Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Darlington
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Darlington restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 8 restaurants in Darlington and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Darlington restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Darlington Restaurants
1. The Orangery, Rockliffe Hall
British, Modern restaurant in Darlington
James Close with wife Maria closed his acclaimed Co Durham restaurant the Raby Hunt (a regular on our UK Top 100 list) after 14 years and relaunched in the Orangery of nearby Rockliffe Hall in mid 2024, after our annual diners’ poll had ended. Initially billed as ‘A modern bistro by James Close’, from October 2024 the site has launched new tasting menus – ‘Expresssion’ (£105 per person) and ‘Experience’ (£170 per person) – that aim to take the diner on a ‘global culinary journey’. The ultimate aim is clearly to establish the dining room as one of the best in the UK.
2. Origin Social
Fusion restaurant in Northallerton
2 Friarage Street - DL6
Living up to its name with a laid-back style and regular evening entertainment (such as ‘music bingo’, or the ‘call my bluff wine tasting challenge’) – this small-plates restaurant doesn’t take itself too seriously but delivers dishes that are much more interesting than you might anticipate.
3. Stable Hearth Neapolitan Pizzeria & Enoteca
Italian restaurant in Darlington
Duke Street - DL3
2023 Review: “Great pizza menu served by lovely people” remains the verdict on this award-winning pizza-stop, whose numerous accolades and certifications promise a Neapolitan experience through and through: your selection is cooked at 400 degrees and will be ready in 90 seconds!
4. Oven
British, Modern restaurant in Darlington
30 Duke St - DL3
“Always buzzing”, this “family-run” fixture is very consistently praised in reports for its “great pizza menu” while also offering British and international classics. (After two decades, the owner-operators put it up for sale in summer 2024.)
5. The Bay Horse
British, Traditional restaurant in Hurworth
45 The Grn - DL2
With its pretty garden and handsomely fitted-out interior, this period gastropub has been no stranger to national awards lists since launching in 2008. It is rated consistently well in reports and even a sceptic whose commentary found it “perhaps a little overpriced” still rated it soundly across the board.
6. The Coach House
British, Modern restaurant in Middleton Tyas
Middleton Lodge Estate, Kneeton Lane - DL10
2021 Review: Set in 200 acres of North Yorkshire, this informal bar/brasserie is an “interesting conversion of stables attached to the main house” (there is also a posher dining option here, ‘The Forge’). An all-day operation, it offers food that’s “reliable and well presented” from a series of menus, including breakfast, afternoon tea and dinner (with the focus on Mediterranean char grills).
7. Crathorne Arms
British, Modern restaurant in Crathorne
2023 Review: “It’s still as good as ever at Eugene and Barbara McCoy’s country pub” say fans of this destination, ten minutes from Middlesbrough. “It’s one of the few places that still hold a traditional Beaujolais Day in November and has a waiting list of people wanting to come!”
8. Bettys
Afternoon tea restaurant in Northallerton
189a High St - DL7
An outpost of the famous tearoom chain that’s “great for brunch” as ever (afternoon tea and substantial mains also being on the agenda) and where – once you get past the queues – time itself seems to rewind, coaxed backwards by the “very professional staff”. “Prices have risen a lot” over the years “but this place will always feel like a treat!” – indeed it’s “a Yorkshire legend!” (even if this branch is not the most epic of the chain).
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