The Quaker Coffee House, Darlington

A hidden gem thats well worth finding - a mate of mine waxes lyrical about this gaff so I thought I'd go - I hoped I would be given the opportunity to prove him wrong and deflate his man ego ( sadly he was right about the travesty that is bar 22 up the road) - I could not. A cracking pub- a good selection of very well kept ales - I think there were 10 but when i left i wasnt really able to keep count. Very popular with music and beer fans and a very eclectic group of locals. Not one to take a lass to on first date beacause:-

A) You do have to at least try and behave and not sup ale and wax lyrical about it's all healing properties which is impossible here

B) There was a rather attractive goth lass who would turn the head of pope german rastenberger himself

C) Your date might make you take her there again thereby depriving you of the real ale bolthole you will need in the future when you have 2 screaming kids and she want to go to sharm el sheikh on holiday( by the way if you are already experiencing this issue you should be in 22 with the rest of darlo's pretentious w!!!ers)

All in all best place in darlo and perhaps for a radius of 30 miles. Just go!

13 Sep 2012 10:33

The Tapas Bar, Darlington

Left here for 22 ( see review) - total mistake - lovely surroundings friendly staff and fellow ale consumers - good selection of very well kept ales - and a helping of tapas to boot - again reasonably priced - don't make our mistake - stay here!

13 Sep 2012 10:24

Number 22 Alehouse and Canteen, Darlington

Recent weekend visit proved to be rather disappointing - ale was ok - not the best i've had in darlington - punters in there frankly unbearable and atmosphere really quite offputting - seemed that the place was run by a cadre of civil servant regulars - only amusing thing was the rather inept member of bar staff trying to get the drinks order right!

Shame really - on paper this could and should be a cracking place - in reality I've had better - if you lived in a real ale desert you could be forgiven for thinking this place is the puppies privates. In this area it's just a dogs dinner.

13 Sep 2012 10:22