The Phoenix in County Durham

Three of use had an enjoy Sunday lunch, great friendly service, nice place with the staff looking after us, well. Food reasonably priced with excellent beef. We will back.

Sunday lunch at this pub was lovely ! Really good food, ambience and service. It was a birthday celebration, and they were very happy for us to bring our own cake. Staff could not have been more helpful and friendly.

This place is a classic pub that has risen from the ashes. New management in the recent years has brought new life to this pub. The fish and chips are solid, the drinks are flowing and the ambience is fun. I recommend the chicken parfait also. Try to get a seat in the front if you are early, it gets busy on the weekends. Will be back! 9.2/10

My oxtail pie was phenomenal. Really liked the place , all seamed to be done from the stretch and they change menus according to the seasonality.

We all enjoyed our dinner at the Phoenix : the plaice was delicious and the service was great. To finish, we couldn’t resist the sticky treacle pudding with ice cream !

Excellent as always. Although we don't go as often as we would like, you are made to feel at home by the bar manager and staff. The food is consistently good, generous portions and well presented.

Best Chicken Schnitzel ever. Nice atmosphere. Nice service. Good wine, beer and spirits selection Come on in you won’t regret it.

New manager but best experience all round this visit. Very hard to get all items served on Sunday roast perfectly cooked but they managed on Sunday Many thanks!

A perfect Easter Day lunch. Scrumptious slow roast lamb shank. Could not fault it nor the service by the friendly staff.

a charming, wholly unaffected venue - we were there for dinner on a monday, which may have been bad planning on our part as several items of food and drink were unavailable. neither were there any menu specials (our server said that was due to it being monday). still, the lone server (mgt needs to consider that one person cannot manage the pub and the dining room without poor service being the result, as it was for us. food was fine and the monday seemed a good idea, finally, since the noise level was totally fine and the music was fun.

The food here is not bad. Not amazing either but not bad. Service was really ropey. I had to wait 20 minutes for the drink I ordered as I walked in. (A Bloody Mary) I asked if it could be made straight away so as to ensure it arrived before the wine. The wine then came immediately leaving me to chase the drink. When it finally arrived, in a highball glass with so much garnish it couldn’t be drunk, I asked for a straw. I asked for that straw 5 times, each time being told I would receive it straight away. On the 6th request, I was told that they do not have any straws. Then I asked if the drink could be put in a different glass so I could drink it. This too took ages. Finally when I got to taste this drink, I had asked for it to be extra extra spicy. It was not. No discernible seasoning at all. The Bloody Mary was sent back twice more before I became something resembling the drink I had ordered. Anticlimactic in the end. There was a general mood of disinterest from the serving staff which was disappointing. Whilst the food was ok, I will not be returning, there are many places that are better

A great little pub - we went for early evening drinks and reserved a table. The staff were super helpful and really attentive. Wished we’d stayed for food too - we’ll be back!

My wife & I dined here with a friend recently and were disappointed. The mains were OK but the meringue dessert was very poor indeed. Tasted like it was from a supermarket shelf and had been there a long time. Wines were extremely overpriced too. Have a feeling there must be better options close by.

The atmosphere was perfect, a really comfortable environment to be in with friends and the food was magnificent. The presentation combined with the flavours really hit the sweet spot. It is high end restaurant quality and I’m looking forward to my next visit.

This is our local, so I may be bias, however the Sunday roast has defiantly gone up a gear since reopening. Brilliant pub. Quiz is a lot of fun too on a Sunday evening.

We arrived in plenty of time before our timed entrance tutankhamun exhibition. Slightly pricer than we anticipated but chose from the menu. The waitress took out choices verbally, 30 minutes later she came back to say "there was a muddle with the order in the kichen and what was it we ordered?" After an hour, tine was pressing , the food arrived. A man told us the deserts would be complimentary but as we were now running late we had to decline. However the food was excellent and i would recommend it. A deduction from our bill was made

Llamé al pub para reservar diciendo que era la celebración del 60 cumpleaños de mi esposo con nuestros hijos y también para verificar si estaban bien por mis alergias alimentarias. Sin embargo, cuando llegamos, el servicio fue muy lento, no tenían idea de cómo lidiar con las alergias alimentarias (la primera vez en años que me he encontrado con esto). Parte de la comida era buena, algo muy mediocre y esperamos tanto tiempo. Al final de una comida decepcionante en general fui a las Damas, que estaba en un estado tan desagradable que no pude usar. Este debería ser un gran lugar, lamentablemente fue muy decepcionante. No estoy seguro de que la puntuación debería haber sido tan alta, pero algunos miembros del personal lo intentaron.

I was served by raabia twice, the first time it was her first day and she was so sweet to me ! She gave me a really good service the both times !

We visited last Saturday, altough we are locals we are also very loyal to the Suprise, however it was full that night. When we arrived at the Phoenix it was packed as well and we came in without a booking, however we were quickly accomodated by an extremely capable and charismatic young manager from Poland (apologies, I have no idea how to spell his name!) who truly made our evening! Food was delicous (fishcakes!), place looked amazing with Christmas lights all over, with the main lights being dimmed. Our waiter Illona was very attentive and hospitable, not to mention the manager who kept an eye on us all the time and made sure we are having a good time. I don't think we will betray Suprise, however me and my friends were truly Impressed with the food, staff and the atmosphere, we will be back!

Almorzamos el domingo allí con 9 de nosotros, ubicación perfecta, entorno muy agradable y buena comida. Lamentablemente, el trabajo de la pobre camarera (que merece una medalla) fue destruido por gerentes de barra incompetentes y groseros. Especialmente un australiano que respondió mal a mi padre (que tiene cierta edad) cuando esperábamos más de una hora para nuestra comida. También olvidaron por error una orden para mi sobrino. Aconsejo a los propietarios que revisen al personal y se queden con la maravillosa camarera que simplemente estaba haciendo todo lo posible. También le aconsejaría a Ozzie que haga un curso de educación y servicio al cliente.

Lovely hidden gem off the kings road. Beautiful surroundings, warm and welcoming. Friendly staff. It has a lovely atmosphere and staff made you feel like a regular although it was our first visit. A must if you in the area

Comfortable main bar and dining area. Great selection of beers, cocktails and premium wine. Prices are at the upper end but what you expect for the area. Nice vibe from clientele. Clean washrooms. Worth popping in for a drink away from The Kings Road.

El personal del Phoenix fue amable y servicial. Hubo un poco de espera para nuestra comida, pero no nos importó ya que se disculparon y, sinceramente, valió la pena la espera. Uno de los mejores almuerzos de carne asada que he comido. Suculenta, deliciosa carne de res y sabroso vino tinto / ajo, ¡tan bueno que pedí más! Definitivamente lo recomiendo y volveremos y la ventaja adicional de ser amigable con los perros. Ambiente agradable sin estar cargado y pretencioso

Nunca había estado aquí anteriormente, y resultó ser una muy buena elección por parte de mi colega de trabajo: ¡crédito para él!Vine aquí después de un rápido juego de tenis en Bodyswot, donde, irónicamente, 'golpeé' las pelotas hoy, con gran vigor, debido a la mejora del rendimiento, lo que llevó a otra destrucción (6 - 0, 6 - 0, 6 - 1) . Tenis = muy catártico, para mí. En lo único en lo que siempre fui bueno, probablemente.El restaurante es agradable y muy ordenado, el personal es servicial y el menú era muy agradable.Tenía un cóctel de cangrejo y gambas para comenzar, y mi colega tenía parfait de hígado de pollo, que eran excelentes.No tenía tanta hambre hoy, así que tuve 6 ostras, que es un entrante, como plato principal con papas fritas con mayonesa de cangrejo. ¡Muy agradable!Colega tenía puerro, champiñones y pastel de pollo que se veía muy bien y aparentemente era muy bueno.Almuerzo realmente agradable!

Very nice setting, friendly staff and good food. Reasonably priced. I recommend the smoked salmon rillettes as a starter, not so much the duck leg croquettes. Chunky fries don’t have much taste.

Ever gone to your local neighbourhood pub with a mate and failed to get a drink? Ever finished a round and taken 10 minutes to replenish? You were probably here. It's a great local pub and a clear favourite of the area - but it counts for nothing if the service is slow. And can we ditch the measuring cups? If I wanted residue from your fingers dipped in the glass of water that the measuring cup, mixing with every other drink that was served that day I would have asked for a dirty long island tea - but I just want my drink neat, with no added bacteria or other flavours. And it's no good if you then proceed to spill said 'measure' acting cool whilst pouring - that's my egregiously priced drink you're pouring there.... I need it in the glass, please. lol.

We were looking for a light lunch (sandwich) The Phoenix was recommended but we didn't realise they did not do sandwiches. We mainly just had starters and ploughman's. All really nice and staff great. Worth a visit.

used to live next door to this place so went a lot. Gets quite crowded but is usually good fun and there are tables outside,Generally a good chelsea pub

Visited the Phoenix for Sunday lunch in 10th March 2019 for a Birthday celebration. Just like to thank the radical new parents who thought it was ok to change their screaming child’s dirty nappy at the table adjacent to ours, for ruing our visit. We just got up and walked out.

Such a warm welcome from Flore and Pietrick our waiter ; my husband just started working in the area and we stumbled into this pub, the ambiance was great and we were welcome by Flore and served by Pietrick our very kind waiter. Such a good find.

Went with friends for lunch here and it was a great success. Great food and wine and friendly staff. Perfect afternoon spent hiding from the cold!

Fuimos a almorzar en un día laborable con la familia (inc. Dos menores de 7 años). Phoenix está escondido en una calle tranquila y muy acogedor. La comida y el servicio fueron geniales. El pescado y el marisco eran excelentes y una agradable sorpresa ver en el menú. Dejando la sensación un poco celosa, este no es mi local. Muy recomendable si estás en Kings Road.

Se está volviendo más como un local de lujo (tenga en cuenta que he disfrutado del Phoenix desde los 60 s, así que he visto una transformación). El ambiente es relajado y amigable, la comida, como siempre, buena e innovadora. Desde mi última revisión, el servicio es mucho mejor y muy agradable. Un sobresaliente, equipo!

Phoenix has consistently good food, great staff and a cosy atmosphere. Hadn't been for a couple of years and revisited last night- will return for sure and recommend to all.

I'd walked past this Smith St pub many times over the years and today, the first really funny day of spring so far, I went past at around 11am as they were putting signs out saying that the pub had the 'best roasts in town'. The building looked so inviting with its cosy furniture and French windows opening out on to outdoor tables, so we decided to go back at around 1pm for a roast dinner. We were fortunate enough to walk in and get the last non-booked table, and the experience was excellent from the start. The menu was wide-ranging and the specials looked amazing. We went for roast Hampshire pork and roast beef (medium-rare). It was really good to ask for medium-rare and actually get medium-rare! Usually in the UK the meat always seems to be grey, however rare I request it! The roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings were very well-cooked and tasted delicious. The red cabbage and carrots were also brilliant. We shall be back to try other delights on the menu. Recommend to all.