The Three Horseshoes

Beautiful food and very reasonable prices with exceptional service and friendly helpful staff. Something for everyone. You won't be disappointed

The food was tasty but unfortunately the overall experience was disappointing. We booked for six people and paid a £5 per person deposit (£30 total).Unfortunately, one person was unable to attend at the last minute. When the bill came only £25 of the deposit had been deducted. We queried this and were told that this was because one person hadn’t attended. It is only £5 but it’s the principle; we were never made aware of this policy when booking. It was quite frustrating to only find this out when we received the bill. The service was also quite slow and unfortunately some of the waiting staff came across as though they really didn’t want to be there. Asking for anything often felt like it was a bit of a bother, which didn’t make for a particularly welcoming experience. The food itself was nice, but nothing particularly special, and given the service and the issue with the deposit, we left feeling disappointed. There are plenty of places where we would expect a more pleasant overall experience for the price.

A lovely birthday stay sadly spoiled by the final morning I booked the Three Horseshoes Inn for my wife's birthday as a surprise, and initially we were absolutely delighted. Karen loved the room, and the Champagne and flowers I had arranged were waiting for her. I particularly want to praise Owen, the Manager, who couldn't have done more for us. He was friendly, helpful and provided excellent service. When we returned from a day out and discovered our room hadn't been serviced, Owen immediately sorted everything out and couldn't have been more helpful. Unfortunately, our final morning was very different. Breakfast was disappointing, with the food not particularly hot and the toast barely toasted. Shortly after returning to our room at around 9am, we were approached by a member of staff asking for payment, despite the fact that we had been told checkout was 11am. We explained that we were packing and would settle the bill before leaving, but were then asked for card details. Both my wife and I found the approach uncomfortable and felt as though we were not trusted to pay our bill. I subsequently spoke to the General Manager and explained that, having spent 28 years working in hotels, I understand that how you approach a customer is just as important as what you ask them to do. Unfortunately, although he was sorry that we had felt uncomfortable, he said he didn't believe the member of staff had done anything wrong. That was disappointing. There were genuinely some very good aspects to our stay, and Owen deserves considerable credit for his excellent service. Sadly, the way our final morning was handled, followed by the response from management, took the shine off what should have been a wonderful birthday experience. Unfortunately, we won't be returning.

Came here for dinner at 5pm or so on a Tuesday evening after a wander around Durham. We were seated right away with a slightly larger group size, and orders were taken promptly. Food was wholesome pub grub, impressed with the beer battered fish and chips, the braised steak and ale pie. Burger bun on the cheeseburger was a little too charred to be enjoyable. To be fair, we didn't complain so have no idea if it would have been fixed. Would return though, stunning views and outside dining.