The Church Mouse Reviews Summary

Ambience & Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Nice ambience and good service."
• "The surroundings had a nice country pub vibe."
• "What a lovely place, well furnished with log fires at either end. Relaxing atmosphere with friendly and helpful staff."
• "It had a nice welcoming atmosphere and our waitress Tracey was very pleasant and efficient, nothing was a bother."
• "A wonderful atmosphere, it was very busy and I totally understand why."
• "The ambience of the bar is fantastic."
• "Ambience and setting beautiful."

Cons:

• "Experience was spoiled by barking dogs at the other side of the restaurant and a couple of intoxicated, cackling, swearing women on the next table."
• "Mmmm no atmosphere. No class."
• "It was nice there being an open fire but, if anything, we were seated a bit close to it where it felt quite hot but this wasn't a big problem."
• "Atmosphere is a bit dead but the setting is nice, tables are clean, and has a lovely garden."
• "There is no atmosphere in there. Really flat."
• "The only criticism was that the bread we had with the baked Camembert starter was dry."
• "Additionally, the staff gave impression they were wanting to rush diners out."

Service & Staff

Pros:

• "Visited on Valentines day, although it was a busy day for them there were enough staff around and really helpful and friendly."
• "Absolutely fantastic staff and food was delicious."
• "We were served by Reece who was extremely friendly and attentive."
• "The staff were also incredibly friendly and professional, which made the whole experience even more enjoyable."
• "Our server was Abby and she was really friendly and noticed we had a birthday in the party."
• "Staff were friendly, polite and efficient with service."
• "The customer service (English style not American) is superlative, absolutely exceptional."

Cons:

• "It was a busy day in the restaurant but 2 and 1/2 hours later was still waiting on dessert."
• "The service was appalling, there were no check backs or offer of more drinks."
• "Table service was slow."
• "The service was very slow a lot of people complaining about this, very long wait for drinks and food."
• "Drink service was poor, slow, missed drinks from orders."
• "I'd say badly managed both in front of house and kitchen."
• "We waited ages for our main courses and after an enquiry were told that they were short staffed."

Food Quality & Presentation

Pros:

• "With a code for 50% off I don’t think we expected the quality of food we received."
• "The meal was amazing (I had the Seabass) and it was actually pretty great on value!"
• "Delicious food, nicely presented."
• "The food was excellent and fairly priced."
• "Best fish and chips in Durham."
• "Both of us had the BBQ Hunters Chicken Schnitzel with triple cooked fries and it was fantastic."
• "The food was lovely, the beef was perfectly cooked and the vegetables the same."

Cons:

• "The staters were very disappointing. I had salt and pepper squid, it must have been two squid rings deep fryer - for £6.50! Bland and not value for money."
• "Took my friend out for her birthday at the mouse someone recommend for us. However the food was very disappointing we ordered crispy chicken for starters it was soggy."
• "The vegetarian lasagne was unbelievable. it was very salty and had hard pieces of lentils."
• "The burger was overcooked, and the aubergine dish was burnt black around the edges."
• "Starter was prawn cocktail the prawns were warm and slimy."
• "Daylight robbery - £18 for a beef dinner which consisted of 3 thin slices of beef, one pudding, 5 roasties & 2 carrots."
• "The duo starter of prawns was covered in limp lettuce and sauce and not enough prawns."