Market Tavern in County Durham

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.

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.

Everything was great. Lovely food and speedy service

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!!

Went into the Tarvan on the 16.11.23 enquired about a table, and was ignored by the, rude member of staff, so my son,s partner asked, only to be told don't you,ll have to look, my sons partner told him he,d had a look, he answered bluntly, rude and cocky well we haven't got any then. We did find a table looked at the menu however my son was so mad about the way we where talked to we decided not eat and left. On the way past the bar on the way out I even said thank you. When we complained we were told the bar staff had said that we walked in a bad mood, all 4 of us were rude and vulgar, and that the other customers were glad we left Never in my life have I ever been so insulted, Staff clearly think they are all above the the rest of us, I'm so mad at the situation

Staff were very friendly especially with my older family members, management seems to have a well oiled machine vibe to the way the place is run. Great selection of drinks for those who like to sample more than just one 😉 The food was to die for as well, not a ridiculous waiting time like the local pubs near me. Thank you I shall be returning soon with all of my family 😊

My mum got ignored by one of your bar staff when I asked to see if there was any empty tables because I had a look and there wasn't any that I could see I got a rude response he was so rude we walked out

Popped in for a quick drink and bite to eat - greeted by very friendly staff, food was lovely and situated in a convenient location. Would recommend

Excellent service and atmosphere . All staff polite and professional well managed by the managing team.

Went in looking for a table. Had to ask multiple times as was ignored the first time. When we did get an answer we were met with a cocky arrogant answer from the barman. We didn't eat here as was not giving them our money after the initial service. 10/10 would not recommend, disgusting attitudes from the staff.

Great place, friemdly and lovely atmosphere, will definitely return with my family.

Friendly atmosphere and staff, would recommend to anyone visiting the area

Greene King pub in Durham's historic market place, good if you want to watch a match on huge TVs. Foods ok and beer was well kept.

Visited 27.10.23 Slow service. Ordered via the app. Had to reorder at the bar as the member of staff didn't pick up the app order. Too much ice in my drink. Asked the bar staff to remove the ice, and he poured half of my drink away.

The only bad thing I could say about this brilliant tavern is that it's a bit small, during busy times it may be difficult to get a table. Part of it's charm is the olde worlde style, said to be the second oldest pub in the city. Would love to know how old it is! Absolutely put in on your pub crawl.

The food was too salty and highly processed, I didn't enjoy it at all. Also, one of the locks on the door of one of the two ladies' toilets didn't work; the male toilets were very smelly. I would not go back to this pub again.

After a spell of shopping, I felt like a nice pint of beer so went in and ordered a pint of Abbott ale. It was smashing really hit the spot. Shame I couldn't have more than one. Means I'll have to go back for more. Very good tavern, selling food and great beer, well Abbot ale anyway.

Used to be really nice but now it's just profit over quality. Not good enough. Not eating there again unless they improve drastically.

Very disappointing menu. We won't be returning.

Loved this authentic pub. Dog friendly. A miners theme. Such a friendly place. Met family there and the pub made sure we all were able to sit together. Special shout out to our bar man , James. He made all of us feel right at home

Lovely comfortable pub in the heart of the city serving excellent beer.

What a gem of a place, lovely atmosphere, friendly staff and good selection of drinks avaliable.

Service, perfect! 🤩 Food, average 🙂

Small and cosy. Older clientele which suits us 😊

Great little pub this. Probably not the cheapest or the best selection in Durham but it just seems to have character. You know, how a pub should be ! A must visit when in the city

Lovely place to sit and watch the world go by top banana 🍌

An OK pub, but on the pricier side for what it is. Atmosphere was a bit lacking. OK, entered in on a Monday night - it’s never going to be buzzing. But there was a few punters nipping in and out. Now I like a boozer where it’s comfortable, and that starts with the staff. Being honest, the staff on this night weren’t the most approachable in all honesty. A pub it supposed to have the bar propped with punters, but this was somewhat shunned slightly. A few basic simple requests were made by other punters that seemed like the largest challenges known to mankind for the staff at that point. Drinks quality was OK. Guinness was poured appropriately which is often overlooked in many places, so Kudos for that. I think this place serves food up to a point, but not late on, so it’s more of a boozer at night than a chain ‘pubstaurant’ (yeah, I made it up. Let’s see if it catches on). Footy was on several tellies, there’s a bandit right in the middle of the ground floor. Maybe if it went back to a more traditional boozer after 8pm it would feel more like a 4* than a 3.

Nice simple pub in the centre of Durham