Inside Stapylton Steakhouse as it transforms historic East Durham pub

Popular publicans and restaurateurs have taken over an historic village pub - and are hoping to raise the ‘steaks’ with their new offering.

Business partners Ian Foxton and Paul Rowntree took over  the reins of the former Times Inn in Dalton-le-Dale, near Seaham, last year, reopening it as The Fox and Tree, in honour of their surnames.

Both with decades of experience in the hospitality industry, they set about creating a gastro pub worth talking about, and have had great success with the pub winning praise for its menus and currently riding high at the No 1 spot on Seaham’s Trip Advisor.

Now, they’ve turned their hand to the former Stapylton Arms, in the neighbouring East Durham village of Hawthorn, which is a sister site to The Fox and Tree.

After making changes in the restaurant area to improve its atmosphere, including the addition of a feature faux cherry blossom tree and local artworks that are available to buy, they’ve reopened the site as Stapylton Steakhouse.

With all steaks dry aged in a Himalayan salt room and served with beef dripping fries, the restaurant also specialises in locally-sourced seafood, with lobster from nearby Seaham.

Paul said: “We fell lucky with this one. The previous owners do the quiz at The Fox and Tree and approached us about taking over The Stapylton Arms as they have full-time jobs and were juggling those with running the pub.”

Ian said: “We weren’t actually aware of the pub, but it’s a great spot in a really beautiful village and we saw the potential in it.

“We’ve made more of the restaurant area to give it more of a restaurant feel. Meanwhile, the bar is dog-friendly, serving real ales, and people can also order to eat food there.

“With The Fox and Tree only being five minutes away by car, we didn’t want to be competition with ourselves, which is why we decided to specialise in steak and seafood.”

Both come from great hospitality stock, with Ian, from Sunderland, having worked in pubs in the area for 23 years and chef patron Paul donning the whites in prestigious kitchens, including restaurants in London’s Bond Street and Knightsbridge, Michelin-starred venues, cruise ships and cooking for world leaders at the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa.

Paul said: “We use great quality steaks, which are sourced as locally as possible. We’re even talking to farmers from the nearby fields about using their produce.”

Opening hours

Stapylton Steakhouse is open Wednesday to Saturday from 12pm to 11pm and Sundays from 12pm to 10pm. Light lunch is also served Wednesday to Saturday from 12pm to 4pm with a Sunday lunch menu available on Sundays.

A quiz is held on Sundays from 6pm to 8pm.

On the menu

There’s a broad range of choice on the menu.

Options include starters such as grilled queen scallops (£12), baked gooey soft cheese fondue (£8), smoked chipotle marinated chicken wings (£7) and Yorkshire charcuterie (£9).

Grill options, which all come with fries and gem lettuce, include a premium offering of The Beast of Hawthorn, a 40-day prime 4 rib long bone of beef, which is £60pp and is ordered for the table, Wagu burger (£16), grilled merguez sausage (£21) and chargrilled marinated chicken breast (£16.95).

Steak options include 10oz sirloin (£33), 8oz fillet (£36) and Applewood cured bone in bacon steak (£26).

Vegetarian options include charred roast cauliflower (£14) and skewered peppers, squash and courgette (£14).

Seafood options, served with fries and salad, include charred octopus (£24), charred chunky cod (£24) and Korean style grilled king prawns (£25).

Puddings are all priced £7 and include sticky toffee pudding, New York baked cheesecake, apple tart tatin, dark chocolate fondant and classic cheese board.