The Churchmouse in County Durham

What a great place. Good atmosphere and friendly. Three of us had sea bass in prawn sauce and it was delicious. One other had the most enormous roast which apparently was great. Really good Sunday evening menu. Very good value for money. Thanks to staff for an enjoyable time.

Wonderful service by Alec. Good food, nice atmosphere and excellent service. We just had starters and drinks and but the service was excellent

We stayed at the travel lodge next door for three days I am gluten free (celiac) and was guided through the menu and pudding the puddings were very tempting but was not allowed the ones with gluten definitely recommend this restaurant our dogs were very happy and felt at home. places say dog friendly but that’s the difference between them and the Church Mouse who are dog friendly. Three Different Meals. we will be back

Lovely night out with family, nice food and friendly staff. Don’t manage to visit as often as we would like but always enjoy it when we do

The service was slow despite being relatively quiet. The menus were covered in dried on food. We requested gravy to accompany the steak pie but the staff had to be reminded after 10 minutes. Deserts were ordered and after 20 minutes, the staff were asked and we were informed they must have been missed as kitchen staff were mopping the floor. We waited yet further and decided enough was enough and paid the bill at the bar. The barman was unapologetic. We will never ever return.

Lovely Saturday evening meal om relaxed surroundings. Value for money main meals which were very tasty and, portion size, absolutely perfect - our party all finished their meals but didn't feel bloated. Special commendation to Matthew, our waiter, who was rushed off his feet - it was bank holiday weekend, and the place was full - but still managed to provide impeccable service and kept us up to date with the progress of our orders

Unreal Sunday lunch today and Alec the waiter was fantastic. Really helpful and friendly. The beef was beautiful and my mam tried the seabass for a change

Comfortable stay would stay again may book breakfast. Came from Manchester for a freinds 60th birthday party at aaother venue in Durham. Room was clean bed was comfortable and nice bedding.

a very nice relaxed pub/restaurant, we were served byAlec 1961, a great friendly man, knows his job, nice manner and chatty, service was quick and the food was fantastic, would definately go again, well worth a visit

Had a surprise wedding dinner there for my daughter. Greece and the team were excellent in looking after us. Great pub with good food and lovely atmosphere

Absolutely recommend the church mouse. Food Absolutely lovely, service spot on with the lovely Caitlin. Will definitely be back.

The food is too basic and overpriced Understand its part of a chain so just a mediocre menu but food is priced too high For what it is No atmosphere or soul

The food here today was amazingly gorgeous. Had the chicken and veg Penang curry, and sticky duck and hoisin pizza, which I would highly recommend. The desserts were lovely too. Very good service.

Came as a family gathering and spent a good two hours around a table reminiscing and enjoying good food which we all enjoyed. No reason to complain about anything. A very enjoyable time was had by us all in very pleasant surroundings.

Excellent service from Caitlin & staff.Lovely Sunday lunch, service with a smile & very attentive. Drinks arrived pretty quickly even though you could tell it was very busy. Lunch also arrived without haste. Excellent service & meal.

We’ve been many times, it’s always a favourite. Food was lovely today. Couldn’t complain apart from the wait between courses My daughter ate from the kids menu, great portion, no complaints. My dad & I both had the soup, was nice. I ate from the set menu, 2 courses for £16, I had the salad for a main, could have done with a light salad dressing & my dad ate from the main menu, he had the sea bass it looked lovely. For desert my dad has the crumble & my daughter had the kids brownie . The atmosphere was nice, pub wasn’t too busy. Staff were friendly. Will definitely return again

Amazing food - really stepped up over the last 6 months of returning! Caitlin was great, very chatty and an overall pleasure to be served by her :-)

Fabulously friendly staff, perfect portion sizes and a great variety. Something for everyone. All our requests were noted and provided without trouble. All courses were delicious and beautifully presented. Great coffee with a little treat to finish. Lovely atmosphere and dog-friendly.

Had been to the church mouse before it expanded. We had had many good visits before so we're happy to go back. Family of 6, kids meals and starters ok. 3x Sunday roast meals and a hunters chicken, chips for chick were really odd. Very dry/ synthetic inside. Pork Belly was awful! We have had pork belly many times before, so knew what was expected. Both had no crisp at all, it was like bouncy cellulite. Pale in colour. Unsure if there is a new head chef but whoever is running the kitchen needs a back to basics training. Although the manager gave us £40 off the bill, we won't be back. No check back and apart from the guy behind the bar, one waitress who passed us once while we were eating but couldnt get her attention to mention about the food. Such a shame as we have good memories of eating there. The standards in the kitchen has fallen so far.

This was a birthday dinner out and we couldn't be more impressed by the super service. Special thanks to Tracey who made sure we were able to take advantage of the various deals and offers available to us. The food was fresh, well presented and tasted great. The atmosphere was warm and our table near the real coal fire was especially cosy. We are already looking forward to our next visit.

Lovely evening meal again at The Church Mouse. Mains were their usually tasty selves - especially the Mac and Cheese - and the desserts were brilliant, especially the Creme Brulee. The service was prompt and the A special mention for our server Matthew - he was polite, articulate and responded to our requests promptly. He also repeated our orders back to us for both our drinks and meals, something which a lot of restaurants fail to do nowadays.

we were sat in the bar end with our dog. had a lovely meal and we had lovely service by liam at the bar. thank you for another great experience.

Popped into the Church Mouse for lunch today, first time me & my partner had been in, ordered Hunters Chicken, Lasagne & two drinks, coffee & Diet Pepsi £39. Hunters portion on the small side & Lasagne same again small portion which had been ‘nuked’ in the microwave as most of it was stuck around the side of the bowl, waited 40mins for food when pub wasn’t that busy so sadly won’t be going back.

I visited with work for a birthday meal. We booked a table for 7 people and were seated promptly and offered to take our drinks orders. We opted just to order from the bar for ease of splitting the bill. I ordered the crispy buttermilk chicken burger with fries. I felt like I did not get many fries for the price of the meal. The burger however, was lovely and the chilli jam that was inside was also very tasty. I really liked the décor and ambience within the restaurant, it felt very warm and welcoming and is a very homely pub. Would recommend when in the area.

First the good points, Sunday lunch superb, starter/main/desert. Now the bad points. If you are a party of over 8, there is a service charge (small print on the back of the menu). My bill was £304, which included a service charge of £27.72,, absolutely shocking. If I want to tip I will. This is not the USA.. Spoilt my day unfortunately.

Amazing food, brilliant roast early eve in spite of Sunday lunch rush over, pork with crackling, all hot food and wonderful puddings. Alec is particularly courteous and attentive.

Great food. Great prices. Excellent service. Highly recommend. Would happily go again. Top service and everyone is friendly and welcoming.

Dropped in for dinner, no booking but jon was happy enough to find us a table. Charlotte who servered us was lovely the whole evening, we where we looked after drink arrived quickly from the bar and food came shortly after, great portion size and well presented by steven. All in amm we had a great experience and will definitely be comeing back. Thanks for a lovely evening.

Great Service, Friendly Atmosphere & Amazing Food. Rob was working the bar and serving our food. He gave quick service and made sure we were ready for our mains before bringing them out as we’d all finished our starters and explaining we were already feeling full. The food was absolutely delicious, great portion size also. It’s great leaving somewhere feeling like you’ve actually been fed. Compliments to the Chef, Alistair! We are already looking to return for our Mother’s Day Lunch & can’t wait! :)

We had a lovely Sunday lunch followed by delicious desserts and well made coffee served by a really pleasant young lady who was friendly and efficient her name was Lucy, look forward to visiting again.

Had a wonderful valentine meal. Caitlin served us and she was wonderful, so polite and nothing was to much trouble. Definitely recommend here to anyone.

Beautiful Valentines Meal at the Church Mouse, even the lovely touch of a rose on the table. Fantastic food and service by Alec. It’s always one of our firm favourites!

Lovely family pub with great menu choices. Myself, my husband and daughter came for lunch on Valentine’s Day and Caitlin was our waitress. She was very friendly and attentive. We will definitely return soon!

Me and a couple of old friends visited the church mouse for a little catch up and it was amazing. Our bartender Liam looked after us all night despite being busy and even recommended a fantastic bottle of wine for us. Will definitely be returning soon

Spot on Sunday lunch, good quality meat which is always important really friendly staff, we were served by Lucy who looked after us throughout and we couldn’t fault anything

Its a lovely place with well trained efficient staff but sadly this time the food was just not up to the usual standard . We visited for Sunday lunch which is usually top class, we were seated straight away and the waiter came for the drinks order . We selected our lunches my husband ordered lamb and I the roast beef .Sadly this is were it all went wrong ..... The food came but my husbands lamb was swimming in blood ( Im certain a good vet could possibly have had that lamb back on its feet ) We returned the dish meanwhile I would not out of manners begin eating so by the time the lamb was returned cooked my food was cold and my roast potatoes hard . The meal was redeemed by superb desserts of sticky toffee pudding and Eton mess. Staff were great , atmosphere friendly , pity about the main course ........

Beautiful food and lovely friendly service from Caitlin. Very warm, welcoming and pleasant atmosphere. Look forward to next visit

Steak sandwich cooked by Stephen was absolutely lovely! Amazing service by Caitlin and a very enjoyable experience. Will definitely be going back again.

We have had a great meal to celebrate a family birthday. We were served by Caitlin who was great and made our visit most enjoyable. Will definately come back again.

First time visiting, so I had no idea what to expect. The restaurant was nice and cosy, with good lighting from the windows - fortunate since the drinks menu was very faded. Service was very friendly and helpful, and the food was well presented and...

Fabulous for Sunday lunch. We recommend the Trio of meats, comes with loads of lovely veg, pork crackling, a massive Yorkshire and as much gravy as you want! Lovely drinks too. Brilliant service as always thanks to Caitlin.

Lovely Sunday lunch, friendly staff, great service in a lovely environment can’t fault anything from our visit will certainly go again

Family of 4. We booked our table in advance and got a very efficient welcome on arrival. We commenced with ordering drinks at the bar and very shortly after were told our table was ready. Our waiter Alec was superbly polite and attentive. The Guinness...

Wonderful lunch with family, with a great choice of specials. Everyone tried something different, soup, mac n cheese, pie, fish finger sandwich, sausage and mash and it was all delicious. Thank you to Matthew, great service today.

Reece was our server. He was extremely busy but we felt that he was still attentive and friendly. Food was delicious. Ambience cosy.

Great service all round food was served quickly and was piping hot liam our waiter could not do enough for us and was very helpful

A lovely and cosy pub, staff nice and food absolutely delicious, will definitely be recommending to family and friends!

Very nice pub, friendly attentive waitress. The seabass was excellent. Duo of lamb not cheap at £23.75, Lamb was small but tasted excellent but the shepherds pie was tiny in a very shallow dish, not hearty as described. Left hungry and felt ripped off to...

Having once been regulars here, long ago, several poor experiences, in recent years, means we rarely visit these days. However, with ‘50% off’ in January, we ventured there this evening… To be fair, the food was reasonable: the sea bass looked nice and my steak...

Ribeye steak riddled with gristle - steak knife could not cut through half of it! Broccoli was stale, dry and crumbly white...not fit to serve to anyone. Ambience of place is a 9 out of 10 and so are the staff. Just won't take anyone...

Steak and chips was very tasty but watercress garnish should have been in the recycling bin not on my plate! Great to use my 50%off voucher! 😁 Caitlin my waitress was lovely - 10/10.

This pub is very welcoming, excellent food,had ribeye steak which was superb,got it on a 50percent off deal if you download app some great money off deals. Was served by Reece who was very attentive and friendly, highly recommend this restaurant. Ava

We popped in here to have some lunch as a few people had mentioned how nice it was. It was in between Christmas and New Year so absolutely packed out, however, we got seated straight away and told there was a little wait, which was...

Absolutely outstanding from start to finish. Food outstanding and service brilliant. The customer service from Alec was exceptional. Will definitely be back

Great from start to finish. Food was outstanding and service from Alec was brilliant! Will definitely be back.

Great friendly service from Reece, delicious food and lovely warm atmosphere. Great place to come with family and friends.

Lovely family meal with fantastic, attentive service by Alec. Food was delicious and served quickly, with a good range on the festive menu. Will be back!

Okay so we arrived late, tables was free which was a bonus. The service was slick, it was 1704 I wanted the fishfinger ssndwhich without the head side of fries and a side salad to be told the sandwiches finished at 5pm waitress asked the...

Went for lunch on NYE.. clean, warm and inviting pub however have given a 1 star due to the disappointing food. I had to send back the festive vegetarian loaf as it was inedible.. it arrived covered in tomato sauce and topped with salad! It...

Lovely setting but service was shocking, and please do not order the mulled wine it was disgusting food was lovely when it arrived but had to ask for our drinks 3 times and had to ask for a menu after sitting at our table for...

Just been tonight Wednesday stood at bar for 5 mins no service no acknowledgment 2 stood by door drinking coke one on bar saw us then proceeded to make coffee no I will be with you nothing 4 staff completey walk past hey ho you...

I would have given 5* for the pub, as it lovely. But the service we received was poor. Stayed for 1 night in the travel lodge next door . Decided to have dinner early at 5pm. The pub wasn’t busy when we were seated, shown...

We visit here quite often and been for Sunday lunch at Christmas time for as long as I can remember. We booked the festive menu and paid £5 deposit each. However, on arrival we were given the normal menu and the table was bare. Not...

This is the 6th year we have visited The Church Mouse with friends for a Christmas lunch and it was lovely again. We had 2 courses from the festive menu and the food was delicious 3 of us had the turkey dinner and 1 had...

Excellent service from Caitlyn. She handled a table of 14 with a calm nature, everything perfect. Such a lovely lady. Table was nice although had to sit separate from our children. Food was nice. Bar service prompt. Caitlyn made it super special.

Just want to say a big thanks to Tracy! She's always lovely and managed to get us a table this evening! Food was good too which is also a bonus. Love the fires being lit, really cosy

I love Vintage Inns pubs and this did not disappoint. Visited with my husband and parents for Sunday dinner, all of us loved our roasts and puddings and the coffee was excellent too. Very festive and lovely service. Belly pork was to die for! Thanks!

Booked for a family festive lunch for 5. Venue was nice but our table had nothing festive about it. No cracker no table dressing very basic. Food was poor burn veg and turkey was tasteless. The whole experience was very disappointing. Been here many times...

Popped in with work colleagues today for a pre booked lunch and everything about the visit was excellent. The place felt festive and cosy and the service was great, particularly by a member of waiting staff, Chanelle, who was only on her second shift and...

My signature burger and drinks was very good. Matthew our server was excellent, very helpful. I will certainly be coming back.

We were at The Church Mouse last night for the Christmas Festive Tasting, what a fabulous evening we had! The place looked great, so much effort made to make it so Christmassy really got us in the festive mood. Food was great, so much choice, they even had a singer. Service was excellent especially from Jake and Rory. Thank you to everyone who made this such a terrific event, well done, a great success.

A very enjoyable meal. Service was quick and given in a friendly and polite way. We would certainly return again in the future.

Christmas menu was amazing lots of choice delicious flavours and a lovely setting , live singer and fires roaring on a cold night , we will definitely be returning again soon , always great service

Reece gave amazing service today. Warm hospitality and impeccable memory. Food was excellent. Strong Christmas jumper game, even in November. Highly recommend.

Excellent food, excellent service. Polite, attentive and an overall excellent experience. Thank you. Will be back. Reece made an excellent host. Really does make all the difference.

We have been here many times over the years, it’s been both good and bad. Having been to the sister pub near the airport and enjoying a lovely Sunday lunch with great service whilst extremely busy we chose the Church Mouse for lunch today as it’s closer to home. Shocking sums it up. Food nowhere near as good as the sister pub and service gets zero stars. We had our starter fairly quickly but waited an eternity for our main course. A clearly miserable/stressed waitress dumped it down, as she took our starter plates away as they hadn’t been cleared during never ending wait. She didn’t say your veg will follow, we sat looking at a couple of slices of beef, potatoes, a few roasted carrots and a Yorker for £17.75. The veg did arrive, a parsnip each and broccoli (more than one stalk each). Okayed were not cleared quickly, looking around us, all tables were sitting with uncleared dirty plates. Overall absolutely shocking, food not great, service even worse, a friendly smile is supplied free in the hospitality industry.

We can’t fault this restaurant, food is beautiful and the service is always 10/10 lovely family friendly place. It is also dog friendly, and even has a dog menu ! The beef dripping sauce is my partner’s absolute favourite! The staff always go the extra mile Special mention to John who goes above and beyond for his customers, the little gestures, memorising our order and birthday treats

First visit here for most of us in our group and it won’t be the last! The food was absolutely lovely and piping hot. Service was fantastic - every member of staff was lovely, friendly and nothing was too much of a bother. Looking forward...

Had a lovely meal with a friend. Staff were helpful and food was tasty and well presented. The environment was clean and tidy. Very happy to recommend

Fab meal at The Church Mouse. Lovely table by an open fire. Great service from Reece. Will definitely be back!

Lovely comfy traditional style pub with cracking open fire. Staff all very welcoming and attentive, great service from Reece.

Get atmosphere, lovely food and excellent service. Would definitely recommend to friends and family

Visited with friends as was recommended, we where looked after by charlottle who was lovely and very helpful. Ordered food and drinks which both arrived quickly and food was piping hot. Would definitely return in the future.

I’ve been to several Vintage Inns before and they’ve been really nice, so thought we’d try this one. I had the aubergine parm, which was ok, but still pricey for the portion size. My friend had the chicken penang curry, which looked to be a...

ON ARRIVAL AFTER SITTING FOR A WHILE I HAD TO GO AND FIND THE LUNCH MENU.I ORDERED 2 COFFEE 2 MUSHROOM STARTERS AND 2 FISH CAKE MAINS......I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS FOOD AT ALL! COFFEE WAS COLD AND WHEN IT EVENTUALLY WAS SERVED THE MUSHROOM...

Steak sandwich with salad and a jug of gravy.chips were frozen French fries two coffees all for £18 .I have had better on a transport cafe

By chance I dined here twice in one week. I have been in past a while ago, but now will definitely go back again. Both evenings the meal was lovely. I had the same meal both times the Aubergine vegetarian- very tasty. The service was...

Seems this venue would benefit if manager listened before telling us that the food was served to company specifications, perhaps he has had similar complaints before? The reviews seemed positive but our evening turned into a disappointment. First table ticked not just a beer mat...

Visited with family and was everything we needed! Food was great and service was superb from Jonathan and the team. Great place to meet up with family l, will be back and will recommend!

Six adults with 5 different dishes all of which were excellent. Worth paying just that little bit extra to get really quality food, service and generous meat and fish dishes. Also a lovely environment and great for a family get-together. Nice choice of drinks including...

Great pub with good food. It's not easy to get to because it's only accessible from one side of the road. You have to drive past it, turn back from the roundabout and then turn in to the access road which is a few hundred...

Liam was courteous and helpful. Service was good. Food was tasty especially the garlic bread. We will return .

Lovely night out. Our food was lovely, quick service and very helpful server Mia. Would definitely recommend

Lovely accommodating venue. We were looked after by Mia and Reece. Very accommodating, got involved with our celebrations and made them even more special with lovely drinks and desserts. Food was excellent also. Really would recommend and will be returning. Made a lovely night even...

Amazing food and cosy setting. Lovely atmosphere and gorgeous quality food staff lovely and friendly. Very clean and tidy

blackcurrant torte, should have been put on the menu ages ago as it's the best dessert I have ever had here. Pictures do not do it justice but I have added one anyhow.

As usual on a Thursday, we called in for food on our way home. I had the same meal as last week, sirloin steak, with chips pea shoots, tomato and an onion nest. The steak was a decent thick cut and cooked to perfection, and...

Really disappointed with outcome of paying just under £16 each for mains only, Sunday lunch. Regular customers for years and response was "we are sorry . Hope you will give us another chance " Won't be returning anymore. High priced meals but normally nice. The...

We were so disappointed both with the food and the managers attitude. We had 4 meals, 2 of which were "ok". One being a steak requested medium rare. Which was more like well done. Another was a speciality burger, which was rhe nicest of the...

Thank you Kai and the team for a delicious lunch, great service so polite and friendly. Many thanks.