The Rabbit Hole

Featured reviews

• J

  Johnboy

  ·1 month ago

  “Beautifully decorated. Great food - egg fried rice was fab. Service excellent. Not cheap but I can see why. We had the duck to start. Monkfish & shredded beef.”

• L

  Lottie Lambert

  ·2 months ago

  “What an incredible meal. The food was absolutely delicious and presented beautifully on those patterned plates. I was especially impressed by the dessert. The sweet buns served with a scoop of ice cream and fresh pomegranate seeds were the perfect way to finish everything off. Every bite was packed with flavor. The atmosphere was just right for a lovely evening out. I will definitely be back again soon.”

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• J

  J E

  ·2 months ago

  “The space is quite nice - dark and moody. I ate an early dinner and upon emerging was stunned by daylight (felt much later inside). Definitely sets a dinner-time mood. I only tried 3 small plates which were all good. Service was attentive and polite. Value was better than average except for alcoholic beverages which seemed overpriced. A neat little restaurant and way better than most anything in the old town.”

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• M

  MUK

  ·3 months ago

  “When you are in Durham. It’s a must restaurant you have to try. From outside you would not believe how beautiful inside. The staff are so nice. The food is amazing.”

• E

  Elizabeth

  ·3 months ago

  “Came the night before my graduation with family. Absolutely loved it. Interiors amazing you’d think you were in London. Food and service absolutely fantastic too. They also gave me a graduation card which was such a nice gesture. My parents haven’t stopped talking about how great it was - best restaurant in Durham.”

• H

  Harjit Guram

  ·7 months ago

  “I went with family to have dinner. Really enjoyed our visit here. The food was excellent with lots of flavour and nicely presented small plates, especially the dim sum and sharing dishes. It’s a great place if you like trying a few different things rather than ordering a single main. The atmosphere is cosy and slightly hidden away, making it feel a bit more special than many places in Durham. It’s a good option for a date night or evening with friends, and the cocktails are also worth trying. The only downside is the price. It’s definitely on the steeper side and because most dishes are small plates, the bill can add up quite quickly. Worth it for the quality, but probably more of an occasional treat. A tip for anyone visiting: book ahead and expect fairly low lighting inside.”

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• T

  Two Tickets and a Table

  ·7 months ago

  “Away from our usual Geordie haunts, we found ourselves at The Rabbit Hole in Durham for a Lunar New Year feast with a few friends. Given that the festivities famously clashed with Pancake Day this year, it felt only right to swap the nutella for some hoisin and duck. This place is a bit of a mood: think 1920s Shanghai speakeasy meets jazz-age den. It’s dark and atmospheric, providing a sophisticated backdrop for a celebration. The tables are set with beautiful dragon-patterned ceramics that immediately signal you’re in for something more refined than your average takeaway. We leaned into the celebration with a spread that required some serious "plate tetris". The highlights included: Hoisin Duck Pancakes: The star of the show, especially given the Pancake Day coincidence. The shredded (and thickly sliced) duck arrived in tiered metal steamers to keep everything hot while we built our wraps. Char Siu Pork: Glossy, honey-sweet, and sliced into perfectly tender portions. Sticky Spare Ribs: A generous portion of ribs with a rich, dark glaze and fresh garnish. Sizzling Beef: Served on a traditional cast-iron platter, rich with onions and a savory sauce. Braised Pork Belly: A substantial, melt-in-the-mouth slab of pork served with vibrant greens and radish. The Sweet Surprise: We were surprised at the end of our meal with a traditional Lunar New Year treat: Jian Dui. While they look like a savory side, they were actually a sweet treat filled with nutty black sesame; a real "blink and you’ll miss it" gem that signed off as a the perfect festive finish. If you want a spot in Durham that feels like a proper "event," this is it. It’s got a rare mix of great styling and high-quality Cantonese cooking. The service handled our group well, even with the table being roughly 95% covered in ceramics and steamer baskets by the end. One massive key point to note was that one of our party is severely allergic to nuts. We made the waitstaff aware of this upon arrival and were informed that this was no problem at all, and that every dish on the menu could be prepared without nuts (with the obvious exception of the satay!). It was a real treat to be able to dine in an Asian restaurant and not have to worry! Our only real ‘negative’ comment was that, at times, it felt like the wait for server attention and action was a little long - it took around 15 minutes from us asking for the bill to it arriving, and we were one of the last tables left in the restaurant. Other than that, a thoroughly top-notch experience, and we’ve recommended The Rabbit Hole to a handful of friends already!”

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• Z

  Zack Pearce

  ·9 months ago

  “What a delightful place! Me and my family visited on New Year's Day and thoroughly enjoyed our food and drinks. We received excellent service and the place is beautifully decorated. I had a couple of small plates. The short beef rib and the hoisin beef shin. The beef shin came in the form of spring rolls and contained plenty of meat. They also had cheese in them which wasn't listed on the menu but that added welcome extra flavour. The beef rib was really tender. It was only lukewarm, when everything else was plenty hot enough. It was the first thing to come out too. I still enjoyed it though. Some other dishes we had were the sizzling cantonese style beef, celebration duck and tonkatsu. All our plates were cleared so that tells you how delicious we found it all. It's quite pricey but the quality of food is great and portions are a good size too. This was a great find just outside the main centre of Durham but definitely worth the walk out to it.”

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• Y

  Yuki

  ·1 year ago

  “This is no authentic Cantonese food, very strange fusion , taste is weird. If you re looking for a real Cantonese food , this is not the place. Although the environment is very cozy and nice decorated.”

• B

  Bruce Sun

  ·1 year ago

  “This is the first time in my life I’ve had such a strange roast duck and Kung Pao chicken. The waiter said they were trying to adapt to the local eating habits! The result was a very untraditional Chinese meal — a bizarre experience that anyone would never expect. If you’re really looking for authentic Chinese food, I definitely wouldn’t recommend this place. But if you just want to experience something different, you absolutely should come here, because they can really cook up dishes beyond you expect. I wish there is some real Chinese food here.”

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