Regent Street Restaurant Guide

“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.)

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!

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.

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).

This polished 18th-century former coaching inn lies in a picturesque village where the Durham and North Yorkshire dales dovetail, with plenty of walks on the doorstep. It’s a “very popular” spot which is “very good all around”, from the “delightful” cooking (which spans souped-up bar snacks, sandwiches and sophisticated, locally sourced mains) to the “good surroundings”.

2023 Review: “Permanent home for the excellent Newcastle Quayside pop-up of a few years ago” – this lively taqueria moved into Durham in 2020 and occupies “large premises near a bridge over the river”, with a patio area and fine views. It’s “still delivering high-quality tacos and other Mexican fare”. Top Menu Tip – “special mention to their homemade ice cream”.

Chef Ruari MacKay (former head chef of the city’s now defunct Bistro 21) – with collaborators Gemma Robinson and Craig Lappin-Smith – raised £100,000 from crowd-funding to launch this simply decorated newcomer, which launched in late 2022, in a courtyard just over the river from the ancient city centre. The only option is a six-course tasting menu: feedback is still limited but says that “overall for the price it’s excellent, and served by friendly staff”.

“The restaurant Durham city has been crying out for”, say fans of this ambitious 2023 yearling in the city centre: “a recent addition to the local dining scene run by ex-head chef from House of Tides and his wife”, Jake & Laura Siddle, who serve a 10-course tasting menu for £98 per person (the name is old English for ‘Journey’). One diner – particularly impressed by the wine selection – felt that “whilst aiming for their first Michelin star, they have a way to go with too many of the courses ‘snack sized’ to fully warrant the price and service that, though friendly, was lacking”. But others are impressed by what they see as a polished overall experience and, in any case, all reports agree that this is an “interesting” venue that “definitely shows promise”.