No 10 Cafe - County Durham

Food OK but nothing special. Nicely presented but on the pricey side. Tables crammed in. Glass table top badly scarred all over, a potential breeding ground for germs, needs to be replaced. Unlikely that we would ever visit again.

Poor service, asked about gluten free food only to be told that there was nothing on the menu! So now not even a jacket potato contains gluten- ridiculous…..and why so dark? We found a lovely cafe along the road who were so accommodating!

I went to this restaurant with some friends for a late lunch. I had called ahead to see if I could make a reservation but was told they don't take them. However, when we got there, we saw that the only available table had a reserved sign on it. We asked if we could sit there and were eventually allowed. The place was very busy, especially with families and young children due to it being half term. It was quite noisy and the tables were too close together, making it difficult to move around. We had trouble reading the menus as they were placed under the glass on the table. The menu selection was good and reasonably priced. The service was efficient and the food was tasty, although one of our orders was toasted instead of plain. We didn't want to wait for a replacement so we just accepted it. We might come back in the future but probably not during school holidays. Some downsides were having to order at the counter and pay upfront for food.

At first I wasn't sure if the cafe was open, as it seemed to be in darkness. As we entered, we were asked if we were having food or just coffee. I hadn't stopped to read the menu outside the front door as it was cold and raining, so I asked if I could sit at a table and see the menu before I decided. We ordered food which arrived after only a short wait. It was tasty and nicely presented and the staff were polite. The cafe was nicely furnished and decorated, but unfortunately it felt dull and gloomy as it was very dark inside with only a few ceiling spotlights on. The window blinds were also pulled about two thirds down and as it was quite a dark rainy day, there was no extra natural light coming in. I wondered if there was a problem with the lights but I didn't like to ask. Our table was quite cramped in a space near the door to the toilet. My chair almost touched the chair at the table behind which meant that customers wanting to visit the toilets were having to squeeze past between the two chairs. After a few customers had squeezed through and back, I decided to push our table along to make more space. I would have preferred a different table as there were others free, but on a previous visit I had asked to move tables but was told it wasn't possible as I must have a table for two, even though the cafe was very quiet on that occasion. Therefore I didn't ask this time. To summarise, the food was nice, staff polite, but it was very dark which unfortunately made it feel cold and unwelcoming despite the efforts of the staff.

We stumbled across Cafe No 10 this morning as we didn't fancy anywhere else that was open. The full English was excellent, tea in a big pot that didnt spill all over the place plus free refill, lovely brown read thickly sliced with real butter.The staff were charming. If we're ever in the area again this will be our first port of call. Thank you. Anne and Ian from Doncaster.