on too.

Nice pub's pleasant setting had a combination of the steak and ale pie, the cowboy burger, the lasagne and the tikka masala all the meals were fine and the prices were about the going rate.

Absolutely disgraceful, the big appetiser was so small for £8.00 kids meals should be cheaper than that really expensive it was such a small plate I could not believe it when it came

Went for a late lunch today having booked a table, we were seated and served very quickly by attentive friendly staff, we opted for the carvery and it was delicious. I mentioned it was my other half’s birthday and they presented him with cake and...

Thank you so so much, we had a wonderful time for my Aunties 70th birthday. There was 23 of us and We all had a beautiful meal and the staff were so helpful! Brilliant time from start to finish

Good quality food that was hot and well cooked. Service was friendly and helpful. Highly recommended

Came in to try the new menu and the starters did not disappoint, staff were lovely and service was great

Came today with my family food was amazing. Atmosphere was superb from start to finish staff excellent as always definitely will be returning

Went for the last 2 weeks for family Sunday carvery and can honestly say everything was beautiful - kids and adults really enjoyed it - first week we went at dinner time second week tea time and both times just as nice - deserts were...

Went for Sunday Carvery with my family for a birthday celebration, everyone who works there are always smiling and friendly. Carvery has never disappointed us the few times we’ve been and looking forward to many more. I’ve been for the breakfasts for halloween & Christmas...

We have just dined here as a party of 6. We ordered 4x carvery’s and 2x burgers. We arrived at 6.30 and had to chase up the burgers at 19.20 and were told they were on their way. Obviously 4 of the party were having...

Been for a carvery and it was absolutely lovely! No faults at all great staff and customer service 10/10 well done guys!

Very disappointed with our lunch . Not worth the money at all. I ordered scampi, looked like a child’s meal. Peas were cold. Small amount of scampi on the plate. Men had burgers and didn’t look great for the price. Other person had soup, half.a...

Lovely attentive staff and spot on food but the bill for 7 people was very wrong, we missed our connection coach cos apparently only one deal per bill, careful folks.

Marstons Sunday roasts are great but the Fox Cub, Spennymoor is the best. They managed to squeeze us in with no booking, smiles on their faces and we was served throughout our stay by the lovely Emily who was helpful in everyway when we asked...

Me and my partner visited today after not being down for a while and I could not fault our visit. Staff where very friendly and out food was amazing! Love the new menu and the food was delicious! Will definitely be coming back! Our steaks...

Great pub, staff are fab, and dog friendly too!!! Thanks to Jack and the staff, always welcoming and friendly service. Will be back soon

the doggy menu it absolutely fabulous! Such lovely people and always made you feel welcome and such friendly staffs absolutely delicious food I would definitely recommend coming to this pub

when to this pub couple weeks ago what absolutely amazing service it was, everyone was so friendly and helpful alway have a smile on there faces and the food was absolutely gorgeous very good quality I would definitely recommend this place!!!

We had a table of 6 booked on Saturday, we where on time and ordered our food 5 mins after sitting down, an hour later our food turned up, My burger was wrong my sons burger was wrong, they didnt send out my wifes sauce...

Passed this establishment many times from the main road A688 and it looked a really nice place... how wrong I was!! As soon as I walked in I knew it was going to be bad. From the notice on the front desk saying " supplier...

The pub is a nice clean, place with a good variety of food choice that has standard prices. Unfortunately at £4.05 for a pint of Fanta orange is completely unreasonable even if food and alcohol prices need to increase in this current climate.

Booked in for tea. No mixed grill available and no Yorkshire pudding for carvery. Wasn't told when ordering carvery that there was only gammon and a little beef available, No pork or turkey. Vegetables all dried up and barely warm, asked if they had mash...

We went today, late in the day. I ordered a carvery and the hubby gammon of the menu. I waited a while knowing that the hubby's meal would take some time to cook. When I went to get the carvery there was no turkey and...

Fantastic atmosphere! Came with our son and friends. Lovely area for children to play outside. We all had carvery and drinks- blue light discount too!!! E

Visited on a Sunday for a carvery. We have visited this pub a good few times as we live local. When I go and have a carvery, I always have the roast beef as I don’t usually buy it for home because my husband doesn’t...

Absolutely love this place, always made to feel welcome as soon as you walk through the doors… staff are lovely and always get service with a smile 😀 food has always been lovely and never had to complain about anything. We love going here and...

I was very happy wiv my service everytime I have been down, staff is polite and food is beautiful. Keep up the excellent work guys 🙂👌

Food was roasting hot and quick to serve very polite and unbelievable tasting food 5 Stars ⭐️ And we will be back!! Yum 🤤

Visiting from Manchester, took my Mom & Aunt for meal as they live down road, Guy who served Carvey lovely Gentlemen! However table service was slacking.. no one cleaned our table, we made a Fort with our glasses! There must have been a thing on...

With us having some building work done, my wife and I decided to eat out and having previously visited we thought we'd once again eat here. Two quick burgers ordered and after a short wait they arrived. I'm not one for doing businesses a bad...

Hi what a amazing morning at the fox cub my son had amazing time touch and holding different animals the breakfast was excellent and full credit go to team of fox cub hopefully many more events to come we'll done

Great friendly little pub, great staff and customer service Nice relaxed atmosphere aswell perfect family outing

Popped in on our way back home after spending the morning in Bishop Auckland..restaurant is very nice clean nice atmosphere and the staff are friendly…we chose to go for the carvery..was told at the bar upon ordering that there was no beef..fine by us we don’t like beef but how ever when we went to the carvery all we had to choose from was half a joint or turkey and just about 1 portion or gammon…if this was about 3/4 hours in to a busy service it wouldn’t be a massive problem but it was about 12:45. A little disappointed but probably would return when carvery is fully stocked

Great local pub with nice food. Love the Tuesday night quiz, really developed a great little quiz community. Staff are always polite and prompt.

I visited here with a few friends that I hadn’t seen in years. It was a very relaxed and comfortable environment and the staff were very friendly. I had a steak and it was cooked to perfection, I asked the server to give my compliments to the chef and was given a review card with her name on it, so to Alice, thank you very much dear! And thank you to the rest of the staff that made our experience amazing. Beautiful pub, beautiful food.

I moved to Spennymoor in September and I have visited numerous times. I’ve eaten here several times, never had a bad meal. I’ve had the carvery here on a Sunday, everything was really fresh.I’ve more recently been coming to the quiz night on a Tuesday night. Ashley the host is lovely and so friendly, welcoming new teams with open arms. I’ve also eaten here on the quiz night. Faultless service, Jack who works on the bar (not sure if he is the manager) is always friendly too.

£3.50 for a Pepsi? They used to be refillable but somehow, the Covid-19 pandemic stopped this being possible…so you can’t refill your drink but it’s still £3.50? Dread to think how much a pint is. It’s Spennymoor guys, not Park Lane. Stop being greedy.

Visited last saturday and was greeted by lovely warming staff, I was shown to a table and asked for allergies really good that staff are doing this. I ordered the hunters chicken and it was beautiful

Came here with a couple of friends. Once we ordered our food a few minutes late a friendly member of staff came to the table to say some items on our order were no longer available but the chef could make us something in replacement. I must say I was glad it was unavailable as what we did get was lovely. Thank you

Went to the fox cub last week, for some food and a couple of drinks. Was glad to see vegan options on the menu, and the staff were great

Visited 4pm for the carvery. Greeted with dry left over food on display. Asked if anything fresh available and told no that's it for the day. It's only 4.30 !!Now I know why the place was virtually deserted. Never mind, just went to the Toby carvery

Today went for family lunch the food and pudding was excellent and the front house staff the assistant manager jack made us feel very welcome and front of staff was excellent with way he brought food out and his manner i didnt catch his name well done will defo come back soon

Another meal at the fix cub and the new year has not improved the menu, all the nice and healthy options stop at 3pm with French onion soup and vegetarian option being the best bet for reduced calories It's the soup "french onion gravy" is being flattering May be a review of menues is in order

Rubbish serviceWrong foodMissing foodNo cutlery or condiments givenNo staff wearing face masksNo sanitizer available

Hello ....firstly this review is 100% genuine.Firstly I must say the staff especially the lovely lady in red at the entrance were great and very professional.The meal was good ....only thing to watch is the soup and meal went piping hot ....carvers are awkward to maintain good heat levels unfortunately.Well done all.Happy New Year.

My partner and I come here on a regular basis, and always enjoy our visits. Staff are efficient and friendly, and the atmosphere is relaxed . Food is tasty and reasonably priced, especially breakfast, which proved to be a lifeline during recent power cuts and freezing weather!

Took the kids for breakfast with Santa. Absolutely fantastic couldn’t fault anything breakfast was delicious and a buffet so you could get as much as you want. Brilliant games for the kids with great prizes for them and the children were so excited to see Santa and even more chuffed with the little gift that they got each as well asa selection box would definitely will do it again next year. Staff were great also.

We are a family of 4 and all ordered the carvery. Only choice of 2 meats (beef or gammon). Beef was too chewy to eat, hard roasties and tasteless veg. Had to wait around to be served and then another wait as there was no gravy. Some staff were very friendly, others not so much. Really over priced for the quality of food. Drinks expensive too. Would not return. Such a shame.

arrived at 6.00 pm ordered at the bar £31.92 billOnion ring shared starters arrived promptly and very nice they were too!then we sat - ordered another pintthen we sat some more-ordered another pintafter 3 pints and 1 hour we're getting hungry asked if they were growing their own potatoes for my fish & chips NO RESPONSEthe meal subsequently arrived a rubbery chicken salad and raw fish with cool and we dont mean good chipswe did'nt order suchi complained and was offer £11.92 refundCOMPLAINED AGAIN and obtained full refund lousy service lousy food Who gives a S**T

Hi booked a place with breatfast with santa and i was not disappointed it excellent the way it was run full. Credit to staff of pub also the person who played santa was excellent will defo booked again next year

Just had Sunday’s dinner here with my two kids. First time we’ve been & we will definitely be returning. The food was lovely & you get plenty. The desserts are lovely as well. It’s well worth the money. The waitress Rhiannon was absolutely brilliant. She was very welcoming, polite & couldn’t do enough for us & other people.

Ordered our meals child wanted carvery no said to go for it when ready. Our meals came and asked about hers and told can go anytime. Wife went with child and nothing edible there and had to wait 15 mins for replacement meal which wasn't very good under cooked sausages and mash with big lumps of dried out carrot. Our meals were badly cooked wife's steak raw and chewy in middle, my mixed grill mostly dry and overcooked steak raw but burnt on the bottom.We're given refund for child's meal which does not show on my account and they gave her a free soft drink. None of this helps when kitchen staff can't cook simple meals.

Lovely and hot food, the staff were so lovely and welcoming, got our drinks straight away, and out food straight away

Took the family for meal the chicken burger was really nice and hunter chicken was rslly taste the only thing i wish they would have skinny fries on menu but overall staff was nice and friendly and ithink the new manager team will do well to turn this pub around

Myself and 2 family members visited Friday all the staff were very smart and friendly Pub Very clean the food was very tasty ,we had each Scampi Fish + Gammon (chips lovely) Well presented visual display on service Well done Nothing was a problem Will definitely be back