The Fox's Tale in County Durham - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

You always get a very warm welcome including my JRT! The staff are very courteous and friendly. Love the lighting. Lots of regulars so that should tell you something! Need to support the independents. Love my white Mocha with cream top. Mmm....

The Fox's Tale is always be my go to spot in Bishop Auckland for a great coffee and brunch. This is a dog friendly cafe which many dog owners take advantage so expect to have several dogs nearby at any given time. Brunchwise I usually go for the poached eggs and avocado on toast. The eggs are always runny and poached to perfection. My only wish would be more food options into the afternoon as they stop serving hot food around 11.30am which I was caught out on when suggesting this cafe as a lunch spot when visiting with a friend. Overall the service is friendly, the food is lush, and the vibe is chill. Would recommend to anyone who is in the area on the lookout for a new coffee spot.

You know that feeling when you feel like your custom is an inconvenience to the staff? Let me recount my experience... After standing at the counter for a few minutes waiting for the sullen, bored looking staff to engage, I was finally given eye contact and ordered for a coffee, I also asked with a smile if any breakfast was available, it is a cafe after all, "we are not doing food until 1/2 past" said the girl, no mention of what food would be available, only for the other girl operating the coffee machine to interject and say with obvious annoyance that it will 30mins and not necessarily 1/2 past....and even then they may not do food after all....My servers face said it all. "Oh.." I said, the irritable girl at the machine responded with "we were here until midnight last night!". A man appeared who I assume was the manager/owner and he said without a smile that "there's no food until 12". Wow. Warm, friendly...not. Why open. Why bother. I have chosen to spend my money with you, an indie coffee shop, on the high street. The problem for the high street is that the service is often just not good enough, I have never had a bad experience with service in a Starbucks, or a Costa. To survive the high street shops and cafes just have to try harder, hire better staff and enjoy serving customers, otherwise the consumer will spend elsewhere.

This is a great place to pop in for a relaxed hot drink and cake. They also have lovely bagels. It’s really chilled, staff are friendly, you don’t feel pushed to leave. They do tend to run out of food so make sure you get there early!

LOVE this place, it’s very special and has such a relaxed atmosphere. Great coffee (and tea) and excellent brunches and cakes. The thing I love the most though, and I know my husband will second this, is that the staff are lovely, the music could be from my playlist and dogs are allowed! Top it off with great decor and twinkly lights and there you have the full picture. It can’t be easy to run a small business in Bishop Auckland when the out of town retail park pulls so many people away from the town, but this place is a real gem so please check it out it if you’re in the vicinity.

A gem of a cafe! Lovely food and coffee, reasonably priced and child friendly. The decor is warm and comfy. We had the eggs Benedict and they were delicious. The kids had Nutella toast and it was a very generous portion!

Such a lovely, welcoming cafe with friendly staff. Came for snacks and breakfast bagels and all were very tasty. Great to see vegan options. Coffee excellent. Would very much recommend.

The town centre seems to specialise in closed-down shops and was pretty well deserted at 10 on a weekday morning - however, the Fox's Tale gave us just what we were looking for in the way of refreshment and to pass the time until the Castle opened.

Love this cafe, went there on Saturday morning with the dog and family. Proper good coffee. Only visiting the town for long weekend from Kent and so was sorry wasn't open on the Sunday and Monday would definitely have returned on these days. My son had lovely full English, wish I could cook mushrooms like that, and was v generous. I succumbed to second coffee. Staff very welcoming and friendly. Nice combo of hipster and down to earthness.

Very nice interior but felt service let our visit down . Ordered coffees, beans on toast & avocado on toast with feta & sirachi. Coffees came very quickly followed by a long enough wait for coffee to be finished. Food arrived but no feta or sirachi on my avocado and when mentioned was told “I can ask him to put some on if you like”. As waitress walked off I had to ask for cutlery- which took ages as she had to wrap knives & forks while having a wee chat with another waitress. No salt or pepper offered , no one asked if we’d like more drinks / if everything was ok. Ideally I’d have liked what was ordered, nevertheless it was nice.

Called in for a cuppa and some lunch. Only flatbread on the menu is a chicken pesto flatbread… went to order it, they didn’t have any. Only other choice of food after 11 were bagels. Seems an odd decision to have no sandwich’s/snacks (I don’t like bagels!). And the Halloumi flatbread has been removed off the menu - why? When it was so popular. Disappointing. Decor is quirky. Ceiling not great. Wouldn’t be back, other coffee shops in the area with a better offering.

If you appreciate simple, wholesome food prepared with care and served with a smile, you'll love this place. I keep returning for the most delicious Halloumi Flatbread, and will carry on doing so! Hot, flavoursome, and satisfying. The side salad is super too - fresh, vibrant and juicy, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Perfect!

If you like decent coffee that you can actually taste - rather than a cup of hot milk - then this is one for you. Nice cosy decor and friendly staff. The only downside is the fairly limited food menu: small selection of brunch type snacks and missing a trick with no cake.

Came by chance. Looks promising from outside. Friendly, helpful welcome from staff. Apologies in advance for restricted menu & short staff but I just wanted good coffee and light lunch snack so avo on toast was perfect and skinny latte spot on. Good value and nice surroundings. Would like to return when full menu back.

What a gem - warm, welcoming and friendly. My hot halloumi flatbread sandwich was truly delicious, and my friend loved her Gingerbread Latte, complete with a mini gingerbread man sitting on the whipped cream! I hope the food range is expanded in future, as this lovely coffee shop could well be my 'go to' with friends, for lunch, afternoon coffee, whatever! We loved it!

the staff here are so friendly it is fantastic. To be honest such brilliant service is a real rarity now it was really refreshing. Food is good although a bit limited and the coffees were of really good quality. First visit of many

We love it here, the coffee is good and reasonably priced, the food is spot on, and the staff are really friendly. There's a warm cosy atmosphere and regular faces. It has lovely views out over the market place and some outdoor seating that catches...

Officially the loveliest coffee shop in Bishop Auckland, The Fox's Tale never disappoints. Great coffee, delicious food, cosy surroundings, comfy seating, plenty of space, excellent cleanliness and - most importantly - friendly, cheerful, attentive staff. I should probably just arrange for half of my wages...

Visited this lovely coffee shop several times since it opened and it just gets better and better. Really lovely interior and such a pleasant atmospehere to sit and relax. Food and drinks always great quality....mushrooms on toast a particular favourite! The staff are really friendly...

I recently curiously visited this local bohemian style café to enjoy brunch with my old philosophical photographer friend & found the atmosphere & charmingly quirky upcycled steampunk style furniture & lighting equally congenial. I ordered a reasonably priced cappuccino & egg mayo sandwich & found...

Great flat white and tasty shortbread. We were however a bit put off watching the waitress pet a dog then carry on with her duties., surely not hygienic. Maybe a separate dog friendly area would be a good idea too

Large interior with mix of tables, sofas and outside seating. Unusual mix of lunches and snacks. We had the mushrooms on toast and a toasted bloomer of bacon and Brie! Excellent quality and very tasty. Would highly recommend a visit!

Lovely. Friendly, and covid safe. Visited with my mum and daughter, we all enjoyed freshly made food, scrambled eggs on toast, avocado on toast, and a triple B (bacon, brie, and blackberry jam) and exceptional quality coffee, some of which I had freshly ground and...

Safe covid friendly cafe nice chilled atmosphere coffee is beautiful I do appreciate good coffee but the food is delicious my caprese sandwich was amazing and my hubby had the bacon brie and blueberry jam and he raved over it. The Staff are so friendly...

The Foxes Tale is a relatively new cafe/coffee shop at the North end of Newgate Street in Bishop Auckland. The coffee was very good but the visit was spoiled by the presence of two dogs with customers in the cafe and not kept outside where...

Visited here just for a drink stop and I ordered a cappuccino, it was lovely and smooth and they also offered variety of blends. It’s a lovely little find and not to noticeable if you are looking for a coffee shop, so keep a lookout....

Best coffee in Bishop Auckland. Food is very nice . Sandwiches come with plenty of filling and side salad. Really good value . Only criticism would be the lack of signage for the toilets. Well worth a visit.

This is a decent cafe on the main street in Bishop Auckland. It's a pretty limited menu, toasties and a few cakes but it's fine for a snack. It's clean enough , you go past an open kitchen type area where i could see dirty...

Visited for lunch when I was in the area- the food and coffee were both great! Lovely relaxed atmosphere and all staff very helpful and attentive during our visit. Felt very safe given the current COVID 19 restrictions. All appropriate measures were in place and...

Lovely cafe and a pleasure to have on the high street. Staff are very friendly and happy to help. So far only had take out cuppas and toasties but all have been fantastic. I’ve never seen toasties with so much filling in them! Highly recommend...