The Mowden in Darlington

Went for tea tonight with my daughter and 2 grandchildren , food was lovely, the young girl who waited on us was fab, her name was sophie, cudnt do enough for us , a credit to the mowden.

It's a shame that a local pub that was thriving just over a year ago has plummeted in popularity because of lack of attention to detail and greed. Cheap wine, but overpriced to the customer...surely a company that has several pubs in the vicinity has buying power and able to secure hefty discounts on decent wines ??? Customers suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting after the lines have supposedly been cleaned....staff notified, but nothing done or apology forthcoming. Lack of seats for customers just visiting for a drink. The back never open to facilitate customers just visiting for a drink.

Very nice family meal. We were a party of 15 and were seated on a long row of tables, which meant family members at the far ends couldn't chat with each other. A better table configuration needed to be thought out.

Lovely meal. Good service. Will deffo return.

It was our parents' 60th wedding anniversary

Reasonably priced pub grub and really nice food, me the wife and two older kids and the bill was £90 which I thought was ok considering we had a couple of drinks as well as starter and mains. Hot Shot King Parmo is huge!

Amazing , amazing , amazing. Can’t believe it’s my local. Really good service and the manager is amazing. Gonna have the gammon next time as tried some of my partners and it was amazing.

Amazing food, great choice of drinks. The outdoor area is fantastic.

What a lovely afternoon with the kids popped in for a spot of lunch yesterday and then spent the rest of the afternoon outside with the kids they definitely enjoyed the outside area you now have Definitely recommend

Had heard from pals that this pub did a huge parmo & har to visit. Have heard alot of good things about this place & had to try. Honestly it was the biggest thing i have seen in my life. Absolutely beautiful though i added some toppings & finished the lot. If you love a challenge then you need to tackle this beast.

visited today for a quick lunch and what a great experience the staff were very friendly and the sunday lunch was amazing definitely recommend

Booked here for a 25th birthday & it was fab, private & well set out. Staff couldn't do enough for us tonight. Food was awesome, few too many drinks, great night! Thankyou to all involved!

What a difference tonight Thursday 22 Aug. Food was ok but a huge improvement tonight in service. Gone was the comedy line of customers stretching from the bar out onto the patio that you often are forced to stand in even for a pint . Due i think to a new face that was obviously in charge tonight .Blond crimped hair ,White shirt . Constantly scanning the room , directing staff making the place work for a change . Message to the usual guy that’s supposed to be in charge. Watch this girl and learn ! Anyone can pull a few pints and clear a table or two .This isn’t what management is about . If you can’t do that at least attempt to sort the crap beer out !

Gorgeous food , slow service , one poor girl trying to do everything. Quiet night as it wad a Monday we left before the quiz started .

Lovely food with massive portions, really enjoyed our meal here.

Just had drinks but the pub is fantastic the staff r ace it felt I was home resting

Good food and drinks, good friendly service 👌

This is the first time we have visited this pub. The staff were very friendly and the service was great. For a starter, my wife and I opted for mussels in a garlic sauce, and we both thought they tasted absolutely gorgeous. For a main course, I opted for a double beef burger with cheese, chunky chips and all the trimmings. It really was awesome! My wife went for Chicken Fajita wraps, with chips, a good selection of sauces and all the trimmings. This, too, was simply superb. We didn't try a pudding as we both agreed there was no way we could fit anymore in. Needless to say, we will, of course, be back. It was great! Thank you!

What an evening booked a table in the back room as England were playin and we didn’t want to miss it What a great evening the atmosphere in the room was great and the food was fantastic piping hot and massive portions Definitely recommend

Popped in last night cause it was a nice evening and the kids wanted to play outside which was great for us the staff were amazing definitely went the extra mile with the kids to make them welcome Thank you

Called in over the weekend to have a few drink and for the kids to try out the new play area they loved it and made my life quiet for abit as they were off playing with there friend and I could enjoy a pint definitely job well done Thank you

What a lovely pub this is the food was out of this world. Nice to see fresh food been served, home cooked chips, great choice. The staff were really helpful as well. Obviously a very busy spot as it was full. Will pop back in soon.

Booked under laura, had a table for 2 for 8pm Saturday 29th June 2024. Our server was ella and at first was a little cold but then was very friendly and professional. We had the starters of the bombay and prawn pil pil, both were great! Food portion size was very good value for money! Then we had the 10z sirloin and a steak and ale pie, again both great mains, great portion size, all tasty! Overall very good and we will be back!

Extremely busy but service by an older waitress very good .

Slow service. Not enough staff and menu to extensive for kitchen staff to cope efficiently

Great place, when we visited very busy, didn't feel like enough staff on. The food is good. Staff worked hard.

Very clean and great food service excellent too

Excellent food, good pints & lovely staff. Cant ask for a better pub experience! ****

Easy 5 absolutely beautiful food defo coming back v v soon and a great friendly service 😁

Lovely food and selection of drinks all at reasonable prices. Surroundings were good

Visited The Mowden Pub today for Sunday lunch and was the best we’ve had. Would definitely recommend and the waitresses were lovely and friendly and couldn’t do enough for us.

Poor cold starters, Sunday lunch tough beef and chicken, no atmosphere and very over priced

Had a great lunch here today! Plentiful & great value. First time i have been here for literally ages & was a pleasant surprise. Can really see why its so popular. Had a nice bar area through the back aswell. Not your average pub. We will be back very soon! 🤘

We hired the back room out for our annual staff meal as had heard good reviews. We initially booked for 22 & upped it to 41 and the staff were fine. We all had a sit down meal & must day previous hotels we have been to couldnt of done as well as the mowden did today. First one ever with no gripes or issues. The bar lady was fabulous, no pressure, just great hospitality. Thank you to you all see you again next year! 👍

Decided to book up for tea yesterday with the girls and this place as usual did not disappoint been here loads with family over the past few months so this week been a rare opportunity to see the girls we booked up early and as normal we were the last to leave fantastic night food was out of this world and the staff were very friendly we were not made to feel uncomfortable even tho we sat there for 5 hours Would definitely recommend

Popped in for tea as it was the last day of term the staff were very friendly and the food was very reasonable but oh my the portions were enormous Would defiantly recommend

Attended for dinner, took 45 minutes from taking our order to bringing the food out which was lukewarm as if it had been cooked and ready for ages but someone had forgotten about it. The quality of the food was poor for the prices they are charging.

Classy pub serving the Mowden and Cockerton areas. Kid and dog friendly with the array of usual drinks and a few regularly changing cask ales. Top notch pub food you need to hit up as well. Get yourself down The Mow, now!

Had a lovely meal staff were really nice would recommend

just wanted to put a massive thank you to the staff for yesterday amazing mother’s day and the staff were great very friendly and the sunday dinner was one of the best i’ve had in ages definitely recommend

Food is average. And seems very expensive, 2 people meal and drinks was £70 and £9 for a children’s meal. Won’t be returning

Fantastic Sunday dinner today massive portions and all red hot would definitely be back to try there main menu on a week night Thank you for a great Mother’s Day

Came out for mother's day. Extremely average roast, which was luke warm. Very expensive for what we got, roast dinner for a baby £8.95! We won't be coming back, very disappointed.

Not a sunday lunch fan & neither is my mother so we looked for somewhere that did something else & we came across this pub. Wow wow & wow ir was heaving so glad we booked up in advance. The food was lovely, the old schools pie had so much meat in it was untrue. We all commented on how nice the staff were & the pub itself was spotless. Our new favourite spot.

Poped in tonight with my daughter and husband got myself a seat and was told to move ... little arrogant man with a rotten attitude... will never go back ...

Must admit I really enjoyed it, place was busy which is a good sign, had a bit of a, wait for the food to come out but was acceptable. Loads of food on the plate, love the choice of meats option. The cauliflower cheese was cold however, guess it missed the reheat before arriving. My biggest grievance though was the tiny gravy boat that accompanied such a huge dinner, honestly i could have used the lot just on the Yorkshire pudding. If the gravy boat was twice the size I'd probably still be wanting more. I know I probably could have asked for another but come on, to quote Jaws "we're gonna need a bigger boat"

Went to The Mowden for a meal. Went to the bar and were stood for 5 minutes being actively ignored by the girl behind the bar... She clearly saw us, but chose to deliberately ignore us continuing to clean glasses instead. We just walked out. Will not go back.

Great walking distance from our house, literally minutes away, have become some what locals recently. Great pint & the food is good, keep up the good work guys.

Throughly enjoyed our meal at the mowden tonight. Good sized meals & great value would definitely visit again with family soon.

Massive thank you. Visited yesterday and the staff were very friendly and welcoming we ordered Sunday lunch and the food was delicious meats were cooked perfectly Would definitely recommend

Me and the wife went for ‘date night’, the staff were friendly and welcoming, very varied menu and the food and service was exceptional, definitely be back again 👍

Stopped by after our afternoon walk, was very busy when we went in the bar area, only popped in for drinks but spied the Roasts going to a table near by Opted to have lunch here aswell Staff were very friendly and quick with service. We ordered two beef and lamb roasts and the meat was heavenly!! There was plenty on the plate and it even came with sides of cheesy cauliflower extra gravy and mashed potato. From start to finish everything was beautiful and we will definitely be returning

Our party arrived like a pack of wilderbeast with the kids to the mowden today & first compliment was how patient the staff were with the kids, amazing. Nice offering on there sunday lunch menu, & the food was epic. Our kids litterally will not touch a veg but they whoofed it down. Please share your secret chef as i need this at home. Brilliant say with stunning food we will be back!

went for Sunday lunch there was not many people in at 1pm we ordered pork beef and lamb the meal was very poor veg cold meat was so tough it was all left I complained she said oh I will tell the chief

First time in the place for many years. It was ok. But cold inside and the service at the bar was very slow

Great night really good quiz night good friendly atmosphere

Great dinner choice by my other half, earned some brownie points this year! 🥰 We had the three course valentines menu & all courses were amazing. Well priced & lively staff. Our new fav!

Have to say how nice our meals were tonight been a while since last here. The waitress was lovely sadly did not get her name but will see her again soon as we are going back for Sunday lunch this week.

fantastic sunday lunch today the food was delicious and the dessert definitely finished our evening definitely recommend

Really enjoyed my short visit here. Good choice of beer, the staff were friendly and the food looked great (although I didn't have time to sample it on this visit) will definitely be back. They have a great outdoor seating area which must be good in the summer.

I hosted our regional managers annual meeting here as they have a huge function room that's completely separate from the pub. We requested a set menu for our event three courses and they created a great choice. We all passed comment how nice the food was and the portion sizes were great. They had some good choices of real on & draught beers. Great event, with great people. Will be booing again for next year. Thankyou to you all.

last minute decision to pop out for tea having heard great things we decided to head in for tea the staff were very accommodating considering we had not booked all the food was great but dessert was definitely the best sticky toffee pudding to die for

Been visiting here since they reopened and had loads of amazing meals but tonight really made me think something as simple as a parmo was fantastic I’m not one for reviews but that was one of the best parmos I’ve had in ages Thank you

Food was lovely staff were very friendly we had a great night

Absolutely love this place - staff are amazing - nothing seems too much trouble.

Nice night out i a very cosy pub with friendly staff. The food was lovely, i had the nachos & a ribeye steak, both were lush & great value for money. We will be back.

Fantastic staff r awesome atmosphere great go back again

What a fabulous boxing day we have had at the mowden pub today. People are right when they say the walk to the pub through coniscliffe way is great, you end up at the pub. We had planned to have a late lunch & head back didnt work out quite like that. BTW the food is awesome, we ended up staying the night as the atmosphere was lovely & the music was brilliant. A lovely end to a great day! Merry Christmas to you all!

1st timer at The Mowden.. Meeting an old friend with the family..Lovely pub grub and varied menu's with very good service...Not over priced and food was excellent and tasty...Personally had the Mowden pie...Never ate anything else the rest of the day...' Nuff said really '

Attended our works xmas party here last week with our team & a good night was had by all. Food arrived quick & all courses were very tasty & plentiful. Now on to 2023, happy new year to you all. See you soon

fantastic evening tonight we asked to be put out of the way and they happily obliged been our 20th wedding anniversary we wanted a nice meal and some nice food and that is definitely what we got staff were amazing and the food choices were great definitely recommend

If you have the chance to eat here try the ribeye steak it was honestly the best steak i ever had. We popped in on the off chance to get a table and it was heaving, please book. Will return soon!

Sunday well spent at the mowden last week. Enjoyed a lovely meal & drinks with the fam last week. We live in low coniscliffe & had walked to the pub for lunch sadly we didn’t walk back as couldn’t move after our lunch as the portions were huge. Great winters day & the snow made it perfect. Highly recommended

It was so cold inside and I kept my coat on for the duration. The food is not as good as it was with Simon and Rachel at the helm. Waitresses off hand and brusque. Won't be going there again.

Great drink selection especially for us as we are cask ale fans and they always have different ales on every time we go which is a good sign. Hard to find a decent pint of cask now but the mowden have got it right. Try the blitzen it’s amazing

Popped in this evening on the off chance and have to say although we didn’t book the staff were fantastic very knowledgeable and what flavored gins they had and also what tonics would go with it we ordered of the Christmas menu and was a massive win for me great portion size and amazing taste Well done

Visited this evening for a works Christmas party we all ordered of the Christmas menu as the choices were fantastic abit for everyone I have very strict dietary requirements and the staff were more than happy to help me with those upon placing our pre order The food was amazing and will definitely recommend as sometimes it’s actually really hard for me but wasn’t made to feel uncomfortable Massive thank you

Nice change of scenery tonight as was our first time here after hearing from friends the food was fab. I can confirm the food was lovely, big in size & a vast menu. Had seen loads of sizzlers going through the restaurant before ordering and had my mind set on a steak, so ordered both to share with my partner. Stuffed and pleased and all was consumed. Will definitely not let my stomach rule my head next time and will get a dessert. We will be back before Christmas

Lovely food and friendly service.

Food disappointing , chicken raw on Parma , got meal free , other person could not eat there food because of this , offered no refund , or exchange , was eventually given a £10 voucher which won’t be used as there will not be returning . Staff / manager had a very poor attitude to this . People could contract food poisoning, but no thought was given to this . Other members of the group said food wasn’t the best and we wont be returning.

Good food and honest - accidentally left my wallet on the bar & staff looked after it. Great value, not nouvelle cuisine, although did have to wait a bit for it. Well worth the wait!

Well that was a Friday night I won’t forget. We booked here for our Christmas party last night & we literally stayed the full night. The staff were so hilarious they even joined in with our Christmas chants. A real credit to the area & nothing was too much trouble. One thing I would like to say is the pigs in blankets were nothing I have had before they were amazing.

Our annual christmas meet at our local will it be the same under new ownership, it was so much better. Great choice on the menu, no messing about preordering & the portions were huge. We even got to mix & match from the main menu, which were not allowed last year. We can be quite demanding as a group of thirty nut the staff took in in there stride. Fantastic night had by all & the price is so good, value & quality you have won us over. See you all again next Christmas! Merry Christmas to you all

Booked our work Christmas party here this year as was close for us all to meet. Fabulous food wit a lovely atmosphere the Christmas pudding was lovely & I had the lamb it was on another level. Will definitely book again next year, thank you to you all.

Always great food, great service and a brilliant atmosphere. This is a review from when Simon and Rachel were here

Lovely food and friendly service

Food was good, generous portions and a good spot for lunch.

Visited twice since the reopening. Great selection of beers,lagers.belly pork on black pudding mash wonderful stuff.sunday lunch today with mother very nice. choice of meats great loved it..well done all .. have booked again for next week..

Lovely food and very clean. Definitely recommend.

Gone so downhill since the previous owners. Ordered a lamb shank which was inedible, tough and not cooked properly. Saw lots other customers dissatisfied too…apparently the “chef” doesn’t care that food goes back…such a shame, this was a gem when Simon and Rachel ran it, the food and customer service was out of this world. Clearly the standards have gone downhill with regard to ingredients and cooking skills

Popped in after work for food and the staff were amazing as I am gluten free they were very knowledgeable on what I could and couldn’t have Would definitely recommend as the food was fantastic

Popped in for a drink. First time in ages. Bar was busy but got served quickly and managed to get a table. Friendly service and great atmosphere.

When booking we were told we needed to get our order in by 6.30 as they had a big party booked. We ordered at 6.25 but our food did not arrive until 7.20. I ordered beef sizzler which tasted nice but the meat was inedible it was full of sinews. They offered to replace it which was good but it did not arrive until 1/2 hour after everyone else on our table had finished eating. Shocking!! The orders for drinks were also very slow. We’d ordered a round 1/2 before our food arrived but had to ask the waitress to find out where they were so we could have a drink with our meals. Subsequent orders were also extremely slow. We loved this place when run by the previous owners but this experience was extremely disappointing ☹️

This is the first time in trying the place since new management and sad to say the food wasn't great. The parmo was chewy and very sickly, the chicken wasn't of good standard with loads of sauce just thrown on top and melted cheese, it was the kind of parmo you would expect from a standard takeaway after a night on the town. Also the ales were not the best sad to see the Neck oil no longer on offer. Shout out to the staff as they were brilliant

I wasn't keen on the food I had the mix grill one of the items tasted off and my friend got the same meal and he left the same item and said it tastes funny

Wasn't very impressed with the food really

Lovely food prompt service, plenty of parking, definitely be back again 10/10

This pub recently changed ownership and the previous landlords left. We thought we would give the pub a visit after it was reopened but we were disappointed with the results. The menu is more substantive that the previous one but the quality of food certainly isn't as good as it was before. We were given our table and asked if we would like drinks, after ordering they arrived five minutes later, mine was spilt (slightly) over my menu and table area, the waitress apologised but did nothing about it so I used my napkin to clean up. We the waited over twenty minutes before someone came to take our order, then another forty minutes before our food arrived! Parts of our order were missing and we had to ask for them again. The food was bland to say the least, my fajita sauce was not a fajita sauce it was a slightly spiced Italian pasta sauce, my wife's salmon was dry and again the sauce was bland. I understand that new ownership probably means teething problems but this was a couple of weeks after they opened and on a not very busy Monday evening. It's such a shame because we never had a bad meal when the previous landlords were in residence.

Excellent premises recently reopened under new management tastefully redecorated pleasant atmosphere. Good menu Good food drinks reasonably priced well worth a return visit 😀

Great fish n chips on Friday lunchtime. New people have taken over since then. I hope its the same, now.