You will be excused for thinking that Toronto is a long way to go in a quest to find the best Sunday Lunch, but we decided to go to a place this few weeks back
to seek out some Yorkshire Puddings et al. However, I should just point out that this Toronto is just stones throw away from the Kynren site near Bishop Auckland, and it’s called Toronto Lodge.
I remember calling here for a quick pint some years back. Back when it was a bog standard Pub, and I’ll be honest, I had chosen not to go back since.
However it’s amazing what an investment of a few million pounds can make to an area, and the Toronto Lodge is a prime example.
These days it is no longer that bog standard Pub, but a very pleasant and reasonably priced Pub/ Restaurant, that is taking full advantage of Bishop Auckland’s resurrection from the dead!
Standing on a hill side and over looking the Wear Valley, the view from the car park is stunning, and if your lucky and you get a table in the conservatory, you can enjoy this same view from inside the Restaurant.
As you approach the front door you are taken aback a little by their choice of door handles. A shiny garden fork and garden spade no less, suggesting perhaps that the portions are large?
This place could not be described as posh, but the atmosphere is friendly and inviting, and the staff match up to that description.
We were offered a traditional Sunday Lunch with a choice of a starter or a sweet for just £9.95 or if we were particularly hungry we could have had three courses for £12.95.
The same deal is available from Monday to Friday aswell as on a Sunday, and during any school holiday, kids can eat a main meal for just £1 when one adult meal is chosen from the main menu.
And there’s more! Any Monday to Thursday night you can have two meals, plus a bottle of wine or two drinks for £20, and on Juicy Steak Tuesdays you can have two steaks, a bottle of wine or two drinks for the same price.
The food was very good and portions were generous. We all agreed that we had all enjoyed our Sunday Lunch in Toronto.
We only had one small gripe however.
As we waited to settle our bill at the bar we noticed that the kitchen sink, which was open for all to see, was well beyond the point when the water wanted changing. As a result any plates could not be described as sparkling! A small point perhaps, but an important one.
The Toronto Lodge is a Sonnet 43 Pub, and their award winning cask ales are brewed just up the road at Coxhoe, near Durham, and they are thirst quenchingly good.
Food is served Monday to Saturday from Noon til Nine, and on Sunday’s from Noon until 7pm.
So if you plan to come to Bishop Auckland to see Kynren this summer, and you’re looking for somewhere to eat, then you could do a lot worse than the Toronto Lodge.
Providing of course they give a lot more attention to the washing up department!