The Old Courthouse Bar & Kitchen in County Durham

PLEASE AVOID THIS PLACE. Awful. They are taking their customers for fools. A lovely setting serving appalling food. I ordered the rack of lamb only to be served 2 small fatty lamb chops. I thought I had been served the wrong dish only to be told that this was indeed a 'rack' of lamb. The “confit” potato was just a tasteless slice of boiled potato, the 'meat juices' virtually non existent. But there was a huge pile of green beans to fill in all the empty spaces on the plate. When I questioned the potato, I was offered additional potato dauphinois thinking it would be complimentary, only to be charged for that also. So a total of £36 for an awful lamb dish pretending to be something it wasn’t. I wrote to the restaurant and also to Marco Pierre White HQ. They all insist 2 lamb chops is the same as a rack of lamb. It is clear they don't really know better and don't really care. Message to MPW HQ : read all the Durham reviews in the past 12 months, the majority are really poor. The good reviews were mostly 1-3 years ago.

Staff were really friendly and helpful along with my full English breakfast being beautiful and more than enough food along with large drinks.

If you like your coke chopped and sniffed rather than in a glass then it’s ok. Frequented by every low life in the area with regular late night fights outside. Was ok when it first opened but now no decent people go

Great live music venue on a Friday night. Good beer, great bands and friendly folk to chat to. Never tried the food there so can't comment on that

Grease is the word. It’s like they made a burger then decided to dunk it in a vat of oil. Slopfest. DNF. You have to choose your sauce and salad with the burger, which is a trend I am not on board with. The fries were like the old king fries at BK, but unsalted. Desserts are nice.