The Scruffy Duck in Stockton-on-Tees

Great pub, great food,great service, and a lovely and relaxing atmosphere. Well recommended.

Went for lunch while visiting a relation in Norton, Stockton on Tees. Really enjoyed our lunch. Had four of the starters between us and all were very tasty. Also had four mains and a few sides and again very tasty, couple of dishes could have done with a little more salt but a little sprinkle and good for my taste. Have to say the waitress that served us was extremely friendly. All in all a great lunch and well worth a visit.

We came for lunch today with two friends we had a warm friendly welcome I believe the young lady who served us was called Hannah she looked after us from start to finish nothing was too much trouble she made our visit today a lovely experience thank you. The food was lovely very enjoyable

Nice friendly staff good coffee and dog 🐶 friendly

Great food great place best lasagne I've ever had

Had a gorgeous meal and drinks 🍸 with friends, staff very friendly, would definitely recommend to go and have a meal

Nice surroundings and decor, good atmosphere with a nice amount of people inside, the trifolding doors were open to the beer garden so people could enjoy the sunshine. We decided on jalapeño poppers to start, the portion size was stated as x6 however, we only received x5 so questioned where the last straggler was but by the time it arrived our plates and dips had already been whipped away and cleared so that was a bit of a hiccup but saying that they were delicious and we could have eaten more of them. My chicken burger was packed with pickles, cheese and relish unfortunately it didn't taste as good as it looked, infact the taste was practically none existent from any of the afore mentioned which was a bit of shame as when it arrived it did look really appetising. Overall a bit of a disappointment because last time I was there I really enjoyed the meal....which incidentally was a burger 🤷🏼‍♀️ hey ho you live and learn - perhaps a different chef.

We visited for Sunday lunch, and were sadly disappointed. We were seated right by the toilets, and consequently experienced a constant flow of people walking to and fro, as well as the very loud hand driers going off all the time. The food was another let down. I’m sure during the week the food’s not half bad, but the chef clearly doesn’t have the heart to cook a decent roast on a Sunday. Every one of us on a table of six had poor quality, dry meat. Every Yorkshire pudding was cremated. And the one bowl of boiled-within-an-inch-of-its-life vegetables felt insultingly stingy. Charging £17 a head just added insult to injury. After all this, our finished plates sat on the table for half an hour while every member of staff did their level best to ignore us. They were still there, attracting flies, as we left. We recently moved to Norton, and all this visit achieved was to find one place to avoid on Sundays.

Office meal after work, after disappointing start to the year for the first quarter, paid our own meal but did get a paid chaser. Food was good as was the location and service.

Saturday night out took us here, nice pub and good atmosphere as well

Ordered the tiger prawns in chilli it arrived in a small dish with 3 very dried up small prawns and lots of oil This was a main dish so did expect more if it was a starter I wouldn't of complained - the crusty bread on top was to hard to chew My first visit for a lunch I will give it another try as the venue was good Parking was an absolute nightmare as loads of roadworks outside

Everything was top notch and service was impeccable 👌

We rang up last minute on mothers day .the staff got us a table for 3 .The service and staff where amazing could not do enough for you .food was delicous excellent place will be returning and would highly recomend

We liked it, because it has a restaurant separate from the Pub. We ate very well, a little hard on our wallets, but it was worth it for the experience, as we had 2 kids with us.

We booked for a group of 20 to eat here yesterday (Saturday afternoon) for my 50th Birthday meal, as always we had a fantastic time!... the staff are always very friendly and efficient, the food was delicious and all served very quickly even though we were such a large group of us spread over a few tables..bar staff and waiting staff are always very attentive. We pre ordered our food and everything was very, very tasty!. Huge menu to pick from, with everything from light, tapas style dishes to steaks, burgers and fish. We were seated in the conservatory area which is always my favourite spot....can't wait to return again soon, thanks again to the Scruffy Duck for looking after us so well!

It's a bit expensive. But still a nice place

What a difference…….We used to go weekly but the service got that bad we just stopped bothering. Last night was completely different. Warm, professional service and good food. In all honestly we have never had an issue with the food but the service the past year has been horrendous. The lady that looked after us was called Marie I believe and you could definitely tell she has a hospitality background. The young lad on the bar was also very hospitable waiting whilst the Newcastle match ran into extra time and penalties. Overall a much better experience.

Really modern, edgy and classy bar with a lot of spirits and good choice of beers. Based on the fridges with dry cured meat in, I imagine the food is well considered. I didn't get any, but was very curious! Really lovely venue that impressed all 4 of us who ended up here.

Excellent food, fairy priced and clean with a good atmosphere

We held our daughter’s 21st celebrations in the upstairs room. The room is a lovely venue, nicely decorated and the staff couldn’t do enough for us, even when we made some last minute changes to the layout on the day. We decided on the BBQ buffet, sausages, chicken & lamb kebabs, burgers, buns and veggie options. The food was plentiful, well cooked and tasty and many at the party commented to this effect. The DJ was great, playing the music my daughter had requested and not interrupting each song with chatter, just what we wanted. We couldn’t have hoped for a better venue, atmosphere and food. Superb from all involved, thank you.

The hot pot lamb was virtually inedible. The cheese cake was also inedible, far too sweet and sickly. Having paid £5 deposit and then £31 in total £36 I and my friends will definitely not be going back

I won't be back. I took my 93 year old aunt out for Sunday lunch because it's accessible for her mobility. She ordered the chicken supreme... which arrived as a roast chicken dinner. Not the kind of dish that a partially sighted elderly lady can eat. I ordered the fish and chips. The fish was cold! When the manager asked I told her. She offed us 1 dessert to share(I declined). The tables and floor were dirty and I had to ask a waitress to wipe out table before she brought the food. The staff were young and inexperienced. Extremely busy. Traveling from Ireland, I would make a different choice next visit. Not the best that Norton has to offer.

Wow, what a change from the last time I was in here!!! Which was a long time ago. Now I am definitely coming back to Norton at the weekend for drinks and food..

Lovely food. Had the Sunday dinner, it came with loads of veg for the table and was delicious. The owner is lovely and service was great. Very welcoming with our two little ones, even cut my little girls dinner up for her and gave us a plate for the baby to share from my plate, which I know other local places can be funny about / charge extra for. Would recommend and will be back 👌🏼 Thank you!

Lovely food nice place staff spot on. A bit on the pricey side but worth it for a treat recommended..

Very bad service and chef must be a 4-year-old. Very basic food.

Didn't have any food but in sure it's lovely. It's a great place for a drink on a night out.

Someone needs to put 50p in the meter in the bar

Christmas dinner was an absolute shambles, not organised, not enough staff, food took so long to arrive even after we had all pre ordered our food well in advance. Main meal arrived food was either burnt to a crisp or under cooked, we did not eat the main meal and decided to not wait for the next two courses. Was a complete let down and at £80 per head expected better. Will not be returning for food or drinks again, used to be such a lovely pub to go to.

Absolutley disgusted & appalled at how bad Christmas lunch was! We told the manager at the time of booking (months before) that we would be bringing a 4 week old baby with us & so he would be in a pushchair. She told us we would have a little bit more room at our table for it. When we arrived, we expected to be seated straight away but were ushered into the bar to grab a drink while we waited for our table. It was so busy with everyone waiting & then they told us we were to be seated at a table that was in the bar in the corner of the room next to the Christmas tree. I struggled to get the Pushchair through all the people then other people had to help us move the tables & chairs out the way! The sitting for everyone was booked for 12pm, starters didn't arrive until 13:50! Myself & my daughter had the soup which was served with half a slice of normal buttered brown bread. My partner had the Prawn cocktail which was tasty but looked utter rubbish. The main meal then took at further 75 minutes to arrive. We could see other people finish their dinner at the other side of the restaurant 45 minutes before anyone had recieved there's in the bar area. The main was ok. Not impressive. 2 roast potatoes with no stuffing or pigs in blankets for Christmas lunch is just appalling. It then came 3pm, the next sitting were piling in the bar when we were still waiting for our 3rd course. I noticed 1 table opposite us had left before they recieved theirs! The dessert was the worst course of all! 2 of us had the luxury Trifle which was far luxurious being served in a plastic cup we could have bought better from the local supermarket. We didn't even bother eating it. The coffee & mince pies were none existent. £80 per person is disgusting to charge people for the chaos that Scruffy Duck made people endure for Christmas. Get more staff, don't put sittings too close together to make people rush or atleast serve meals on time so they have enough time to eat! We USED to really enjoy this place but after that we won't ever be returning.

Having watched the guy behind the bar( beard, dark hair, well built) on the lunch shift on 14th December eat his burger, open the top of a drinks container( I think mulled wine) at the opposite end of the bar to the coffee machine, stir it with a long spoon, lick the spoon repeatedly, walk around to the non food side of the bar and place it back in the container full of 'clean' utensils, ready to be used again,I was so disgusted and felt physically ill , left our drinks and will never return!

Absolutley disgusted & appalled at how bad Christmas lunch was! We told the manager at the time of booking (months before) that we would be bringing a 4 week old baby with us & so he would be in a pushchair. She told us we would have a little bit more room at our table for it. When we arrived, we expected to be seated straight away but were ushered into the bar to grab a drink while we waited for our table. It was so busy with everyone waiting & then they told us we were to be seated at a table that was in the bar in the corner of the room next to the Christmas tree. I struggle to get the Pushchair through all the people then other people had to help us move the tables & chairs out the way! The starters didn't arrive until 13:50! Myself & my daughter had the soup which was served with half a slice of normal brown bread. My partner had the Prawn cocktail which was tasty but looked utter rubbish. The main meal then took at further 75 minutes to arrive. We could see other people finish their dinner at the other side of the restaurant 45 minutes before anyone had recieved there's in the bar area. The main was ok. Not impressive. 2 roast potatoes with no stuffing or pigs in blankets for Christmas lunch is just appalling. It then came 3pm, the next sitting were piling in the bar when we were still waiting for our 3rd course. I noticed 1 table opposite us had left before they recieved theirs! The dessert was the worst course of all! 2 of us had the luxury Trifle which was far luxurious being served in a plastic cup we could have bought better from the local supermarket. We didn't even bother eating it. The coffee & mince pies were none existent. £80 per person is disgusting to charge people for the chaos that Scruffy Duck made people endure for Christmas. Get more staff, don't put sittings too close together to make people rush or atleast serve meals on time so they have enough time to eat! We USED to really enjoy this place but after that we won't ever be returning.

Decent place to eat or get a few beers in Norton, chilled vibes inside.

Total disaster from start to finish No organisation whatsoever Didn’t even stay for Xmas pud etc . I am looking to be reimbursed

Came for 2nd sitting on xmas day as we came last year and it was really nice , I'm sorry to say it was a complete wash out , I'd told our daughter how nice it was but I was embarrassed at how bad it was . 1st sitting still there at 3 , people queuing to go in , staff were run ragged and totally confused , first course came our 2 were wrong husbands good that was at 4-40 . We were about to leave and I looked for waitress to tell and she said dinner was on way which it did but very bog standard ! Dessert which on the menu we were sent was sticky toffee pud but that's not on our menu , eh ! Guy rang us 2 days previous to check our choices and said yes great ? I felt sorry for staff as they were all over the place , very very bad . Should have done 1 sitting , but would have xnas there again sorry and it's not cheap

Total let down. Paid £110 each. Expected Santa and a gift. We had a plastic yo-yo left on the table ? Meals served separately so we didn’t have the main meal together! They forgot our dessert, then what was advertised as luxury was a trifle in a plastic pot. Then no mince pies or coffee mentioned. We left disappointed. Ordered a takeaway on the night after a thousand pound table !

Arrived on time for Christmas lunch with family costing £110 pp , so expected a lovely day … greeted with a smile & a glass of bubbly … But that i’m afraid when it all started going wrong ! Starters : Was served not by table , but by what you ordered , having to hold your hand up telling the sole waitress “I ordered soup” … this meant people had finished on our table while others were still waiting … Unbelievable !!! Mains … Christmas Lunch with all the trimmings consisted of 2 roast potato’s 1 slice of beef , 1 yorkshire pudding & a piece of broccoli & to top this it was cold … effectively was a microwave sunday dinner you buy at any local supermarket. Desert : Pre - bought frozen trifle that HAD NOT been defrosted … Asked to see manager who apologised & blamed issues in other restaurant downstairs’ …. Simply not good enough ! The owner eventually showed up as most of the people were leaving “hungry” I asked for refund & was told that refunds were NOT policy & that I could eat for free at a later date …. Seriously !!!! Why on earth would I ever want to eat at this place again … Finally : We paid £110 & had young children who wanted to see Santa as promised … NO SHOW ….!!! Thanks for spoiling our Christmas

Certainly lives up to its name Scruffy. It’s such a shame as this used to be one of the best bars in the village. Toilets are disgusting. They need a barrel of black mould remover. I was quite shocked at the lack of cleanliness. Bar is been tended by teens with no bar knowledge who really do not care.

Had chicken Kiev and luckily I cut it in half before I ate any , and it was raw, two of our group ordered it and both were raw , got an apology and ordered a different meal but didn’t get any money of our bill , be very careful if you order that meal

We had our company Christmas meal in the upstairs room. The venue and the tables were brilliantly decorated. The food was OK, there was definitely enough! There were several dedicated waiting staff who brought the food out expediently when ready to serve. This did leave us without bar staff for that period. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience.

Ordered from the breakfast menu. Poached eggs were over-done, hollandaise sauce wasn't actually hollandaise sauce (in fact I'm not sure what it was) and everything was cold. Other than that, service was ok. The place itself is very well decorated and has a lovely atmosphere. Not sure if I'd visit again.

Came in for breakfast, had large full English, was delicious. Quiet, able to eat without busy and bustle of other places.

Lovely Sunday dinner served until 6pm

ooh, how I miss the old mucky duck.

Ordered 3 Sunday dinners £17 each. Recieved cold beef and very little gravy. One ovel shape of veg with 1 spoon of mash between 3 adults. Asked for extra gravy was charged £2.50. Pint of madri £6.20. I'm happy to pay top end prices if I feel that your looked after. But they couldn't wait to rush us out. Won't be going back and 3 stars is me been polite.

Really tasty and good quality food with quick service. The vegetable stew was amazing and they even heated up the plate. The chicken wings were wonderful too.

Really tasty and great quality food at a decent price. The place were also warmed up, which I thought was great service.

Went for Sunday lunch, it was alright. Probably won't try it again.

Fab food just a little too much lol but couldn't stop eating

This is better than the usual pub well fitted out. Staff a well dressed clientele nice. Prices are above average but this keeps a lot of the less desirable clients away. Not had any food here. I would recommend for an evening out..

What a great find ! Called in on a chance vidut and found a gem. The food was made fresh, wonderful tasty, not at all pretentious and pleasantly presented. Add a relaxing atmosphere and attractively decorated surroundings and I'll definitely go back next time I'm there

Attentive staff, Lovely meal but awful intermittent vapour spoilt things, thought it was table cleaning spray but was informed it was air freshener - too over powering to enjoy meal

Great local pub, also has some sport on which is a bonus

Lovely place with nice food. Maybe our server was new in the job, got our drinks order wrong twice, and obviously hasn't done the training course on how to smile. It's worth it for the food, though.

Nice atmosphere. Staff were very friendly. Had the jambalaya and raspberry cheesecake. Food very nice and the rest of my party seemed very happy also. Would recommend

Visited today with family. Waited 1 1/2hours for the breakfast. Had to send the poached egg back as it was hard, had to keep asking for items ( basics like butter for the toast), sauces etc . Then after we had paid ( by this...

I had never been to this pub when it were known as the White Swan aka the Mucky Duck but I knew its reputation. It has now been re-done into a gastropub/upmarket establishment. I think the way the place looks is pretty sound but as it is Norton of course it's going to be expensive. I thought the food were quite good though and the service were fine. I would definitely go back again.

Top quality food. Lovely pub. 😃

This place is by far the best pub/ restaurant in our area the quality through out is amazing food is 10/10 service excellent really blown we were on visiting here can't wait to return on enjoy the food and experience

Can’t fault the food or drink but the service let it down. It’s pretty slow with staff loosing track of what course you’re on. They also take your empty glass and walk off, no offering of another drink. Also attempted to charge us for drinks...

The place looks quite nice and trendy, decent selection of beers as well as the usual swill, but the service from our waiter was so bad it had us in stitches. He was a skinny ginger haired fella who looked like he should have been...

We went for Sunday lunch, a family of 5. We were squeezed on a table for 4 people in a dingy/shadowy area despite there being bigger empty tables. They were reserved but no one sat on them the entire time we were there and they...

Food was excellent and very tasty only spoiled by men sitting close by swearing every other word

Popped in at 11.55, only one other customer in at same time so expected to be serviced quickly, was given breakfast menus, so had to find a meme er if staff to ask for lunch ones. Menu was dirty, heard the waitress tell the kitchen...

Really disappointed with today's service at The Scruffy Duck. I arrived at 11:45am with my mum, daughter and niece. We had two prams with us so went into a corner by the main entrance, out of the way so we could tuck the prams in,...

Lovely staff and nice outside area

Visited on a Sunday and was surprised to discover that Sunday lunch was not available ‘because it is a bank holiday weekend’. We found this most strange. What followed was a very poor experience: burger dry and tasteless. All other dishes very bland and unseasoned....

Nice food. Pints are standard price. Cocktails may be a little more expensive than in a pub but are well made. Worth a few brownie points from the Mrs so worth it. Good place for a meal out as a couple.

I feel so bad for the owners of this business as it is such a lovely venue but needs some serious management. The team are left to their own devices therefore the service is virtually none existent. The bar closes at different times every time I go in. Far too many team sat up at the bar. We take our own glasses back to the bar as the bar team do not clear tables at all. The saving grace is the food is nice although a little over priced. The restaurant doesn’t know what it wants to be. Sometimes they take your order at the table. Sometimes you need to go up to the bar. Far too many missed opportunities for upselling at the table. The new guy that wears his own clothes ( very quirky )so I presume a manager is fantastic. Great personality but is let down by the rest of the team as they are uninterested. I have wanted to post this review for weeks as each time it seems to get worse but I would hate for this lovely pub to close so I hope you take the feedback as it is intended and that is only to help 😊

Lunch today but not impressed. Hardly busy when we arrived but everything seemed to take forever. Food was ok but not outstanding & the venue was chilly. Didn't take long for the place to get busy & the atmosphere improved for sure but would I...

Visited yesterday with the family. It was my wife’s birthday and had booked a table in advance. We waited almost 90 minutes to be served our food (we were only having a main, thankfully) and my burger had sauce on, despite telling the waitress that...

Just dropped in for a quick drink. Seems like a great place to meet up with friends for a party night out. Great atmosphere. Nice friendly and helpful team.

I loved what " looks like" a new look for a pub. Good selections of food and our tables choices for breakfast were great tasting. I would recommend.

This is the second and last time we have and will visit the scruffy duck, the place looked like it was short staffed when we got there around 1700hrs, a female member of staff was arguing with a male member of staff swearing at each...

Very bland food, the frying oil needed changing so the food smelt and tasted greasy. Disinterested staff who were unapologetic for our bad experience.

Food not bad but the staff need to stop swearing at each other, a male member of staff seems to like using the f word at the kitchen staff and a female member of staff

Lovely food and friendly staff nice place to relax

Attended an event/function late into the evening. The staff were great and the room was perfect. Food was served which was amazing and drinks went down well.

Went for drinks, only been the once, but was impressed

Breakfast not as good as usual bacon not crispy. Toast hot bread. Usually excellent.

Great little place off the high street. Fancy but welcoming décor, best enjoyed with a group of friends.

Food was okay expected a bit better the Kiev was a bit bland and slightly too well done, service was bit slow and took a while to even give us a menu then 45 mins waiting for food.

Good service and decent food. Good pub.

Had lunch here. Scampi with chips peas. Scampi too well done and chips were burnt. Manager didn't comment when he asked how food was. Bar staff chatting to each other oblivious to customers wanting service.

Very disappointing food. Steak was like rubber, chicken wings from KFC, greasy and too much for a starter. Of the 8 of us there, the only one that enjoyed it had an omelette!! Says it all. Won’t be back for a very long time!

Amazing food and atmosphere would go regularly

Full English.. .sausages tasted like they were about to go rancid, all 3 of us had one bite of the sausages..cold hard fried eggs on hard toast, over cooked bacon....disappointing as it was our first visit.... the tea was cold by the time we got served... I had to wait 20 minutes for sugar, no brown sauce in the bottle so I asked for some, the waitress shook the bottle and said you'll have to use what's in there till we can fill it up...not very good service.....50 odd quid lighter...definitely will not be returning...

Only had drinks. Lovely G&T, friendly staff, beautifully refurbishment. Covid safe.

Very good Sunday dinner, deals on 2/3 courses

Only had drinks, quite busy, service good

The scruffy duck...I would rather eat duck food., Our food was cold, and tasteless. The peppercorn sauce looked like bum gravy and tasted like dirty dish water, and the steak was like a second hand car tyre.. coleslaw was dripping wet and watery, dad ordered fish and chips... Nothing special but it appeared to have been cheap frozen battered fish just warmed up and the size of a baby portion...ordered jam Roly poly and custard for dessert and waited a lifetime for it..and when it arrived it was cold. Shockingly poor quality for the price of over £100 with one drink each. We all agreed that we would have preferred to have gone to a Weatherspoons none of us would recommend, immensely disappointed.

Time for some staff training. Didn’t know difference between draft, cask, pull, ale, stout, lager. Shocking prices too. We are in Norton not London!!

Not the menu we were told would be available . My sirloin steak was grissel mainly . Grandaugjter had " chicken " which seemed to have come off a spiders leg . Wife had hot dog and salad - not a tomato in site . Large glass of wine £10.50 ! Did not make a fuss as G/Daughter had chosen venue ( after being told a £23 three course was available carabean style ) Well named as scruffy . .

Me and my partner got seated at a table, as soon as we sat down the manager and chef were having an argument right behind us which made us feel uncomfortable then we ordered our food and the chefs were coming to the bar for...

Terrible service. Waitress crying and shouting then she stormed out, had to get our own menus and drinks due to slow service. It wasn’t even busy.. food was average… girl behind bar looked like the manager, was too busy talking to serve us…..

Service was terrible, felt uncomfortable as waitress was crying and shouting and stormed out of restaurant when we sat down , we had to get our own menus as we waited so long. It was not busy but we still had to order drinks at...

Expensive pint, paying for the upgrade of the pub

Had a lovely meal for my birthday 10out of 10.

Went for breakfast today I ordered scrambled egg with smoked salmon I asked for the eggs to be lightly scrambled?? They arrived like an egg foo yung. The toast was very dry, I had to ask for some butter. The latte was served in a small cup and saucer. I did enjoy it, but would have preferred what I had asked for.

It was very posh and nice. Went there with a friend and my mom. When walking in you think it's just like any pub but u get surprised and amazed by the display and the glass, allowing you to see outside. Service wasn't bad, they kept bringing only 2 utensils when there's 3 of us. The utensils where not clean properly, so had to ask for another set twice. We went on a Sunday they were doing BBQ day bank holiday. Order the medium well done steak but it was more medium rare. Overall a great spot to chill with family and friends.