The Church Mouse in County Durham

Caitlin our server was fantastic, food was amazing , will definitely be back

Superb food. Never had a bad meal yet.

Very cozy warm feel to it .we have been a few times here and will be returning

Great Sunday lunch. Attentive service by Ella. Warm atmosphere and real log fire completes a great meal out with friends

Came for a birthday lunch, food was lovely, service was fab, thank you Ella for looking after us :)

On the whole a lovely Sunday lunch, good service and great atmosphere. We really like it here. Only comment would be that my cauliflower cheese was slightly cold and meat was a little chewy however did not spoil the experience.

Matthew was such an excelent server..a true gent

Food was average came out Luke warm. Waitress was lovely but the service was poor - we felt forgotten about. Seemed under staffed. Such a shame as it has great potential.

Family meal for 9. Food was served all together and hot - thank you

Midweek meal out, food was nice, service was ok, small mix up which was quickly sorted. Would return.

Ella was a lovely waitress and the food was amazing

Really good, would go again thank you to Ella

Ella was very attentive to our table which was fantastic. We felt very looked after and the food was amazing as always. Such a relaxed and chilled environment.

Lovely food. Fantastic service from Ella.

Sunday lunch could be hotter. Waitress kindly heated it up. One/two large gravy boat would suffice. We had 10 small on the table.

Just had food and drinks with our little guest Sophia from Chile. Alex was lovely very friendly as were all the staff. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening. Also to the nice gentleman who made it possible for Sophia to have a taste of custard, thank you too. We will be back.

Great food and amazing service. Ella was great at serving us throughout the meal!

Ella was great and food was brilliant! Great for vegetarians

Lovely evening. Food was superb. Great service from Ella.

Great food, good value with excellent service See you again soon

Good was beautiful soup was amazing Maple veg 😍

Update 11/02/2025: Another visit and today we were sitting beside the open fire which was nice. We were served by Reece again. I would recommend the chicken and mushroom pie.

Lovely food in a relaxed atmosphere

Brilliant service from Alec, lovely food, enjoyed the company

Dire, overpriced tiny portioned so called food.

Lovely place ,delicious food and very friendly staff

Took my mammy here foe her birthday dinner. Totally delicious meal, great fast service, very friendly sta in a lovely cost atmosphere. Would defo recommend

First time at the Church Mouse. Great food, brilliant atmosphere and Tracey’s attention to detail as well her menu recommendations added to the fantastic experience.

Great time at the Church Mouse. Rory was really great and super helpful. He delivered a great service to the family! Will be coming back as food was great atmosphere too.

Timely and friendly service! Gorgeous food and fantastic mini dessert and hot drink deal

Up to their usual standard. Warm and welcoming with good food.

Lovely place..staff are great. I've not had food but seen food being brought out and looks fab.

The ambience and decor are beautiful, perfect cosy pub vibes. Service was excellent, not intrusive but attentive enough to feel looked after. Food was beautiful, portion sizes were fantastic and the variety on offer was amazing. First visit but certainly won't be the last!

Just been again today and must say we had the best fish and chips ,they were fantastic, well worth a visit

Nice pub been many times for drinks and food ..last visit wasn't as good for food but it may have been a one off

Warm and friendly team with excellent food and drinks - love the idea of half desert and coffee!

Service was very good and kept updated . Food was really tasty and enjoyed by all

Met an old friend for coffee. The Church Mouse was an ideal place for a great coffee and a catch up.

I was given mushy peas instead of garden peas which was fine but there was no bread which I paid extra for. But it was fine, these things happen.

Absolutely fantastic service from Tracey this evening at the Church Mouse. She couldn’t have been more attentive, making sure we had everything we needed and checking in to make sure everything was okay, she was really brilliant. Food was top notch as well and drinks came really quickly. 10/10, would definitely recommend!

Very disappointed. The service was poor and the staff were not interested in the customer. We waited 45 mins for our starter, which was a garlic flatbread, it was dry and tasteless. My chicken curry was a total let down. The chicken was hard and dry, the rice was mushy as it was overcooked. My husbands steak was small and the accompanying veg was tasteless. We won't be returning as this was a waste of money.

Nice chilled atmosphere. Reece was very helpful and knowledgeable. He was very polite Food excellent.

We had a large book for over 20 guests and the services was smooth and friendly. The food was delicious and the staff on hand to make sure we all had a great time. From booking, to. Preorders to a warm welcome on the day I cannot thank Rory and his whole team for a wonderful afternoon

Had a great time with my family, the food was delicious and the service was great will definitely be back again with my family

Alec was such a lovely man, very polite, will definitely be returning

Tracey was absolutely amazing the hospitality skills were on point like. Chatting away felt like I’d known her for years haha but only just met here great food just all round perfect experience

Food was so good can’t wait to visit again!

Great customer service and good food.

Loved this place , had sea bass it was 10/ 10 , and hunters chicken also very nice ! very reasonably priced , would highly recommend . Rory was really helpful and polite . Thank you we will be back

Lovely meal. Lovely atmosphere. Great service. Thank you Caitlin

Called in Monday night- seabass was amazing, my husband loved his lasagne, service by Tracey was brilliant as usual- will deffo be back soon

Served by Tracey who was a lovely waitress and looked after us all very well.

We had a lovely evening at the church mouse and were served by Tracey who was very friendly.

There weren't any garden peas included as advertised and there was too much tartare sauce. But it was fine.

Amazing service from our waitress Tracey! Amazing food from chef Paul! And great hospitality from Jon on the bar

Fab service as always from Matthew & gorgeous food

Lovely meal here again. The staff are lovely and very attentive. Will definitely visit again and would recommend.

We really enjoyed our visit to the Church Mouse yesterday .Excellent service by Caitlin ,she looked after us and took care over my allergy . Love the round table sitting by the fire .We all chose different meals and thoroughly enjoyed the food .

Only ordered coffees and deserts.... Took a while for the deserts to arrive.... And they were nice.

Great experience once again. Food was perfect, we all tried different dishes and everyone was very happy with their choice, all food was delicious. Lovely relaxed atmosphere, we were made to feel very welcome and not rushed. All of the staff were exceptional but I would like to give a special mention to Rory who went out of his way to make sure we all felt at home. We’ll definitely be returning very soon.

Visited for January 50% offer didn’t disappoint

From the moment we walked in, the warm and inviting atmosphere made us feel right at home. The setting is charming, with a perfect blend of cozy and elegant, making it ideal for any occasion. A special mention has to go to Rory, who went above and beyond to ensure our experience was nothing short of perfect. His attention to detail, knowledge of the menu, and genuine enthusiasm for making guests feel welcome were truly exceptional. He was attentive without being overbearing and made the entire dining experience feel personal and memorable. The food was incredible—every dish was beautifully presented and packed with flavor. The chef clearly takes pride in sourcing fresh, high-quality ingredients, and it shows. From appetisers to dessert, everything was flawless. If you’re looking for a restaurant where great food meets outstanding service, look no further than The Church Mouse. Rory and the entire team made our visit an unforgettable experience. We can’t wait to return!

Very good service and food. Definately recommend

Absolutely love the food, the atmosphere and the service is always brilliant especially when Tracey is in! Always have a lovely time ☺️

I came in earlier this week and had a brilliant meal and the service was excellent.

Service was absolutely amazing, such lovely staff!!

lovely place. worker called anna was very kind

Excellent food, good value for money.

Ordered two hot beef sandwiches, and two pints of pepsi max, order came to £30. The sandwiches were tasty but absolutely tiny, I'm not joking about 4 bites of sandwich. The chips were ok but again a tiny portion. I'm off home to make another sandwich as I'm still starving. Would not recommend, way over priced for the quality and quantity.

!!!Saved Our Christmas Eve Dinner!!! After a disappointing experience with our original plans at the Red Lion, we decided to try our luck at the Church Mouse, and we’re so glad we did! Despite a fully booked restaurant, the staff went above and beyond to accommodate our party of four. The service was exceptional, and the entire experience turned our evening around. The meal was outstanding, and the warm, welcoming atmosphere made it a night to remember. A huge thank you to the incredible staff for saving our Christmas Eve. We’ll definitely be returning in the future. Well done to everyone involved—it was truly appreciated!

Lovely food and the staff were fantastic

We had Christmas Day lunch booked and what a disappointment it was. Several weeks ago we went in for lunch and paid the balance and were shown which table in the restaurant we would be getting and were told all the tables would be decorated and made to look very Christmassy. We arrived at 2pm yesterday and the table was booked for 2.15. There was a very long queue to get in and the whole place seemed rather chaotic. Alarms bells started to ring but we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. When we eventually got to the front of the queue I was asked for my name and the the gentleman dealing with the bookings and he went off in the direction.of the promised table and then came back, didn’t speak for several minutes and then told a passing waitress to set another table and we were directed to the pub area. When I questioned this and explained we had been told that we were in the dining room he very rudely stated that no tables could be chosen. What puzzles me was why he had minutes earlier checked the table we were told we were having !! The table for four we actually got was in a corner of the pub and consisted of two different height small tables , a wobbly chair and wasn't set with any cutlery. Eventually the young waitress came along with knives, forks etc. As I have already said we have eaten here before and the food was very good BUT yesterday it most certainly wasn’t. The starter arrived and we all had different and we agreed it was very average and just ok. We had all chosen a traditional Christmas dinner which again was ok but nothing special. We asked for cranberry sauce to accompany it but this didn’t arrive. It took 50 minutes for the plates to be cleared away after we had finished what we could then the deserts arrived which again weren't great. We didn’t finish them and left. The truth is I think that two many people had booked to have their Christmas Day lunch there and instead of adding an extra 30-40 minutes turn around time for customers on the earlier tables they hadn’t and this had a knock on effect. The service was so slow, staff attitude poor and atmosphere 0%. We most definitely will not return again.

Christmas eve dinner, super! Lovely place to stop, very friendly staff, very attentive, lovely fresh food 👍

Food very disappointing. Ordered pie and was not eatable due to meet being all fat and grisle. Not acceptable for £19.00. Deserts were nice and atmosphere cosy

Great service from Tracey…really friendly and attentive! Would definitely come back!

Tracey was super nice and helped us change our order to exactly what we wanted. Lovely service and humour!

Fire was on making it feel really cosy.Food was delicious

Revisiting with friends for Sunday lunch . Have to say service was poor ( not the actual server who was lovely ) Drinks order taken but took so long that they were back for mains order before drinks arrived. Mains food arrived promptly and was lovely. Dessert orders were taken but needed chasing up as we thought we had been forgotten. One dessert was incorrect when it arrived but as it had taken so long it was eaten anyway. Hopefully just a one off as no issues on previous visits.

7 of us enjoyed a very happy afternoon enjoying a pre Christmas celebration. The restaurant was beautifully decorated and there was a lovely atmosphere. The service was excellent, the food delicious and the prices competitive.

Love this place - great service as always provided by Rory ! Will be back :)

Food was good, but a bit on the expensive side and I feel it’s not really a family venue at least not when we went on a Monday teatime. Tracey our server was amazing though.

Busy but the staff were still very polite and friendly

Great service , fabulous experience from Tracey

Very average pub, awful service, food ok

Went with a group of about 10 from work on the 6.12.24 and yes it was quite busy but wow. Way over an hour for food. I can’t speak for all involved although most seemed quite dissatisfied with both the quality and quantity of food. I ordered the gammon and to be honest could have stopped to get food on the way home. There were literally 8 chips. I get you’re busy and it’s the ‘festive period’ but I heard a few comments relating to ‘better at spoons’. I saw the bill at the til and it was over £300 and that didn’t include what some had spent at the bar prior to this. Will not return and sadly cannot recommend.

Food was nice buy a little cold Alec the server was amazing with us all night

Tracey was good fun and made us feel welcome. Big portion freshly made and really tasty!

Tracey was great as per usual, lovely service and atmosphere. 10/10

Excellent venue, Tracy our waitress was excellent 👏

Christmas day out for mother and daughter. Shopping in town then finished our day off with a delicious Sunday dinner. The overall experience was wonderful, we opted the turkey and stuffing. Portion size was more than ample, Yorkshire puds yummy. We were served by a pleasant young man called Matthew who couldn't do enough for us, lots of patience and offered us options. We will be back. X

Fantastic food great service and Matthew was very accommodating with table changes

Lovely decor and ambience. Shame about the food and service. Meal for 10 people to celebrate an 80th birthday. Starter of camembert arrived. Toast was cold as was the cheese. Broke open the top and the cheese was lumpy and solid inside. Sent back to be reheated. Main course of creamy chicken burger. Nothing creamy about it. A piece of dry chicken in a bun with lettuce, a tomato and slice of cucumber. Cold cheese sauce on the side in a small ramekin and the fries were also cold. Service was poor and for drink top ups had to seek a server. Prices very inflated for the quality of food and service. And beware the service charge, or even better, don't bother.

Absolutely fantastic place to eat, friendly, warm and welcoming, the food was exceptional. The service we received from our waitress Caytlin was outstanding, extremely polite and professional, rare to see these days in a pub setting, very refreshing. Will definitely be returning again, Thank-you, M.

Afternoon lunch. Fantastic setting good options. Had steak with fries and onion rings, also salmon fish cakes. With deserts.

Great service and friendly staff

Tracey was a great prompt service great banter . A genuine nice person thanks for the recommendations

My partner and I have just had Sunday lunch at the Church Mouse and it could not be faulted. It was all absolutely delicious, well presented, very tasty and plenty of it. We had the trio of meats, and everything was cooked to perfection. Serviced by Rory who was most helpful. Will most definitely be paying them another visit. Thank you

Warm welcome, lovely ambience, cosy, very dog friendly area. South facing garden for dining/drinks. Beautiful decor, nooks & break out areas to drink/dine with privacy. Wonderful real fires, good parking, very accessible. Great customer service. Good Menu Choices, Good Wine, pricey but worth every penny.

Alec provided exceptional service! Thank you x

Friendly efficient service, great food and lovely surroundings. Been a long time since we came here but will definitely return soon.