The Black Bull in County Durham

Arrived tonight, the Atmosphere was calm, clean, we were taken to our booked table, were we ordered starter to share, mains, and dessert, everything was perfect, great pub/diner, compliments to all of you.

Absolutely amazing food, lovely and hot and well presented. Nice timings between the courses. Amelia very professional and great atmosphere .Will be back again soon

visited earlier this week and the food, drinks and service were top notch!! massive shoutout to ryan and sarah who were super accommodating too 💖xx

To be fair the food was excellent, much better than expected, good service and good atmosphere, nothing to complain about which is always a good thing.

We have been here loads of times but the last two times have been the worst. Ordered our food and waited longer than normal but it was busy and under staffed. Food arrived and the burger came without the salad it was meant to have. Took ages for this to be put right. No apology or anything. Finished our meal and went back to our car which was parked legally in a disabled space and someone had decided to spay the back o the car with tomato sauce, done deliberately as car was not near anyone else and backed into spot where no one would past. Won’t be going to this pub again.

Staff here are top tier! Nothing is ever too much trouble, amazing with the kids! Food is amazing chefs are great! Always made too feel like family! Credit where credit is due too Ashley, Amelia, Chloe, Sarah and Lesley! Love you all!

Great place to come, staff are very friendly, always made to feel welcome, food is great, drinks are well priced, always have a good time.

Just come back from a wonderful meal. The prices are competitive but the portion just right. The whole pub has a great atmosphere and as today was Good Friday was decorated with balloons to give it a party atmosphere (at first I thought they were for reserved tables and a party) but NO they were for anyone and everyone. The staff are really fantastic bringing drinks (even a glass of water) and food to our table. We will definitely return. Thanks ❤️

Good friendly place . Professional staff

I come in here a couple of times a week and always find the staff very accommodating and friendly, great place for a little socialising, nice pint also. 👍

Beautiful Place & The Team Are Amazing!

Great Place For a Beer in The Sun! Garden is a just sunshine all day!

Poor service. No acknowledgement at the bar, serving the regulars first. Been lots of times, didn't even bother after waiting that long tonight Shame as it could be good.

Great prices. Great selection of food, even on slimming world there are plenty of healthy choices and all the calories are next to the description. staff are welcoming and friendly. Love this pub. Cozy atmosphere Iv never been outside but there is a beer garden too

Been one off our local for years. New menu items a complete step up. The cheese doughnuts are great, as are the cheese burger spring rolls but got to say the chicken wings were brilliant.

I enjoyed the surf and turf it was beautiful, staff member working Sarah great very helpful and very friendly, will definitely be returning

Had a gorgeous meal with my partner, food was fantastic and the team were lovely! Thank you for making our visit special❤️🙂

We had a fantastic mixed grill.. very tasty.. lots of meat very happy & FULL 😊 definitely be visiting again.

Great food, brilliant customer service and fantastic atmosphere. Top class. Thank you very much 😊

We have been here a few times and other times we have had a wonderful time, however when we came tonight we got rude service when asking for our table (we had booked), we were waiting almost 2 hours to be served, we had to remind them that we had pre ordered desserts, we ended up having to wait around 15 minutes until the desserts finally came out.

Came on Wednesday and what a great meal we had. There were 7 of us and the food was amazing. Everything was cooked perfectly. The staff were great were super helpful. It was really clean and tidy. This is our go to for a family meal - loads of parking, great food, amazing prices and brilliant staff.

Lovely food, good value and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful and my dog was made to feel very welcome I will definitely be back.

Great service food is lush cold go there for every meal staff are amazing and kind

Came to watch the football. We had food and drinks which were both great. The staff were lovely so we will definitely be coming back

Went for dinner at Peterlee...Amelia was really helpful and sorted out the issue straight away. Great service and the Grilled Chicken was lovely..

Great food great staff lovely time

Fantastic service great staff Fantastic food and very well priced with a lovely friendly at

Decent pub and food, very nice staff

Really nice food good prices staff brilliant 😁

I have been going to the black bull for a few months now, and always find all the staff friendly and the food good. It’s pub grub and for food after work, it does the trick. Our favourites are the steak and gyros. Theres a good selection of beer too. We came for Christmas dinner, and the team on the day was fantastic. Couldn’t do enough for you. Most parts of the Christmas dinner was lovely ( the parsnips were a bit hard). However, it was good value and the in-laws / parents loved it. Our favourite was the Christmas pud & brandy sauce…..it was simply heaven! We were no way rushed or felt like we had to leave once our food was done. We’re definitely going back next year….not just for Christmas…but other times during the week / weekend.

The meal was absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere and staff were great. I will definitely be making the journey to The Black Bull again very soon

Food is very good for the price, service second to none and atmosphere always good, especially after an East Durham win UTC

Went with the wife for food on Friday. The food was unbelievable and we couldn’t believe how cheap it was, I would strongly recommend if your looking for good food at a good price.

Excellent food with excellent service

Very friendly and pleasant, served by Amelia and the chef was Monica, very clean and tidy place and quiet is what you need to have at lunchtime there. Enjoyable meal.

very welcoming staff {Sarah and Monica) nice relaxed atmosphere. great food at good prices have visited a number of times and will again

I write this review with a heavy heart, as The Black Bull, once a decent value pub, has succumbed to a drastic decline that leaves customers like myself utterly disheartened. Before the dark cloud of COVID loomed the pub had great opening times that were a genuine attraction for customers. Late opening kitchen and bar offered somewhere to go when other venues were closed. One of the most significant blows has been the slashing of opening hours, a decision that has left the once vibrant pub lifeless. Staffing cuts are ruining the venue, leaving employees demotivated and demoralized. As if that weren't enough, prices have skyrocketed, making every visit feel like you're paying more whilst getting a lot less. Despite enduring reduced opening hours in a show of loyalty, the pub has once again slashed its availability, closing the doors as early as 9:20 pm on weekdays. This renders midweek outings for a drink virtually worthless, a bitter pill for the numerous regular customers who enjoy meeting within the venue. There's a group of 4 or 5 of us who regularly drink here multiple times per week who no doubt will look elsewhere. The financial decisions behind these changes seem deeply flawed. With a gross profit margin ranging between 63% and 67% on beverages, even closing at 10 pm incurs losses. I've witnessed 20 to 30 people some weeknights unable to make purchases due to the premature closure, losing potential profits (not revenue) of £50 per round or more. All this to save 9 staff hours per week (£90) .. although this was before hours were reduced further. At £4.55 for a pint of San Miguel, the pub is sacrificing approximately £2.55 in profit per pint. Multiply that by the number of disgruntled customers, and it becomes evident that this mismanagement is driving away loyal patrons. The suggestion that reduced opening hours save money is unfounded when considering the lost revenue and frustrated clientele. Regular customers provide bread and butter revenue streams and have increased loyalty. They are often most affected by these changes which ultimately are trying to reduce costs from a reduction in patrons At other times of trade. It's clear retaining customers and then boosting sales is the key not cutting hours. As a customer who, on average, spends £100-120 per week at The Black Bull, these reduced hours are an insurmountable disappointment. Tonight, 2 of us redirected £50+ of our money to a competing venue simply because The Black Bull decided to close its doors prematurely. What's additionally frustrating is that both Google, the website, and social media still have the previous opening hours. This smacks of decision making without follow through. The final galling element is that apparently these decisions were made well before Christmas and haven't been communicated to customers. Indeed this evening, out of the two of us coming in for a drink, it was only myself that were informed about the opening hour changes as I'd arrived at 9.05pm It would have been significantly better to have communicated these changes to customers well in advanced thus better managing expectations. I expect that these decisions have been made at area manager level and above, by individuals who are not familiar with the venues. If they were they would see the incorrectness of their call. If someone is to reach out to me about this review I'd expect this to be an Area Manager not a venue manager. Here's hoping you can rectify these errors in the near future. EDIT. Dec 2024 Weekday hours are now 10pm close. Slightly better though it would be much preferred to see an 11pm return to closing. Weekend hours are good and Sunday is 10.20pm last orders. Which we would like to see back to 11pm There have been some good additions to the bar. New IPA's San Miguel, Peroni etc have definitely helped a lot and there are more customers in now than when I last wrote this review.

One of our regular bars, love the food and drinks. Great staff that are welcoming and accommodating.

Reasonable food at a reasonable price

We all enjoyed our meals, the kebab loaded fries were kids favourite. Staff were friendly and there was a nice atmisphere

Great little pub for food and drinks. Wasn't to busy got served straight away,, pub was tidy and played great music ......

Very nice place to eat, the food was excellent and the service was perfect especially by Chloe who served us and the chef Peter who cooked the meal. I do recommend

Lovely lunch, came quickly, presented really well and nice and hot! Couldn’t ask for more, served by Carol and Peter was in the kitchen.

We come here often with our friends and family. We always get great discounts off the sizzling app and the staff are always happy to help. Food is great value for money!

Food was spot on, great value for money. Amelia served us was great to see someone so enthusiastic. We will return again.

Me and my boyfriend went for the first time and will definitely come again. The chefs Stacy and Peter did such a good job with the food it was lovely and the waiting staff were so friendly and asked about any allergies.

Friendly pub for a quick pint and a bite to eat after shopping. I had an 8 oz rump with peppercorn sauce and chips, with a cheesey garlic bread on the side. The meal didn't take too long to come. Staff and pub dressed for Halloween and looking great, as usual. Staff as always friendly and helpful, especially Jade and Lesley

Atmosphere is lovely. Quality of food is exceptional. Great value for money as food portions are above average. Would definitely recommend going for a meal.

Had fish and chips but the chips weren't nice. Tasted rubbery. Fish was ok mostly. Food was slow coming in a not very busy pub. You get what you pay for, I suppose.

Service was efficient. Food was really good and all four of us enjoyed the meals.

Excellent customer service with great tasting food.

Welcomed our residents, very friendly, kind and helpful. The locals were also lovely and friendly

very pleasing atmosphere and staff very good

Wide menu to cater for all tastes. Not haut cuisine. Service was helpful but decisions had to be checked upwards which took time.

Very welcoming food was gorgeous

Called here on a Saturday afternoon for something to eat. Upon entry we were immediately made to feel welcomed and we were greeted by some friendly locals. They have plenty of tv screens with sports on and have plenty to choose from on the menus. Parking outside was easy. The service was very quick but the food was pretty standard for the price paid. Overall though would return but maybe not for a bite to eat. This seems like more of a local pub where you go to drink as opposed to have a bite to eat. (Everyone is so friendly though).

Food always lovely here and great value for money. Always have excellent deals on too. Staff are fantastic and always friendly.

Booked a table on a Monday eve in advance. Took over a hour for food, it wasn't busy either, food OK when arrived. Staff not engaging or very friendly.

3 consecutive times that I have now asked for food well before 9pm to be told NO (8:13). If an establishment advertises to serve food till 9pm then that’s what should be delivered. Purposefully didn’t have tea before coming out to eat at the Black Bull. Last time I will visit here on an evening. **** poor!

Took the wife and daughter and it was jammed packed today due to a discount promotion however the 3 girls,Sarah,Ashley and Lesley never stopped. Great service and compliments to them all. Jackie

Called into our local Black Bull for lunch and to use a voucher from our app. As we frequently use the pub for food I ordered as usual the sizzling Salmon . It was very disappointing a very small piece of salmon part if it was cooked and the end part of the fillet was cremated I couldn't even get my fork in it. I've recommended this particular dish to friends but after today I'll certainly not.

We popped in for tea whilst the footie was on last week. The food was great and so was the service in what was a very busy pub.

Great pu great food and a fantastic atmosphere

A really nice revamp and a better layout makes for a pleasant visit

Good value for money in terms of what you get food wise. Staff always go out of their way to make life easy for you.

It was clean, friendly staff good overall

Good budget pub for a meal, good atmosphere would recommend

Friendliest staff Table could have been cleaner but every

Went with my partner and the new menu is delicious as always! Will be back for certain

absolutely love the place staff are lovely and manger was really nice 😊 best food and drink I have had in a while

Good food and service with an excellent choice of drinks.

Came in for some pints. Great service couldn’t have asked for any more

Great pub to bring the family. New menu is absolutely delicious. We are making our way through the menu so we can try all the new different meals. Staff work very hard when it's busy and we very much appreciate all their hard work.

So we’ve dined in at the Black Bull on many occasions. However we got a delivery and it was awful, appreciate food doesn’t travel the same as a restaurant but the portion sizes were very small. I got a burger but it came with no salad etc and was squashed. I got kebab loaded fries but there was hardly any toppings. We got three hunters chicken and it looked like the chickens had been butterflied as were as thin as bacon which there was none on the chicken and were so dry as there was no sauce. Come on BB put the same care into your takeaways esp for the price. Won’t be ordering again which is a shame.

Staff are awesome, cant thank them enough for how lovely they are. Burgers are awesome too and hope they keep the fries as I love them!

1 out of 5 at best..Only 2 other couples in on a Saturday afternoon.. serving quick but poor quality food..Frozen/poor quality Chicken and mushroom pie, dry burnt onion rings… Chicken Curry was very bland/poor quality.. Cannot recommend you chaps from this meal.. Instant mash, never a good idea! Coors tasted very weak… Not Good‼️

Had a great time. Food was delicious. Would go back.

Loving the new menu. The food is great and the staff are fab. Great choice of drinks and snacks I will definitely be returning

Call in with my family for some food, atmosphere really nice, great place to have dogs in the bar, ourdogs loved their treats

Excellent food and friendly atmosphere

Go there every Friday service terrible staff unbelievable the way they dress gravey granules you pay extra and get a spoonful potato is mash taste like the stuff you put on the wall getting worse hartepool is £2 cheaper why

Visited for lunch and the service was really quick. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the quality of food was excellent. It has a warm friendly atmosphere and prices are very reasonable. Definitely good value for money. We will be back soon.

Friendly atmosphere. Family pub good food

Visited for lunch and the staff were really welcoming and friendly. The service was really quick which was fantastic as we had three children in our party. There is so much choice on the menu and the food was really quick to arrive, generous portions and really tasty. Excellent value for money, we will definitely be back.

My partner and I went and it was beautiful and the service was amazing! The tandoori chicken was delicious and my partner had the Greek burger which he said was very delicious also, great quality for the price

Good scran, staff are lovely and good price 👍

Well staffed and well priced for a good service

Lovely food and great staff, atmosphere in side was great

Great place for a take away on Just Eat… always piping hot when we receive it. Definitely becoming a regular :)

Would of given more for service but we ordered chocolate cake without the ice cream asked for custard the bar lady said yes but we will charge you for it so wasn't happy

Had chicken gyros not proper chicken. 2 hairs in absolutely disgusting. Got it changed then all veg stuck to plate. Rotten

The menu has recently been changed and is fantastic. It has something for everyone. My husband eats all food types but I am veggie. I can often find menues very limited but this menu is the best. I had halloumi Skillet and it was sizzling and just fantastic. Hubby had chicken wrap. We both loved not only the food but the staff and service were amazing. Food was delivered quickly and sizzling hot and the bar staff helped carry drinks to table. I 100% recommend this pub. Staff are always lovely and food is always served quickly and hot.

First time visitor here. Ordered takeaway food for two. Ordered food for 1845 hrs but didn’t get served until after 1900 hrs. The food was poor. The Gammon I ordered came with a burnt pineapple ring, the gammon was tough and the chips and peas were cold. The other meal I ordered, Hunters Chicken had cold bacon, chips and peas. For the price the quantity and quality justifies the two stars I rated.

Our 3rd time at the Black Bull and it is going to be one of many more. The food was fabulous, fresh and piping hot. The staff are lovely. The pub is comfortable. We downloaded the app so we receive rewards. On this visit we received 20% off the bill! So we have more to spend next time. The menu is varied, something to suit everyone! Many thanks Black Bull see you soon

If you want a traditional Sunday lunch with tasty meats and delicious vegetables this is the place for you. Beware , make sure you are hungry before you go as you are sure to fill your plate with delicious mains.

We had a good meal here!! The service was fab, we had a lovely chat with the manager Jade. Lovely people

Booked table for 40th birthday meal. food was nice but portions on some a little small. Kids and big kids all enjoyed there burgers

New menu fantastic!!! Food awesome. Lovely atmosphere. Everyone of a party of nine enjoyed every last bit of their food. This is why we are regulars!!!

No longer on the meerkat app...the sizzler app offers don't really work as they don't apply to all restaurants so different prices from the app to the menu inside. And the tiny 10% off drinks offer is only on football days. So it's very expensive now for a family to enjoy a eating out day. I used to enjoy coming here but sadly I cannot justify the cost anymore. Foods lovely

Meal was lovely-Gammon perfextly cooked and Sausage and mash was tasty. Jade was on her own-but was very pleasant and efficient. The new menu looks amzing!