The Old Courthouse Bar & Kitchen in County Durham

Not a good experience. We booked Sunday dinner for mother's day and I was called a few days before to see if we had any accessibility needs as we'd been seated upstairs. Nice to get a call but no explanation that whilst some of the upstairs area overlooks the restaurant, the seats at the back have little to no view. On arrival we were shown to our table at the back, clean and tidy but felt detached from the restaurant. Very little view and none of the atmosphere. The waitress was friendly and attentive. Food was not good. My son had a burger which he said was very "grissly", half of the beef on my dinner was fat and my daughter's chicken looked undercooked. This was replaced but the replacement looked only just done too. The restaurant said it was due to being cooked on the bone and wasn't underdone but it was extremely unsightly and off putting. The vegetables and sides were to be fair, very nice. My wife described the cauliflower steak as "fine" but expected a better vegetarian option considering the type of restaurant. Just a bit of a dull option (roasting or garnishing it in some way may have perhaps helped). Deserts in fairness tasted very good but presentation was effected by being carried upstairs as the ice cream had begun melting and had slipped off. The gravy on my dinner had sloshed round the plate too which again didn't look great. I mentioned my disappointment as things were being cleared and was told it would be fed back to the kitchen. We paid in full and left, not wanting to complain in front of waiting diners at the front desk. I contacted the restaurant to complain by email. They were quick to respond and said they would try to address the issues we had in future. They offered us a 50% discount on food if we were to open to trying a Sunday dinner again but we would not want to currently. I don't write many reviews but unfortunately due to being so underwhelmed, disappointed and off-put by our visit felt I had to share it. For a world renowned chef-led restaurant in such a beautiful historic building its such a shame it didn't deliver.

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.

Fuimos ayer a comer el domingo. Es una prueba obligada, la calidad de la carne (cordero) es excelente. La verdura perfectamente cocinada y abundante. Personal atento y acogedor. Si quieres un delicioso almuerzo de domingo tgis es el mejor lugar para ir