The Lamp Room in County Durham

I do feel guilty writing this but my family and I agree we'd be unfair in not sharing our experience. We went for dinner so lunch & breakfast menus we couldn't comment on. The venue is stunning great location easy to park and it's trendy and housekeeping was spot on. However .. sadly food for us wasn't all we expected. The quality of meat used was notable across all the dishes we tried chicken was thigh or wing meat on the skewers and had bits that at home we would cut off ... tendons and such like ...it was also very dry as if they'd been prepped a while ago. Chorizo tasted almost synthetic and had a lot of gristle and so this affected the scotch eggs as well as the halloumi and chorizo and the hotshot parmo ... Parmo was good again though the chicken itself didn't taste of good quality and the meatballs ..same story. For myself the best of the dishes on our table were the tempura fried veg - which was in fact beautiful...and the haddock which also was really good. Aside from this upon food arriving at our table and being asked if we were all good we had no revisits ..despite 4/5 staff members being in close proximity - both myself husband and oldest son had empty glasses for some time and we were not approached to ask if we might like another drink. Then we waited and waited for the table to be cleared - it was not busy. So to be helpful we began to stack the plates so that our smaller kids didn't knock anything over. Again waiting for the offer of table to be cleared ...a drink...desserts ... A coffee? ...nothing ...we sat so long we decided to Google somewhere else for dessert and walked up to the bar to ask for the bill on our way out ...it was sadly underwhelming and we had driven a considerable way to try this place ... Has the potential to be unreal but quality of meat used and service lets this place down ATM.

So glad I booked for a Saturday morning breakfaat. Good food, lovely service and a great atmosphere.

Friendly staff. I recommend making a booking as there was a short wait if you did not have one.

Been wanting to come here for awhile now, so as it was the Mrs birthday thought why not. so was me, mrs,daughter&sister. place is not very big but nice . Got our table and was seen pretty quickly, took our drinks order. came back to take our food order, started off with the starters then went to order mains and the one thing myself and sister was looking forward to was not being served the seafood broil, apparently the new menus had not arrived. so this just put a downer on the meal straight away, so we ended up just getting a seafood sharing platter. Food came out pretty quickly starters were ok, mrs and daughter had steaks which they said was very nice with triple cooked chips more like wedges not chips. our platter came with 2 halves of a small lobster, mussels in some sauce, white bait, calamari, baby quid, king prawns, baby squid, fish cakes, 2 oysters. triple cooked chips (wedges) everything tasted ok but just ok, whitebait was just there to make the plate look full, calamari wash a bit mush, but i`m not a fan anyway. As it was the Mrs birthday they gave her a free cocktail and a desert which was very nice of them.. Staff was very friendly and left you alone to eat which was great. All in all the experience was ok but really just ok , nothing to rave on about, it was a nice night out, but for just short of £200 this was far from worth it, I`m happy to pay good money for good food, but this just wasn`t it. unfortunately i wont be returning. Thank you

Brilliant restaurant on the Seaham Seafront.Fantastic food & drinks the staff are very welcoming.

Saturday lunch. The food was amazing, fresh, and very tasty. We had mussels with fries fresh, and the sauce was delicious. The steak sandwich was cooked to perfection. Definitely recommend it. Service was excellent.

Staff & food are excellent, worth a visit

Amazing food and big portions. Parmos were amazing

Foul should have learned my lesson ten years ago when I was served a deep fried boiled egg??? Waitress giving us cutlery for another table slapdash service seems to be the standard for today's eateries with long flowing hair not tied back and long varnished nails wouldn't pass health and hygiene serving food in that attire plus perfume rubs off wrists and gets on serving plates ( these are basic food hygiene standards) now for the food which suspiciously came before everyone who was already sitting before us and as they turned people away at 3pm to say the kitchen was closed. Steak and Guinness pie (no flavour of Guinness whatsoever served in a cereal bowl in the shape of a triangle but with a round cup size puff pastry top and was stuck to the bowl chips and veg tasted full of water . Panack was basically a cup of bisto with added squares of tasteless bacon cheap sausages and zero flavour one new potatoe cut into 4 slices with white plastic cheese I suppose the dry bread with no butter served with it was to compensate absolutely foul never again

What a great goats cheese salad and chunky fries! On the first sunny Saturday of 2025. Thanks guys!

We had the seafood platter which was superb. Service also fantastic.

Favourite place for breakfast, hungover breakfast is amazing. Been here multiple times and always leave happy. Food is great and service was really attentive from the tall young lad working.

I had to try a Parmo in this neck of the woods - there was honestly enough to feed 2 hungry people. Cooked fresh, utterly delicious, and friendly service too.

Been to the lamp room before but today was the best it’s been. We were met by a lovely man called Darren who made our day. So nice to have such a happy and friendly waiter. Will definitely be coming back as food was amazing; but we also want to see Darren again!!

Best caramel macchiato I’ve tasted. Super fresh scone with cream too. Great atmosphere and super friendly service.

Very good food. Need to get there before dinnertime rush as not very big. Very friendly staff.

The menu shows several items as vegetarian or vegan, but when I spoke with the waitress it turns out the chips, fries & sweet potato fries served with the vegan & vegetarian food are cooked in with the meat items. I ended up having the goat’s cheese focaccia without the sweet potato fries. The meat eater I was with has the roast pork sandwich with fries. The food we had was good (the meat eater said they would recommend it) and the staff friendly & helpful (the waitress was really open about how they cook the food), but I find it disappointing in this day & age that items that are not suitable for vegetarians and vegans are marked as if they are. Based on this, I would be reluctant to go back.

Took my wife for Valentines day and I can honestly say that it was the best food I've ever tasted, absolutely beautiful. 5 star from me

Thoroughly enjoyed our brunch here. The place was busy when we arrived and very busy when we finished. The staff are very friendly and the decor and atmosphere is great. We had a delicious Miners Eggs Benedict and pancakes with bacon and Maple syrup with a flat white and pot of tea. Will definitely be back to try other options as we were impressed and would highly recommend a visit.

It used to be the best place to eat in the area and it used to have fantastic service. Unfortunately everything seems to have charged the service is hit and miss the same as the food. Maybe the ownership has changed hands, the food is average at best, but you pay a premium. Yorkshire puddings are great but the gravy was very lacking on the Sunday lunch. The halloumi is a little bit of a mystery sometimes they are thick and sometimes they are thin with a smaller amount. A lot of the food isn't hot when it arrives. Sometimes the service is poor

Had a fantastic meal here with my wife today and enjoyed the seafood linguine. The place was busy, but we were lucky to get a table right away. There was a mix-up with our order, but the staff handled it quickly and even gave us a free tea each as a goodwill gesture. Great value at £34.90 for two meals and four cups of tea—plus, the seafood was fresh! We’ll definitely be back.

Love this place, and the carrot cake is first class

Fantastic food! We were staying in the apartment above and came to the Lamp Room both days for breakfast. Everything was delicious! The atmosphere was lovely and staff friendly. Would definitely recommend!

Nice enough food, but only ordered for the kids.. Great staff and atmosphere, nice cocktails

Chose here after seeing their pancakes advertised & I wasn’t disappointed! They tasted amazing and the mocha to wash it down was soo chocolatey I still think about it days after. Our server was so friendly and very hospitable, definitely returning!

Pre booked (advised) for breakfast and it's one of the best full English breakfast I've had. Staff are so helpful and ever so polite. We both enjoyed & my partner was more pleased they did a tasty gluten free optoin that didn't compromise on flavour. Was down with sone good breakfast tea & even with extras on £32. Can't wait to pop back. Thank you

Always really good food and selection. A bit slow to serve but all freshly made. So worth the wait.

Absolutely amazing food! I can't stop thinking about our meal, which was 3 weeks ago. The best lobster and hand cut chips we've ever had. The starters were also gorgeous. Would go back over and over. It's a bit pricey, but it's totally worth it as a treat.

We booked a table prior to going only to be told there wasn't a table booked for us. My food was only average but the service really let the place down. Staff had a didn't care attitude and didn't make us feel welcome or valued. We were told they had turned off the coffee machine and were closing at 4pm. Our party of 3 spent £105 for lunch with wine and our experience didn't match what we paid. Given the car parking issues on the sea front at Seaham one would expect to feel valued, we were not.

Very poor last time we went although normally pretty good . Has put me off going back spent £170 for dinner for 2 people would have got much better value and food going to miller and carter

Great 👍. Lovely friendly service. Thanks Unfortunately I didn't take a photo 😞. I couldn't wait to get stuck in. It looked and tasted fantastic 😊

Terrible Seafood Linguine served this afternoon, me and my wife both had same main it was so bad especially after a 55minute wait. Prawns really hard, mussels under cooked, sauce watery. Really disappointing meal such a shame.

Absolutely delicious 😋 we had tapas and everything was delicious we didn't leave a scrap! The service was perfect, couldn't be improved upon. The staff were friendly and very helpful. We came for our 30th anniversary and have had no regrets...we even got an added firework display. Thank you to all the staff much appreciated

Had the chicken Kiev sourdough sandwich it was moist and very tasty

Lovely restaurant with fabulous food. Great menu to choose from and I would definitely recommend Tapas Night.

I waited along time to getting round to try the lamp room. I booked a table for me and my partner. First of all, the “printer stopped working”, so we waited over an hour for our food. When the food arrived, they had mixed up our orders completely and I asked for a rare steak which was no where near rare. Barely even been cooked an inch! Service was average at best. For a meal which cost £138, to apologise, they gave us 2 free cocktails. The young girl behind the bar who took payment at the end had a really poor attitude. The food was OK once sorted but no where near worth the money. I would chose to go to miller and carter over here anyday of the week. I will probably go for a second time at some point, but they had a very very bad night last Friday night.

Nice and clean place, nice service and food was great too … will be back.

Booked online which was easy and very accessible. We have been previously and have to say the food was exceptional. Tonight however was very disappointing. Several things off the menu were unavailable, the starters from the tapas menu were average, steak, which was ordered medium was like cardboard, not eaten. Not asked how the meal was, we had to say it was overdone and poor. Did eventually take this off the bill. However the service was poor tonight which was disappointing as our previous visits have always been fabulous. The bill was in excess of £300 and I would expect better for this. I would be reluctant to recomed again as we have done in the past.

Haven’t been to LR for a while but won’t be leaving it that long again. Chowder was excellent. The rest of the party had sandwiches which were well filled and delicious. Staff were superb and very professional.

Wow and wow !! Was taken here by friends who live local and must say I was was impressed, the choices of food was enough to please everyone - not cheap but that's cos it's not cheap - it's quality food with quality service. Great atmosphere, busy but well managed - fantastic staff with brilliant personal touch of humour and recognising when needing something , always checking if anything else is needed. Look forward to going again, thank you

Food here was amazing. Friendly staff and a vibrant atmosphere all played their part in an enjoyable afternoon. We always enjoy our visits to the North East. The food is always better than other parts of the country

unfortunately we were too late for the brilliant looking Sunday lunch but had time for an excellent coffee . Next time I will be earlier .

Absolutely brilliant. The staff were so understanding and helpful regarding my food allergies. Everything was triple checked, and I wasn’t made to feel like a problem customer. The food was delicious, as was the coffee. The menu was varied, loved that there were traditional dishes on there. The portions are generous and value for money. Can’t recommend The Lamp Room enough. Staff were super friendly.

Very disappointed with the service and food. Waited 1 hour 30 minutes for the food, the food was only brought out after we asked how much longer it was going to be. Some of the order was wrong. One of the tapas didn’t come out. Prawns were still raw in the middle and told be told we’d have money taken off the bill there was only £12 taken off. Which was less than what the prawns cost. This place has gone so down hill so won’t be returning or recommending. Very disappointed after spending £140

Visited tonight for tea. 5 dishes for £32.50. Excellent variety to choose from. Food came out quick and piping hot. Everything was delicious. Ingredients were fresh and amazing quality, the flavours were outstanding. Service from Emma was exceptional, she was lovely and friendly as were the other servers. We will definitely be returning for a weekday treat.

Disappointing been here numerous times but today it was not good. Ordered 2 x sandwiches one steak and one crab & they had no filling, spoilt our lunch together and wasn’t worth 5 pound never mind £26 for a sandwich. Won’t be returning in a hurry paying all that money for basically a ciabatta

An excellent steak & eggs for brunch. The service was friendly, fast, and attentive.

We stumbled on this restaurant after a walk on the Durham sea front. Lovely staff and delicious food. The fish chowder was really good. Super place to dine at.

We go to The Lamp Room regularly for breakfast, which is always amazing. Tonight, we were there with a North Easterner who now lives in Oxford area for our first experience of an evening meal. Paul and my wife shared some lovely tapas and I had fillet steak (with chips, mushrooms, onion bahjee and peppercorn sauce) - I also opted for a lovely seasoned tomato and feta salad. All the food was delicious. The service was very friendly - nothing was a bother. Booking was also very easy on their online page. This is the jewel in the crown that Seaham is.

Amazing area. Got a mocha frappe with is amazing for if you don't want strong coffee. Outside there are birds everywhere that take chips out of your hands 😂. Very good drinks and food.

Very popular and rightly so. Quality food, well presented. Bought 2 cheese scones to take out too!! Tip.... take real money/coins to reward the good service.

We have eaten here several times and have always been very satisfied- until today. My partner ordered a pasta dish with arrabbiata sauce that was supposed to come with garlic bread. It was terrible- no taste at all and no garlic bread! When I questioned this I was told it didn’t come with garlic bread by the waitress who should have at least checked the menu and corrected the order. My dish was dried up and not great. So disappointing so we won’t be returning I’m afraid.

We first experienced The Lamp Room for breakfast..... perfectly cooked and such good value. The staff were run off their feet as bank holiday weekend but still made time to chat and also make sure everything was ok. We returned another day to sample lunch, we weren't disappointed, again we had a lovely meal. Hope to return soon .

Came here for breakfast and wasn't impressed. Coffee order came out wrong. We sent them back, the woman behind the counter wasn't impressed, so the atmosphere went kind of frosty from there. Ordered eggs benedict with hash browns and black pudding. I queried the miniscule size of the black pudding and if that portion size was right for £2.05. I was told well it is Doreen's. They must be making at least a 200% profit on it when I looked online and although Doreen's is nice, I wouldn't say it was fabulous. Breakfast, although tasty came out lukewarm as did the coffee. I didn't say anything about it as I felt the staff we unapproachable there were no smiles, just miserable faces like they didn't want to be there. Wouldn't go again.

Excellent food, great service, great atmosphere. Can’t wait to go back.

Large portions. We got Sunday lunch, chicken was well cooked though beef's a tad dry today. Service is lovely, though might have to wait a bit for your food. Seating is comfortable.

Fantastic, delicious food. Also the tastiest cappucino. One of the best cafes in the North East. If you're ever in Co. Durham, you need to try this.

Food was lovely albeit a little cold. Slight attitude from one of the ladies serving when we were served the wrong hot drinks, she must've been having a bad day, but drinks were replaced and lovely. A very nice local cafe that do great black pudding.

First time visit & not dissapointed. Great food & service. The tapas menu very good wide selection & not extortionate for the portion sizes. We will visit again

Simply the best breakfast, brunch place to be in Sunderland 👍🤗 Highly recommend a visit and enjoy the atmosphere too 😎

The lamp room never fails for breakfast and it's lovy location on the high street makes it easy to get to. The staff are always lovely and happy to help as I have allergies. The food is delicious and we come as often as we can. The eggs benedict are always a winner in our family.

Top restaurant,food was fantastic,great service &atmosphere.cannot fault it

Service excellent, food beautiful well looked after

On the seafront of Seaham this restaurant is a great visit for breakfast, brunch, or lunch. I had the Seaham Chowder. Smoked haddock, bacon, other shellfish in a gorgeous ‘soup’. My husband had a burger- it was 14cm high, at least! I had a glass of NZ Sauvignon Blanc. It was excellent. The service was exceptional. Will we come here again? Absolutely!

Excellent customer service from all the staff is understatement!!! It was extremely busy and had to wait but we didn't mind. The foods are sumptuous. And we love the genuine customer care of all the staff to each customers. Good yo see that there are genuine customer service still around like this place.

Waited nearly 40 minutes for a steak baguette, which when I asked where it was it wasn't very hot. Not the best tasting either. Think we went into the wrong cafe today. Won't be going back again. When complained ,not interested, just said they would tell the chef

Really enjoyed a breakfast here will defo be back,good produce.finally got to try sunday lunch it was lovely.

Went here for the first time this morning. The food was outstanding, would highly recommend the halloumi benedict. The service and the place itself is perfect. Can't wait to come back.

Best white chocolate latte anywhere. Nothing else to say but it is easily the best one in the north east

Awesome breakfast, really good.

First visit today , Sunday lunch was beautiful zero fault , quality of service was lacking , giving wrong menu to start while we select our food so we needed to select different item , in between selecting we where not offered drinks for about 15 mins and it wasn’t particularly busy . Male waiter very sarcastic and unfunny , I would certainly return as like I said food was great ! And that’s hard to come by these days at many restaurants

Been a couple of times now and it’s always a lovely experience. The food is amazing, fairly priced and the staff are friendly.

Warm and welcoming, friendly staff, great menu, good pint, chicken parmo was fabulous, old style chunky chips, excellent value for money, highly recommended.

Horrible service, need to get some good bar staff in

I have been here several times now for breakfast. Absolutely delicious full English 😋 great value for money too. Staff are very friendly and attentive. Highly recommended.

Overpriced coffee, nothing special and what about a smile with service? :)

Visited for the first time for tapas last week a party of 6 adults. One of our party was celebrating a birthday the staff brought out a cake we supplied and sang to him then repeated it when they found some candles. Meal was very nice would definitely recommend staff very friendly especially the girl with blue hair (sorry didn't get her name)

5 stars all round. I managed to book a table through Facebook, however when arriving the manager informed me I must have booked a different lamp room as they don’t take bookings online. This was my fault but the manager was so attentive and lovely, got us in as soon as she could even though the restaurant was extremely busy with it being Father’s Day. Everyone’s breakfast was lovely, nice and hot! All the staff were very friendly, such a nice atmosphere. Will definitely be back! Thankyou :)

Lovely little Bistro overlooking the sea. Amazing lattè coffee ☕️

Gorgeous meals, large portions, very enjoyable.

Staff service behind bar quite bad, there was an attitude when asking for a flavoured iced coffee advising that they couldn’t mix coffees with syrup because the drinks don’t mix well. Never heard this from anywhere else! Visited earlier this month too with a toddler & asked to sit in a booth was told yes by waiters but then behind bar staff said no & made us move back in case they got big bookings (place was empty it was midweek!) will not be visiting again as it was quite awkward

We ordered coffee and a scone each. The coffee came within 10 minutes, after we had finished the coffee a waitress came and asked did we want to order food, we said we had ordered 2 scones which didn't arrive, can we just pay for the coffees. We were asked are you sure you don't want the scones now!! We said the idea is to have them together, not separate. The place was approx 30% full and most of the time the 4 staff were stood around the central area talking I would hate to visit at peak times. We do not recommend trying here Reference to the reply from the owner: Thanks for your reply, much appreciated, it was not our intention to upset your staff. What I find strange is the waitress took our order of 2 coffees and 2 scones then she repeated the order before leaving the table. We were asked twice, (after finishing our coffee) are we sure we don't want the scones. The waitress who produced the bill said she had removed the scones from the bill, which you mentioned hadn't been ordered?? We did enjoy the coffee and was very tasty Thank you

We ordered coffee and a scone each. The coffee came within 10 minutes, after we had finished the coffee a waitress came and asked did we want to order food, we said we had ordered 2 scones which didn't arrive, can we just pay for the coffees. We were asked are you sure you don't want the scones now!! We said the idea is to have them together, not separate. The place was approx 30% full and most of the time the 4 staff were stood around the central area talking I would hate to visit at peak times. We do not recommend trying here

Good value for money but quantity over quality on the parmo

Met a friend for breakfast and the Lamp room never fails to impress . Excellent full breakfast and staff great. Special mention for Kate. Lovely young woman and chatty. Highly recommended!

Excellent food and relaxing atmosphere in here. The staff are lovely too and clearly love their job. I'll be going again when I go to Seaham.

First visit to area so looked on trip advisor where to get breakfast and this came up as best so gave it a go and was not disappointed. Great menu and delicious food . Highly recommend full English ,and the eggs Benedict was really tasty with the ham hock . Would certainly return if in the area again , only downside is dogs are not allowed inside so it’s outdoor seating only which is fine in a dry day but not so great on a bad day .

Lovely Sunday lunch with my son - food and service great. Not too busy which was nice.

Lovely breakfast. You can tell it’s good by the queue of people waiting for a table

Very much enjoyed our lunch here before a stroll along the seaside. Great comfort food dishes and friendly service. Nice coffee too!

Absolutely outstanding we both had the fish platter for one , food was cooked to perfection all the fish lobster prawns crab longistines mussels were fresh . Service was amazing from the whole team bar staff waitresses and manager . Place eas nipping clean . I’m fussy and a bit anal with my fish this was tremendous well done you all . You’ve made me and my husband very happy on my birthday and anniversary meal out . Well done Team kind regards Kay wright

Absolutely outstanding. We popped in for lunch after a morning of hunting for sea glass on the beach. The service was great and the food was fantastic. I had the goats cheese focaccia and my fiance had the fish tacos and they were both excellent. Really good value for money too. If we didn't live so far away I'd be back next weekend!

A work colleague recommended this place as her favourite to have a a nice brunch in but, by the time we’d trundled up the road to Seaham, it was already lunch service but not to worry. We should have looked at the menu and noticed that! Our own fault. Never mind, we were famished regardless!! We’ve both been doing the “No Carbs Till Marbs” diet in the vain hope that, come mid May, we won’t get harpooned on the beach in Greece so consequently, having shed a few Kgs, if we were going to have a “cheat day”, you may as well go for it properly! 😊 We both opted for the Vegan Buttermilk Chick'n Burger which came with a side order of sea salt dusted fries. The burger was served in a toasted brioche bun and anointed with vegan cheese, chilli jam, hash brown, crispy lettuce, pink onions and pickles. It never stood a chance as it’s the first time we’ve seen a potato in a month! LOL Really enjoyed it. Delicious food and great service. What more would anyone want? The micro climate of Seaham and the blue skies made for a lovely trip out and a nice change. Will definitely be back - ideally earlier, so we can have breakfast!

Great food. We had a wonderful night and booked for breakfast which was equally good. Really friendly staff. A must if your in Seaham.

Nice cafe on seafront. Wide choice of coffees and food.

Good coffee and friendly staff and staff

Very good menu with a wide variety of choices. Staff really friendly and efficient.

Great breakfast lovely just chilling enjoying ourselves with great food.Fab staff brilliant atmosphere. Great spot over looking the seafront.

Absolutely gorgeous place , food is amazing tapas night is my favourite !! Bowls are big with lots of food in not like other places . Well worth the money , lovely atmosphere and staff so friendly .

I went in with a first date tonight and a waitress commented on my glasses saying is that the type of glasses all old guys wear ! My date was flabbergasted at the rudeness so and that comment sealed our night . I was other about 7 ish and the mid age girl with glasses thought it was quite okay to insult me in front of my date ! I am a businessman and will be making this public knowledge that the some of the staff are very rude so beware