The Darwin Room in Stockton-on-Tees

Visitamos la ciudad en febrero con mi padre. Yo tenía queso de cabra y risotto pelotas con salsa que donde muy sabroso. Luego tuve salmón con un panqueque de cangrejo con verduras y patatas fritas adecuadas. Mi padre tenía sopa seguido de cerdo de la danza del vientre. 2 platos por £13 era una absoluta ganga.Bonito lugar, me sentí un poco de pena por las chicas que trabajan allí tenían mucho que hacer. Otra persona para ayudar habría hecho una gran diferencia. He comido en algunos de los mejores pasos en el noreste y este lugar es tan bueno si no es mejor que el de otros lugares en Newcastle con premios. Sin duda volveremos.

Mi hijo nos sugirió que probamos aquí ya que había sido una edad desde mi última visita. rápidamente nos sentamos en una de las camareras más concurridas que he visto. Ella estaba corriendo entre la cocina y el comedor. Buena pinta de Caffreys para empezar y aunque algunos pueden pensar que el servicio es un poco lento, en una tarde agradable. Escogí la sopa y un pequeño comentario que sólo era cálido. Me gusta mi tuberías de sopa caliente. Luego del vientre de cerdo sobre una cama de black pudding y fue sensacional. Hijo quería split un dulce pero estaba lleno como un pescado. Me encanta el edificio y el restaurante. Merece la pena ver.

Me pregunto por qué este restaurante no está ocupado cada noche.es inmejorable, no sólo por el precio sino por la muy buena calidad de la cocina. Cuatro de nosotros visitamos hace pocos días . tres entrantes ligeramente picante y pollos hígados que eran muy sabroso y cocinado a la perfección mientras que el otro plato era suavemente salsa langostinos. Tanto el gusto y la presentación eran muy acertadas. Para los platos principales me recomendó dos de mis amigos para probar el cordero, la otra tenía pollo mientras yo tenía salmón con salsa maloliente con mejillones. Estos fueron acompañados por zanahorias bien cocinadas, coliflor, brécol, judías verdes y patatas fritas caseras. El cordero , me informaron era delicioso como lo era el plato de pollo, y la mía era muy sabroso. Esto era regados con una botella de red de casa, que era perfectamente aceptable.a sólo dos tenían postre ya que todos bastante lleno . La elección era una tarta de limón cubiertas con desorden Eton ... no hay quejas! La factura total era de menos de 70 libras . Lo que una estupenda relación calidad-precio.espero que los propietarios de Staincliffe colgar a su personal de la cocina, ya que son realmente de primera clase. Soy de la opinión de que este restaurante no puede ser derrotada en Hartlepool.

visited here midweek.we wer a table of 5 and only a few other tables in.very cosy atmos.nice views of seafront.food was fantastic.really well presented and cooked perfectly.service was great too

Four of went for dinner on Saturday night.The restaurant was very quiet ,I guess because it was just after the Xmas and New Year festivities .The service was friendly with young waitresses who were cheerfull and out to please.We were asked about pre dinner drinks and were served quickly.Our starters came and we looked and tasted great.I had black pudding with soft cheese and salad and it was tasty and filling .Two others had kidneys on a crouton with a delicious sauce (I tasted ) .All of us were satisfied .(One had declined a starter) For mains we had a good choice .I tried the sea bass on a fishy risotto with a salad dressing .two had cod with a red wine sauce and one had a pork steak .We had a huge amount of veg.chips ,potato ,carrot s,sweet potato,greenbeans and onion rings (delicious) .All of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals ,which were full of flavour and presented very well by the chef. we could not find any fault.

Although all our food choices were great, service left a little to be desired. No wine list. House wine awful. Next wine chosen from 2 bottles held by waitress. Much nicer but then ran out of that wine. Wine was warm when it came to the table too. Dessert menu on the wall hidden behind a Christmas tree. Initially told we may have to wait for our meal due to serving a large party.....thats not my problem. No cointreau in the bar. humph. Despite this will be back as food good value for money.

Had an excellent Sunday lunch at the Darwin Room. Meat and vegetables were cooked to perfection, staff were efficient and pleasant. Beautiful dining room, nicely presented tables and enough room left between the tables for privacy. Wonderful sea views enhanced the experience. Will definately return

Went for a celebration meal to the darwin room, had the risotto for starters and the belly pork for main, I thought it was very tasty indeed and would defiantly revisit. Should be ranked higher on trip advisor! Only problem was bigger portions would be better but having said that I am quite greedy.

Birthday evening with friends on Sunday, 24th June, 2012. I chose chicken with mushroom sauce. Smallest portion of chicken I have ever been served. On ordering I was told new potatoes were available but when meal was served there was only roasties which I declined. I also specifically asked if the vegetables had any butter in them (for health reasons) and was assured that they did not. The vegetables that were served looked as though they had lost most of their colour and tasted as though they had been cooked and kept warm all day, they were also coated in butter. My Son chose a steak which he had difficulty cutting into and even more difficulty chewing and consequently could not eat. He asked a friend that was with us to try it and they also could not chew it. Another member of our party chose the beef dinner, this meat was also so tough he couldn't eat it, the rest of the dinner was tasteless and the yorkshire pudding was like a lump of concrete and he left his whole meal. At the end of the meal the gravy had set like concrete and the gravy boat could be tipped on end with no gravy running out at all. May I add that the waitress throughout was apologetic, proffessional and kept passing our comments onto, the Chef (I asssume), and offered alternatives. However, the evening by this time was ruined (somebody's birthday may I add). The meal was booked in advance, so there can be no excuse for this. Worst meal I have ever had and shall not be returning or recommending.

Great value breakfast and Sunday lunch. Food quality very good.

Revisited this lovely restaurant for the third time, again with friends. The room was, as ever, well set out, giving all diners privacy while maintaining a good ambience, enhanced by a very good pianist playing a baby grand. I still think that naming the room after a useless pathetic criminal should be at best a temporary gimmick, but the Staincliffe Hotel seems to be sticking with it. Good news from last time though is that the silent TV, incongruous in a restaurant with fine dining ambition, has gone. The menu seems to change often - five or six choices only for each course, but as ever every single dish we ordered was cooked and presented to perfection. A potential gripe was deftly averted by the Maitre'd (or as he prefers to be called, the duty manager - hmm); the hotel was changing wine suppliers and was running down stocks ahead of new deliveries. This meant no wine list and very little choice. While we found a good red and a decent rose at reasonable prices, there were good reasons why the whites remained unsold. But as I said, the manager went above and beyond the call of duty and found us a couple of bottles of Chablis at a price I wouldn't even name on here - suffice to say we were very happy. The level of service was once again impeccable, the evening faultless.

It was to celebrate a family birthday, and as I usually dine out in London or Berkshire I always find it really hard to discover better than average restaurants in Teesside which are not Asian or Italian and which meet expectations. So the Darwin Room was a gamble (we'd eaten in the adjacent Grill Room year's ago when it was Ocean's with a Bistro Menu, and had been impressed). Well we were not let down. Table setting was immaculate with crisp linen, candles and fresh flowers. We sat in the bay with a couple at the adjacent table, otherwise our half of the dining room was quiet - but it was midweek. Room decor was grand, and background music not intrusive. The food was excellent, mainly a la Carte but mum chose off the Table d'Hote menu as she fancied the soup of the day and the pork. My Seafood Bisque was among the best I've eaten, shame that the quantity was a bit meagre for £7, but you could not fault my duo of lamb for portion size nor the piles of perfectly cooked veg, and maybe the tastiest french fries ever . Lovely warm baguette, and a shared baked cheesecake off the cheap menu which left me thinking that the "posh" desserts must be wonderful if you have room to eat them ... Served perfectly and friendlily by a really young waiter, unobtrusive but attentive. A perfect experience which matched the occassion, OK value too at £77 for three with more than a bottle of wine, though you could spend rather more by all going full three courses a la Carte, or way less on the early evening menu.

excellent meal and service , good value for money lovely decor

I ate in th Canoe room at lunch time. First impression I felt happy to return in the evening in hope of enjoying a nice steak in the Darwin room. The soup of the day was the same as the lunch time menue so not a good start to amy meal. The wine glass was dirty...this was a surprise as I had to ask at lunch time to have a clean glass. The steak had no flavour. This meal was not worth the money I paid.

I can't comment on the rooms at The Staincliffe, but the Darwin Room restaurant was excellent. Great food - well cooked with fresh ingredients - plentiful portions and very good service. The ambience was good with great night time views across the North Sea and the lights of the waiting ships. My expectations are high and this restaurant delivered. Well done! By the way, the fish and chips off the 'bar' menu are highly recommended (and can be served in the restaurant) and the early evening Tabel D'Hote specials are also superb - what a great surprise. This place deserves to succeed so I'd recommend you give it a go - quickly - either before it becomes too busy or it closed due to lack of interest!!

I think this restauranrt has recently been refurbished and re-branded - perhaps as The Darwin - with the adjacnet Canoe Bar. Either way, our exprrience was just excellent. Great food - well cooked with fresh ingredients - plentiful portions and very good service. A good chocie of food, including basic stuff on the bar menu ( the fish and chips were superb!). The ambience was good with great night time views across the North Sea and the lights of the waiting ships. My expectations are high and this restaurant delivered. Well done!

Returned to the Darwin Room with friends with whom we share a common wedding anniversary (though 22 years apart!).What can I say? The menu has been planned with care and amongst us we chose a good selection of starters, mains and deserts (plus several bottles of white and red wine) The bill at the end of our repast, with tip, was comfortably under £50 each.While this is admittedly at the top end pricewise in Hartlepool, what we have is close to fine dining - but at a fraction of the price. Every dish was prepared and presented to perfection - and tasted sublime.Our table on this occasion was at the far end of the restaurant in a large bay window with unobstructed views of the sea. As before, the design of the restaurant provides an excellent ambience even when the place is far from full. We also had the pleasure of a pianist playing easy-listening tunes on a grand piano, but never in an intrusive way.Service was excellent - attentive without being pushy. This is such a relief from the more usual experience where one strains to catch the eye of waiting staff, and all the staff members we met (including a trainee) were, frankly a pleasure.There are some minus points though. I cannot believe that now that the swindler after whom the room has been named is back in town, the room still harkens (along with the Canoe Bar next door) to this episode. It's cheesy, cheapens the place and isn't now funny (if it ever was).Second, the room sports a TV, set to mute, set which ruins everything the owners have striven to have achieved. On enquiry it is apparently meant to act as a companion for hotel guests on their own. Message to boss - no it doesn't. If you must have one, put it in the bar please. The staff were happy to turn it off for us, but I wonder what would have happened if a sad guest had objected to the loss of silent X-factor.Lastly, should you visit and enjoy your meal, then add your tip to your card payment (as I always do), this will go straight to the owner's pocket and the staff won't see a penny. Fortunately I asked first, but I suspect plenty don't. This is unforgiveable.Will we return again - You Betcha!Ignore the stupid name (hard to do admittedly), book a table with a sea view but out of sight of the TV, and tip in cash, and the Darwin Room is unrivalled in Hartlepool. And you get a pianist! These are the only reasons it loses a point.

Excellent lunch on the 25/06/2011 to celebrate parents wedding anniversary , Food excellent , service first class . Would recommend & come back again.

Visited to celebrate friend's birthday, party of 6. Being a Monday night our usual haunts were closed, but we were on the lookout for a new place with excellent food - Our favourite, Thai harbour is now a steakhouse and the current "class-leader" isn't producing the food or the service it once did.To be frank I was in two minds - many experiences with hotel restaurants have left me wary, but in this case I was very pleasantly surprised indeed.The name of the restaurant is of course a reference to John Darwin rather than the evolutionist; this is cheesy quite frankly and unbecoming of a fine dining establishment. The room itself is newly decorated with a comfortable and modern feel with good quality furnishings and linen. Being on the seafront many tables have an excellent view of the sea through large windows.The menu isn't reams and reams of dishes, rather thoughtful choices of meat, fish or veggie. The reason for this becomes obvious when the food arrives - it has been cooked individually from scratch. I was particularly impressed by my friend's starter which included a mini scotch egg with a quail's egg within. The egg was cooked to perfection with the yolk just-to-say still runny, quite perfect. Every person at the table was impressed by every dish and every course, which amongst us included soup, shellfish, duck, fish beef and chicken.Prices are very reasonable for this level of dining - starters and desserts from around £5 or 6 and mains averaging £15. We will certainly return: the place deserves five stars but I've held one back until they name it something less silly.