I visited the Derry Inn on Saturday 17th June for an early Fathers Day meal. I was looking forward…read moreto visiting the #1 restaurant in Stockton-on-Tees (according to TripAdvisor) and felt fortunate they were able to take my booking only two days before, and had been able to accept an increase in the number of covers from 4 to 8 on the day. It had the potential to be a new favourite for family meals out. God help Stockton if this is the #1 restaurant. As my wife said, it would not make the top 200 in Edinburgh. Even if the service had been adequate, the food was no better than average. But the service was atrocious: drinks were slammed down on the table; there was a large gap between the delivery of the mains and accompaniments; we waited an age for the table to be cleared; then a further 10min before the dessert menu was provided; then the staff ignored us whilst they cleaned and tidied the entire restaurant around us. Eventually we gave up and paid the bill. Even that they messed up, bringing only the drinks bill to the table; I had to ask for the food bill when I went to the bar to pay. I was sorely tempted to not to bring the mistake to their attention.

Today was my third visit here and yet again I am really impressed!!! The staff can not do enough…read morefor you, the food is amazing, the atmosphere is very chilled and the staff are very attentive and friendly. I just don't understand how I can live so close to this little gem and haven't come across it earlier, definitely a new favourite!

The Red Lion is amazing! Would highly recommend staying here. The service was amazing, and everyone…read moreis very nice. They breakfast comes out very quick, and servers are awesome. We stayed in a cottage and a room, and it was great! Will be back!

Set in a beautiful location, but if you go in summer expect lots of children. Food in the…read morerestaurant is subpar and you could tell it was all highly microwaved. We sat in the dining room area and it was very tired and worn, sit in the Pub area instead. Outside seating is very smoky. No A/C or even ceiling fans especially since we were in the new set of rooms. No one opened up the windows prior to our arrival and it was literally like an oven. As secluded as it is there is another hotel/restaurant nearby which we enjoyed better.

Best find on holiday ever!!…read more Set in a beautiful little village with a huge village green with loads of parking round and about (although im sure that on a mid summer sunny day parking may be somewhat difficult!). The pub has a bar area and a restaurant area - we only ever went into the bar as you could eat int here and it was really cosy (dogs are also allowed!). The staff were incredibly friendly and chatty (lets face it, Yorkshire, particularly North Yorkshire folk are possibly the most friendly on the planet - i challenge you to disprove this!). The food was INCREDIBLE. Nothing fancy pants, just really good food, VERY big portions (trust me on this, you dont need three courses - choose your weapon of starter or dessert to go alongside your main - we made the mistake one night and 1) couldnt eat it all and 2)pretty much rolled home). We spent an evening in the pub, had a meal and then sat playing card games - we felt incredibly welcome. So welcome that we ended up visiting three times in a week long holiday. You cant really get a better recommendation than that can you??

First class experience delivered time & time again! Great food great service & great atmospher!read more

Been there twice with colleagues, everyone loved their food, from starter to dessert. service is…read morereally good compared to other restaurants I've been to in this country, a bit on the pricey side tho.

We have eaten at The Ship many times as a family and have always had a lovely time. The service is…read morefantastic, the menu is extensive with something for everyone, the place is very child-friendly, with good quality highchairs available, and I really have nothing negative to say about it at all! We happened upon the place purely by chance when returning from a day out, and I am so glad we did as it is now one of our favourite places to eat! I would recommend this pub to anyone who has a very healthy appetite, as i have never seen portions this big anywhere else! Many of the main meals would be enough to serve two people, especially some of the meat dishes, which are HUGE! Many of the meals have smaller portion sizes available, but to be fair these are still much bigger than you'd get in many other pubs. Even the children's portions are big! We have tried various dishes off the huge menu and all have been delicious; there is a quite a large vegetarian menu which pleased me; the mushroom stroganoff with pasta is lovely, and the puddings are gorgeous too! The prices are a little higher than many pub meals, but this is reflected in the portion sizes and the sheer quality of the food. I can't recommend this place high enough and am looking forward to returning there soon!

The food was amazing, wonderful service from all of the staff. Love the outlay of the restaurant…read more Highly recommend..

Dear Fox Hole. I have to tell you that in our 21 days visiting in England your food was the best we…read morehad! I can't stop thinking about and wanting your garlic mushrooms in cream sauce! It was heavily! My husband raves about the chicken & brie sandwich he had. The chicken melted in his mouth and was a perfect sandwich. In addition to great food the location and ambience was so pleasant. We wished we could had eaten at the Fox Hole a few more times. It was such a pleasure to discover your quaint and yummy place. Thank you. Debbie

My friend had here 50th birthday here and the landlord put on a special eight course served buffet…read morefor her. As the only vegetarian in the large group I expected to have problems, but the staff went out of their way to make careful substitutions to the meat dishes and really made an effort to ensure that I was looked after, but eating almost the same as everyone else. There were several children in the group and they were treated with equal care and consideration. My only real complaint was that it was cold - they have two lovely fireplaces in the pub - it would have been nice to see one lit. (although its possible that they avoided this as a safety precaution given the number of young children in the group.)

Some friends and. I went to the vane arms for lunch last week,and it was SUPERB everyone of us had…read morea lovely meal.Everything was home made except the chips and the. Chef who came to our table afterwards explained that the potatoes hadn't. Been up to scratch lately but they were working on finding the right potato.It didn't stop everybody from clearing their plates The deserts were to die for and all HOME MADE,I didn't intend having a dessert ,but so glad I did. Will be going again. Mrs Sandie Welsh

I have dined at the Hamilton Russell a few times with my husband; once on an evening and a few…read moretimes during the day. I have always been impressed with the service here; the staff are very friendly and helpful. The menu is large, although I don't like the way that it is written on boards all around the room instead of on paper menus, as it feels like you're leaning over people who are having their meal just to see what food there is! We have some had lovely lunches there, it is really nice sitting in the small beer garden at the back looking out over the countryside on a sunny afternoon. The meals are not overly expensive, and although the portions aren't huge they are probably just right for most appetites. The pub is very popular and most people I know have dined there at some point; I've never heard a negative review of the place. Although I wouldn't say it is my favourite place to eat in the area, it's well worth a look.

Myself and 10 friends dined at the Hamilton Russell on a Monday and chose to have the food from the…read morespecial Steak Night. Everyone commented how well the food was cooked, and as a bottle of wine for two was part of the deal, we only paid £12.50 each for a rump steak, lovely fat chips and trimmings as well as a half a bottle of Hardys wine each. The staff were very friendly and the service couldn't be beaten. We enjoyed ourselves so much we are going back on Wednesday to sample the Curry Night. The new owners of the Hamilton Russell are very pleasant and it is obvious they have a will to improve things. If they keep on producing good food at a good price like we have recently sampled they have 11 converts. Well done the Hammy.

If you make it to Sadberge, stop at the Three Tuns. Winner of our 2012 Pub Crawl with great cask…read moreales and excellent Pub Grub and beamingly friendly proprietors. Check our photos