Mondays with Little Miss #4

After vowing to find some new places to eat in and around Durham we stumbled across The Library...not that kind of library before you bookworms get excited!

The Library is situated on Saddler Street just past The Mugwump (a fabulous little shop where you can find lots of perfect gifts, locally crafted items etc!)  We walked up the street not having a clue where to stop for lunch and came across the front of The Library which, once Scott had read New York burger on the menu, drew us inside!  Clean and light with lots of little off shoots of seated areas and places to dine we weren’t really sure where to go so headed to the bar.  A lovely smiley lady named Lisa came and talked us through what to do and took us to our seat.  She brought Amelia a high chair and some crayons and colouring books to keep her occupied while we looked through the menu.

Scott had already settled on the New York Burger and I opted for Ribs n Wings, Amelia loves Macaroni cheese so we were delighted to see a kiddie menu with quite a few options available.  Orders are placed at the bar, drinks given straight away and food brought to the table.   My Ribs n Wings were off the menu so I went for the pulled pork nachos which came recommended.  At the bar Lisa talked me through the Library card which is a loyalty card where by you collect points and get freebies so I signed up as this seemed like a friendly place to visit again.

We had only been seated about 5 minutes and the meals came out! Wow that was quick and we were really impressed but the reason was soon apparent.  You could tell by the beans (see pic1) that the meal had been reheated and not freshly cooked, to be honest it didn’t look that appealing – they looked a little dry in their tin dish but a quick stir seemed to bring them back to life and they tasted so much better than they looked! (I would recommend doing that before serving please, it would look so much better!)

The coleslaw was on greaseproof paper on a tray which made it slightly difficult to eat as it kept moving around when you try to pick it up.  The pulled pork nachos were really nice, a good combo of salt and cheese flavour but the pulled pork could have done with a bit more sauce as it was a little flavourless.  Don’t get me wrong I am not slating the whole dish – overall it was nice but seemed to be missing something!  Scott enjoyed his burger although I should have pointed out he hates gerkins and tomato and there were huge pieces of each – our fault not theirs!

The Library offers free wifi, printing, charging and a virtual jukebox.  There are always lots of sports shown on numerous screens around the bar including all of the big games and the restaurant feels more like a student hang out than a city centre eatery!

Overall I would say 6/10.

A lovely place with a great vibe and friendly staff that was just let down by the fact the food was warmed up instead of freshly made.  I would definitely call again but maybe not order from the hot food menu.

XOXO

Debbie