Tawny Owl Darlington in Darlington

Good solid pub on the outskirts of Darlington. Comfort food, a sensible array of drinks, and a relaxed/comfortable atmosphere. A good place to go for a casual lunch with friends or family. Thanks to Lottie and Shona for looking after us.

Fab food, fab service, thanks Deb 😊

Have been coming to the tawny owl for years with family and friends, lovely atmosphere and great food. Real fires burning are always a treat. On our last visit we were served by Lottie, she went out of her way to make sure we had everything we needed, friendly and polite - great service!

We came here for lunch and it was so nice. I had the Katsu chicken. Not only was the food incredible, our server (Lottie) was friendly, welcoming and made sure our overall experience was above and beyond.

We came here for a Sunday dinner and it was lush! The roast beef was gorg, and our server (Lottie) was welcoming, friendly and went above and beyond to ensure we had a great time. I would recommend The Tawny Owl (and Lottie) to anyone and everyone!

Nice pub, friendly staff. Food was good and a good size portion.

Pie of the day, mash carrots cabbage. Pie beef and ail not edible. Beef like rubber. Carrots overcooked. Gravy good. On telling the staff just ok.

First visit and am very impressed food was amazing

jewel of the north very warm and friendly welcome nothing was too much trouble the food was absolutely delicious highly recommend

Gareth is the best. Very welcoming and couldn’t do enough. Excellent service.

Gareth was superb today, very attentive, pile and good crack. Thanks for helping to make our lunch so enjoyable.

Gareth our server was great and the food was absolutely delicious! Will be back

Out for lunch with my fiance and my mum. We were greeted warmly and soon after seating we were asked what drinks we'd like. Drinks came promptly and our food order was taken, 2 x fish and chips and 1 x bacon chop with chips, pineapple and fried egg. Food soon arrived and it was delicious. Crispy batter, chunky chips and mushy peas, tartare sauce and granary bread and butter. Tender bacon chop, chunky chips, fried egg, warm pineapple and peas. Service was friendly and not pushy. Highly recommend The Tawny Owl.

Had a lovely meal Sunday dinner, only thing felt the meal wasn't, hot enough that could be personal preferable reference, been previously for a weekly lunch absolutely gorgeous recommend the lasagne

Well done Jane’s and team a really lovely meal in friendly surroundings thanks to Mari. It’s always a pleasure to visit the Tawny Owl.

We were served by Deb, a lovely lady and food was great. We will be back

Great staff amazing food chicken sniztel is my firm favourite the wife loves the roast dinners we were served by oliver who was very pleasant would definately recommend the tawny owl

Gareth top bloke. Cracking food.

Great service and lovely food as always. Mari in particular was very friendly and helpful!

Absolute must place to visit...great staff...food and selection of drinks. Even the barman made me a very tricky Irish coffee...5 stars 🌟

Food was beautiful and the service was even better! Gareth was very kind, approachable and really looked after us all! Thanks Gareth!

Our service was absolutely brilliant via Gareth

Excellent food great atmosphere very friendly staff and out server Gareth

Very good service as always, Gareth our server was very nice and friendly, the food come quickly and it was delicious, my mum and I got the veggie katsu curry with sweet potato fritters, and my dad had the salmon fish cakes, I would recommend both meals!

What can I say, Deb is an absolute legend and and inspiration to have working at such a fine establishment such as yours. Firstly, we were late but this wasn’t a problem for Deb. Then, as a very strict vegetarian nothing was too much bother in assisting me with me life choices in cheese. It was an absolute privilege to be in such great company and proximity to such a fine and kind soul such as Deb. If there is any question about who wrote this review then please contact Deb who will know instantly the legends that were present at her favourite table of the day on the 5th April 2025. In all seriousness she is a credit to you and should be rewarded as such. Damian & Selena

Love coming here for food! Service is always great

Yet another lovely evening at the Tawny. We were served by Deb & she made sure we well looked after 😁 Thank You

Came today for lunch as a birthday present for my MIL. Food was lovely, Gareth was very attentive and nothing was too much trouble. Very dog friendly, not my first visit and not my last. Would highly recommend!

Gareth is excellent, all of the food was amazing as always and the service was great as always. The fire always makes me fancy a peaty whisky (fortunately there is a very nice one on the menu).

A lovely cosy pub with genuinely friendly staff. Mari was attentive, service was excellent and made a fuss of our pooch. Always feel welcome here and the food is always really good. Keeps us coming back. Loyalty scheme is excellent and gives good discounts and freebies.

Food and service were second to none, it was lovely atmosphere, our waiter Gareth was friendly and very helpful, definitely recommend to others So dog friendly

Lovely pub, very friendly staff and excellent food. The atmosphere is wonderful, typical country pub.

Our favourite lunch stop, always friendly, dogs welcome and the food is very tasty

Our server and food was absolutely fab! I'll tell you now if you get Mari your in for a real treat 😉

The food was lovely and the service was so quick! Our waitress Mari was wonderful, so attentive! Would definitely come again 🥰

Excellent ambience. Fantastic staff. Clean tidy spacious. Delicious food and drinks.

Mari was an exceptional host. The food was nice and the price was on point. Definitely would recommend. Group of 5

We took our 4 month old out for one of the first times to one of our favourite local pubs. Served by the lovely Mari, who was absolutely fabulous making us feel comfortable and looked after 😊

Thank you Mari for such great service! We had a lovely meal

Just had tea at the Tawny Owl, service was amazing especially Carly! Had the Chicken, Acavado and Bacon salad absolutely scrumptious, so fresh and tasty. Highly reccomend.

Birthday Sunday lunch for 11 people. Food was amazing, staff friendly and efficient. At the end of the meal they brought in the cake and sang Happy Birthday.. how lovely is that !!!! Just brilliant. Thank you everyone at Tawny Owl today x

Brilliant wee pub. Food is delicious with a cozy atmosphere and Deb our server is incredibly friendly, attentive and professional

Great Sunday lunch and great service from Deb.

Food was delicious and service by Deb was excellent

Lovely food friendly nonpushy waiters homely atmosphere.

Service by Deb was efficient and friendly from the moment we sat down to leaving. Nice relaxed atmosphere. We called here before heading to the Darlington Hippodrome.

Great meal and fantastic service from Mari! Made us feel very welcome.

Exceptional food and the best service by Deb and shona they made my birthday really special

Absolutely Fantastic service from Lisa and Paula. The food was delicious will definitely go again.

A very pleasant morning at the Tawny Owl. Lots of food, teas and coffees. The atmosphere was very friendly and it hoped the lots of money was raised for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Always love coming here, Deb was an absolute star ❤️🫶🏻

We had a lovely Sunday lunch at the Tawny Owl. Food was absolutely fantastic, atmosphere great and the staff were so polite and attentive. Wonderful service all around and we’ll definitely be back soon. Debbie our server was lovely and made sure our meal was perfect. Shout out for the amazing mini dessert + hot drink - great option after having a large Sunday dinner 🥰

Our first time for Sunday lunch, was excellent for my wife & I. We were served by Deb & she was wonderful.

Fantastic food and a Deb was a great host.

Nice and chill atmosphere. Staff friendly and helpful. Food is nice simple fare.

Great service, atmosphere and food

We hadn’t been to the Tawny Owl for a few years, and decided it would be a nice spot for a bit of a “date night”. We’re really glad we went, and we will definitely be visiting again very soon. Our server Charlie was very friendly, polite and professional, nothing was too much trouble. The food was fantastic, very high quality, it came out of the kitchen so quickly, and didn’t sit heavy at all - before we knew it we’d had three courses. It is very reasonably priced too.

Two girls at the till were rude and didn't serve me what I wanted properly by asking so many questions.

Celebrating several birthdays at once, the important one being Tracey’s 50th, with Lisa & Steve either side like Orians Belt

A lovely evening meal with friends, Carly our server was first class from start to finish. Unfortunately I made an error by putting a log on the fire but felt like a child by a male member of staff as I should of asked. My fault I know but I have come across this member of staff before. Not the right person to be customer facing!

Usually meet my friend regularly on a Monday every few weeks usual two lovely chatty ladies on today very friendly I've missed a few weeks with a broken wrist they remembered us and were really nice would recommend

A very pleasant pub to drink and eat good hot food with great staff too !

Good service, very welcoming, good hot food.

Great afternoon out, food was really good, Mari and Lottie were perfect hosts, with Lottie even bringing out a candle for the cake that we had forgot. Great atmosphere, never felt rushed or pressured. Forgot how good this place was.

Came for a meal for my birthday with family. Food was lovely and so were the servers. Mari was lovely!

Fabulous meal served by Debbie. WOW

Great place, a big wow for our server Debbie

An amazing afternoon for Lynders birthday, Sunday lunch was fab, sticky toffee pudding was outstanding... Thanks Debbie 🥰

Mari did a great job serving us,the food and atmosphere was all really good. Smashing meal out!!

Always a pleasure to visit here whether it’s for food and just drinks thank you 🙏 a special thank you to Mari for great service and a smile 😊 ❤️

Mari, who served us,was very nice helpful and understanding of our allergy needs

Mari was incredible and made our lunch an unforgettable experience. Every restaurant NEEDS a Mari.

Lovely pub, food and service! Would recommend.

We pre booked as two families meeting for a 67th birthday. We asked the tables be together. We chose the pub due to location and the info we found online regarding gluten free options. We hadn’t realised the pub didn’t open until noon, which was fine, however my husband and daughter had gone 15mins early as they needed to get off quickly. Sadly they were made to feel awkward by the owners. It seems the two tables of 6 would have normally been cancelled as wouldn’t be allowed together, but as they’d been away on holiday and hadn’t seen until now, they had painstakingly rearranged the pub to accommodate us. He was also told that due to a party of over 8 we would have a 10% service charge added - we wouldn’t have minded this but so far he had felt like they were doing us a huge favour and making us feel bad about something! This said, the group next to us was around 10 with many little kids, so clearly not an unheard of thing - or hard to accommodate without being gaslighted! The service from the waiting staff was brilliant, the food delicious if not a bit overpriced. My mum was made a fuss over and they brought her out complimentary icecream and a Happy Birthday plate which was a lovely touch. There was no need for the owners to say anything when we arrived. It was not our fault that they had been away and that the system didn’t say we couldn’t do what we did. Instead of a guilt trip, they could have just welcomed us. Poor hospitality which sadly took the edge off what would have been a lovely afternoon. Very much doubt we will return, as my brother and sister were both as annoyed and upset about the way we were made to feel, as I was.

Lovely food, quick service and Mari was so welcoming and attentive. Perfect weekend lunch.

lovely day in tawny owl, thank you Oliver

Mari was lovely, friendly and helpful.

Staff were welcoming and friendly. Good service and good food, (Mari) our server was busy but made effort to keep checking in with us for drinks and asking if all was okay.

I really enjoy this pub. It's always warm and cosy. The staff are lovely. The food is always tasty and well presented. The service is prompt. We were served by Carly today she was very attentive. We had a little chat which is something you don't get so much now in pubs with food. I had the steak pie which was amazing the beef just fell apart in your mouth so tasty. My husband is a vegetarian so he had the curry which he said tasted beautiful.

Lovely atmosphere. Visited on a Tuesday lunchtime and the food was lovely. We had Haddock and chips and the Roast Beef sandwich. Both meals were very good quality, fresh and tasty. All staff very welcoming and friendly. Would highly recommend.

Had a really lovely meal, service was very attentive and will definitely be back.

We visited here a couple of years ago and didn’t have a great experience, but it has changed beyond words. Exceptional food and service and a lovely friendly atmosphere. Thanks to Carly, we were so well looked after and with a friendly smile throughout - and thank you to Stephen in the kitchen, the food was beyond expectations and as I was here with my bother visiting from London - and if you can impress him, then you really have done well!!!!

Gareth was an amazing host very friendly, Simone’s steak pie was absolutely delicious, really recommend x

Absolutely delicious Sunday lunch. Great, friendly service. Thank you 😊

Fantastic meal, lovely food great service

Great food, same as farmhouse but more space so feels less crowded

Excellent service from Debbie. Friendly staff. Lovely atmosphere.

Brilliant service from Gareth and Simone. Gareth was very helpful and great host. And the food was delicious. Highly recommend

Gareth was amaizing hist. Brilliant guy

Our server was named Carly and she was absolutely delightful! Made us feel so welcome and was so kind giving me some fab advice and well wishes on our baby who is due next week! The food was lovely, this is one of our absolute favourite places to come and Carly made our last meal out before becoming a three so very special, thank you so much!

Thoroughly enjoyed the meal and friendly service from from Carly, so nice to receive good customer service.

Wonderful delicious food and drink... Thanks very muchly

We have always had excellent service and lovely food here.

Our visit was exceptionally good. Thank you!

Debbie was perfect from taking our order to us leaving. The gentleman does need to be more welcoming and not so aloof

Very busy, service not too long considering the amount of customers, but acceptable. The waitress, Carly was fantastic, efficient, very friendly and had us all laughing. Made a great night. Food was fantastic. Not a negative comment in out rather large group. Happy customers

Incredible service from Gareth our server! The food was just as good, if not better than he emphasised. Would highly recommend the signature burger and you cannot go without trying the baked cheesecake for dessert!! It genuinely almost brought me to tears -Gareth can vouch for that! All the staff were super friendly and the food is well priced for the quality you’re getting. Could not recommend this pub for dinner enough!!!

Had an excellent meal tonight. Our server, Gareth, was very friendly and the food was totally delicious! Would definitely come again :).

Second time here and very impressed on both occasions. Sunday dinner you can rely on!

Tawny Owl Darlington is a fabulous Had Sunday lunch ,Debbie served us as usual service was outstanding. Debbie has worked at the tawny owl for years. We look forward to our Sunday lunch and the banter