Maxine's - Darlington

I have dined at this restaurant three times now and have been very pleased with the 3-course menu for 20 pounds. The food and service were excellent each time.

We decided to try the Father's Day Sunday Roast at this restaurant, but it turned out to be the worst meal we've ever had. The deal included 3 courses for £18, with a free pint for fathers. The staff were excellent, but unfortunately the quality of the roast dinner was very poor. It's a shame that the food did not live up to the service.

We made a reservation here for our staff Christmas party. We have visited Bannatynes many times in the past and have always enjoyed the great food. However, our experience on the Christmas party night was disappointing. We paid £35 per person for a two-course meal and disco. The meal was not up to par - the portions were small and the food was lacking in flavor. The Christmas pudding for dessert was the only decent part of the meal. The disco was also underwhelming. The DJ played outdated music that did not appeal to the crowd. By 9:30, half of the guests had left as the music choices were not enjoyable. Overall, we had been looking forward to this event for weeks but it ended up being a letdown.

We dined here as a group of friends for Christmas fayre. The decor and setting were very Christmassy and well laid out not too crowded or close to other tables. We had the 3 course Christmas fayre. Service was quick. Portion size was excellent for a lunch fayre. This enabled us to eat and fully enjoy all three courses. Food quality was excellent, Tasty and hot food. They catered wonderfully for one vegetarian and one gluten free guest without any hassle. They also catered well for two guests who wanted a cheese board instead of the pudding. First time we have eaten in the restaurant although we stay in the hotel regularly. Will certainly dine here again. Thanks Maxine's for a lovely start to the Christmas season : Only negative for us was the table layout a round or square table instead of a long rectangle would have facilitated better conversation for a group of friends who have not seen each other in a while.

My friend visited from down South and brought me breakfast on Sunday the the 2nd of October we sat down had a coffee waited quite a long time for the breakfast and all I can say is it was absolutely disgusting uncooked sausages uncooked bacon hash browns were not cooked in the middle eggs with poached but all runny and snotty on the outside black pudding was not crispy and not cooked properly what a waste of £10 my friend had to pay an I am an ex chef and that was probably one of the worst breakfasts I've seen in my lifetime... I will not be going back there and I'm absolutely shocked at ballantynes hotel. Disgusting unprofessional cooks because they are not chefs do not have breakfast here.