Houndgate Townhouse in Darlington

Went for a business dinner and it was great. The staff were friendly and entertaining. Food was tasty, service was good. Obviously great for fish and seafood. Nothing to fault.

We have stayed here twice now and highly recommend. There is nothing that is too much trouble and the room has everything you need. Houndgate is a beautiful building decorated to the highest standard. It is cosy and staff are lovely. The food is gorgeous, I literally can't recommend enough. We'll be back.

All 5 star. !! Great central location in Darlington. I have eaten here a few times and also stayed int he hotel a couple of times. The staff are fantastic. The food has never been below ‘brilliant’. The Sunday chicken roast I once had was superb!! I thought it would be good but it was really excellent.!! The food is British but also with a bit of an extra twist/flavour. I love the rooms. The beds a big and super comfortable. Very tasteful decor throughout. Definitely be using this gem again.

The Saltfish Sunday service was excellent, Abi and her staff really care about your experience. The food was superb, my starter, Crispy Cod Cheeks with a vietnamese dipping sauce. Main a Special Brill, a sensational fish. Dessert, dark chocolate mousse, brandy snaps with manderins. Absolutely the best meal I have had for a while in Darlington. Highly recommend!

Excellent service. Very friendly and warm and enough couldn't be done to help make your meal great. I had the three course special for £20. The starter was half of a large mushroom with salad. I felt that they could have stretched to a full mushroom however. I had a veg curry for mains and the curry flavour was lovely. I had the cheese & crackers for the third course which was lovely. The cheapest wine was £23.50 a bottle and that was very nice. It was my birthday and I was given a plate with happy birthday written across it which was a lovely touch. It was a nice treat for a special occasion.

Had a delicious three course dinner in the restaurant and everything was fantastic from the pre dinner mocktail (I had the ginger one) to the meal itself which was tasty and well presented. Not to forget the staff which couldn’t have done enough! Highly recommend.

I stayed here for one night on a business trip. Very clean with warm welcome and comfortable room. Breakfast was good too. My only issue was noise from outside between 12am and 2am.

Did not stay here but enjoyed a fabulous meal in the restaurant. The staff were great.

a.silly but smug waiter or manager confused a simple deaf potential customer with a begqar and denied her entry. Very scandalous and unacceptable.

Fantastic food as always. Really love this place. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Saltfish was amazing value with great service. Not rush spent four hours chatting and eating perfect

Food amazing staff very helpful.

Visited here tonight for the 1st time, lovely service, lovely place and awesome food! i ordered the crab fondue for a starter it was unreal! got the special for main which was a 12oz steak, 3 prawns in a sauce, chips, salt and vinegar onion rings and a salad, couldnt finish it, i would highly recommend going here for a meal, you will not be disappointed! also got oysters, all round lovely place, 10/10 🤌

Just had a meal here last night. Absolutely spot on. Food amazing. I had mussels for starter and scallops for main meal. Absolutely delicious. The service was faultless. I would definitely recommend Saltfish. My friend had the cod pictured below. The flavours were like a party in my mouth. I will be returning soon.

Saltfish restaurant is always good. Excellent food, large menu. The hardest thing is narrowing it down to one choice. Service is always wonderful.

We attended here as a group of 6 for an evening meal. The restaurant was busy and had a nice atmosphere. The front of house staff were polite and attentive. There was a good selection on the menu, as well as the options to cater to those with any additional dietary requirements. Unfortunately, my starter had been missed from the order, so it arrived 5 minutes after everyone else's when I brought it to their attention. The starter itself was absolutely delicious (smoked salmon with beetroot and crostini), I could've eaten 3 courses of that. I ordered swordfish with chips, garlic butter, and buttered veg for my main. Firstly, the sides had been mixed up with my friend's, who had also ordered swordfish, but that was a quick fix. But unfortunately my veg was stone cold, so I asked if they would mind heating it up for me. 5 minutes later, a fresh portion was brought with apologies. Although warmer, the bowl they were in was half full of warm buttery water as they hadn't been drained properly, so the taste was really watery. The main itself was underseasoned on the whole, the garlic butter needed more garlic, and although OK, it was very underwhelming for the price. The chips were top-notch, though. Dessert was lemon and cherry posset with shortbread. The portion was generous. The posset was looser and much sweeter than I expected, though that could be my personal taste. Though the fact it was topped with crumbled meringue meant it was just too sweet to eat a lot of. On the whole, the meal was a little disappointing. These dishes plus 2 mocktails came to just under £60, so I expected a little better for the price. I've still given 4 stars because the front of house staff were attentive (with the exception of my missed starter), and we still had a lovely evening. My friends' food was all good with the exception of another cold veg and an overseasoned fish pie. I think the food does have potential. It just needs more attention to detail in terms of plating and seasoning to make it worth the price.

Gorgeous food, great service, good prices. The oysters are so fresh and tasty

First time fantastic will be back

Fabulous meal supporting Darlington restaurant week. Always feels like a special occasion at Saltfish. House wines delicious, great cocktails. The staff are always on hand and very professional? I had a crab fondue to start with, which was to die for. Followed by sea trout. Fried pancetta potatoes and buttered greens. Thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

I had lunch with 2 friends and we tried the set menu. The food and service was excellent and the decor and ambience of the room first class. The staff were friendly and helpful and very efficient and courteous. I would definitely recommend it and will return in the near future.

Great stay here. Lovely hotel. Room excellent and bathroom spot on. The staff are excellent. Evening meal and breakfast very good. We would stay again.

Salt fish restaurant Great service fanatic food would recommend and will definitely be back

Absolutely outstanding! I don't eat fish and even I loved it. Went with family for a mid week meal and was blown away, my husband had the lobster which he assures me was amazing and my aunt thoroughly enjoyed the crab. I had a beautiful non fish dish which was gorgeous. Two lovely bottles of Chablis, only gripe was they needed to be a bit cooler but the fantastic waiter was straight on the case. The service was second to non and the atmosphere was amazing, we will definitely be back. Thank you

Value for money. Restaurant for was good/tasty

Great food and excellent service

Fabulous seafood restaurant, stylish interior, pleasant service and wonderful food. I had the special starter of sardines and then Whitby dressed crab and it was delicious. Tables are quite close together and it can be a bit noisy, but otherwise a great place for Sunday lunch.

Service was great. Drinks were nice and restaurant decor is lovely. Food was expensive, and didn’t taste great. Starter-had humus and pittas, pittas were still raw, and hummus was ok. Main course of salmon was raw, so sent back and flavour of risotto was just not nice. Overall disappointed; overpriced and lacking in flavour. Wouldn’t go back.

Lovely, clean, and comfortable. Central to the town centre. Easy walk to the railway station.

What a wonderful place, so good we went there three times in one week. Run by owner Ellie Richmond who you can see works very hard and puts everything into it. The food is sublime no matter what you order. If you are in Darlington go there. Thank you Ellie

Had a superb meal. The atmosphere was great and the service was excellent

Definitely know where to stay next time I'm in Darlington.

Ideally situated close to town centre in charming old building with lovely decor. Great sea food ( other foods are available) and service. Well worth a visit

Beautiful experience food & service is 5 star.

Enjoyed the set menu for lunch. Food was very nice , not a lot off it , you had to order sides separate, but very taste

Arrived for lunch with a friend, placed our order, taken by the lovely waitress Erica, fish and batter was beautiful. Erica was friendly, professional, caring and we didn't feel rushed. She had the perfect attentive balance, even filling our glasses up when noticing they were empty......she's a credit to your business, pay her more!

Managed to get in here with the girls last minute they were great Warm friendly welcome the staff were amazing and the food delicious If you are visiting Darlington and love fish and seafood along with loads of other treats you must try it 🤩

Great place for lunch and dinner. Friendly staff

What a gem! Friendly, attentive staff. Food delicious & really reasonable. We took advantage of the February lunch offer, £20 for 3 courses. Well worth the trip to Darlington. Thank you Saltfish!!

We decided to pop in for a Sunday Breakfast.And staff were very polite and helpful.Atmosphere was very relaxing.And food was 5 star.

First time at saltfish. Loved it already booked to go again. Fantastic food and service.

Warm friendly welcome Staff lovely could not fault very patient Food was absolutely amazing would 100% recommend Wasn't rushed given plenty of time to order not rushed eating either

Excellent food, service and atmosphere, looking forward to our next visit

Such a lovely restaurant and staff are so attentive xx well done on such a lovely business xx food was spot on

Fantastic hotel, attentive and polite. Breakfast was delicious highly recommend this hotel if you're visiting Darlington.

Called in to meet a friend. Made very welcome and the service and staff were great. Wasn't having lunch but it looked good. May give it a try soon.

Fabulous food, great ambience, good service

Ate on Xmas Eve, great atmosphere, tasty food and efficient friendly service

First visit and we loved it. Food was beautiful and the surroundings were gorgeous. Service was slow at times but the staff were very friendly. We stayed in room 6 and it was stunning, beds were extremely comfortable and the evening meal was just as beautiful as lunch. It’s a shame to hear it’s closing down as we would have most certainly have visited again.

Just been to eleven town house for a quick tea and it was amazing good food good service n reasonable price . Defiantly will be going again .

Time for another review, still cannot believe how popular this restaurant is, it might be down to the fact that they have a new head chef, hopefully, this will be good news for this restaurant. even the Alice in Wonderland afternoon teas are popular too.

Pre Theatre meal prior to Darlington Hipodrome. All of us thought food very good indeed! Irish Stew and dumplings were outstanding both taste, texture and crispness of the dumplings! Lemon sponge and custard were superb! 11 Houndgate _never disappoint!

Enjoyed the food service excellent couldn't have been more pleasant or helpful

Booked for a meal with my 3 sisters, a lovely little place, Decor is very modern light and airy so created a very pleasant venue for our get together. Food cooked to perfection however did find choice of menu a bit limited but overall a good experience, will definately go again.

Booked table for 1pm, pre ordered and specified we only had 1 hour lunch break, hence pre ordereing .. food came at 1:35 which is ridiculous considering we pre ordered. We then had an extremely rude lady member of staff, when we told her we had pre ordered a salad without dressing she gave no apology and said we hadn’t, twice. To which I showed her the email sent. Food was bad quality , over priced. Steak tasted frozen, no flavour and definitely not rare as asked. Wouldn’t recommend.

Had a lovely meal. Service was excellent and the staff were extremely helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. Definitely go again

Food was well cooked but the men was disappointing and nothing like the one to view on the website. Shrive was friendly and the food was well cooked.

Lunch with friends. Few negatives, ordered drinks, then told not in stock. Ordered Turkey cranberry ciabatta..then told no cranberry, 5 minutes later back to say no cranberry. Plastic straws did not ask for them in drink...in light of present do not use un necessary plastic....do not use and if some one wants one use paper please. We are adults...... Otherwise food and service good and friendly.

Dining at ‘eleven’ is always a pleasure, they do everything well, extremely enjoyable evening, staff are very attentive, food was delicious and the live music, on this occasion, was the icing on the cake. (Live music is not always the case and s enjoyable without it). They also have a brilliant cocktail menu and a bar area where you could just call in for drinks.

Always amazing! Perfect little touch with the birthday board! Thanks X

I took my mother to celebrate her birthday before going to the theatre. We could not fault the place, everything was perfect, food, service, wine list everything. I would not hesitate in recommending the Houndgate Townhouse.

We went here for a Alice in Wonderland afternoon tea. Myself and the other members of our party were unhappy with the quality of food and also the amount for £24.00 we got the following.* champagne * 1 finger sandwich of egg mayo* 1 finger sandwich of cheese and tomato * 1 very small tart * 1 very small cracker looking thing with cream cheese on* 1 lemon drizzle * 1 coconut jam sponge cake * 1 tart And that completes the afternoon tea each item was tiny so sounds a lot but it was not. I also thought most of it tasted awful and so did the other girls. We left hungry which I have never in the past when I have had a afternoon tea I normally can’t eat it all as I do not have a big appetite. I would not recommend this place and feel very let down! waste of £24.00

Excellent restaurant, fantastic tasty food and fantastic, welcoming service. Definitely recommend.

Went for brunch... a beautifully presented eating area and friendly and attentative staff. Breakfast was perfect!

Fantastic service from very attentive staff. Nicola was so accomadting and helpful as she always is. One of our favourite places to go. Food is always fantastic

We had lunch and dinner here while staying at the hotel. The food is delicious and good value and the service is very good.

Hidden gem in the town. Great place for brunch/lunch/dinner/afternoon tea. Also great for groups and parties. Highly recommend - great food and friendly staff.

I've never heard of this place but we met some relatives here who were visiting from down south. Really pleased they choose here as it's excellent.The premises is in excellent order, well and tastefully decorated. The staff are suberb, really helpful and pleasant and well briefed as to what's on offer on the menu. The food cooked to order and was absolutely delicious and we'll presented. I really cannot find fault or anything to be negative about what we experienced here.Would I recommend - most definitely.Would I return - you try and stop me.

Perfect venue and fabulous food. James is an asset to the townhouse. Friendly, helpful, professional. Many thanks for making our visit wonderful. Would absolutely recommend a visit.

the Alice in Wonderland afternoon tea is fantastic! would highly recommend!

A very enjoyable experience for a group of five ‘ladies at lunch’

I was interested in this restaurant in that ithad a vegetarian menu. Ordered the burger. Presentation was good - but tasteless. Very disappointing. Obviously not a chef who understands vegetarian food.

Food a bit disappointing. There were a few of us and some of the mains were recommended so a bit hit and miss. Only us in at 7pm. Maybe livens up later.

Had the Alice in Wonderland style Afternoon tea took my family. Staff excellent. Lovely clean comfortable restaurant. Afternoon tea was absolutely amazing. All of it totally fantastic. Compliments to the chef.

Had lunch one day and breakfast the next at this restaurant. On both occasions service was excellent and food very tasty, well presented and decent portion size. Excellent value for money.

The meal was lovely, food portion was very generous and the atmosphere was lovely. Overall had a lovely meal for my birthday and will be revisiting.

Just disappointed it was not the menu we looked at online

Visited numerous times during 2017 - lunch, tea, cocktails coffee and never had a bad experience. Staff are always friendly and accomodating. Menus are varied and good prices, especially the lunch menu which runs into early evening during midweek and keeps us coming back! I do think the Friday and Saturday prices are very high which has stopped us from coming, especially when you factor in drinks prices. PS you need to add bar snacks for when people are just there for drinks!

We booked for three however our son who is at university was unable to attend. So we two went along and we are so glad we did. Angela, Nicola and the team did an amazing job. Our three course meal was fantastic, we both had prawn cocktail to start, my wife had the seabass which was delicious and I enjoyed the pork loin. We both enjoyed the new meringue gin dessert which is the best dessert we have ever eaten. We then sat in the bar area to have coffee and enjoy the live Jazz/Blue session - we would highly recommend Eleven at Houndgate for breakfast or lunch.

Microwaved Sunday lunch veg. Strange ‘mint salad’ served and when my fiancé asked what it was, the waitress replied ‘well it’s a minted leaf salad of course’, standard Sunday lunch item, of course. Steak instead of beef joint, this is perfectly fine, but nobody was asked how they would like it cooked. Table next to us had better vegetable options and roasted veg whereas our potatoes were deep fried. Waitress obviously thought she was too good to be serving us as everything was a task or she made damn sure we knew she was, in her opinion, ‘better than us’ by her snooty facial expressions. Drinks were nice however and a younger girl who served my fiancé (after I walked out and took my 2 children with me after we complained to the waitresses face and she argued back with us and said ‘well you’re the only complaint today’) was very nice and knocked 20% off the bill, although the grand total was £70 for pompus service and below average food. I won’t eat here again.

My Partner and I love 11 Houndgate because the menu is varied and interesting and we have not yet been disappointed with a meal, very good value , .  Access is very good for both a wheelchair user and my Guide Dog and the staff are both professional and friendly. All together Darlingtons best venue and we do highly recommend no 11 Houndgate *****

11 Houndgate is our firm first choice the dining out in Darlington! Because the food is always on a very high standard good choice professionally served the large table with space to spare I hate restaurants that cram you in together! And value for money these days very good. As I am a guide dog owner and my partner is in a wheelchair user Houndgate townhouse must be highly commended on their attention to accessibility and the professional and careful way they look after their guests!. We have also stayed overnight at Houndgate townhouse and the rooms are superb beautifully furnished in modern stylish furniture and the bathrooms are to die for!

A fabulous lunch of Beef Wellington for just £8 cooked perfectly with wonderful pastry. Very nice atmosphere and surroundings well done Chef.

Post theatre supper have been meaning to eat here with my husband for ages and what a treat it was. Food and drinks nicely served and delicious. Lovely dinning area with great seating in a booth we are already planning our next visit

Had an afternoon tea which was good (food wise) but wasnt overly impressed with service am afraid.we were given tea in pots that went cold and no milk for 15 minutes and everything seemed a bit rushed like staff had too much on. Unless we got to experience it again not sure I would recommend to others

Service was very slow considering there weren’t many people eating. However did not bother us as we were having a girls catch up.food was excellent, although deserts were disappointing. Value good. Would come back but not in s hurry.

Quality food, friendly and attentive service, superb surroundings (the outside space is unusually lovely for a restaurant in the town centre). And the cocktails are fab. Highly recommended for any occasion!

Well what can I say! Except this has got to have been the best afternoon tea I have had to date, the selection of food was outstanding my friends and I loved everything we were given and left all the plates clean, very good value for money will be returning in the future

Had a lovely anniversary meal. Great food, atmosphere, and staff. Would definitely recommend.

Lovely lunch yesterday with a friend, we had the risotto and feta cheese with fig salad it was so tasty and great value for money. The lovely tall girl with dark ponytail looked after us so well .....so thank you. We spent most of the afternoon chatting and at no point are you ever made to feel they want you to leave, also tried the infused tea cheesecake yummy

As a Connect Group from Kings Church Darlington, we decided to try this restaurant to celebrate the birthdays of four of our members as they are all close together. Lovely quiet atmosphere which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Excellent food, our only complaint was that we all had to wait for our main courses as one member had a starter - but at least that meant that we all got to eat together. All in all a very pleasant meal and evening.

The food we chose was all good quality and well cooked. Staff was polite and attentive. We would have liked more of an evening menu to give more choice than the lunchtime more casual dining experience. Will definitely return through the day but maybe not for an evening meal.

Lovely venue and excellent choice of food on the menu. Lots of vegetarian options. Food was of great quality and perfectly cooked. The only minor downside was that it was very noisy due to a baby shower party, which meant it was very difficult for us to have a conversation with each other.

Excellent service, excellent food thank-you. Would definitely go again and recommend to friends and family,

Afternoon tea treat with my mum.What a lovely experience!Staff courteous and friendly,restaurant very tastefully decorated and comfortable.Alice in wonderland crockery,afternoon tea beautifully prepared and presented.Strawberries dipped in chocolate,yummy cakes/scones and delicious sandwiches/savouries.Just too much to eat at one sitting,so some cakes taken home to enjoy!Had a gift voucher for this visit,but would definitely return.

Lovely venue, excellent food and a good atmosphere. I would recommend a visit if you have not been.

I stayed on a Valentines deal which included an early check in and late check out, afternoon tea and breakfast. I love this place. The food was lovely, staff couldnt do enough for us.

Excellent food, shame we were the only couple in eating. But the people who were missing missed out on great food and service

Nice food and pleasant service. Good ambiance within and felt like a cosy atmosphere. Would recommend it to my friends.

I visited the restaurant on Saturday night for dinner with friends, the atmosphere, service and food was exceptional, I have eaten in some very worthy restaurants and the food was outstanding, I had the roasted quail which I have never eaten before and what I delight I had. I don’t normally write appraisals but feel that I would be doing the staff an undeserved accolade. My expectation had been excided I thought the praise had to be given to Houndgate townhouse for me as a fussy eater. We will be returning with friends for the foreseeable future, this hotel and restaurant is a gem to Darlington.

As I live in Darlington I have not had the pleasure of experiencing the hotel but the bar and restaurant is top notch. Portion sizes and prices are good and the waiting staff very attentive.