The Ancient Unicorn Inn Restaurant in County Durham

Maybe one should never return to a place and expect it to have the same magical experience that you had on previous occasions. No open log fire, no friendly’ customer comes first’ attitude. Missing items from ordered food. Noisy kids running around,( to be fair I can’t blame the management for lazy parenting) Sorry for such a poor review, this place may suit some but we won’t be back.

Decent food, good accommodation and friendly staff. Stopped here overnight on the way to Scotland. I’d certainly stop here again for an overnighter if heading North 👍🏻

Friendly staff but the food needs improvement. The chips were awful, mushy and maybe overcooked so was the sausage. Atmosphere was nice as well.

Not only is the accommodation superb, the breakfast and evening meals are brilliant. We were made very welcome by both staff and Gus the dog. I will return and thoroughly recommend staying in this historic building.

Staff really helpful. Beer very good. Good selection of pub classics on the menu. Enjoyed the meal. Nice wine. Definitely would eat here again.

Our whole experience was poor. Didn’t have a reserved table despite booking ahead. The food took longer to arrive than expected. The menfolk in our group ordered the steak pie which arrived cold. Sent these back to be warmed up and also asked for extra gravy. Upon return they were still not served hot and the gravy had a distinctive ashy smell and taste - not sure what that was about. We were advised that the chef had left. Would recommend that the restaurant is closed until the chef is replaced. We were staying in the beautiful location of Bowes and this was our only choice of dining out. Very disappointed.

We visited with friends and decided to sit in the snug as they had a large table booked into the dining room so we thought it would be quieter. Upon taking our seats we were shown the menu which was very limited. The starters arrived fairly swiftly but we had to wait for cutlery. Our mains arrived after quiet a lengthy wait. The large group had not yet ordered so not sure what the delay was. The food in all honesty wasnt great and at no point did anyone come and ask if we needed any more drinks or how the food was. The beefburger was only tepid warm and was overcooked and dry. The bill was paid and it was only then did a waitress come to clear the plates and ask if we would like desserts, sad to say we wont be returning.

just had Sunday lunch it was great best Sunday lunch in the area the staff were nice the place was clean and tidy and the plates were hot 6 stars from us we will be back thanks Andrew and Jacky

Good hotel, rooms comfortable with all that you needDog friendly with lots of room to spread out in the pub and courtyardBowes is quiet which is lovely if you want to be out of Barnard castle but convenient for trips out to many places- Durham, Reeth and Swaledale and the Eden Valley.Nearby High and Low Force waterfalls and Hamsterley forest are a must.Great choices in the restaurant and quality breakfast, varied with vegetarian options

We stayed at this hotel just after lockdown was eased. I feel we should have been warned that there would be no room service. Coming back to your room after a day out to find unmade beds, dirty towels on bathroom floor and waste bins full is not nice, especially if you're feeling I'll, as I was! I desperately also needed a cup of tea and although there was a kettle and tea bags in room, there was no milk and when I went to main building to get some, it was all shuttered up, at 8.30pm! We were thinking of eating there that night. Thank goodness we changed our mind! We did eat there the night before and although the menu was small, the food was good. The only complaint I have is that because there were very few people in there (only 2 other people) it was very silent. We tended to talk in whispers! There was no atmosphere at all. Something that low background music would have helped with. Breakfasts also were very good.

We have just returned from a last minute booked visit for two nights. We stayed with our two dogs in one of the courtyard rooms. Nothing disappointed. The room was comfortable and clean. We had everything we needed. We ate in the restaurant both nights and the food was great. Breakfast was also top notch. We found the owners friendly and accommodating and will definitely be back. One minor point was we couldn't open the windows although the bathroom did have a small window which we did open. We like to sleep with the window open. Loved it!

Lovely pub tucked away in a small village off the beaten track. Warm welcome on arrival and always nice to be greeted by a roaring fire on a cold evening. Food was lovely - genuinely home cooked and delicious. Recommend the steak pie.

In the area on holiday and exploring the map; found this place called The Unicorn. My daughter is 5 and obsessed with unicorns so we had to go.There is only a carvery available on Sunday but, good grief, what a carvery it is.For the four of us, out came these two big platters of meats, veg, stuffing, Yorkshire puddings. All of it tasted great.Free Wifi as well in a region where phone service is hit and miss is good as well.

This is a nice place to stay if you want a quiet restful break. Rooms are clean and comfortable, food is good and a great spot for getting out and about to experience North Yorkshire and Teesdale. Or a great stop off on a journey North. We were well looked after by the staff.

We had arranged to drop our bags off early. I was greeted by a very pleasant man who was so accommodating showing us the rooms we would be using even allowing us to leave our bags and get changed. We were given keys and shown the facilities. We arrived back well after midnight but as we had keys this was not a problem. The bedrooms were beautifully presented and could not have been better. White crisp cotton sheets, beautiful fluffy white towels. Emulately clean. Unfortunately my room was next the the general bathroom so I was disturbed by the noise of the fan a couple of times.Breakfast was freshly prepared and served with plenty of toast and for me freshly brewed coffee. I would definitely recommend

we ate both our evening meals here and the food was excellent. Simple food but of a very high quality would highly recommend it

If you are thinking of staying here with your dog find somewhere else, it is suppose to be dog friendly but the landlady was very abrupt & not helpful at all, she did not like my dog’s and was definitely not a very nice person, myself & husband booked this inn for my birthday for 2 nights, we were not allowed to use the lounge for breakfast & the landlady said why don’t you leave your dog’s in the car, well that was not an option, I told her the girl serving behind the bar said she would lay s table for us to have breakfast but the table was not laid, the landlady put some knifes & forks & side plates on a very low coffee table & expected us to lean low & eat breakfast, I told her my husband suffered with his back, she said not her fault so I said I would like to check out after staying one night only she said I would have to pay for the room & breakfast as it was not her fault we would not have breakfast off a coffee table, we had evening meal I had mix grill which said half chicken steak & sausage, the chicken was a very small piece & the rest of it was frozen my husband had a burger which was not fit for human consumption, this is the worsed bed & breakfast we have ever stayed in & would definitely not recommend.

We meet up here every couple of months for lunch and a good catch up, most of us are retired ....from work, not life, just yet! Our Christmas dinner for 13 of us was absolutely wonderful, what a feast! Grateful thanks to the chefs! 3 courses for £15 was a bargain. And the selection of veg and Yorkshire puddings was more than we could eat, beautifully cooked and the waitress, sorry can't remember her name was on her own serving us all with a smile on her face the whole time...wonderful! The deserts were all fab too, nothing much left on the plates there.A few cheeky tots of shots of various flavours was much appreciated. Thanks from all of us and of course Barbara our social secretary who organises us all.As the saying goes....we'll be back X

We enjoyed a lovely meal at the restaurant. I had the meat and ale pie which was delicious and my husband had a gourmet burger which he said was nice. Breakfast was the basic English which was average.

We ate here when we stayed at the Inn, the menu choices were very good and the food, including the vegetables were cooked to perfection.

Nel nostro viaggio in moto verso la Scozia ci siamo fermati casualmente per un pranzo in questo posto davvero incantevole e accogliente.Erano circa le 14:00 quando abbiamo chiesto se potevamo ancora pranzare e siamo stati accolti calorosamente da Andy, che è stato di una gentilezza squisita e discreta.Il locale è molto bello e pulitissimo. C’è una sala bar, nella quale erano seduti al bancone degli avventori del posto, con i quali abbiamo scambiato qualche simpatica battuta. C’è poi una sala da pranzo molto grande con un bel camino davanti al quale sono disposti dei comodissimi divani e dove a fine pasto mio marito anche schiacciato un pisolino. Abbiamo mangiato benissimo io una torta di carne con purea (uno dei più buoni che abbia mai mangiato) e mio marito del prosciutto alla brace con uova e patatine. Il prezzo è stato davvero contenuto. Se passate per la A66 all’ora di pranzo o di cena, oppure se dovete fare tappa in zona per la notte (hanno anche delle belle camere), fermatevi qui, è il posto giusto! assolutamente consigliato per l’elevata qualità della cucina e del servizio

Fantastic traditional quaint pub/hotel. Our Sunday dinner platter was excellent. Lovely atmosphere with friendly efficient service from Joel. A place I would recommend and return to. Will book to stay next time. Just perfect. Thank you.

We stayed two nights at this Inn and ate there on the first night. The food was delicious and the portions huge. I was sad that I couldn't finish the meal because ther was too much. A great place to visit for a meal or a stay.

We requested an evening meal with a TV ( to watch world cup foorball) and have 2 dogs with us - not a problem and given a quiet area at the back of the restaurant completely to ourselves - perfect!

Had 2x lovely evening meals here.Really good pub food with flair. Impressed! Good menus / specials etc. Will recommend.

I stopped overnight in the hotel while doing the Pennine way walk and absolutely loved it. After freshening up I had a very nice evening meal there and found it to be good value and from a menu with a decent choice.

Had a lovely lunch, warm fire, good homemade food reasonable prices, quality meat pie, will be back x Great g