Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill Durham in County Durham

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.

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

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

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 🌟

The setting is wonderful and the staff were attentive, though at times overly so (a 'joking' reference by one waiter to the female members of our party having to do the washing up was NOT well received). The food was fine, but for the prices charged here our expectations were much, much higher. We've had meals that were just as good for a quarter of the price. Don't think I'll be back, even for another special occassion

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

Excellent experience from start to finish. Great selection of dishes on the menu and a good wine list. Scotch Egg, Fillet Steak, Apple & Almond Crumble and Cabernet Sauvignon all fabulous. Wholeheartedly recommend this place for that special occasion.

Lovely restaurant. Excellent service. Five course Christmas dinner. Starters and pudding excellent. Fish very good. Turkey dinner average.

Fantastic, excellent service, superb food.

Lovely meal with friends. Food was good and well cooked with decent portions. Service was prompt and friendly. So so much better than our previous experience in the early days of this restaurant.

Beautiful restaurant, attentive service and the food was fantastic.

Expensive, food was just warm, no veg included in price had to order sides to make a meal

Christmas fayre on Friday 2nd Dec 2022. The one star is for the serving staff who were attentive to our table and for the delicious scotch egg starter. Unfortunately went downhill after that. I ordered veal which was requested pink (along with another member of our group) which was supposed to be served with English steamed dumpling and red cabbage. No hint of pink - well done more like - and 'dumpling' broke apart when cut and had texture of a scone. I ordered the cheese selection for dessert which was supposed to have 4 pieces of cheese inc blue and white stilton, 1 mature cheddar and another piece akin to a red Leicester, crackers and fig chutney/jam. It came with 3 pieces, 2 of which were blue Stilton and another piece which was similar to taste and colour of Port Salut. When the two pieces of blue Stilton was queried via the serving staff I was told that white Stilton is blue! This info came via the chef. I've never come across 'blue' white Stilton before. Both pieces I had on my plate tasted exactly the same. It's took a couple of days for me to post as I'm still shocked by the quality of the food which was turned out. We were at the same restaurant - MPW Durham - last year for the Christmas fayre and it was definitely not the same quality.

Great food and wonderful service. Thank you to Chloe for looking after us 👌🤩

Awesome place and service thoroughly recommend.

Ate here as we are staying in the hotel and had seen the restaurant recommended. The setting is beautiful and the staff were really lovely and very friendly. The starters were delicious but the mains were very disappointing. I ordered venison and my husband ordered fillet steak we both requested rare but both were medium to well done and it seemed such a waste of a good cut. Dessert was fine but the main dishes spoilt the meal really. Shame as it is such a beautiful space and the staff made us feel very welcome and at home.

Amazing cocktails, amazing atmosphere, amazing staff

Food cold portions are not value for money

For a marco Pierre white restaurant I didn't expect a reasonably priced set menu for Sunday lunch but while visiting Durham it was a nice change to go somewhere with a high standard like this. I went on my own but the portion size was more than enough for two people when it came to the veg, I asked for no pigs in blankets and before I asked if I was able to swap for something else the server suggested an alternative. They checked repeatedly about any allergies or dietary requirements which I felt was very welcome even tho I don't have any. They actually stopped me ordering a dessert till I'd eaten my main as I may be full by that point. The only reason they have got 4 stars was the pork was served on top of the potatoes and wasn't covered in gravy keeping it moist so with the short walk from kitchen to table it was drying out. But all in all better than your everyday Sunday lunch places treat yourself for only £25. Well worth a 2 course meal for sure. I forgot to take a picture of my veg I was so hungry.

Cheesecake was not good, otherwise OK.

Ordered an autumn set menu. Ambience: Quiet with a Durham twist Service: Waitress was nice (that’s all.) Starter: Best out of the 3 courses. But very mid Main: Steak (1 medium rare, 1 medium well) Medium rare steak was chewy, medium well was made well done - dry. But chips and onion rings were great! Dessert: Autumn fruits tasted like sweet canned fruits. Cheesecake with blueberry sauce was TOO SOUR almost inedible Overall: Do not expect too much from here.

Well I'm surprised Marco has put his name to this Restaurant. The duck was so overcooked it could have been a rubber toy for my dog. Simply awful. Champagne was served warm at £18 a glass! I wouldn't expect my local pub to have been so poor, at least they know to serve beer cold. Sorry, very disappointed. Upset as this was supposed to have been a special occasion.

Sunday lunch is excellent- good choice of meats (and vegetarian) with fresh and imaginative vegetables, all served by friend,y and attentive staff. Beautiful surroundings too

I'm giving quite a harsh overall rating simply because the price does not match the quality. If I'd paid £15 for the steak and chips I'd have given it 4 or even 5 stars, but to charge ~£35 for ribeye steak and chips where the meat was full of gristle, dry and very chewy (even though it was cooked medium) is a bit of a joke. The waitress came over and asked how the food was, to which our reply was "not great, chewy, and dry". Her reply was "I'm sorry about that" and walked off. To be fair, the manager asked us more when we went to pay the bill, apologising more and as a gesture of good will waived the mandatory 10% service charge. (Which we went aware was mandatory till the bill arrived). I've waited 4 weeks to write this review because the manager said all comments by customers are taken very seriously by senior management and would be reviewed . They took my phone number and email address, but to date no contact. We explained that had the price been £15, then it would have been a good meal, but at £35, you expect the finest quality. We have eaten in other steak restaurants around the world and know a good steak from a poor one, and can say that Millers and Carter which charge about £25 for a similar steak are orders of magnitude better quality, as is the Kyloe in Edinburgh. I also ate a steak at the marco pierre white in Cardiff 5 years ago and remember it being good quality, but looks like profit is being put above quality now. If your looking for a quality steak, I would not recommend this place, far better steak restaurants at a cheaper price in the area Also the beer quality was very poor too. Service was OK, the fact they took the time to ask about our views was nice, but the fact they didn't nothing about it means it's just lip service. If you want customers views (eg when you come to the table) do something about it, otherwise, what was the point in asking. Atmosphere could be nice, beautiful building, but the please was dead, just us and 1 other dinner, so no atmosphere, presumably because others have tried the food and decided they can get better quality else where for a lower price

We have eaten here on several occasions and the food has been very good, but not tonight i’m afraid. The french onion soup starter was devoid of cheese, both the rib eye and sirloin were very poor quality both fatty and chewy, the fillet was more rare than the medium rare we’d requested, but was definitely the best of the three ! In hindsight we should have sent it back, however, the service was very slow but they were quick to ask us to leave due to requiring our table ! Not up to usual standard at all.

Great service and food in a pretty amazing venue

A nice setting and the service was pleasant, but the food was of poor quality at top whack prices. The ribeye I had was tough, overcooked and not seasoned at all. The name above the door isn't worth the paint it's written with. Don't waste your money.

Excellent venue in all respects!

Went to the Marco Pierre White Steak house restaurant today for lunch, it was a special occasion for my sister . The Hotel and staff are amazing the food on the other hand was very poor. We couldn’t cut the steak with a steak knife which in the end they had to replace , ( the steak not the knife) my sister ordered the pork and couldn’t eat it it was so tough. I mentioned this when l payed the bill and they knocked it off the bill but the whole experience was spoiled and not the lovely occasion we had hoped . Our lovely waiter couldn’t do enough for us , this is our second experience in a Marco Pierre White Restaurant and we are not impressed at all and unfortunately will not go to another .

The dining room in the old shire building is a stunning location. The food on this occasion didn't live up to the surroundings. Two fillet steaks one was fine the other was chewy and full of sinu and was returned. Nice biting of wine however to wash it down. After dinner drinks were nice in the adjoining bar. Same was let down by the food on this occasion.

Staff were delightful. Unfortunately the food left something to be desired. Beetroot/feta starter consisted of sliced beetroot with barely a crumble of feta. Macaroni Cheese must have been left in the oven forever as it was hard baked on the top.

Fantastic place. Gorgeous afternoon tea and super friendly and helpful staff. Cocktails were superb highly recommended Will definitely return.

Had a wonderful Sunday lunch today. Our server was Lewis and what a fine young man he is. Polite, friendly and attentive. We love MPW Durham.

The restaurant is beautiful and the scotch egg starter was lovely. My partner's rib eye steak was good, unfortunately my sirloin steak had a lot of gristle and was basically inedible for me. The bill including 2 rounds of drinks was £119

Fur coat and no knickers. Marco, I have no doubt you sponsored this venue but I'm also sure you never vetted the afternoon tea menu. My wife and I went here for our anniversary expecting quality, the venue is very impressive and looks the part, the afternoon tea however is poor. The sandwiches were brown and white shop bought basic bread, the fillings were miniscule and boring. The scones were ok, warm and moist, the cakes however were a different matter. The cakes just came across as shop bought or if they were made in house then they need to get better at it or get a visit from Marco. The elephant in the room on the desert side though we're the macaroons, I've tasted shop bought long life macaroons before and these were the same, the filling was a no flavour gel and the macaroons themselves were "cakey" to say the least, not light and crisp like fresh one's would be. The staff were lovely but we certainly will not go back there again. Sort out your Durham steakhouse Marco, they are doing you a major injustice. Unless of course you're not bothered...

Heck, we paid enough for his education so why not a pounds more! Frankly a terrific meal. I had a smoked salmon starter followed by a lamb dish. All excellent and lovely ambiance. Lovely to see so many other parens with sharing a special dinner with their children, all dreaming of the day that they'll pay for their own dinner one day! Honestly, lovely time.