Loved this place! Service excellent, very tasty Stinky Stilton Scone and a moist, delicious Carrot Cake. Coffee was OK too :-) Five stars because the food was super, the service excellent, prices very fair, the courtyard beautiful and I'd certainly go again or recommend!

We are touring around the North if England and most days have coffee and cake. The carrot cake here is by far the best cake I’ve had in a long time. Hubby loved his slice of tea bread too. Coffee excellent. Staff were very efficient...and did my coffee as per my request. Perfect.More

Looking for a genuine dog friendly place to go with my dog for coffee and this cafe up along with another in my searches. What a find! In a super cute location, was quite quiet thankfully when we went. Ordered coffee and cheese scone, but...the other items on offer for lunch and sweet snacks looks amazing. Super friendly, chilled staff. So welcoming of my dog and helped me carry my tray outside. Would love to revisit for lunch but may not have chance this trip….will definitely come back though. I find it so hard to find places that have it all, are genuinely welcoming of you and a dog if you have one, friendly and offer super food and service. Small thing but made my day! Thank you ❤️More

First visit for a while and have to say standards appear to have dropped significantly. One of the three dishes ordered, a pie accompanied by mushy peas, was tepid and the peas were actually cold. These were returned and took a long time to come...back, they were only a little warmer on their return. A request for vinegar was met with" We don't have any". A cafe without a basic condiment like vinegar, really? The waitress gave the impression she just couldn't be bothered. One of the other two meals was also on the tepid side. All in all pretty poor and nowhere near previous standards.More

Slightly off the beaten track, but well signposted. Dog friendly! Lovely soup and cheese toastie. Very tasty! Had a piece of brownie, which was also very tasty. Hard to choose as all the food in the cabinet looked great.

Great dog friendly cafe off the beaton track, up a wee alley and you find a courtyard with seating and plenty of seating inside and upstairs. Varied menu, we enjoyed soup, a toastie and quiche of the day which was so light. Drinks too. Only...thing I would have preferred table service, you ordered at the till and had to carry everything to your table, I needed two trays for three people then they bring out any hot items when ready. Would not stop me from revisiting though.More

A hidden gem. Initially we just stopped for coffee, but the men was interesting and the food looked great. It was as good as it looked. We were very impressed and there were so many things on the menu either of us would have happily...chosen. Staff were polite pleasant and friendly.More

A lovely somewhat traditional cafe. Plenty of seating in a lovely little courtyard area as well as inside seating area. Really good coffee and a lovely tea loaf cake were purchased. Dog friendly too.

This place is full of charm and character. The food was on the expensive side for a tea room but nice quality. The bowl of wedges did not meet the description, it was a saucer with what looked like 8 very thin and I mean...very thin slices of jacket potato, the accompanying dip was delicious though.More

I remember Vennels from my time as a student and was glad to see it just as busy years later. Somehow we managed to avoid a rush and get a table, but for the rest of our stay there was a queue out the door....The stairs and alley layout would be harder for buggies bigger than our small one. The only disappointing this was one of our two coffees was definitely not decaf, despite us ordering both of them to be.More

3.75 for a bottle of lipton iced tea 😳😳😳 Very overpriced in my opinion a sausage sandwich slice of quiche (no salad etc), brie and bacon sandwich with "wedges that looked like half a baked potato cut into strips nothing like wedges... Single person pot...of tea, Oh and a bottle of water for £30?!?! Been before and loved it but can't help but think even with the price increases that's ripping people's eyes out.More

Wow, what a find in the little back alleys of Durham. Desperate for coffee and breakfast. We hunted around the area to find this little gem. Best breakfast we have had in a long time. Coffee, excellent. Definitely will look to go back and sample...some cakes next time we are in the area. You get a chance go for itMore