Oswald's Restaurant & Stables Pub in Darlington

Tasty menu, no complaints. I had the steak the first night and the feathered beef the following evening. The poached pear was fabulous!

Booked a table here (Oswalds) for my grandma's 90th birthday for 16 people. The initial email and telephone communication was good (however we were placed in an empty private room even though I specified a none private room and expected us to be sat in the conservatory with everyone else as that's what my grandma preferred) but following a few people not being able to attend on the day due to covid we were over charged for the extra meals despite them being cancelled in advance. That money has now been refunded but it took us weeks of chasing. Money aside, the lack of customer service has been such a shame, as I say initial communication with the events team was good but waiting staff on the day didn't seem too happy to be there and a member of management who phoned my mum seemed to have no knowledge of the situation (meaning everything had to be explained again) but didn't seem to care either, offering no apologies and came across almost abrupt, which is just terrible for management within the hospitality business. Everyone is busy but friendliess and good customer service costs nothing so its just such a shame that this hasn't been a more positive experience. I'm afraid I won't be booking anything else at the Hallgarth or be recommending it to others.

Ate here first night of our stay, food not very good dry chicken, burnt onion rings, burnt pizza, burnt chips

Food tasty but short on portion size. Main course needs to be on a plate not in a bowl. Short of vegetables.

We had dinner one night and two breakfasts, on a two night stay in the hotel. The dinner was way below par - my medium-well steak has provided new soles for my shoes having been way overcooked and tough as leather. Other dishes were equally uninspiring and the menu limited. Breakfast buffet was OK on choice (not 'luxury' though) but hot food in the buffet was barely tepid! Very unappetising. Overall very disappointing.

Ordered a starter of asparagus with smoked salmon and poached egg, tasted lovely however completely cold. Main course of pan fried chicken with vegetables - this was delicious - and hot

Had a lovely meal in this restaurant, the staff were very friendly and efficient, I had the fish chowder which was wonderful and my husband had the game pie with chunky chips which were cooked to perfection. We both had deserts and the cheesecake was beautifully presented and tasted just as good as it looked .We ordered wine but the bottle we wanted was too cold to be served correctly but we were grateful that the waiter told us before opening.

Friendly staff...self service at brekfast on tea, coffee and toast ect wasnt good ..missed pots of jam and tomato sauce in Ramekins hated sauce in plastic sachets .. Better options on evening meals..Starters were not the best options and portions on things like cod were tiny . We bought bottles of wine were plunked onto table unopened and had to pour ourselves . Staff were however still friendly and kind

Had a lovely meal anyone who likes belly pork it’s a must , service was excellent Planning to stop again even though we don’t have the excuse of a wedding

Every meal we had on our 3 day stay was excellent, the lamb was especially tasty, a very good choice of food on the menu

The food in Oswald's was excellent, service was very good and friendly and the meal was very good indeed.

Booked a massage, facial and afternoon tea bought for us as a Christmas present so decided to stay the night before at the hotel. Pleasant, clean room. Friendly and helpful staff. Excellent dinner. Had use of pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room. Massage and facial good, excellent afternoon tea. Would go again.

Went here with my boyfriend and his grandma today and it was delightful. The service was wonderful, the carver delicious and the puddings were divine. Excellent choice for a sunday lunch. Would highly recommend.

My wife and I stayed at the Hall Garth Hotel and Country Club last week. We had dinner in the hotel's restaurant, Oswald's, on the first night. We were bit early and were seated immediately. We shared the mushrooms with cream sauce, bread crumbs and Parmesan. They were okay but not exceptional. My wife had the salmon which she enjoyed but wished there had been less samphire and some other vegetables. We ordered a side order of potatoes but the potatoes never arrived. I cannot remember what I had so it was certainly not memorable in any sense. We were seated by a window overlooking the golf course. Very nice.

We called in for lunch on a Tuesday.The waitress was very friendly, helpful and efficient. We had a choice of sitting outside, in the main restaurant or the Orangery. We chose the Orangery as it was a sunny day but with spots of rain. The Orangery is very airy with an excellent view of the Golf course with its resident wild fowl.The menu had a good selection and was reasonably priced. We had bread and olives to start which were tasty with several flavoured and spicy breads.For mains we had a delicious substantial burger and very tasty salmon. The food arrived promptly and was well served.A great experience and we will return.

Not a restaurant very poor in every respect , poor service , tiny meals . In and out in double quick time. Got home to make a sandwich, and I am not joking . Never ever again.

Had the best meal I've had in a long time. Waitress Shirley was very friendly and thanks to her I plunged for an amazing sticky toffee pudding desert to Die for.. yummy yummy yummy..

Esta fue una cena encantadora. Me alegro de no puedo creer los comentarios mal. Comimos mucho y como buena comida y este era justamente eso. El servicio era excelente, con un personal agradable y amable que quería ayudar. El precio es un poco caro pero creo razonable para un restaurante y la comida hacen que valga la pena. Volvería a comer allí de nuevo. Todos disfrutamos de la comida y la experiencia, incluyendo mi hijo exigente que dijo mejores patatas fritas nunca. Él quería comer aquí la noche siguiente. . . . . . Nos hubiera escuchado a él.

Stayed at the hotel twice now and have eaten in Oswalds food is beautiful, 5 star refined dining. The bad reviews on here are shocking! I eat out a lot and this place is amazing !

Decided to treat myself and my sister to afternoon tea. We booked a week in advance and said we'd be having the "Afternoon Tea for Two" We arrived and went to the hotel reception, there was no one there so we walked around what appeared...

Visité los Establos con amigos para una cena. Es un pub establos Hallgarth Hotel y conectado a esta crítica es sobre el pub. El restaurante es encantador, con mucha luz y con la música de fondo discreto es un gran lugar para hablar. Por la...

Visitar el arrastrarse en Shildon decidimos parar en el hotel e ir a Whitby al día siguiente.

Food superb quality and restaurant standard. Fish cooked perfectly. Also source slightly unusual ingredients such as samphire and celeriac which were new to me but delicious. Portions were generous and there was a good wine list. Tables were lovely and spacious - hate feeling cramped when eating. Breakfast was also very good here. Would love to eat again here.

Very disappointing , we were greeted by a dishevelled grubby barman who told us Sunday lunch was being served so we ordered 2 drinks ,,,then we realised lunches had stopped at 2.30 ,,, he said he'd worked 30 hours & was too tired to think straight ,, but we could order of regular menu ,,,so beef shin & pots were the nearest thing to a dinner ,,,waited ,,,, received raw potato stack & shin beef you could of played tennis with !!! We left it all ,,,, won't be back ,, paid over £8 for 1 wine 1 water ...... Didn't pay for abysmal food . Didn't stay at hotel so rating for dining at stables.

The dining room was uncomfortably warm when I ate here which was a off putting. Service was prompt and efficient with friendly staff. The pate starter I had was very good and the sticky toffee pudding desert equally good, the main course of seafood chowder was tasty but was more of a large starter sized portion than a main course in my opinion and therefore rather on the expensive side for what was served, that said it was very nice. Overall I would use the eatery again if staying here but probably go for a different main course.

Invisited the Pub 2 times during my stay and the food was ok. I visited the restaurant one time and decided not to go there again. This due to that I ordered a rumpsteak from their grill menue. This steak was the toughest steak ever eaten, they could serve a little more tender beef.

Always receive a warm welcome from the staff at Oswald's. The food is top quality and the menu changes frequently so never any problems making a choice.

My partner and I decided to get some food here on bank holiday Monday... Big mistake. We were greeted by a barman, I asked if they served food and he handed me a menu and pointed at the lunch time menu for us to choose from a list of sandwiches. I felt uncomfortable while trying to choose from a limited menu like we were being a nuisance for wanting food. We ordered two sandwiches and asked if he understood clearly three times what we wanted and I was thinking it was pricey when the bill came to £16 for 2 sandwiches and 2 diet cokes. We waited for the food to come out while we sat in the conservatory which was dirty and covered in spiders webs. 1 sandwich came out after 40 minutes, which wasn't even the sandwich we ORDERED. My partner asked where the second sandwich was and was asked if he wanted charged for another bringing out... again sorry for the inconvenience of our order! Considering I wasn't happy about paying £16 for 2 sandwiches we weren't bothered about the fact they'd missed one and especially once we tasted it! It was the worst thing I've eaten and I don't understand how anyone can burn a chicken sandwich that looked an tasted absolutely awful! We won't be going back after rude service and disgusting food. What's worse is who looked to be management was too busy running after her child who'd come to visit with his grandmother than to take any notice of the unsatisfactory service customers were receiving! Will not be going back... Pity because it used to be lovely.

Wonderful traditional restaurant. Don't miss the local farm produce on menu. We sat in the main restaurant but you could also sit in the new conservatory with views over the hotel golf course.

Excellent food, nicely presented. Service very good. Better than the average hotel food you can sometimes get!

Good tasty food available with the usual pub grub and huge portions! The menu in the Stables pub is varied and reasonably priced. Both restaurants provided efficient and polite service. Oswalds afternoon tea was really lovely , the scones were so light and tasty, presented beautifully and decorated with edible flowers.good selection of pastries and sandwiches were included. The location of the hotel is idyllic and we had a lovely view across the golf course, the sunshine added to the enjoyment. Highly recommended!

If I order lamb and it comes without any jus or gravy, would it be unreasonable to ask for, and receive some, even if the chef didn't design the dish to have any?Apparently not. "the chef says there isn't any". Any of what I say? "jus or gravy", he says. What, of any sort in the whole kitchen? I say. "Yes" he says.What i think happned is the chef threw a strop because somebody wants to defile his very nice pink and juicy lamb with some bisto, and he isn't about to let that happen.Appalling customer service.Tomato and pepper soup to start was lovely.

We visited this restaurant on Sunday for Fathers day dinner as we were visiting Durham uni. What can I say.......it was like going back to English restaurants in the 70's!!! Starters of Thai Prawns and pate were absolutely without question tasteless! Daughters had Gnocchi which was ok and the other had bread roll which was the only good part of the starters. We thought the starters were an all time low but then the mains arrived!! My steak ordered med-well was served cremated! accompanying peppercorn sauce should have been called watery cream sauce. I did send it back as literally my knife wouldnt cut it and the second was slightly better. Daughters steak was "OK" but overcooked too. Other daughter had grilled chicken breast which she couldnt eat as was slimy. Husband had lamb which he said was lovely but served dry. But how on earth do I describe the "hand cut chips".....imagine potato wedges left sitting in fat for hours and then lifted out and served that doesnt even get close to describing them!! The Shiraz wine (my husband is a master of wine) was like watered ribena! Surprising thing was that the serving staff didnt ask one question of why the food and wine were left - very strange! and as it was fathers day we really couldnt be bothered to dispute the bill. The only thing that was excellent was my husbands sticky toffee puddingAVOID AVOID AVOID

We ate at Oswald's on a Saturday evening recently and enjoyed 3 courses that were very nice. We thought the selection of accompaniments to the steaks a bit strange as there was no veg, particularly for a lamb steak. However, on request a veg side dish was provided. The staff were very friendly and efficient. I mentioned to our lovely waitress in passing that it was my husbands birthday and a little surprise appeared. A lovely touch. Not a great choice of food but enough. A bit pricey but worth it. I would come back and probably stay in the hotel as well next time.

What I had I enjoyed but not a great choice. Pricey at £11 for a burger and a few fries. No desserts on offer.

We stayed at the Hall Garth on Good Friday and visited the restaurant to celebrate a 70th. 10 of us in the party, with 3 children, and mainly went for the steak that was perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious. The staff were superb, very friendly, helpful and attentive and we thoroughly enjoyed our night. Also we then went into the Stables pub and had a great night, the staff again were excellent. If you drink ale I'd recommend the Theakstons Best, it was a cracking pint.

Fab food and service , excellent menu, wine , desert to die for . Warm friendly stylish restaurant . Plenty of choice on menu , excellent value

To be honest this was our second choice for lunch as first one let us down. Disappointed that there were no lunch time specials and the menu was quite limited with very little in the way of light bites. There was little taste to the pesto, the stotties were enormous. Chips were good, although the side order came 5 minutes after main meal. Would not return for lunch.

I went with my parents i was so disappointed. I have never been served a steak pie and chips like that before they wanted 10pound there was no salad or veg with it not even any peas and the half dozen chips i did were extra brown tasting only of just oil they were so greasy. I have taken a photo of proof as it was so poor. My mam bought 2 large glasses of wine was only pinot gricio cost 13.20 totally overpriced