Head Of Steam in County Durham

Dined here this evening. Had myself a cheeky double bacon cheeseburger and partner had vegan chorizo burger. Now my first issue is these burgers aren’t cheap, £16 a pop. As you can see from the photo the size doesn’t really warrant anything close to that price for me. Food was cooked nice and came in good time. The bacon burger itself is also too tall, may sound stupid but if the bun wasn’t the size of a 50 pence they wouldn’t need to try and reach the moon when standing on it. The fries were really well done too, I’d have given this place 3.5 stars if possible alas, Google does not allow soft half stars so it’s a solid 3. Decent meal, nothing special, pricey for the area.

Nice craftbeer bar. Didn't try the food but had a non-alcoholic beer, they had serveral to choose from. Nicely decorated.

Variety of food on the menu All really good scran Lovely staff

Nice pub, food menu looked lovely

Nice beer and bar staff, free sweets. Just short of £15 for a beer and a single G&T, to much

Drink selection and atmosphere are really good. While they offer 25% off for students, they’ve also hiked the price of everything up so it’s about the same value as anywhere else locally. Some of the pints are £7 before discount which I think is a bit deceptive

Busy but loads of seating upstairs and really good friendly service

Great place to meet with a huge selection of Ales and beers.

Since moving to Durham for university this has been my go to pub. The food is excellent. The staff are super friendly and very approachable when ordering. I have recommended this place to a great number of friends and they have all since become regular customers of the place. Great selection of drinks. Even a great selection of non alcoholic drinks for the non drinkers. Would definitely recommend this place as it caters to all.

The staff where really friendly, great draught options, food was lovely and helpful when came to recommendations from Danny I think he was called.

Great selection of IPAs and PAs. Food is perfect. I had the burger which was amazing!!! Staff are really welcoming and friendly especially Danny who was super helpful in giving me recommendations.

I recently visited this pub in Durham, and unfortunately, it was a poor experience. While the pub itself had a nice atmosphere and seemed quite popular given how busy it was, the food and service were disappointing. I ordered a cheeseburger and chips, but the quality was subpar, especially for the high price. Additionally, the soft drinks were completely flat, which was another letdown. To make matters worse, the ladies' toilets were out of toilet paper, which added to the overall frustration. For the amount of money spent, I expected much better. I won’t be returning and wouldn’t recommend it.

Excellent little bar with great beer choices! Had a great time eating and drinking and the tall girl from Sunderland was very helpful

Excellent establishment, fantastic choice of drinks and Maria the barmaid gave us outstanding.customer service. Would recommend to all and sundry. Will definitely be back for more.

Maria is brilliant! She is proud to wear her baseball ballcap and you should be gutted to lose her to the Australian sunshine!

Great atmosphere, great drinks, wonderful service. Really recommend!

Excellent service, Oscar is such a gem

Nice bar good outside area (covered) staff were helpful and friendly wasn't a great deal of atmosphere due to it being a Sunday afternoon but I have been in on a Saturday night and enjoyed it

Nice place but £19.90 for 2 lagers and a Guinness is taking the piss. Won't be visiting there again. Probably reason they don't display prices for drinks

I've been in a lot of pubs in this chain and this was the worst one by a yard mile, it was empty, not much choice of beers, beers past their best even the keg. Pretty dire to be fair. On the plus side the two barmen we're very friendly and a good couple of lads.

Great place for a wee sit during the day with amazing selection of beers!! We played some of their board games upstairs and it was very lovely.

Came for a couple of drinks and ended up with a pizza amazing staff and so friendly food was just perfect and so tasty thanks will be back

Smashing service from the team, especially Chris who made my visit extra special. Excellent food and drinks and fast service

Don't order the nasty frozen basic pizza. Service was confusing with someone who seemed to not know what day of the week it was but beer range was good.

Great place to meet for ales and ‘bar food’ - wings, pizza, burger etc. Tucked away just off the main drag, but well signposted. Highly recommended!

I recently had the pleasure of dining at The Head of Steam in Durham, and I can confidently say that it was an outstanding experience from start to finish. The menu offered a delightful array of options that catered to various tastes. The service at The Head of Steam was top-notch. From the moment we walked in, the staff greeted us with warm smiles and an eagerness to help. They were attentive without being intrusive. One of the highlights of the visit was the outdoor seating area, which is a true sun trap! On a beautiful day, there’s nothing better than enjoying a meal or a drink outside, basking in the sunshine while soaking up the vibrant atmosphere. It’s a wonderful place to relax with friends or family, making the most of the lovely weather.

Nice pub with a good range of beer and food.

Nice couple of pints in the Durham sunshine. They also have a great selection of Belgian beers 🍻

You always receive a warm welcome from the staff and quickly served with the best beer in Durham at a reasonable price, they have a wide range of beers from all over Europe ( German beers are our favourite ), always good music playing unlike other pubs and a great food menu! Special mention for Will & Emily they are friendly and professional🙆‍♂️ We’ll be back in soon!

Thank you to the barman Andrew for our beautiful Margarita and Old Fashioned cocktails. 10/10 definitely reccomend

We visited for the first time today, sadly between jobs/driving so couldn't sample your awesome range of beers so we just stuck to pop and sampled umpteen things from your menu. We will definitely be back! 😋 Looking forward to sampling some cool beverages next time too! Dunno what your old menu was like but I'm loving the current one!

If Wetherspoons did cratf beer, this would be it! Decent range of craft beers on tap but toilets were not great for 5pm on a Saturday. We'd probably check somewhere else out next time in town, unless they had a special beer on.

Great place, staff, food and drink. Happy daze!! 😊

Good food and drink great atmosphere

Wide range of beers. Excellent service. Always worth a look.

Great pub wide range of beers helpful staff friendly atmosphere

Enjoyed my visit , good selection of craft ales to choose from . 3-4-2 on cans if you fancied it.

Have students discount! Very nice

Beers good , guys behind bar friendly but food was poor , especially the vegan fake chicken flatbread ....plates not collected after we had eaten ....I guess they were embarrassed......also the cook had said he didn't have a separate fryer for vegan food but thought the "meat' fryer was ok for vegetarians ....clearly needs some training......other places in town doing similar food for same price but better.

Visited in the afternoon. But there was a very unpleasant smell from outside thar permeated inside. So much so we left after 1 drink

Nice bar Sun trap in bar garden But a bit pricey.

Excellent pub with lots of outdoor seating, including partially covered smoking areas! We had rum and cokes, buffalo wings and a cigarette on a particularly hot day.

You'll need a mortgage out for the drinks sooooo expensive 😡

Great range of beers and lagers, probably the best selection in Durham. Food is passable, portions are fairly small but it's tasty enough

Great place to grab a bite and a beer or cider. Loved the fried chicken burger and chicken tenders.

Saturday afternoon.....lovely pint or two of Tiny Rebel Juicy. Great staff as always.......take their time to have a bit craic on about beer..... If your in Durham give it a go!

Nice ambience good outdoor seating area, great cocktails. Nice location

Disappointing pub although beer quality was ok. Couple eating take away pizza and rolling joints while stood at the bar. Staff who thought their cigarette break was more important than serving customers. Overflowing smelly rubbish bins next to outdoor seating, although these may have belonged to adjacent premises. The overall impression was very poor

Good food and wide range of beer

Popped in over bank holiday weekend. Nice atmosphere friendly staff will go again

Great Atmosphere !!Great selection of wines and beers .Freindly staff great service.Would recommended a visit.10/10.🙂🥂🍻

Great little spot for a few drinks

Hidden gem in the City centre Super dog friendly Great selection of beers

A canny pub with a good selection of drinks, it's a bit difficult to get served during the busy periods, but once you've got your drinks there's a good atmosphere.

Was drinking chimay so cant remember much about the place.

Nice atmosphere and decor .Great selection of craft and real ales.Very central to the city.

Lovely lunchtime meal and great value with a drink. Guy behind the bar is great as well, my fav go to bar in Durham.

Not service with a smile by any great stretch of the imagination, nice area to sit outside though and drinks were nice if a little overpriced.

Great place ... tash or no tash ?

Improved beer selection since my last review. Still can't sample food as won't eat where dogs are.

Great service, brilliant selection of ales. For veteran's a discount 👏👏👌

Great bar right in the city centre, very lively but with great staff.

Regularly visit here can't fault the place at all it's great

Lovely day visiting son, topped off by great meal and drinks at The Head of Steam. Staff made us feel very welcome, even gave our dog a bowl of water and handful of treats.

Haven't been in here for years but still as good as I remember, wide selection of beers and stuck to Camden hells.

Excellent vibe, good beer and good food!

The staff in this place are top drawer, really attentive, professional and we had a small issue with food that was sorted out straight away, will definitely be back.

Absolutely love the choice of beers on offer here. Greats staff and they have nice heated outdoor area. Top pub.

Great pub tucked away from the crowds. Amazing vegetarian and vegan food with great lunch deal ~£10 w/drink. Lovely atmosphere and decorations.

Delicious craft beer, fantastic food, more than half the menu is vegan, and 25% student discount 😳🤯🤯🦆 perfect! 😎

Great few pints, even enjoyed some roasties and gravy, amazing staff.

If your ever in Durham call in here because the beer is the best you can get at a reasonable price, place has its own style and music is great, Food is excellent and service is great from the staff thank you Will and the girl I forget her name sorry. Only problem is that in the winter the place is freezing it’s like drinking outside, gaps everywhere in the doors let’s the little heat there is inside escape out, come on for the last 3 years we’ve been asking for a warm pub!

Lovely pub, extremely wide range of beers.

Love this pub, great atmosphere, huge choice of beers, bartenders knowledgeable about drinks they serve, the decor is great too and outside spaces as well as in

I was extremely disappointed with my starter of Spiced Beef Nachos. Although they tasted okay (to be fair, how much can you mess up Nachos), the portion size was tiny with virtually no beef! And with a price tag of £9.95! When I mentioned it I was told "sorry that's the portion size" so with that in mind, we never ordered mains!

Warm and welcoming environment, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Great vegan options.

Not enough seats for a pub with a tremendous range of ale

Love coming to this place! New quiz night on Wednesdays which we took part in fun prizes throughout the quiz which is a bonus! Upstairs is lovely and well organised even with the quiz on plenty of seats everywhere

Neat, friendly venue with an awesome beer range - the Camerons Strongarm went down a bit too well (lol). New, outdoor seating area; dogs welcome. Great staff - Andrew & Emily.

One of my top Durham City pubs. Lovely selection of craft beers and other drinks, great atmosphere.

Oh my goodness what a wonderful pub. The service was spot on with very knowledgeable staff who knew all the draft, cask ales and cab selections. We got food and the Gyros and beef nachos were spot on. We sat in the new outside area and it was a right sun trap. Perfect visit. Highly recommend already planning our next visit.

Nice bar in the centre of Durham. Great selection of beers.

Called in for a pint while waiting for a bus. Quiet 2pm. Sunday. Seems a canny place though. I'll come

Amazing food, amazing beer, amazing staff. A genuine home away from home

A great choice of ales, something for everyone's taste.

Didn't have the food but drinks and place were great

Good beer really good atmosphere

Went on Saturday, been loads before. Nice bar but bloody expensive. Nearly £11 for a pint, and half a cider.... other than that, great..

Great atmosphere polite and friendly staff

3 friends in Durham for the weekend and decided to stop in here for a quick bite to eat and a drink. 2 lagers were flat & the Guinness tasted terrible. The rump gyros was so tough and chewy to eat & chips were not to any of our taste. I’d recommend looking elsewhere.

We'd visited the Cathedral and had planned to call in on our way back to the station. When we arrived it wasn't too busy so we got a table. The beer choice was excellent and had something for everyone in our group. We had a few hours until dinner so ordered some food to keep us going. My first choice of wings was unavailable (didn't have any) so I went with the prawn and squid tacos and my husband the spicy beef nachos. His dish was a big portion and very tasty, however my tacos were sublime. The prawns and squid were crispy and grease-free, and they were absolutely delicious. I did have a twinge of regret after ordering as it was a spur of the moment choice but I needn't have worried. The staff were friendly, and advised on beer selection so if you're nearby then get yourself in.

Nice little spot in Durham, quirky decor and good not so mainstream beers and fairly unnofensive musical genres. Didn't eat here but plan to on next visit

Wet day in durham did not stop us lovely place

Great beer selection, food good too. Friendly staff very accommodating and happy to help.

Great pub, great staff. Good cask and Keg ales and nice environment

We staied for lunch. Good food and very interesting selection handpump beers . Nice atmosphere and very kind people. To visit in Durham.

Nice pub, hidden away up an alley but worth the find.

I visited this pub with my husband at the weekend. I was looking for something a little off the beaten track and with good a.m. The pub itself is up an alleyway in an old yard. The pub seemed clean and there were only a few customers although we were there early. See a selection was good with a large number of IPAs. There were many bottles in the fridge behind the bar. They seemed kept well, and was an average price. It was worth a visit, and I can imagine it would be very welcoming, even when busy.

Great bar, some fabulous beers and helpful, friendly staff. My second time here, my first was a year ago. Really friendly bar and the range of beers was excellent. Definitely a must place to visit next time I’m in Durham

They have a very good food menu and the burgers are incredible. Decent choice of drinks and friendly staff.