The Mill House, Black Fell, Birtley - I can't imagine finding a better Sunday dinner (Restaurants in County Durham in general)

Member Name: Ljg1006

Product:	Restaurants in County Durham in general
Date:	28/08/09 (87 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent food, good staff, nice atmosphere

Disadvantages: parking, can get busy

The Mill House is just of the A1 on the A1231 outside Birtley. It gets very busy, especially on a weekend so I would advise booking. Car Parking can also be an 'art' but I did hear that they have extended the carpark to the otherside of the pub.

I notice on their website they also do specials during the week - Quiz on a Monday, Steak night Tuesday and Wednesday and fish night on a Friday. Sunday night is live band night too.

When you walk in the pub (I say pub but it is predominately used by people eating), it is quite dark, the bar area is fairly long but narrow. To the left is a dining area, the tables are quite tightly packed in this bit, through that room is a conservatory area which is nice a light as you would expect and has a more airy feel to it. To the right of the bar is another seating area and a newish back room with more tables in, this area didn't seem quite so 'tight'.

The menu: It is slightly more expensive than your usual pub grub but for good reason - it's much much nicer! A Lasagne will set you back £8.50 but most dishes range from £10-£13. They also have a mussel bar if that's your thing (yuk!). The Sunday lunch, I would go as far to say, is the best one I've had in a long time, if not ever! I think it was around the £8.95 mark and you get loads, the meat, potatoes and yorkshire pud come out on your plate and you then help yourself to the veg you want, everything was cooked just as I like it, although mil did moan the veg wasn't cooked enough for her (but a.she always moans and b. I like them like that!)

Service: was a little slow at times but then we could see they were really busy, it wasn't like they were just hanging round chatting, the meal came out surprisingly quick though and the staff were very friendly despite being rushed of their feet.

Last year we had Christmas Dinner here - 5 courses for £18.95 - what I liked about this was you could either choose off the special menu or off the main one so if one of your party didn't fancy the Christmas menu it didn't matter. Needless to say we'll be going back this year!

Drinks: I didn't buy a round but my dad moaned about the prices - that doesn't mean much and I've never heard anyone else comment on them

This is my favourite pub/restaurant in the area at the moment for good quality food a little more fancy than a 'normal' pub and after talking about it I may have to find a sitter and go next week!

Summary: Make sure you book to avoid disappointment!