The Raby Hunt Restaurant in Darlington

Outstanding restaurant, can’t wait to return. Excellent wine pairings.

This was our 2nd visit and it didn't disappoint. Outstanding food, fabulous matched wines and incredible service throughout. One of the best dining experiences in the UK.

Went for my 50th birthday last Friday. The food was amazing. And the service was absolutely what made this experience even more special. Thank you

Amazing service, delicious food, wonderful wines and drinks! Rooms were perfect and breakfast was superb!

Best service I have ever had. Absolutely astonishing standards. Food is another level and a taste sensation. Wine pairings were superb. Breakfast was brilliant. Catered for dietary requirements with ease. Rooms were fantastic and the champagne on arrival was a great touch. This place is a literal 10/10.

Lacking in Integrity, creativity and class. A really bad experience.Following phone confirmation from the restaurant that they were able to cater for my wife's intolerance of gluten, I decided to book a table for my wife's 30th. The reservation was made 6 months before her birthday and as we have two kids under two there was a lot of forward planning which included taking the kids up to their grandparents house in Northumberland for babysitting, booking numerous trains and a hotel. On the day before we were due to dine, I received an email from the restaurant back tracking on their confirmation to cater for my wife's intolerance and an offer of a full refund. The restaurant said they had reduced the number of chefs from 12 to 6 and they no longer had the capacity (willingness or creativity) to cater for my wife which was hugely disappointing.The restaurant states on their website;'Enjoy our globally-inspired, forward-thinking menu by James Close, in the luxury of our beautiful dining room', however there was no forward thinking of my wife's intolerance. As a double Michelin starred restaurant I would expect the chef's to showcase their talent, class and creativity in adapting to suit their diners needs but this never materialised. We have never come across the issues faced at any other restaurant and recently, The Kitchin in Edinburgh and Core by Clare Smyth produced fine examples of catering for my wife's dietary requirements. The Raby Hunt showed a total disregard to the plans we had made amd our financial losses which exceeded £600.They did not deal with the situation well, a complimentary glass of champagne on arrival would have been totally acceptable but no alternative other than a refund was provided. Not befitting of a double Michelin starred restaurant and we will not be booking again. Much better dining options available elsewhere.

Just a wonderful experience from start to finish. It's Michelin stars are well deserved. I would highly recommend.Looking forward to going back for a special treat another time in the not too distant future.

Went for our silver wedding anniversary. The food was, as expected, exemplary. Service efficient, if somewhat distant. The price was imho poor value. I’m sure not crazy considering the Michelin stars, but Ive dined in many, many 1,2 and even the odd 3 star restaurant and I don’t think the prices are justified for what you actually get. Overall a lovely evening, but left me rather deflated, and bereft! Won’t be back soon.

To summarize: good-to-excellent cooking, good but not top-tier service, slightly disappointing drinks selection, reasonable but not extraordinary value for money, good decor.We came for dinner and had the 200 GBP tasting menu which has 14 courses. Some of these courses were extraordinarily good. One highlight was a New York beef pastrami inspired minature "burger" filled with foie gras and a wonderfully tender chunk of beef, coupled with a bun that literally oozed flavour. There were also some extremely delicate seafood offerings: a dish of raw razorclam and brown shrimp was alternately tender, salty and sweet in just the right amounts. An absolutely gorgeous piece of A5 Gunma wagyu was also on offer. Wagyu can be overpoweringly fatty, but this one was tender with just the right balance of fat and slightly crispy "maillard"ed skin. In the desserts section, a poached meringue was soft to the point of being unearthly, and is certainly the best sweet course I've tasted in 2020.Something particularly unusual about Chef James' food is that he knows how to use a light touch of spice in dishes in a very impactful way. A course of Thai-inspired broth is kicked to the next level with sansho pepper powder, bringing a subtle numbing sensation to the palette, and a just few drops of japaleno on a ceviche added a lot of interest to the dish.Some courses failed to reach these heights. For me, the squab leg needed something extra: eating the meaty main portion of the thigh was almost a chore without some sauce or salt to pump the flavour up a bit. (Though my wife rated this dish as the favourite course of the night, so this may just be me!). While his attempt at a nigiri was servicable it doesn't compare favourably with what is available at mid-level sushi restaurants. The other Japan-inspired dish, a langoustine tempura, also felt a bit out of place, lacking the essential fluffiness of a good tempura. I also would not have been sad to see the mille feuille replaced with something else. The bread "course" was nice enough but perhaps should be served on the side rather than as its own thing.Overall, while the cooking was good and I see some unique ideas here which make it well worth a visit, it does fall some way short of perfection.While the staff were friendly, there were some small errors: we were given incorrect information about the ingredients of a dish at one point (another staff member stepped in to quickly remedy the error), and they once tried to remove a course from the table before we had started eating it!I tried the classic wine pairing at 115 GBP. All the wines were pleasant but not super memorable. Perhaps you would fare better with the more expensive "prestige" pairing at 295 GBP. We would also have appreciated slightly more choice of drinks: my wife doesn't drink wine but does enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail, but no cocktails are available. They also don't have much choice of spirits.The decor is quite striking, with a persistent skull motif that is cleverly even reflected in the food: the final course on the tasting menu is a beautiful chocolate skull. Top marks here!

Food presentation and quality is outstanding.We had a reservation at the Kitchen table and unless you witnessed the hard work and dedication each and everyone puts in its hard to appreciate it.The taste of each dish(all 15)was like nothing we’ve had before. We opted for the wine pairing which enhances your experience to another level.I can’t recommend the place enough.However,you must appreciate such quality and service comes at a cost.In my opinion though,worth every penny.