Bishop Auckland is a town on the rise and its food scene is becoming increasingly popular. This is my guide to the best places to eat in Bishop Auckland to help plan your next visit.
If you’re looking for the best places to eat in Bishop Auckland, you’ve come to the right place. I’m here to help you figure out exactly where you should be eating when visiting Bishop Auckland; whether you’re here for The Auckland Project or Kynren. I live in County Durham so have visited this market town on numerous occasions over the last few years and I’m pleased to say that, with all of the regeneration work, Bishop Auckland is certainly one place in the North-East that is being transformed before our very eyes.
Bishop Auckland has a wide variety of places to eat but you really need to know where to eat to find the best restaurants and that’s where I come in. Whether you’re looking for low and slow smoked meats, Spanish tapas or Italian wood-fired pizza, I’ll take you through the best places to eat in Bishop Auckland.
Let’s do this.
THE TOP PLACES TO EAT IN BISHOP AUCKLAND, COUNTY DURHAM
Bishop Auckland Food Festival
Each year in mid-April, Bishop Auckland’s market place transforms into a two-day food festival with over 150 stalls and features live cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs. The highly regarded festival attracted 28,000 visitors in 2023 and will no doubt be just as popular when it returns on 20th and 21st April in 2024.
Street food traders, coffee trailers and brewers from across the North East all make an appearance at the Bishop Auckland Food Festival including Caps Off, Fat Hippo, hatch76 and Parm-O-Rama. You will also find plenty of retail stalls too so you can take home cakes, fresh bread, cheeses and pretty much anything that you can think of in the food and drink industry!
Knead A Slice
At the top of North Bondgate/Finkle Street, is Knead a Slice; Neapolitan style handmade pizzas cooked in a matter of minutes with fire. There are a wide variety of toppings on offer – my favourite being the Spicy with San Marzano Tomato Base, Mozzarella, Nduja, Tender Stem Broccoli, Pecorino, Chillies & Chilli Honey all for just £10. The Garlic Butter Fries are also unreal! This isn’t just the best pizza in Bishop Auckland, you won’t find much better across County Durham. I’d highly recommend booking a table as, quite rightly, it’s a popular place to eat in Bishop Auckland!
El Castillo
El Castillo is certainly one of the best restaurants in Bishop Auckland and wouldn’t be out of place in the centre of Durham if not Spain itself. This tapas restaurant is part of The Auckland Project’s ongoing development of Bishop Auckland and delivers high quality small plates made with fresh ingredients from the 17th Century Walled Garden at Auckland Castle just a few hundred yards away. This is a perfect place for a romantic date night or evening with friends and, whilst the price point is higher than expected here in Bishop Auckland, you won’t be disappointed!
Chang Thai
I’m always looking for a good Thai restaurant since our travels through Thailand back in 2018 and Chang Thai is a good offering in Bishop Auckland. With authentic flavours, decent pricing albeit with recent reviews suggesting service can be a bit slow, it’s still a great option for Thai food.
Fifteas Vintage Tea Room
If you’re looking for a charming café in Bishop Auckland, look no further than the Fifteas Tea Room which, as you probably guessed, is heavily inspired by the 1950’s. This post-WWII era is lovingly recreated here in the form of ‘Ration Book’ menus and the decor and the food offerings are brilliant too. Expect boulder sized fruit scones, tea in posh China mugs and, of course, slabs of corned beef pie. Bonus – there’s a dog friendly section of the café too if you’re visiting with your four legged friend.
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The Smokehouse
The Smokehouse is a unique independent business located in an old railway lockup that specialises in low and slow smoked meats, US style. The beef brisket and pulled pork are smoked for 14 hours overnight whilst the ribs, chicken and sausage are smoked fresh daily for 3-4 hours. All of the sausages, burgers and sauces are made in house and you can tell that a lot of pride goes into what The Smokehouse serves up.
I love American food so was absolutely blown away by the quality of the smoked meat platter. There are only a few tables inside that adds to the friendly atmosphere so make sure you book ahead or you can order online too if you’re local. Definitely one of my favourite places to eat in Bishop Auckland.
Park Head Hotel & Restaurant
Another redevelopment courtesy of The Auckland Project, Park Head Hotel & Restaurant is on the outskirts of the town and probably offers one of the best Sunday Lunches in Bishop Auckland. As with El Castillo, a lot of the ingredients are sourced from the 17th Century Walled Garden at Auckland Castle. Sunday Lunch features a choice of starters for £6, main courses (beef, pork or chicken) for £15 or all three meats for £18 and desserts for £6 (it’s always Sticky Toffee Pudding for me). Normal dishes are served throughout the week including Saturdays (think burgers, pies, fish & chips etc) plus between 5-6pm on Mondays to Fridays, you can pick from a range of main courses for just £10!
