The Dairy Barn in County Durham

We really like the Dairy Barn BUT the top of the slope as you go through the archway is dangerous. It's very rough and uneven. Our young granddaughter tripped on it. If we hadn't been short of time l would have gone back to complain. She really scraped her knee and tore her trousers. Beware anyone who is a little unsteady on their feet or in a wheelchair. No other entrance to use.

Fantastic cakes coffee and food really 😋

Lovely food in a really nice setting

Love this spot. They have a fab little play area for kids and the food is always tasty. The cake display is amazing. My only quibble,....and it cost them a star is that if you order food and coffees together you often are almost finished the food by the time coffee arrives.

Went to the dairy barn for afternoon tea for my works baby shower. The manager (Lynsey I think?) was so helpful and accommodating, nothing was a bother. The afternoon tea itself was delicious and everyone commented on how tasty it was. They provided us with take away boxes to enjoy the rest at home because we couldn’t eat it all. All the staff were super friendly, efficient and helpful. They even put some banners and balloons up and made the peach Melba’s blue for our baby boy, totally unexpected and so thoughtful! I would highly recommend!! Thank you!

Poor girls were run off their feet

I cant rate the food, I didn't end up buying anything. I was at the counter waiting to be served and the senior member of staff asked the kids to serve. All they could do was argue amongst themselves as one said I'm going home the other said I'm not doing it and the third kid just ignored me. I told the senior member of staff they were arguing as who had to serve, she just sniggered. I had seen enough and walked out. The senior member of staff saying quick quick the customer is going to walk away. Then I left. Absolutely shocking behaviour by the kids, also I thought the senior member of staff should have done something.

Set in countryside, miles of views in most directions. Hot roast bun, with chips a s gravy was very good.

Just wow. The food is great, there sweet treats are brill

Fantastic ice-cream and cakes in a cracking setting, definitely recommend.

Went for breakfast. First visit, won't be the last . I was very happy that I could customise my breakfast . Sausage was delicious . Amazing assortment of cakes and ice-cream . A gem

Lovely place for a catch-up family/friends.

We had a lovely breakfast this morning, very tasty and generous portions. Very good value for money. Cafe was clean and tidy, music playing quietly with a nice atmosphere. Service was great, staff were friendly and attentive. Cakes looked delicious but we were all too stuffed from breakfast! Thank you.

Omg the best milk shake ever 😋 the cakes are absolutely surperb

I have been to the dairy barn many times and every time I’ve been recently the service has got worse and worse. On Saturday I visited with my friends, I ordered the soup and a sandwich. When the orders came, 3/4 orders were wrong. One being my friend is a vegetarian and her sandwich had meat in it. When my order came it was the wrong sandwich and the “soup” looked absolutely vile. It looked like someone had thrown up in my bowl (please see image below). How they could serve that I have no idea?! I did end up saying to the staff it was inedible and they did give me another soup even tho they told me there wasn’t another one. Please see my picture below of the “soup”.

We were delighted to encounter an enclosure of alpacas as we made our way to the cafe! What a wonderful treat it was to pet and hand feed these beautiful, well cared for animals. The menu was a limited 'Alpaca' menu on this occasion, and I opted for the steak sandwich and fries. The steak was 'pulled' so very soft and tender, in a rich gravy. The small cardboard box of fries seemed a little pricey for the amount contained but they were nice enough. My companion had an enormous fruit scone with jam and cream - so big she couldn't finish it. Another pleasant visit, with the added pleasure of meeting those gorgeous alpacas!

Had a breakfast which was delicious would definitely recommend. Can’t wait to try a selection of the cakes

Lovely icecream didn’t have for so can’t comment on that.

Just discovered this place on my doorstep!! Food choice was a good variety hot food sandwiches ice cream pancakes. There was also vast choice of cakes to eat in and take away. Nice outside area fabulous views.

Cheesecake was amazing. Very good quality and food selection was very good.

Great location , stunning views, nice cafe

The farm itself is lovely, has stunning views, and is a great place to bring children. The food is satisfactory. I must admit I like the fact the tuna jacket isn't coated in too much mayonnaise, as sometimes this can be overpowering, but the potato itself was just okay. The staff are pleasant, and the outside area is nice.

Nice location great ice cream definitely bring my car along to another of the classic car meets

We saw the Dairy Barn as we passed and decided to get lunch. Wow it was delicious between us we had tomato soup and a cheese scone and quiche if the day, salad and coleslaw with a hot drink each. It was delicious if we weren’t going home tomorrow we would be back.

Lovely food lovely staff don't take any notice of the bad reviews can not fault the place lovely surrounding countryside

Not keen on the full English breakfast, that was a let down and gutted you don’t do fried eggs on the breakfast! 100% the best cakes though! Worth the journey for that :)

We had breakfast here and we left a little disappointed because as good as these pancakes look they were not edible. 3 people couldn’t eat 4 pancakes. They were very very thick and sticky, after every bite you had to take a sip of water in order to swallow them. My older son had a small breakfast and the bacon was very very dry. Same with the sausage. The coffee was very good so is the view from this cafe. I wouldn’t go there to eat next time, I would go maybe for an ice cream, coffee and the view.

The Dairy Barn js in a rural setting in North Bitchburn, Crook. Was cosy. Quite big inside. My hubby and I came for lunch & I had bbq chicken, bacon& cheese panini with a side salad & tea; hubby had cheese n onion panini with a glass of milk £18.40 which isn't too much! Puddings looked good and tempting, but saving for special occasions, which I think I'd come back to The Dairy Barn The atmosphere was good. There is a kids playground outside & tables. The slope down is wheelchair friendly, but getting it up might be a bit of an effort!

Popped in this morning for breakfast, had a full English and bacon sandwich which were both lovely! Coffee was great, service was great, couldn’t fault it!

Came for breakfast, the barn was fairly busy but we placed our order and it was delicious infront of us within 10 minutes. The full English was delicious and the bacon sandwich was packed with bacon! Service was lovely, and there was a lovely atmosphere. Will definitely be back! Thank you!

Lovely soup and sandwich . Staff very pleasant and helpful. Road a bit bumpy!!!

Full of noisy kids and slow service In answer to your reply it was by no means ‘full’ and the service was slow and somewhat shambolic. Won’t be returning - and I’m sure you’re going to have some snarky reply to that as it seems you like to do that if people have an issue with your business having seen some of your reply’s to criticism on here and Tripadvisor

We came across The Dairy Barn thanks to a post on social media when we were looking for a dog friendly tea room and thought we'd call in on our way back from The Lakes. There are a number of tables outside with a nice little play area for the kids. Inside, the barn is really clean with some tables having lovely views over the fields. We didn't sample the meals but did opt for a couple of their cakes and they were lovely, and huge! Even for someone with a very sweet tooth, I would even say they were a little too big - never thought I'd hear myself saying that! Price wise, they were very reasonable and we'll definitely be back to try more of their food. Unfortunately, I have had to change my review of The Dairy Barn due to the fact they no longer allow dogs inside. This is apparently due to some dog owners being inconsiderate to other users and the premises in general. If that is the case, deal with them and don’t punish us responsible dog owners. If children are noisy inside, would they ban all children? In reply to the owners response, yes it is YOUR business and YOUR choice, likewise it is MY choice to change my review based on the fact I am longer welcome to eat inside with my dog. I could have completely deleted my initial post but wanted people to know that the cakes were nice on the occasion we were welcome. As stated previously, you have decided to tar all dog owners with the same brush due to some who don't treat others premises with respect.

I was so disappointed on our last visit which is awful to say because I'm a regular user of the dairy barn and normally can't fault the place. On arrival a huge rat ran from the premises onto the playing field, ( inform so I'm well aware rats are around) but We were there three hours in total and our lunch plates were still on our table even though we got puddings after our mains, and they didn't take a plate. When I asked if they could be moved a lovely girl came and started to clear but never came back for the remaining 5 plates and dishes. My sundae came about 35 min after everyone else's but I had to return it as there were huge bits of strange tasting ice in it. I did get a refund at the time or offered another pudding but as everyone had finished I just took the refund. It was maybe a bad day because several people were returning meals or having issues with one thing or another. Such a shame as we all normally love it here .

I made the mistake of visiting on something called Llama day where there is a small group of llamas on display and a special llama menu of kid-friendly (very cheap, very basic) food. Every child in County Durham was queuing up inside the cafe to get their ice cream, moaning and squirming and the queue was really long. The staff were working as quickly as possible but it was a really stressful experience. It took me 26 minutes to get a really horrible chocolate frappe and a really lovely cheesecake to take away. I will wait until the summer holidays are over and the menu returns to normal before I go back.

Staff so so rude. Don’t bother. Wasting your time travelling or going. Food obviously nice as seen in photos but not with it if staff don’t have any customer service skills. Rude.

Decent tasting cakes, not a huge fan of the Fancie but the Biscoff Blondie was perfecto. First time trying at one of the car events, pretty long queue which is understandable, although service could have been more organised but appreciate it looked like teenagers with first jobs working. Ice creams were great too!

Lovely sat in sunshine watching Alpacas. Nice sandwich and good coffee. Very child friendly

Wont be returning in a hurry Seeing family in crook so decided to walk the 3km to go after being before Considering how popular this place has become it still has a long gravel road to get to it, I have a knee injury so bad enough but anyone in a scooter or with a pushchair forget it Service was abrupt, demanding a table number not asking, when the girl did take the order took them almost 10 minutes to make a cup of tea I saw at least 5 staff members and was far from busy. Would hate to see these staff working in a coffee shop Shop I work in, we are making 100 plus coffee per hour and none of my customers was more than 75 seconds unless a mistake was made

Absolutely amazing cafe, the food was delicious, just a bit too much for me. Excellent, very busy but still amazing, fast service! Play area, fantastic only recommendation is fixing the crack in the tunnel, other than that, amazing!! Would 100% visit again. I really like the cheesecakes and chocolate cakes, but half the size and half the price would be amazing. 💜

First time visit and will definitely be back. A real gem, clean and friendly , great choice and prices. Granddaughter enjoyed the play area and we enjoyed the view.

Came to the free classic car event Very busy and the many many vehicles turned up and created a varied mixed display from Triumph to Ferrari and a few motorbikes Birds of prey display was also a nice feature with knowledgeable handlers Due to the amount of people the cafe was busy but the staff coped well. Due to the queue I couldn't access the toilet and to be fair only wanted to wash my hands after my delicious milkshake and ice cream tub Looked outside if they had a water tap for a quick rinse even for a tap for doggy bowl top up Thankfully a well prepared friendly car enthusiast gave me a wet wipe to resolve my issue Haven't been for many years and they have invested in better access and pathways Cake portion size still looked amazing Very happy with a milkshake and ice-cream on this lovey summer evening

Lovely setting with stunning views. On this occasion there were 4 of us came for breakfast, this isn't our first visit so I'm pleased to say we weren't disappointed. The next time we visit we will have to try the cakes as the selection looks amazing.

The Dairy Barn serves fab food by fab staff and whats more has fab views too.

Nice food with excellent views over the valley. Driveway to the carpark could be better.

Slow service need organisation food good if you can wait it will hopefully improve as time goes on have been twice

I visited here a on a week day with my friend and our experience was judt how we wanted it. Very picturesque, lovely sooth atmosphere. However we visited again with my family and grand daughter (1 year old) at the weekend and oh my goodness it was full to the rafters had to wait to be seated, the noise was a bit overpowering, just from the amount of people. Our omfood order came out wrong, chips where cold and the staff where so rushed off their feet that everytime we wanted to catch someone about the food they where busy sorting others out. We just left it in the end. My advise is choose wisely when to visit. 🤷‍♀️ lovely place but weekends can get manic.

Lovely coffee shop with great selection. Staff very friendly.

First visit and wow so much choice fabulous grandchildren loved it

The food was okay, the poached eggs were very over done.

What an absolute gem of a place I have discovered - takes all my will power to just go once a week ........

Difficult to find but, definitely worth getting there for the obscenely huge cakes. Service at the counter was chaotic but the staff were very nice. Nice play area for the children too.

Service not the best the cakes are amazing the views are outstanding

Fantastic cakes, good atmosphere, and great customer service.

Good food, polite staff and good prices. We will definitely be back.

Really lovely cafe, but quite a lot not in off the menu. We had paninis as a second choice. Ice cream was very good, and staff were friendly.

Nice enough but very poor veggie choices

Lovely cakes, food is standard cafe type foods, some are quite expensive. Nice little place, out of the way, will be lovely in summer. When it's windy I wouldn't sit outside. Friendly enough staff.

Lovely little place to have some food or just a cake or icecream.

Called in to purchase some "sweet treats" take-out for us & a friend. The Ferrero Rocher cheesecake was in a "foil / plastic container" about the size / shape of a small chocolate eclair. The cheesecake filling was just plain (cream cheese & cream?) the only Ferrero Rocher reference was 2 pieces of the FR choc bar on top with a drizzle of choc sauce & nut nibs!! Paid £5 for this one underwhelming dessert ... very very disappointing ... over-priced & over-rated 😠

The menu has been refreshed since I was here last, and pleasingly so. Although the 'Toasted Brioche Gelato Burger' didn't appeal, I love the quirky idea of it! A simple (rather small) cheese and caramelised onion chutney panini made a pleasant lunch today, served with salad, coleslaw and crisps (£7.00). We can also recommend the ice creams - chocolate, raspberry ripple, and lemon cheesecake. £3.50 for one scoop is very expensive. A two or three scoop helping, while still pricey, is better value. Cheery surroundings, lively family-friendly vibe, and friendly staff.

Really nice place, lovely staff & service, warm and cosy with excellent views. Disabled parking right by the gate, but, very steep access, not too sure if I'd recommend it for a wheelchair.

Having driven for over an hour for a Mother's Day treat, we were disappointed that when we arrived at 1pm, the cake fridge had a very limited section and was almost empty (apart from blueberry tarts). Surely they should have ensured they had enough stock for a day that was always going to be busy? Our lunch was nice enough but the pie was just a regular supermarket pie, which was disappointing. The chicken, cheese and chorizo wrap was lovely. The staff were fantastic though. If we lived closer, we would certainly go again, but unfortunately it's not worth the drive.

Friendly staff. Lovely food, especially cakes

A very disappointing visit the food was OK nothing outstanding and not great presentation,after eating the children were taken outside to play and ended up covered in bird poo I don't know why the children's play area is so filthy we won't be returning

A Perfect Spot if you like a Country View. You may need to book at Busy Times, though there's a Summer outside Service Too. The Food is very Tasty with a Vast Array of Sweets. A Play Area for Children ideal for Family Treats.

Love visiting here - cakes are amazing!

Really nice place to have an ice cream in the summer and look over the beautiful views. The cakes are amazing too. Loved the peach melba

Busy quite noisy. Found table easy.lots of tables had not been cleared. The assortment of cakes looked lovely and tempting . Menu is available. I enjoyed it. . You can book afternoon tea..

Booked afternoon tea today, absolutely beautiful,staff very friendly,food gorgeous and plentiful,will definitely book again .

We love this place year round but at Christmas time they go above and beyond! Staff were amazing, the only place around that have not gotten greedy with Santa visits! You pay for the child only and as many parents/family members can go in and see the magic in their kids eyes unlike many other establishments in the area that also charge for parents to take the kids to see Santa! Food is 10 out of 10 and the cakes are out of this world. Very reasonably priced for how amazing the Santas living room set up is! Also the Santa is fantastic! Can not believe they get the actual real Santa to come down from the north pole 😉

The food on the afternoon tea was amazing. The cakes sold here are to die for. Will definitely like to return again and will some time in the future.

We stayed at the Tree House and had breakfast at the Dairy Barn one morning. Also bought some delicious cakes to take out. Very friendly staff, good service, and tasty food.

Nice little place but cakea wwr very dry and no presentation at all very basic place wudnt go again

I had the corned beef pie mushy peas and gravy it was really nice, didn't manage to eat it all as the portion size is big. Pie was a little to peppery for me but I still managed to eat it. Would definitely recommend and will be back again

First time calling in here but it won't be the last, all of our meals were very tasty next time I will be trying the cakes which looked stunning

execellent food, and can definitely recommend the eggs benedict, especially if you add some extra crispy bacon! Great views and friendly service, worth a trip out for a great breakfast or lunch with a surprising range of items on the menu.

Lovely views of the countryside at Crook

First time we've been and it won't be the last. Lovely staff and great breakfast. Halloween themed at the moment,great atmosphere. Really recommend.

Lovely setting and staff are polite. Foods nice.

Loved this, it has a lovely play area outside that the kids really enjoyed and the cakes were absolutely incredible and delicious, would absolutely recommend though it is a bit expensive.

Love coming in for my cream scone and tea

Well, once again, very disappointed waffle was lovely service nit so good. Asked when we arrived for table, we found to ge cleared, still not cleared when the first 2 waffles arrived. I asked again got told she had another waffle to make!! Table finally cleared when drinks came £30 for 3 waffles and 3 drinks and had to ask twice for the table to be cleaned not what I call service for the price!! Seems to be a service issue through week!! Weekend I find service is really good

Delicious cakes,lovely surrounding & play area for children.

Food is excellent, the cream cakes are to die for, highly recommend a visit

Me and my wife stopped by for a drink passing in our car place was nice and nice tea but driving in i noticed the new union jack was flyimg upside down so i rang to inform them a young lady said she would let it be known to sort it out but sadly still no change after 1 month as ex forces who lost friends fighting that same flag it hurts.

Friendly staff. Clean, with an amazing view. Food was delicious and decently priced. Definentely a new favourite.

Friendly staff and lovely ice cream

Arrived early for brunch and sat outside and enjoyed absolutely stunning views. Staff were lovely. We ordered soup and a sandwich which was delicious, also a sausage roll and cheese scone. We bought a selection of cakes to take home, couldn’t decide for ages which cakes to buy, amazing selection. Will definitely return soon.

Don't usually write reviews but lunch today was salad thrown on plate with a pile of sweetcorn and cucumber and what was supposed to be a panini was hard and dry staff there was a few but not interested in doing there job very unpleasant will not return

Use to visit a lot as the food and coffee here are good, even though a bit pricey. Great range of cakes. Unfortunately they have decided to stop dogs from visiting now due to one particular issue?, and as we go everywhere with our dogs we now no longer visit here. Wonder what Dairy Barn will do if a person decides to do something they shouldn't, shame they've decided to take this action 🤔

Was so excited to try this after seeing how good it looked on social media. Very overpriced food for the quality, even the coffee may I add. Staff weren’t that friendly and just didn’t enjoy my visit here. Arrived at 11 to be told no lunch would be served until 11:30 so I had to buy a scone because I was so hungry I couldn’t wait that long to eat. Also gave me the wrong cake I asked for to be boxed up so I could take home. Cake was nice to be fair, they don’t display prices on the cakes so you have to ask which is a bit annoying. Really underwhelming experience overall.

After a 30mile round trip and finding out you are no longer dog friendly and your page still show dogs welcome. Raining heavily told you can sit outside. Disgusted. left buying nothing and won't return. You are not dogfriendly and need to change your page. All dog owners should black list this place.

Loved visiting dairy barn and especially the peach melba. Made a special trip for an afternoon treat with the dogs on a day holiday from work. Heavens opened on our way over. It appears that you have now changed your rules and dogs have to sit outside. It is 15 C and pouring. Why would we want to sit outside? We came with cake orders for all our neighbours but left empty handed. I suspect we won’t be the only custom that you will miss out on. Please please put a big post on your Facebook page and details as we had a 30 mile round trip. You also wasted our day off.

Fantastic place for any age, any number of people, rain or shine. The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that I spent most of the time dancing the wasps away. But the views whilst I was doing so were beautiful!

Sit out and see for miles very peaceful

There is a great range of high quality freshly prepared food available in a lovely quaint atmosphere, the staff are very professional and attentive to your requirements, highly recommended!

Lovely cafe that we go to often. The day we went the alpacas were there. Events often take place here.

Absolutely gorgeous ice cream 🍦🍨🍦

The staff were friendly and helpful. Service was efficient. A lovely setting with fantastic views of the valley. Was a little curious to be offered scrambled eggs, with both fried and poached eggs not available today. It became clear when breakfast arrived... The scrambled eggs were disgusting... Probably bought pre-made in bulk. Will probably give it another try sometime, but will likely not order breakfast again if fresh eggs are unavailable. The cake counter looked very inviting though.