The Distillery - County Durham

Ex Working Man's Club turned into a gin bar...but it works. Intimate snugs, along with high stools at tables, and relaxing chairs. Outside area to enjoy the afternoon/evening sun, and small function area downstairs and larger function area upstairs.

Great pub , spacious, friendly, and great selection

I returned after a few years for drinks on my sister's birthday. The selection of gins seemed smaller than previously although there were some lovely ones, like The Botanist as seen in a cocktail in the pic with elderflower tonic and a slice of grapefruit. The bar staff said that gin cocktails were half price although when we got the bill, we found this offer was on other days. I do hope this place does well as it's a great concept and location.

We had a 50th party recently it was a great night until there was some confusion with the DJ's payment as his services had not been confirmed. There were faults on both side, I am not laying the responsibility completely with the Distillery but after spending nearly 30 years in customer services the way the manager approached this situation was very un-professional. I would just like to take the time to say the staff were excellent.

Me and my partner went in after seeing a sign advertising 50% of selected gins. Upon arrival we were greeted by a female who was one of our hosts for the evening. She informed us that they were still serving food however this would be from a takeaway elsewhere. We were given a drinks menu but this did not highlight which gins were included in 50% off. We asked a male member of staff who pointed at the blackboard. However this was not visible from our seat, we slightly stepped away from the table to view, but we could still only see half the board. We selected one gin and two different mixers, and the staff member asked if we wanted singles or doubles. We asked to view a food menu however, they said they were unable to produce one and just named some pizzas for us. We told them our choices, not knowing what toppings or price. After 30 minutes the manger came over and apologised for the delay for food and said it was unacceptable and offered us some free drinks. We waited a further 20 minutes before receiving our food. Once our food arrived we asked for napkins and sauces and they told us we should have ordered that with our food and that they don’t provide it as they don’t make the food. Once we had finished our food they asked us if we were ready to pay without asking if we wanted more drinks or how our food was. Making us feel rushed to get out. We asked to view the bill before we pay and they informed us they could not provide one. We thought the bill sounded very expensive so asked them to provide us with a breakdown, in which they said that’s not possible. They verbally told us the prices for the gin which we questioned, and they told us that at the bottom of the board it says it’s only off 25ml not 50ml. However this was not made clear and the staff member asked us if we wanted a single or double knowing we wanted the 50% off. When we asked for our free drinks which the manager had said earlier she said we could not have them and 10% had been taken off the food, however we were not able to see that this had been done due to not receiving any receipt or proof of prices. We said we were not happy paying until we saw the prices for our food in which the female staff member responded aggressively informing us they would ring the police for not wanting to pay our bill. There was no management available for us to speak to because she left when our food arrived. The staff repeatedly did not stick to government guidelines, removing masks when talking to customers, pouring drinks and sat on our table when discussing bill. The female member of staff became defensive and hostile. We payed the bill as we wanted to remove ourselves from the situation. It is the worst customer service we have ever had in our lives and will definitely not be returning. We did not feel comfortable or welcomed and did not receive an apology for the way it was handled. Would NOT recommend!