The William Stead - JD Wetherspoon in Darlington

Just called in for a couple of drinks. Roaring fire and lots of people creating a nice atmosphere. Families, couple, and groups of people of all ages on Monday after 1pm. Staff are polite and helpful. We didn't eat today, but food coming to nearby tables looked appetising.

Great prices.. on plenty of selection Staff are so lovely

Always will come here while in town very great service the place looks nice the pizza is amazing same with the pancakes and the chips are nice and crunchy iconic plates the fish and chips are always amazing and great toilets

drinks machine not working, then when asked for help got told numerous times ‘one minute’ ‘we are busy you know’. waited again, staff member came over changed out a tray, left without saying a word, still didn’t work, called over another staff member once again told ‘one minute we’re busy’. waited another 5 minutes, he came and put milk in. went back to table, wrong food was delivered to table, we ordered chicken (one peri peri and one lemon and herb), we received wrong order, was missing peas and gravy. spoke to member of staff, and they told us our order had gone to another table, i told them i ordered peri peri and asked what the chicken i received was and they stated ‘lemon and herb’ which i responded ‘i did want peri peri’ and they responded ‘well your orders gone to another table so’ extremely rude, will not be returning.

An average run of the mill place. Not bad for a stop-off drink or two, maybe to start off the night but not a place to stay too long. Food is alright.

A wide selection of beers at great prices. Food very reasonably priced very quick service.

Enjoyed the mixed grill there and the food was plentiful.

Breakfast was above the usual standard for Spoons with lovely runny eggs. Ate there on two occasions the second being curry night and both times were busy but the service was friendly and good.

A good witherspoons with friendly staff well worth a visit

Very few wetherspoons can cook a fried egg correctly. This one was probably the worst at this point. Everything else was good.

Poor new girl got thrown in at the deep end no training left on her own at busy time! Ordered food wrong food sent to us asked for extra sauce which we were told is portioned out you know! Very rude man serving I just felt sorry for the new girl

Do not know why we visit this pub, it's noisy and they never have the real ale they say they have

On Cask only had the usual suspects no Guest Ales.

Great service good food always friendly and accommodating for any needs or extras wanted. Has free WiFi and table service.

Popped in for brunch It's a wetherspoons so always hits the spot. Nice and cheap and nice food. Ladies toilets are really nice with armchairs if you're waiting for someone. Fab 👌

Always open with a great choice of ales for every taste. Called in again last night for a couple of drinks to pass the time away, after a show at the hippodrone while waiting for the bus home. Still busy late into the night.

I want here for Sarah's anniversary after being to the Hitachi factory county Durham I food was delicious 😋 and the staff were very friendly I highly recommend it I had a shandy for the first time.

Poor meal. Good price but not for me.

Great food and fantastic friendly staff. Me and the kids love coming here.

NOT A REGULAR MYSELF, HAD A GUINNESS & COLLECTING MAM, LATE ON.

Everything was OK but the toilets need a little more attention, especially considering we went on a week day, so it wasn't very busy.

Great service, great food and beers and wines and great value for money. Very friendly and would go again.

A lovely building as all wetherspoons are..glad to tick another off the list!! Always good coffee the porridge was a little runny and sadly like warm but we enjoyed calling in! Will certainly visit Darlington again!

Lovely pub and not to far from the railway station

Met a great guy called Adam. Very good at his job. I like Adam 👍

Party of 6. Drinks order not as requested, food cold.

Good range of non-alcoholic lagers for people who have to drive. Was in Darlington looking for an empty shop, I hope to reopen my mental illness creative project that I ran from April 2022 to April 2023. I used the William Stead because of the reasonable prices. Had a reasonable meat free burger, okay chips. I had to drive and they do a good range of non-alcoholic lagers. Staff were friendly My project was open to any people, I don't discriminate but mental need to start talking but in the right place and to the right people. People before money .

As a full-time wheelchair user and paraplegic I normally have trouble getting into most places but it was easy to get in, I got there at 11.40am and expected the breakfast serving to be over, but the app let me order the large breakfast and a refil coffee, the cup came moments after I had paid, I went to get my coffee and before I had got to the table a nice guy had brought my breakfast, I was very surprised at the speed it took them, he asked if I needed any sauces, I said all was OK, and he rushed off, and he was in and out all the time taking plates of food out. The breakfast was the best I have ever had in a wetherspoons and I have been to a lot all over the UK, the eggs were perfectly dippy the bacon and sausage cooked to perfection, the toast was perfect, half way through the guy turned up and asked if everything was OK, told him it was great, he seemed genuinely pleased to hear it. Shame it's 100 miles from where I live, and I was only passing on my way back home, I will definitely go again when I'm up that way again.

Went for breakfast and a catch up with the girls...lovely morning

Not the best of places, but cheap

Friendly staff, good environment

Yeah I love this pub first I have been in this pub I have found out a friend works there Beth I love Beth she's so lovely

Nice place with good diligent staff.

Sometimes staff don't know what to do

Very nice place to spend a Saturday evening. Decently priced, tasty food. Good atmosphere and decent service.

Excellent service breakfast same as weatherspoons perfect enjoyed experience

Great clean wetherspoons. Nice atmosphere too. Not too busy earlier on on, a Friday night. Good prices and fast service

Great pub with a selection of nice ciders, I sampled several of them. Staff were friendly and helpful.

A nice pub to grab some food and a drink, i had the large mixed grill, very tasty and it was hot when it arrived where i was sitting. Well recommended.

One of 2 Weatherspoon pubs in Darlington and larger with a lot more room, Service was good, good was good and a great choice of Ales, £1.99 a pint, food and a pint gor around a tenner,

Got scared witless by bar staff tonight.but have to say they all been so welcoming.had a cracking night.amazing staff so much fun. Thank you.x

Nice Wetherspoons usually busy, with upstairs seating area usually very popular.

Steak night - hot and tasty, with a swift service.

Its a wetherspoons. You know what your getting and the staff are remarkably happy

What can you say about a Witherspoon's the Beers inexpensive,but this one has a good atmosphere and very pleasant staff so if you want a cheap pint and some food in a pleasant place this is for you.

2nd time been there food lukewarm as before

It's a wetherspoons 🙂 nice food cheap drinks, value for money

Top food and drink .. Nice place !

Food was a bit ruined on my steak over cooked and not a good cut of meat

The food is really very nice, they serve quite quickly and you always know its quite good when the locals visit often.

Very good food and quick service despite being very busy, nice friendly staff. Best curry I've had in a long time

Ugh the pint of brewdog was off and bitter and the fish&chips were disgusting for the first time ever Darlington seems to attract the odd person Maybe it was just a one off Full of prams and young mothers buying nothing like a waiting room

EDIT: 18/03/24 I received an email reply from my complaint i made online that apologised for any inconvenience i might have had and that I should have spoke to the Duty Manager at the time about my issue and that the area manager would open an investigation. I replied saying that my issue was with the Duty Manager did you even read my complaint? EDIT 2: 19/03/24 the Kitchen Manager has phoned me, apologised, informed me again that there is an investigation going on and that he would like to offer me and my partner a free meal. I decided to take my family out for a cheap and quick meal today 17.03.24 and quickly regretted my choice of venue. We went to The William Stead in Darlington and proceeded to sit upstairs at it was noisy downstairs and my child has sensory issues. After deciding what we were going to eat I realised that the bar staff had left. I went downstairs to order and was served by someone who said they were new so I handed them the basket I had made on the app and told her that she can copy off of there if it makes it easier for her. She said that would be a great help. The first item was a tomato pasta from the kids menu and she could not find it so asked for help from another member of staff. While he helped they told me that upstairs was closing and my family had to come back downstairs. That’s fair enough. Eventually she passed my phone back and said that she was done so I assumed that my order was correct as all she had to do was read from the list. As for the drinks, they were all wrong including the alcohol free koppaburg i ordered turned out to be an alcoholic one which isn’t ideal when the person drinking it is 7 months pregnant. Then the food came. We ordered 3 burgers and the pasta. One burger was missing its onion rings, another was missing the cheese and the other was missing all of its customisations. Not just those issues but i had been charged for an extra american cheeseburger. I let the server know of the issues and she went and got the duty manager. This guy has terrible customer service as he was blaming me for the issues, he brought back a second lot of food that was also wrong and then the third time we managed to get it right but he charged me for the extras and missed the onion rings again. At this point i showed him the basket i had on the app again and said i’ve been charged over £40 for this food when in the app it says £36 for the lot. The manager did not want to apologise for any inconvenience nor did he acknowledge that the staff made any mistakes and told me several times that it was my fault. How hard is it to read a list? And how did someone with terrible customer service like that end up a manager? Who knows what’s going on in there. I will not be returning there.

Great place to chill and taste the selection of beers !!

Nice and clean. From 14:00 to 17:00 reduced prices on fish and chips as well as other meals. Fast service. It's at the back of Darlington shopping centre. It's one of two wetherspoon's in town and the best. Budget breakfast and coffee and drinks that you refill for free as much as you want. It closes early on Sunday

Disappointing breakfast, certainly had better at other Wetherspoons. Served cold?

It's a wetherspoons, what do you expect, cheap beer and food which is a win! Always pop in whilst in Darlington.

Not had a great experience here unfortunately, our food was only just warm

Was OK quiet a few heavy drinkers as you went in made it look undesirable would not take children in.

Lovely and clean staff very helpful

Visited The William Stead yesterday, very good priced drinks, however the service wasn't the best, was kept waiting for nearly 5 minutes at the bar (which wasn't at all busy) while staff served other customers at the other end, who were obviously regulars, way to go to make newcomers feel welcome..not!

Exactly what you exect from a witherspoon pub.

Treat the lass to a curry and a strongbow DF (dark fruits) she said it was absolutely devine Female member of staff served us she was very pretty don't tell me lass I said that 😆

Nice pub, good atmosphere. First time I've been and would have no probs returning.

I used to come in regularly for breakfast but haven't been in for a while. Called in for breakfast, there was an issue with food which was promptly sorted by a lovely member of staff Dan. He was very helpful I was in with my 8 month old daughter and he even went to the effort of refilling my drink to make my life easier. I noticed his customer service was exceptional with every customer. Spoke to a lovely couple on next table who gave me his name as I explained I wanted to mention him in my review. Hes an asset to the place

Lovely atmosphere, nice staff and the food was delicious

Went for breakfast, came very fast and a lot of selection. Really cannot fault the prices, a breakfast muffin with unlimited coffee for under £4. American pancakes also worth a go!

Exactly the experience you pay for, if not a bit better.

Had fish and chips and 6 pints of fab ales for £17. Food great what's not to like. Will return. 👍👍

Only visited as part of the visit to Darlington and only had a couple of drinks as I was on time schedule to get my train.

Went for brunch. Ordered food that came quite quickly. The server was very helpful.

Carling lager had an after taste both my mates & I left them. Rowdy pub

I decided to take the family for a light lunch as a regular customer, however today’s experience wasn’t great. We decided to go for the 10 inch wrap option which turned out to be a disaster. The contents within the wrap were non existent, over done chips and hardly any chicken or dressing. Staff require better training, one particular individual vanished when challenged about the quality of the food and service. I did get a refund for the food only, but never got offered a replacement or a full refund for all the meals due to the quality of service. Observe the pictures and judge for yourself. 🤔😕 This needs to improve in my opinion as the town is now becoming a hotspot for dining and has a buzz. Merry Christmas Wetherspoons 🌲🎅🍺

Great spoons and friendly staff.

This is my second time visiting the William Stead pub. The staff member that dealt with me was very friendly. I had the afternoon deal fish & chips with green peas and a Leffe beer. The fish was on point, nice crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I’ll definitely come back again.

Food was good as was the service but found it a little noisy and had trouble having a conversation but the atmosphere was friendly.

First class service. Good food and drinks. Reasonable prices. Good atmosphere. Lots of seating options.

Food was nice,fish was lovely but could do with more chips.

It's a Spoons, soulless but a great selection of cheap beer

Great pub but breakfast was too cold and typical raw bacon and don't get .e started on the black pudding, rank is a understatement

Terrible chicken burger, as sticky floors but I suppose it is a spoons

Like any other weather spoons in the UK. Cheap and cheerful

The toilets aren't for animals never mind people. Absolute disgrace!! Shot everywhere and no toilet paper. Should close yje place down

Breakfast was brought promptly by a nice member of the staff but the food was at best ok

Lovely building, great people and clients, a really friendly place, definitely worth a visit

Cheap and cheerful. I just wish they would provide gluten-free meals.

Lots of cobwebs I know it was Halloween but these had taken some time to develop🙄

Very clean and good atmosphere. Very clean and tidy. Staff very pleasant and helpful. Will go again

This was only awarded 3 stars for service because of the volume of crowds who arrived from a 60's show nearby. Otherwise, this would have been awarded 5 stars for service.

A Spoons is a Spoons but the staff made the difference here.

Good wetherspoons with upstairs bar and downstairs bar...great staff always Friendly.🍻👍

What can l say the staff this morning so rude nice to have conversation when serving customer no please or thankyou

Great modern spoons plenty of choice of seating areas staff keen to keep tables clear pleasure to have been here 👍

Always great food and friendly staff and the prices are alot more affordable when your feeding a family of 4

If there was an option for 0 stars I would have done that. Staff arrogant, food mediocre if not poor. Toilets disgusting. Would not recommend, even to my worst enemy

Beans on breakfast look warm but everything else was great. Male member of staff good service with a smile ☺ cheers

As usual all the food elements served at a range of different temperatures, the drinks as usual pretty good though and reasonably priced.

Excellent service, friendly, professional, and very helpful staff.

Ordered a breakfast served within 4 minutes must be a record and excellent.

After standing at the bar to order food even though no one else was waiting to be served. Eventually the older barmaid of the 2 standing at the other end abruptly came to me and said what do you want she's been shouting at you to go to her. I explain I am deaf and she again said well she didn't know what can I get you and kept talking over the top of me dismissing anything I was trying to say. I'm appalled by the attitude towards someone who has a hearing impairment and needs to be face to face to someone to communicate. Will not go again