The Kingslodge Inn (Durham) – Review

I was invited to try food at a pub/Hotel in Durham called The Kingslodge Inn. I live in Durham and I have to admit, it isn’t often that I get asked to review places so close to home. It is always Newcastle or somewhere further away in County Durham. I was so happy to discover that the Kingslodge Inn was roughly a 15 minute journey from my house! We only bought our home here in Durham a year ago so we are always still looking for places to go for food as a family. We decided to go the day after the Mr’s Birthday to carry on the celebrations and make the most of him having a couple of day off. I hadn’t been here before and although I have lived near to Durham most of my life I didn’t know it was there. Mainly because it is very rare that I actually venture in to Durham City and since having a toddler we just seem to get in to habits of going to the same easy places.

When we arrived we were absolutely taken a back by the decor and how beautiful it was inside. We have been decorating (making a mess of) our new home and we haven’t really known what we are doing and seem to be a bit mismatch-y but after seeing their decor we knew exactly what we wanted to do. We started taking lots of photos of the decor to save as inspiration and it is exactly what we had been wanting to do in the house but didn’t know where to begin. It had such a relaxing, homely vibe and with the wooden lodge style decor it seemed the perfect place to come and warm up with some food this Winter. The place seemed very child friendly and we were offered a highchair when we arrived and given a kids menu so it was certainly set up for little ones.

The Food

The menu was quite different to the usual pub food which was great. Not that there is anything wrong with traditional pub food but I felt that it made the place different to others, which I liked. There was such a selection and the Mr kept saying how he was spoilt for choice. I ended up ordering the soup of the day which was a carrot and corriander soup. I am not usually a massive fan of that soup but just wanted something not too filling. When it arrived I was so glad to discover that it didn’t have too strong a flavour of corriander and was so so delicious. I ate every last bit, although little man decided he wanted some too and we ended up having to take turns having a spoonful (I can’t just enjoy my own food anymore!). I was quite surprised to see how much he enjoyed it too and I was actually quite pleased to see him enjoying something so nice and healthy. I then got Chicken skewers with cous cous for mains, which was presented very nicely and came with a lemon and herb sauce. It had so much flavour and I cant believe something so healthy tasted so amazing. It really was a super tasty dish that left me feeling full and satisfied but not bloated and sluggish.

The Mr ordered crispy black pudding with bacon and poached egg for starters and even now he still talks about it and keeps asking to go back and have it again. I have never seen him eat something so quick and I kept laughing at how much I could see he was enjoying his food. He ordered the Pan Seared Spatchcock of Partridge with braised red cabbage, buttery mash and peppercorn sauce for main. He said it was one of the nicest meals he has ever had. The only problem with ordering that meal was that it was from the specials board and in future this may not be an option on the menu, if he was hoping to have it again. I do like that they change things all the time and you are given the opportunity to try so many different things however. Abosolutely nothing was left on the plate and the Mr contiuously said that this place was just right up his street.

Reid had a 3 course meal which was part of the kids menu and I thought at £5.95 it was a really good deal. It included a bread and veg stick combo for starters which he absolutely loved, a choice of a main meal and either ice cream or an ice lolly. He chose fish and chips (eventually) and when it arrived it looked so nice and a really good size. He seemed to really tuck in and enjoy it and ate so much food. He still (surprise surprise) had room for ice cream and we decided we could just about manage a dessert too. We decided to get a sharing dessert and after being warned just how huge they were we decided to scrap Reid’s ice cream and just let him tuck in to ours with us. We chose the The Magnificent Seven Waffles, Topped with vanilla ice cream, strawberries and toffee coated popcorn, smothered with chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce and whipped cream. This just looked like a mountain of heaven when it arrived and my God it tasted unreal. I am ashamed to say we polished it all off in minutes! It was definitely worth it though and I would 100% recommend getting it if you manage to make it to dessert!

We had such amazing food at this gorgeous gem of a place and it has definitely now been added to our ‘favourites’ list. We had a very nice experience and all of the staff were very accommodating and so lovely. We couldn’t fault the service and even had a lovely chat with the members of staff. The venue had that friendly feel of a little independent pub but the menu and food had the quality and creativity of a top restaurant. They also had a wide range of unusual beers and real ales to choose from and you can even bring in your furry friend (in to the bar area). The Kingslodge Inn also has accommodation, with 23 en-suite bedrooms (clue is INN the name..see what I did there). I haven’t had the opportunity to check out the rooms but I do hope to stay there in the future!

If you would like to see the full menu or find out more about The Kingslodge Inn then have a look at their website where you can see the menus and more!

www.kingslodgeinn.co.uk