Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill Durham in County Durham

Lovely restaurant in Durham we booked for the afternoon tea experience…. Firstly I would like to say we really enjoyed our visit and the food & staff were very good! The only thing that spoiled the afternoon was when we were paying (which we did individually) & it came to me the whole service charge was as added to my bill so I ended up paying way more than everyone else as I was the last person to pay! Nothing was mentioned in advance about this… I think it would have been much better to let people know before paying and then the service charge can be shared between the whole party 😊 Just a small suggestion that would that would make things much better

Amazing night had some beautiful food staff friendly happy to help

I enjoyed the food with my eyes first, then with the ambience and finally the tastes and textures were sublime. Thank you to one of your chef’s. Special.

Would definitely return, steak was amazing and service was second to none.

PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE. Awful. They are taking their customers for fools. A lovely setting serving appalling food. I ordered the rack of lamb only to be served 2 small fatty lamb chops. I thought I had been served the wrong dish only to be told that this was indeed a 'rack' of lamb. The “confit” potato was just a tasteless slice of boiled potato, the 'meat juices' virtually non existent. But there was a huge pile of green beans to fill in all the empty spaces on the plate. When I questioned the potato, I was offered additional potato dauphinois thinking it would be complimentary, only to be charged for that also. So a total of £36 for an awful lamb dish pretending to be something it wasn’t. I wrote to the restaurant and also to Marco Pierre White HQ. They all insist 2 lamb chops is the same as a rack of lamb. It is clear they don't really know better and don't really care. Message to MPW HQ : read all the Durham reviews in the past 12 months, the majority are really poor. The good reviews were mostly 1-3 years ago.

Afternoon tea was superb in a beautiful location and Zoe our waitress looked after us impeccably.

Afternoon tea was delightful. Really fair price and good quality food. Staff were really attentive, great service. The restraunt is lovely, so much charm.

Marco Pierre White is our favourite restaurant in Durham! The staff always make us feel so welcome, the food is absolutely amazing and the the restaurant has such a relaxed and cosy atmosphere- we love the decor! We go every year to celebrate our wedding anniversary, this year they provided us with complementary glasses of Prosecco and a card to help us to celebrate, it was so kind and thoughtful! As always the food was perfect and the service was faultless! Thank you Rachel and Sophie for making it such a lovely evening!

Excellent Sunday Lunch in a fantastic building. We'll be back.

Lovely building, nice cakes. There were two hen parties in, so staff were quite difficult to locate, but were pleasant. Disappointed that we weren't offered the prosecco that had been part of our afternoon tea package.

An amazing night with an amazing host Viorica ❤️ Nice meal with friends. Nice steak friendly staff and a lovely room in the old country hall

My wife and I dined in the restaurant, whilst the room and service were good, the steak I had was not. Paying £46 for a fillet you would expect it would cut easy and melt in the mouth, sadly mine did neither. The steak was difficult to cut into, chewy and was tasteless inside. I left half of it and was offered a free desert, which I declined. The apple crumble was only luke warm, but in fairness my wife did enjoy her salmon. Will find it difficult to try again as I do like a good steak,

First time here and it was Beautiful food our waitress Evie was lovely couldn’t do enough for us thank you we will be back.

We had afternoon tea. It was lovely. Sandwiches, scones and cakes. WOW! The waitress Zoe was very helpful and cheerful.

Ate in here for one of the nights of our stay at the attached hotel. The rotunda restaurant is an amazing space and the staff are good. Was disappointed with the quality of the steak though. It was cooked well and the rest of the meal was lovely but the meat itself was kind of grainy, slightly tough and tasteless. It was like cheap supermarket steak, not a well aged and cared for cut from a supplier who knows their stuff.

Arrived for Sunday lunch in a lovely setting however very cold room, so much do I had to get a wrap from the car. On requiring what the vegetarian option was really surprised to be told it’s just cauliflower,followed by it’s the same as the meat lunch just with cauliflower instead. Overall mediocre lunch with vegetable sides of peas, carrots and red cabbage nothing special. Dessert of Apple and bramble crumble equally disappointing as it contained more whole cloves than brambles and not a hot tasty crumble we were expecting.

Excellent food and service. I was in a rush to catch a train, so the staff (I was being served by Zoe) were very accommodating and made sure that I could order and pay as soon as possible. I went for the roast lamb and a glass of Rioja and it was fantastic.

Had the afternoon tea. Would revisit. No pie thou

Was looking forward to this place but it was a serious let down. The service was sporadic, with one guy being very polite and lovely and another server being rude and inconsiderate. It was clear that the servers had their minds full of other things as they gave us no plates for both courses despite stating we would be sharing. The sirloin was well cooked but the cut itself was quite grisly and wasn’t what you’d expect from the price tag. The worst part was that they were setting the room for breakfast the next morning while we, alongside other guests, were still eating dinner. After waiting 30 minutes for the servers to notice our hands in the air and bring us our cheque, I realised that this place has some brilliant potential but it seriously was a disappointment. I’d like to go again, perhaps I just had an off day, but it genuinely was not a good experience.

Very quiet so lite on atmosphere. However lovely tasting food and attentive service.

Gorgeous dining room and good service, but food was just poor quality for the price; disappointing as it used to be a really great eatery but has consistently gone downhill food-wise since 2020, doubt I'll return again.

Beautiful elegant setting.....perfect....you will not be disappointed..... absolutely fantastic dining experience....you will want to go back time and time again.

Lovely room and probably the best Sunday lunch in Durham. Pork, chicken and beef were really tasty, as was stuffing, potatoes, yorkshire pud, carrots, peas and cauliflower cheese. Great service too

Over priced, very very slow service.

We booked two nights for dinner at the Marco Pierre restaurant out of the three we stayed at Hotel Indigo. Total disappointment. Don't be fooled by the appearance of the restaurant!!! If you like good quality food and good service, this is not the place.

Booked on the day for Sunday Lunch. Nice choice of options available including a mixed roast with beef,pork & chicken. Particularly liked the red cabbage and the cauliflower cheese (an extra option). Staff were lovely (especially Vicoria) and the restaurant offers an excellent selection of mocktails - Pink Blush was very good. Absolutely beautiful setting in the old council chambers.

We visited for a meal and had an amazing time. Kirsty and Hannah were brilliant with their service. We shared that one of us had an allergy and this was dealt with very professionally. . Food was amazing. A really special experience in a beautiful setting. Would definitely recommend

This was a great way to celebrate our son's graduation. Welcoming, courteous staff. Our server, Sophie, was excellent. We had pre-dinner drinks, main course + deserts & a bottle of Valpolicella. The steak dishes were perfectly cooked, others in the family had the burger and the Pomodoro Linguine & thoroughly enjoyed them. Judging by the empty dishes, the deserts were a hit as well. STP was one of the best i have experienced. Lovely way to celebrate and, in my opinion, very good value.

Another great experience at this restaurant this time for Graduation meal. Special starter was delightful main of ribeye steak cooked just to perfection. Looked after by Hannah who was attentive and very personable.

Excellent food and service. Very enjoyable meal, and I can't wait to go back.

Had an enjoyable evening with my daughter. Food was fabulous. Steak was cooked perfectly. Service was great. Hannah thanks for being super attentive and ensuring our meal and experience was really nice.

I really enjoyed my meal here, first of all the building itself is incredibly interesting. The food was exceptional and the bar after provided some very nice cocktails. The service received from the staff was also great and they could not have done any more for us really.

Nice surroundings and staff but the food was mediocre - had to send one meal back. Nothing special, I had expected great things from a MPW establishment but came away disappointed. Won’t be going back. Would not recommend.

The food was ok, no butter on the sandwiches. Was disappointed in the crockery used, it was more cafe style than afternoon tea. The scones were the best part they were served warm.

Excellent service, food and location. The service we received, from the initial booking of the reservation to the actual Sunday lunch, was outstanding and the food was delicious. I booked our meal, in person, for 6, as I wanted to check out the location for suitability since one in our party has a very severe nut allergy, one has mobility issues and two are very hard of hearing. The staff could not have been more accommodating. I was able to choose our seating that suited the needs of the whole party before the date, which was very reassuring. On the day, the staff were extremely attentive. Without prompting, we were given all the information on allergies on the menu and were told how the meal for our diner with allergies would be managed (from the order and through the kitchen). Our servers were EXCELLENT; very attentive without being rushed and regularly checking back to see that we had everything we needed. The food was perfect with plenty of choice for our allergy diner and those who didn't want a roast. The setting, location, room temperature and atmosphere were perfect and the dining room was beautiful. The loos were very easily accessed for our diner with disabilities and the banquette was perfect for those who were hard of hearing. A perfect afternoon.

Beautiful setting. Good food but expected better! Lots of steak options if you're into steak. Friendly service

Really good quality meal at a reasonable price. Staff were very attentive.

The service was appaulingly slow we were in there over 3 hours and the staff were very dismissive

It's all to do with training, Marco needs to get out of the chair and visit on a cold Thursday evening. Being positive the seats were comfortable and the tables, cutlery and general restaurant were clean. The staff were polite and appeared rush although only a few diners.

Great afternoon tea in beautiful Durham. Already thinking of returning.

My low rating stars aren't to be taken likely. The building is AMAZING! A beautiful establishment with professionally presented staff. My reasons for such a low rating are that, for one, nobody knew the history of the building when I asked. (I'm VERY keen on the history of a building especially when it's as well presented as this). Also, as it's a Marco Pierre White restaurant, I'd have liked to have been able to browse the full menu on the table; all I could see was the vegan menu and for me, that's not acceptable. I found a full menu but it was outside the restaurant in the foyer. I personally expected a menu available on every table. Beautiful building, beautiful restaurant but with such a high calibre, it wasn't to my expectations.

Came here for my anniversary it was my 2nd visit here the food the service every about the place is absolutely outstanding i will definitely becoming back. The food is outstanding

We would like to thank Kirsty and her team for a lovely afternoon food was amazing staff and service excellent very relaxing definitely will be back .

Absolutely delightful setting with many original features of this former Council chamber. Sadly, this was not matched by the quality of the food. I had envisaged a treat for Christmas lunch at £99 per head but the meal was pedestrian to say the least. 'Beetroot salad' amounted to a plate of plain sliced beetroot with half a dozen walnuts thrown on; roast lamb comprised two tasty and tender but small chunks of lamb, a 4" square of dauphinoise potato and frozen peas in a bacon/cream sauce. 'Plum Pudding' looked like an individually packed supermarket portion. The servers were very helpful but service was incredibly slow. The overall impression was that more people had been booked than could comfortably be catered for and that just seems greedy. We won't be rushing back.

Obviously a beautiful venue, and quite friendly staff. They desperately need more vegan options though for every course (for example, they was not even one vegan dessert).

It offers an extensive menu of food and drinks. Very lovely meal. Stayed at the hotel indigo where the restaurant is accessible. So had all my meals there. Jessica served my table on both days and she was really lovely. Thanks Jessica.

Beautiful building. The service was good but the food was nothing more than average. Steaks were dry and flavourless. And as for the dessert...I had cheesecake and I'm sure it had been left out overnight. Had to return it. Awful. The ultimate test for me is always - would I come back? Not a chance!!

The whole party with me expressed what a fabulous meal they had at every stage - starter, main ourselves & dessert. We experienced the pork, chicken & beef in the mains & everyone expressed how perfectly cooked & tasty their plate of food was (Sunday lunch). Outstanding chocolate mousse, ice cream (mint, pistachio flavours particularly flavoursome). Service worked perfectly for us but some may have found the gaps a touch too long. Seating very comfortable and architecture fantastic. Waiting staff were very smart & well dressed. Their interactions were very professional buy not 'stuffy/snobbish which we appreciated. The selection & training of the staff is excellent. We had the most amazing get together.

Fabulous dining area, exquisitely delicious food, great cocktails and brilliant service. One of our most favourite restaurants!

The food, as always, was absolutely exceptional, however, the service on this occasion was disappointingly poor. Unfortunately it feels like every time we go, the service gets a touch worse, which is a massive shame because it’s an amazing restaurant. In previous visits, the team always tried to make somewhat of a fuss of you, to make it an experience, but this appears to be missing in the current ethos. As I said though, the food remains 100% on point, no complaints there.

Average at best. Has the wow factor when you walk in, but that quickly disipates with the poor service and average food (v price). Quite literally left hanging, waiting for service and food. I honestly think they forgot our mains order. As for the steaks. Well I certainly know what a good ribeye is and never got one here. Tasteless was an understatement. Onion rings were good, wine was good, but that was about it. Would I go back? Absolutely not. For a 'Premium' got Marco's name on it.......try harder.

Really enjoyed the food here. Staff were great too. Wasnt pressured, nice menu, good variety and a cracking french onion soup, a rarity these days.

Lovely venue and friendly service. However the food was very average (main course not especially hot, and needed seasoning, and the chocolate mousse and raspberries had TWO raspberries!) It was okay—but sort of Beefeater food at city-restaurant prices. I feel perhaps Mr Marco has over-sold his image, and whilst it’s very pleasant for middle-aged women to eat whilst seeing his hunky image peering down from the walls, we would rather have a tasty hot dinner! If you have plenty of money, it’s a nice place to eat. But if you are splashing-out on a treat, there are probably better kitchens in the city. (You should of course, check out the other reviews, because everyone can have an off-day, and perhaps we visited when the chef was on holiday.)

Booked a table for 2 as our last night in Durham. Service was really good but had a wait between lovely starters and the main course. Unfortunately, the main course had problems with the rib eye being overcooked and meant we were at the restaurant for just over 3hrs. Having said this, I would like to thank the front of house team who were warm and friendly, hard working, courteous, and willing to alleviate any issues. They had no hesitation in sending the steak back to the kitchen. They offered us an additional free drink each, cancelled the service charge on the bill, and the mains when they did arrive were much better and included the original portions. Would recommend the apple and blackberry crumble. The kitchen clearly has talent, but I see from wider reviews that there are inconsistencies with the food. The front of house team is setting a high standard, so my hope is the kitchen can match this. For a restaurant bearing Marco's name above the door, this needs to improve, but I feel it would be a team effort to do this.

Family Sunday lunch for our 70th birthdays, Absolutely fabulous. Many thanks to Rachel, Sophie and all the MPW team at Durham for a fabulous day.

Excellent food in a spectacular setting, a place to go for a special treat/occasion.

Ein ganz wunderbares Restaurant mit tollem Ambiente. Wir haben als Gruppe hier sonntags einen Sunday Roast eingenommen, der sehr gut war.

Fantastic restaurant in unique location

Set in old red brick former council chambers. My wife booked it for my birthday. We've visited this restaurant a few times over the years anniversary etc. The staff are always friendly and respectful the food is excellent

Only reason I docked a star was that the restaurant was closed for refurbishment and we had to settle for dining in the Bar. Standard was nonetheless very high. Butchers steak was succulent and flawlessly cooked. Highly recommended.

Side dish missed, Bearnaise Sauce stone cold, sent back, came out cold again. Mushrooms not hydrated in the Au Poivre Sauce. Just not good enough at those prices. Worst meal we had whilst staying in Durham. Support the small local restaurants instead of lining the pockets of a man that puts his name to overpriced inferior food and service to line his pocket. Awful!!

かつてフリーメイソンが所有していたとされる建築物だけでも見応えあります。 ステーキハウスだけあり、上質な肉を、頼んだ通りのミディアムレアに焼き上げられており大満足です。 ガーリックバターに浸して頂きましたが、 シンプルに塩と胡椒だけでも、肉の旨みが引き立ち美味しく感じられました。

Proper, well cooked food, friendly service and a stunning dining room. Excellent.

It was our first dining experience at Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Durham. I have to say that I was very impressed with the food and the service. It was a breath of fresh air to see the sleek, efficient, and very professional service. Jess, the waitress, was knowledgeable, very friendly with excellent sense of humour which lifted up even further the overall experience. Kirsty, the Service Manager, was very efficient and very experienced with the sharp grip to managing the fast and quality service of high standard. Staff were attentive to details and provided that required atmosphere for a very enjoyable evening. We shall definitely return and will also recommend this venue to others.

Lovely afternoon tea in an interesting and well decorated room. Scones were fantastic. A little pricy and a 10% service charge automatically added on the bill but that seems to be normal these days.

First time diners at Marco Pierre for 2 of our birthdays, and it was superb. The service from Chloe and at least 3 other people was top-notch. The food was so good, there wasn't one thing we didn't love. It is pricey, so it would be a treat and not a normal place to go, but it was well worth it.

Beautiful restaurant. Staff friendly and attentive. Food was fantastic would highly recommend. Steaks to die for

Received a voucher for afternoon tea for two with Prosecco. They brought a pot of tea, but we had to ask for milk. The pot only yielded a teacup each, so halfway through the sandwiches and cakes, we asked for some more tea. There was no sign of the prosecco at this stage. While the sandwiches, warm scones and cakes were delicious, at no time did any staff come over to ask if everything was OK. We had finished everything and they still hadn't brought the prosecco, so we informed them we'd adjourn to the bar and have it there. I don't know if they're short of staff or not, but we felt that the service could (and should) have been much better.

Overall, disappointed with the food. The steaks were nice but the chicken, the vegetables and potatoes were poor. The apple crumble was first class.

Fine dining with a menu full of variety. I'm a bit of a fussy eater, and I can say this one of the best I've seen where I can eat most things. The circular restaurant setting is in the original courtroom, with original stained glass windows telling a story.

Excellent food, service and place.

The food has gone down hill. Staff were inattentive. 10% added to bill. Not worth the money.

Really relaxing lunch with friends. Such an impressive venue. Food was great. Went ALC but there is a set menu which was just as inticing. Well served, good size portions... Everything cooked to perfection and presented impressively. Some espressos at the end of the meal were disappointing... no crema and not strong but that's not what we were there for...it was all about the food and that was amazing. Strongly recommend!

Amazing venue, staff extremely welcoming, food was outstanding, as two chefs ourselves we were very impressed by the flavours, presentation and overall food experience x thank you for a great day

A beautiful place to eat it's a stunning building, afternoon tea was nice, definitely had worse, staff...faultless.

Service was good food was ok but overpriced for what you got and general quality room itself was lovely

Wonderful service and excellent food

Went here for afternoon tea, the dining room was quite empty when we arrived but the service was spot on and quick. They confirmed the dietary requirements and bought out coffee, which was refillable then the separate gluten-free and normal afternoon tea. The food was lovely, but I would have preferred at least one more savoury and/or one less cake as it got very sickly towards the end. The restaurant itself was magnificent the decor, stained glass windows etc were very impressive.

Food was good but expected a more exciting menu for a MPW

Lovely setting for afternoon tea. Really great atmosphere and attentive staff. Would recommend.

Stayed in hotel indigo and went here for a romantic meal , my 16oz steak was atrocious, how you can mess up a steak is unreal , my partners burger was decent , £26 still charged for a steak that was rotten and an offer of a free dessert is simply embarrassing romantic getaway was slightly ruined by dodgy food

Recently had a 3 course meal ,service was prompt and excellent ,only reason for not been 5 stars is the chips were under cooked apart from that all good.

The dinning room is amazing as are the staff. The service was excellent. The food was just ok, we were expecting 'better', perhaps it is the chefs name that bumps up the cost. Very expensive for food which was just ok. We are pleased we went, but wouldn't go back.

Lovely afternoon tea in a spectacular setting with superb service.

Great afternoon tea staff so friendly ,beautiful place .

Given a Groupon voucher for afternoon tea so not sure of cost but normal price for two is £40. Excellent food and service and good value for money. Only downside is bar prices - £9.50 for a Cosmopolitan seems extreme.

Don’t waste your time Dining out on a has been chef. Frozen chips. Mediocre food all in line with company policy. £165 for two lots of great choice in Durham. Friendly local restaurants offering great food

Another dire MPW experience. Sometimes this place is quite good and then others you get long waits on the food and then when it arrives it’s really sub-par. Take today, the lamp and chicken are both off, so I go for a burger at around £19. I’ve had this before and it was quite good, but tonight it’s funded frozen as far as I’m can tell, complete with bone inside. Terrible.

Great food and excellent service. The young people working here are a credit to the business.

Waitress rushed us ordering drinks,even after I stated I hadn’t had chance to even look she just stood impatiently over me which ended up with me getting a cocktail that was horrible(£10.50 and didn’t drink ) The starter was ok French onion soup but had a lot better.We both had fillet steak for main asked to be cooked one medium rare and one medium well.They both came very rare ( still a lot of blood ) was very tasteless for a fillet, chips where ok for cheap frozen but for the price I would of expected better.We didn’t get dessert after 2 poor courses we decided not to chance a 3rd.Bill for 2 £120 would not recommend or dine again.Will stick to tomahawk as standard is a lot higher.

Went last night for dinner, beautiful building, lovely servers. Food very very average, did not enjoy it.

Came to the resturant for my mine and my mams joint birthday celebrations, I have to say we where treat with nothing but care, the waitors were so attentive, Vio was so friendly and made sure we were happy, Rhiannon and Tom kept us stocked up on drinks and Alex made sure we were happy with every course, every one of the waiting staff were perfect. thank you so much for such a lovely experience, could not wish for a better setting!

Beautiful building, excellent service but very average food.

Beautiful restaurant, fantastic service, shame about the food quality:/ second visit and both occasions not impressed.

No wow factor get better quality and value for money else where.

Had Sunday lunch3 course,staff friendly and informative,asked if I wanted my sirloin pink or well done,it was served well done as I asked,all very tasty

Thankyou SO much to Kayleigh & all of her team, if I could give you 6 stars I would! Nothing was any trouble, helped decorate the table for my occasion too and made it perfect,thankyou again! :) We had a group meal (40th birthday celebration) and there was 17 of my family dining together upstairs in the balcony area so had lovely view above the circular dome room. Had a fab deal on the mains with 50% off (had to be ordered by 3pm) which really made a difference, I had french onion soup to start, fillet steak for mains and crumble for desert, all of it was delicious (soup was slightly salty but gave feedback for the chef), everyone thoroughly enjoyed their food and there were no empty plates left, cannot wait to come back again and would highly recommend anyone to please come and dine here if you haven't before. Staff, food, venue, location,prices,communication - 10/10 Thankyou, Adam

Average at best, not a patch on miller and Carter. Nice restaurant but food was very average.

Excellent food, staff were well mannered and attentative. Lovely atmosphere. 5 stars 🌟

It's a lovely atmosphere but had better food n cheaper at other places. Its all on the name.