Darlington
The Croft Hotel Bar & Grill

The Croft Hotel Bar & Grill

The Croft Hotel Croft on Tees Darlington, DL2 2ST, DL2 2SS, United Kingdom

Beer • Wine • British • Burgers


"We actually booked this hotel in the beginning of November, because it was my husband 's birthday. Fair enough, we got a complimentary up grade on the accommodation. However, I had sent the hotel a couple of emails asking about menu choices. I received an email probably just before the final menu was to be printed, because the copy that I had received was still in pdf. format but was told that besides the Valentines menu, the normal full ala carte menu would be available too. It was that menu that I was looking forward too! We checked into the hotel approximately 6pm, my husband unpacked the car then went down stairs to mention to the restaurant that there would infact just be the two of us dining later. The gentlemen that appeared to be in charge pointed out to me that it was in fact just the Valentines menu that was available, I then mentioned that I was under the impression that the ala carte menu was available to. He then replied NO.... it 's just that one Needless to say I was disappointed. By this time we felt it was too late in the day to do or go anywhere else, therefore we decided to still eat in the restaurant. We came downstairs about 7-30ish to have a drink at the bar with only two tables in the restaurant having dinner it appeared to be really really quite that night. We were barely at the bar for 5 minutes when the young girl had asked us if we would like to be seated at our table. We felt obliged to say yes. We sat down and pointed out to her that we had already decided what we would like. I went to the toilet and when I returned, I was lost for words because the starters were already on the table. We had both opted for the game terrine with toasted brioche, only two pieces of brioche with no butter. My wife went to look for the supervisor person to ask for some butter, when he returned with the butter I then asked for some more brioche, he returned seconds later with a basket of bread rolls that had been put in the microwave and told me there was no"

San Paolo

San Paolo

Imperial Centre Grange Road, DL1 5NQ, Darlington, United Kingdom

Pizza • Drinks • Seafood • Italian


"We live in Darlington always try to support new independent businesses, as sadly many don 't survive long. So we decided to try this new place for a meal with family to celebrate my husband 's 30th birthday. In summary, the whole experience was awful. There was only one other table in but service was incredibly slow inattentive. Some drinks ordered on arrival never appeared at all, despite several requests. The food was not fresh, or authentic. Most was cold, bland and clearly frozen and reheated (especially the fish, which had an unpleasant tang to it). We had to send a chicken dish back as it was not cooked properly and pink in the middle. No apology was offered. Our order was messed up with some dishes arriving that we hadn 't ordered and others missing. Unfortunately no-one enjoyed their meal. The pizza oven wasn 't working that night, so I can 't comment on the pizza, but to be honest I wouldn 't have high hopes for it after our experience of the other 'authentic ' Italian food. We weren 't asked at any point how things were, or if we needed anything else, and getting more drinks was nigh on impossible. There were several waiters floating around that seemed to have little to do with it being a quiet weeknight, but it seemed they may have realised we weren 't happy so just avoided us. Once we had requested the bill, we broke it down and explained we were willing to pay only for the drinks and few meals that were vaguely edible. Again, no questions were asked about what was wrong and no apology offered. The next day I received a call from the manager/owner. She wanted to understand what had gone wrong as apparently ours was the first complaint they had received since opening (which I now highly doubt, looking at other reviews). I went through all of the above and she did then apologise, explaining that she had not been there that night. She asked if we would be willing to give it another try I said only perhaps for the pizza, which we had been unable to order on the night due to the broken oven. She asked for my address to send us some vouchers for a complimentary meal. I thought this was a nice gesture and appreciated that she seemed to at least want to make the situation right. That was at the end of November and they have never appeared. Looking at the other reviews, I doubt this place will be around long, which is in no way surprising to me after our dreadful experience. Avoid at all costs and take your money elsewhere."

Piercebridge Farm Cafe

Piercebridge Farm Cafe

The Green, DL2 3SF, Darlington, United Kingdom

Meat • Cafe • Cafés • Coffee


"Whilst out having a general run around enjoying the fine weather my wife and i popped into the Piercebridge Farm Cafe following a quick google search.... and wow, so pleased we did. Tucked away in a small corner of a farm yard opposite the church on the green, you'll find this little goldmine. Finding a table and it was the last one as it was clearly popular we ordered our food and drinks. I opted for their BLT, my wife, their warm bacon, butternut squash, beetroot and goats cheese salad with honey and mustard dressing, tea and coffee and to top it all a cheese scone and a slice of their homemade Victoria sandwich cake with fresh cream. The BLT was perfect, fresh lettuce, fresh tomato and some of the tastiest bacon Ive had in a soft brown ciabatta style roll... outstanding. My wife said her salad was the best she'd had and to be fair it looked amazing. Just as my cheese scone arrived and my wife's large slice of cake the owner approached us and asked if we could eat another salad and a full english. A hiccup on the orders meant these were spare and were being offered to anyone who wanted then, rather than waste them. TEMPTED wasn't even close, oh how i wished I had the room to demolish that breakfast, but reluctantly i had to decline, with a tear in my eyes. The spare bacon, butternut squash, beetroot and goats cheese salad was boxed up and gratefully accepted by my wife, who, if she could have slipped a fork away would have eaten it on the way home. My cheese scone was light, fluffy and packed with flavour, and a must for any passing trade. As for the cake... if the Ummms Arghs and more Umms were a clue, id say it was delicious. Both staff and owners were extremely helpful, friendly and certainly made you feel at home. Would we go again... in a heartbeat. And finally, their onsite deli. Packed with fresh locally produced products, frozen meals and fresh meats, yes we paid that a visit to. Oh Thank you to all, we'll be back."