Sedgefield, British, Modern 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: “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!”

“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”.

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”.