Market Tavern in County Durham

A bit dark on a bright sunny day

Great pub and friendly staff, love Durham visit spoilt by over zealous car parking enforcement guy who single handedly driving visitors from Durham.

Had to wait over an hour for food. Fish goujons were overcooked and had hardly any fish in, two pieces were purely batter. Don’t recommend.

Great pub to eat, recommend the steak and ale pie!!

Great lunch from a varied and unusual menu, washed down with locally-brewed beer. Would highly recommend.

Loud. Sky sports on the TV. A bunch of loud louts in the back. Several more mature potential customers walked in and turned around. Beer ok. Kitchen was closed by the time I showed up. Bartender does her job. This place lives on location.

Dirty sticky tables, warm beer, expensive

Ideally situated in Durham market place, this is an easy place to get to. Popped in for lunch and the pub was quiet at 12.30, though had filled up a bit by 1pm. Nicely decorated, with booths for 2 or bigger tables in the back. A very good choice and the pie was exceptionally good. A good range of beers and the service was friendly and quick. The decor has nods to the mining and trade union past of Durham. TVs with the news on silent and some quiet music in the background.

Great atmosphere and service quick. There wasn't any tables but we pulled up stools at a little bar/shelf area.

Great looking old building, Can't fault this great bar, great food and also a fantastic choice of beers, fantastic menu and food as stated is first class, we have eaten in the restaurant on numerous occasions and it is always consistently very good, the staff are very friendly and very attentive and helpful and more than happy to go that extra mile no matter how busy the bar gets. Well done guys.

Traditional pub with a good choice of drinks. Not the cheapest for a pint but worth a visit for is old word charm

Good pint of Double Maxim. Never had the food though.

Have no idea how to accommodate customers

Great staff, great pub. Always a great day visiting the tavern.

Greene King IPA, well kept and tasted like real beer should. Lots of choice of other draught beer and cider. Good value food. Historic and well fitted out pub for lunch or evening visits. A town centre gem

I'm sure it's ordinarily a decent place, but we ordered a beer and a glass of wine, and on placing the latter on the table the glass smashed. I explained to the barman and was met with 'you'll have to pay for another if you want a replacement'. Would recommend investing a little money in replacing old glasses and helping staff understand hospitality.

Very grim place, could do with a good clean, looks traditional and inviting from the outside but the inside doesn't reflect the same qualities.

We always call in here when in the city, a traditional British pub with a pleasant atmosphere.

A good pub, in my opinion it lacks a bit of authenticity, I had the same menu in another place. Average beer, the sirloin steak was a bit of a disappointment, overcooked and very dry. The staff was very attentive and helpful. I will return and hope to improve my rating

Brunch was very tasty for me and my wife. Good menu options. Warm and cosy at the rear on a very cold damp day. Like most people, we don't like change unless forced to by a poor experience so, will call in again.

Did not have anything but had great atmosphere but was smaller than expected

Margarita without salt? Not done!

Cosy old pub in the centre of Durham. Good choice of drinks. Traditional decor. As it's small it feels quite open, not suitable for a romantic conversation.

Worst service ever!!! This is the single whiskey....

Grumpy welcome, didn't stay long.

Possibly the worst meal I have ever paid for . Ordered BBQ chicken and it was tough as shoe leather and coated in a semolina like substance of bbq sauce and cheese sauce, a few paltry chips, tomatoes and 2 onion rings. On the plus side the IPA was very nice

Just went in for a pint, and it was great. They had a good selection of beer wines and spirits, and the staff were very efficient and friendly.

Good lunch even though a bit on the pricey side.

Nice place to spend good times with friends and family

Most overpriced pub in Durham, £10.30 for 2 small bottles of Heineken larger, shameful.

Lovely pub with good food and a good pint of local ale. Only one bloke serving when we visited today but he worked his socks off and was friendly throughout. Whatever he's paid, it ain't enough!

Hi Iain, Thanks for the reply, generally a nice pub to visit I guess, only in Durham for 2 day's stopped in for a quick drink, may call in again. The review's you have had suggest that at least a 4 star rating .

A very decent Greene King pub, food was v good, beers were in decent form, and the overall feel was welcoming. A big shoutout to the barmaid who was serving the bar and kitchen and also collected the glasses and food waste by herself OUTSTANDING 👍.

Great traditional pub with some real ale.

Superb homely cooking, massive portions.

Hi the staff really friendly and I got chatting to a few people which was good.

Lovely dog friendly old tavern.was told there was half hour wait for food No problem and was served in side the time.Food good and hot, freshly prepared.

Ordered at 7:35 ish (food closes at 8) only ordered a couple chicken nuggets and a burger someone came around took the menus off the table very soon after that, then a member of staff aproached us said they were running out of food and would have to check if they had it, we watched him walk over to the bar we followed like a minute later as the attidude clearly suggested they didnt want to cook then the man walked back towards us (dont know how he checked from the bar that they didnt have the food and he didnt go near the tills) but told us he had no food and would have to refund us, he said they usually run out of food early so id suggest ordering more food or cut off the food earlier but honestly i think they just couldnt be bothered to cook, maybe they cleaned the kitchen early idk but i did order 25 mins before food was meant to finish

Great little venue, small but very welcoming

Had good memories of this place from a long time back, but overall this return visit was a little disappointing. It was busy for a Thursday afternoon and maybe that caught them out because the queue at the bar was silly with only one person serving half the time. Had a Katsu curry chicken burger that was quite nice but the selection of ales available was disappointing and limited. I don't recall the place being a Greene King pub last time I was there but I could be mistaken. Overall it wasn't a terrible experiment, but it could have been a lot better.

Over priced and bar staff more interested in talking to there friends than serving customers... Visited last Friday afternoon (26th July) as not been in there for a while so thought i would pop in with my cousin...probably one of the dearest pints in Durham got 2 pints cost £13.20 so at £6.60 was a tad shocked and to put in to comparison as I checked my banking app. Half moon £11.40 (£5.70) El Pincho £11.50 (£5.75) The Boathouse £11.00 (£5.50) Drunken Duck £11.60 (£5.80) Better and more friendly places to visit in Durham for sure.

Nice quiet pub but £5:20 for a pint of John Smiths a working man's pub with Tory prices.

Visited this business last week and was absolutely shocked by how efficient the staff are, was served quickly by the staff and the drinks were amazing, big selection on gins and they even put fruit in it as a added bonus, ordered 2 meals for me and my partner only took 10 minutes for my mains to arrive, the manager even brung me a drink while I was eating, will definitely be returning🍺

Nice pub on market square, next to market hall,which has incredible choice of stalls.Good beer

Drinks service was good, while the place busy staff friendly

Tried the Katsu chicken burger and it was delicious, well presented and worth every penny

Ordered 2 steak sandwiches absolute joke a small slice of steak inside bread land lord laughed when we complained not worth nearly £9 each .feel like we've been robbed

Great setting, nice building! Your average GK set up!

Quirky tavern, full of original character. We only called in for a drink and we were pleased to see that they served ale from the local Maxim Brewery.

Doubt if an old school Durham trade union miner could afford a pint in here

We went in here for lunch today. The building and seating in the area where we were could do with a good clean and repair. Having said that the food was excellent.

Olde world pub, but good beer and food nice & fresh.

Cracking friendly pub with great atmosphere...can't rate the food as only went in for a drink

Terrible cold food with the smallest portion of chips ever seen. Avoid. Beer is over priced too.

Traditional old style pub, well kept real ale. In a great setting. The food was excellent.

Ok pub on two levels situated as the name suggests adjacent to the market. IPA and Abbot plus two guest beers from Maxim. One overworked girl behind bar on our visit trying to serve both beer and food. Interesting collection of Durham Miners Union banners.

This pub does not serve Sunday roast dinners despite website claiming it does. Very disappointing.

Excellent bar staff great atmosphere we always vist here when in durham 🍻

Lovely food and great service from Joe and Karl. Thank you!

Solid pub. Massive TVs for sport

Fabulous pub with a great selection of beers/Ales and food.

We love this little pub in Durham.

Nice pub. Toilets need updating

We took a business meeting here for post dinner drinks. Good atmosphere, friendly staff and a good selection of ales.

Nice traditional pub in the centre of Durham serving decent beer.

Great pub, get in early, it gets full.

Don't fill the pints up. Asked for it to be filled with a poor excuse as cider isn't meant to be filled to the top. It was missing 25% of the drink.

Great old bar with a sense of history. Bit pricey but loads of atmosphere. Well worry a visit

Lager was flat, drinks were expensive, poured in unbranded glasses, seating all ripped at the sides and the ladies toilets were shocking with mould up the walls. Didn't have food.

Cosy little place, food was nice and the staff were pleasant and helpful

An atmospheric historic pub centrally located serving very good real ales well. Staff were efficient but not particularly friendly.

Good for a quiet drink but needs a larger selection of whisky

Had lunch for two. Nice selection of drinks and food. Both were good quality and service was rapid and friendly.

A genuine old pub, with all the fixtures, uncompromising with any of the latest trends, just being what it is, well maintained, and it's good to see these still exist. The Cask Marque logo brought me in, and they indeed have a fair selection of real ales. The food is simple and fresh at a decent price (with £10 lunch option with a soft drink). The service is discreet yet efficient and attentive.

Order an lunch time special and a main meal. The flat iron sandwich was overwhelmed with the mustard mayo and loads of rocket. Also we were charged the extra for a pint of Guiness when we ordered a cola with the lunch special for free. This resulted in our bill being more than it should have been.

A great dog friendly pub right in the Center of Durham makes a change from having to eat outside the food was lovey and very reasonably priced highly reccomend

Good staff, didn't try the food but it did look lovely on other tables

Nice little pub in the heart of Durham. Nice pub with good ale.

Everything was great. Lovely food and speedy service

Me and my friends came in tonight and had one of the best nights we’ve had in a while, The gentleman who I think is the owner and the team leader give us great customer service and made us feel welcomed, we were only meant to stay for one drink and ended up staying for a few hours.

Good beer and a nice atmosphere close to the town centre

Great pint but they need to get the card reader fixed. They never seem to work.

I didn't give 5 stars because I was only in there for a brief stay. But the pub's got a lot of charm!

Went to day had Sunday lunch .it was lovely.pet friendly and staff friendly and polite.would recommend

Good atmosphere and a good pint.. bit expensive though

Liked the character in this bar

Been coming here 25 years and always been a great bar. We didn't eat but it is dog friendly. The toilets have always been stinkers but they aren't in control of the drains, old sewers do smell.

Fantastic food! Absolutely loved their menu! .. 3 days in Durham and ate here 3 times. Brilliant pub, (apart from Ladies toilets downstairs, steep stairs, they were quite tricky for me.)

Not much atmosphere, Dour barman

Always a great atmosphere and quick service, even in busy periods. Well worth a visit

Very busy, noisy, crowded with televisions showing sport. Far too noisy for my taste.

We just had drinks and watched the darts but was a nice atmosphere and service was good 👍🏻

A long time since I was in last but the beer was fine full as it would be at this time of year but once one lad left the bar it did lead to a bit of a back up for beer people when serving coffees

Great little pub in Durham Market good selection of drinks in a quaint old public house. Not many of these left intact. Usually good for a quiet drink

I do have a soft spot for this place, but I'm guessing that's down to my age, I'm in my 6th decade. Nice place for a bite to eat at lunchtime and we generally end up here at some point on a night out. A couple more real ales wouldn't go a miss, but I'm a cider guy currently and there's generally one of two decent ones available. If you like a decent old school pub, this is a pretty good place to go.

The market tavern on Sunday teatime was lovely made all the more special with Newcastle getting beat 4-1

Bought a round of 4 drinks. Mine was an IPA which was warm. I had a couple of gulps but decided to take it back. I went to the bar and informed the Manager that the IPA didn’t taste right as it was warm and he informed me that, that’s the temperature it should be served!. I ask to change to Guinness and he proceeded to pour the Guinness and then ask for payment. I said I wanted a refund on the IPA to which he said I’d drank too much to warrant a refund. So I took a picture of the drink and said I would complain, as a result the Manger refused to serve me at all! Very poor customer service.

We really enjoyed our visit in this lovely tavern,we managed to find a table up the stairs as others were leaving.Then 6 lovely ladies muscled in and we ended up on the end of the table!!! We had a great time with them and really enjoyed their company.some of them were drinking Guinness with TiaMaria in it.Proper fun girls on a binge and food outing,thank you ladies,xxx.

No food but a decent pub right in the centre of town . Real Ale available

Freya at the bar was so lovely and friendly. She served us quickly and made great recommendations! She's an absolute as asset. A complete star!!