Best Casual Restaurants in Houghton-Le-Spring

An absolutely exceptional dining experience – quite possibly the best food we’ve ever eaten in a restaurant! We visited The French Quarter last night to celebrate my wife’s birthday, and from start to finish the experience was exquisite. We arrived around 15 minutes early, but the front-of-house team welcomed us warmly and, after a quick clean of our table, had us seated straight away. Our waiter was over almost immediately to offer water, and the service throughout the evening was attentive, friendly and genuinely welcoming. We started with a selection of breads, followed by a fantastic choice of mains: mussels, prawns pil pil, a chicken dish and, the absolute star of the show, the beef bourguignon. Honestly, the beef was incredible. So rich in flavour, beautifully prepared and with meat that quite literally melted in your mouth. It was one of those dishes you wish you could eat all over again. We finished with crème brûlée, which was delicious, and even the little after-dinner chocolates were a lovely touch. The restaurant also made a special effort for Julie’s birthday, bringing out a little candle and a birthday message. Such a thoughtful gesture and very much appreciated. The only slight hiccup was with the wine. We’d chosen what we understood to be the easy-drinking La Benjamin Bordeaux at £12.95, but noticed when settling the bill that we’d been charged approximately £39 for a more expensive version of the wine. It was a little disappointing, although we didn’t raise it on the evening. That aside, the food and service were absolutely outstanding. We actually made a point of complimenting the chefs and telling them that we genuinely thought it was probably the best food we’d ever eaten in a restaurant. A huge thank you to the entire team for making Julie’s birthday so special. A fantastic experience, exceptional food and hospitality to match. We’ll definitely be back!

This was our second time at the Star of Siam, the restaurant was spotless clean, staff very attentive and polite, food was first class.

Bistro Italiano is one of the best places to eat in Durham City. Open on a Sunday, lots of choices in the menu, plenty of wine choices and lovely, friendly staff

This was our second occasion Dining at the Prior and as before not disappointed. The Sunday lunches our party selected ( beef,pork and chicken) were really nice. Veg was perfect and the desert of sticky toffee pudding with ice cream was delicious. The staff were very pleasant and friendly and the service was excellent. Look forward to our next family meal

Lovely food, staff absolutely fantastic and couldn’t do enough