The best restaurants in Esh County Durham North East

Took a friend here today for her birthday, had coffees, it wasnt very hot, orderded the sausage with caramalised onion and cheese cibatta,drank our coffee, still no food, waited over half a hour for our sandwich, when it eventually came, i presume it was the manager, he said smile and took a photo of the sandwich, i made a comment that we had waited half a hour and he went and spoke to the member of staff who served us, he came over and said the kitchen is only small, that is no excuse, they had forgot about what we had ordered, because when i said what we were waiting for it was only warmed up then, i have put comments on here before, and they have always been good, but unfortunately today was a different matter, We even had to get a drink of water to drink with our sandwich, has we had finished our coffee in five minutes, We like this cafe and live about 10 miles away from it, wernt even offered another drink. POOR SERVICE on this occassion, they started talking in italian when i complainted, very unprofessional.

Aroy is a hidden Gem of a Thai cafe/Restaurant . We have visited many times and the food has always been fresh and very tasty. The service is excellent and the staff are very friendly and always get a warm welcome.

we visit this pub on weekends and thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere .there is always something going on singers or turns.the staff in here are extremely friendly and professional obviously enjoying their work..always get a nice pint reasonably priced..keep up the good work

Lovely place to stop and have some food/drink. I had the steak pie and it was lush. Make sure to order the homemade chips they are so nice, best ones I ever had. The staff were so lovely and friendly. I will be going again if ever in the area. Thank you.

Really enjoyed my experience with food and tea. Will definitely return for more.

Called last minute to ask for a room and revived a warm welcome.Heard lots of interesting stories about the pub and the area. Hosts efficient, helpful and friendly.Room very clean, and bed very comfortable. Breakfast- a simple but excellent selectionThank you for your hospitality and warm welcome.

Enjoyed a three night stay in one of the Old Colliery Stables, which is part of the Royal Oak pub next door. Accommodation was basic but clean and comfortable and offered very good value for money. Microwave, fridge and crockery provided if you want self catering but we took advantage of the very tasty food next door in the Royal Oak which was great value including the full English breakfast we booked in advance for just £5pp per day. Service very good, staff were very friendly and helpful.

The best Italian food is a bit pricey, but the food is on point. They don't have a kids' menu but will do smaller portions.

Lovely food, friendly and efficient staff.

We haven't been here for a while and 5 of us came for Sunday lunch. We hadn't booked and they were pretty busy. Four of us had roast dinner and one a toastie. Two had smaller dinners. The food was very nice indeed, we couldn't fault it but unfortunately the service wasn't great. We had 3 waitresses in all. We had to wait quite a long time to place our order and also to wait for the food. But when the food came we didn't get cutlery, then insufficient cutlery and we didn't get any vegetables. When we questioned this we got a few - eventually - but not really enough for 4 roast dinners. So excellent quality food but the service didn't match. Also when we paid they didn't charge us correctly for the 2 smaller plates.

Very comfortable delicious breakfast & a lovely atmosphere, have only had breakfast here but would highly recommend

We booked our stay on line. Didn’t read much about it, just checked it was all on one level. Wish we could have stayed longer than one night! Out 2 rooms were lovely and clean, warm and welcoming. Reception explained everything clearly to us. Our only criticism was the bed was very low. Comfortable but low down. If we had stayed longer I would have asked to change room. Breakfast was amazing, everything you could ask for and more. All that we had was of good quality. We will definitely be back! Thank you for a lovely stay.

Amazing service and food is delicious highly recommend. Also the pizzas are amazing nice crust

Arrived without booking but was told to take any table. Ordered ribeye and fish and chips. Steak was fatty and not rendered, fish had a few bones in. Nobody asked if meal was OK, regulars seemed to get most of attention. Wasn't inedible but won't be back.