Durham

[balex]

Can anyone recommend a restaurant or pub in Durham? It can be anything, fish and chips, kebabs, haute cuisine. I am going next week and I am starting to get nervous.

[Bapi]

GFG recommends Bistro 21, Aykley Heads House, to the north of the city.

Roast hake and watercress, with deepfried parsley- Pot roast Partridge with bacon and polenta. Gets 3/10.

0191 384 4354

Or there is Seaham Hall on the coast - which I like the sound of too - that gets a 5/10. www.seaham-hall.com

Edited April 5, 2004 by Bapi (log)

[curlywurlyfi]

hmmm - a friend of mine was there last week and his most memorable dinner was the mediaeval-themed one... and not for the food, either.

[balex]

Bistro 21 sounded quite interesting, so I am going to go there. Thanks for the help Bapi.

[Carlovski]

I may be slighty out of date, and my knowlege is more around the lower end - I was a student in Durham!

The Court Inn does fairly decent pub food - might be alright for lunch (Gets busy though - be warned) The Coq au Brie (Basically a chicken, brie and bacon toasty in eggy bread heavy but tasty) always used to be a favourite.

Bimbis does good fish and chips (Go the the one near the Market square, not the one near the bus station)

There are lots of pizza/pasta places (With cheap student deals). La Spaghettata is probably the pick, although De Medicis is nice in a checked tablecloth/chianti bottle candles kind of way!

Durham is a lovely place by the way. Try popping in the Shakespeare pub for a bit of interest (If it is still open!)

[Spam]

Bistro 21 is the only restaurant worth spending money in anywhere near Durham.

Also, try The Seven Stars just outside Durham past Maiden Castle and Durham College of Further Education (obviously cannot remember the name of the village). When I left (3yrs ago) there was a new place in a particularly beautiful position over looking the coach depo where all the footballers wives ate. I cannot remember its name and don't think it was nearly as good as Bistro 21, but it might be worth a look. Also Seaham Hall is not too far from there.

[Gavin Convery]

Seaham Hall is not so good now that they have a new chef...but it's not so far to Newcastle where the chef has moved...for the life of me I can't remember his name (John something) or the hotel he has moved to but it is in the GFG. Also you have the original Cafe 21 and maybe Fisherman's Wharf

[balex]

Bistro 21 was pretty good -- the more traditional things were well done. I had jambon persille and then a confit of duck, and a treacle pudding. Good flavours, nice presentations, slightly clueless service. The star dish was a slow cooked beef stew with mash and excellent gravy and crispy onions and mushrooms. About £30 per person. Not wildly interesting wine list, but again quite fine. All in all a pleasant surprise, well worth visiting if you are in Durham.

Edited April 16, 2004 by balex (log)

[Spam]

I find the most irksome thing about Bistro 21 is the juxta position between the style of the building and its location. I don't make a habit of eating on trading estates, but that place is an exception.