Date night at The Owl & Otter – review

8th September 2024 0 By Rachael Stray

We recently enjoyed a date night dining at The Owl & Otter so thought I’d share an honest review.

This was our second date night this year and I decided to treat Steve and I to a lovely meal at a restraurant we’ve been wanting to try for ages!

We’re big fans of Sale Pepe and Sorella Sorella (which are part of the family-run group of North East based restaurants) so we hoped we were in for a culinary treat at The Owl & Otter.

About The Owl & Otter

The Owl & Otter is a gastropub in Burnopfield, County Durham, from the family-run group behind Sorella Sorella and Sale Pepe Shotley Bridge.

There is a bar area where dogs are welcome.

And a terrace and beer garden to enjoy drinks and food al fresco.

Our date night at The Owl & Otter

It was a very short drive from our home in County Durham to The Owl & Otter and the weather was still really warm, a perfect date night!

The Owl & Otter is a popular restaurant so much so we couldn’t get parked in the car park but fortunately found on-street parking just outside.

We were warmly welcomed when we arrived and were shown to our table for two.

Steve was driving and I was on-call for work so it was soft drinks for us both, Steve had an Appletizer and I had a Coke of course.

We perused the menu and decided it was a two course kind of evening.

For starters Steve and I both plumped for the soft shell crab tostada each.

And for mains Steve chose the lamb shank and I went for the monkfish.

The Owl & Otter was bustling but we didn’t feel like we were sat on the laps of other diners and the atmosphere was great.

I really liked this touch of a bookcase where you can borrow a book.

We sipped our drinks and enjoyed some child free conversation as we waited for our starters.

After a bit of a wait our starters were whisked over and we couldn’t wait to get stuck in.

I’ll admit the tostoda wasn’t quite what I had expected and although it was tasty I wish I’d gone for the harissa beef skewers instead.

We had a shorter wait for our mains and we were not disappointed with these dishes.

The portions are generous at The Owl & Otter.

Steve’s lamb was served with mashed potato, green vegetables and gravy.

My pan-fried monkfish tail was wrapped in bacon and served with seafood alfredo pasta (clams, squid, prawns, mussels) in a cream sauce with samphire and asparagus.

I really enjoyed my dish and was definitely full to the brim but I do think potatoes would have worked better rather than the pasta nonetheless I enjoyed it.

Steve really enjoyed his main.

With full tummies and drinks finished off I settled the bill and we headed off home.

We really enjoyed our date night at The Owl & Otter and I’d definitely return, they also have a good children’s menu so I think we’d go back as a trio next time.