sedgefield racecourse

Had a very exciting day today at the Races and the food in the Pavilion Restaurant was wonderful with great views of the finish line.

The food was excellant, the staff were polite and helpful, even the sun came out. I will definately consider coming back again soon

On arrival, we had to find our own table, which was incredibly difficult considering the amount of tables in the room. We had to wait 45 minutes for someone to come and take our drinks order, after asking several times, and being told to "wait a minute" by a member of staff - who then failed to reappear. Having booked this on Boxing Day 2013, to have a window seat, I also was appalled to find that our table had restricted view due to a concrete pillar. Due to the positioning of the tables, one of my guests had to repeatedly stand up and move to allow the people on the table next to us to move in and out from their table. We then received our first course, an hour and a half after arriving; which arrived cold. The second course then arrived another hour after that, which again was cold. During the prolonged wait for our third course, we had to take it upon ourselves to clear away our dirty dishes and cutlery. We had meanwhile been requesting drinks, of which our requests were ignored. The third course then arrived around an hour after that. I was being told repeatedly of how busy it was, but should this not have been foreseen of how busy the event would be, and therefore more staff brought in to work on this day? When it was time to leave, the table next to us told us of how they were receiving free drinks because of their concerns regarding the service, even though we had complained several times and had heard nothing of it. After which I felt victimised and appalled at the fact that we were presented with a bill.We have been attending the Boxing Day event for four years running now, and we have always found the service to be outstanding. This year however, we were left bitterly disappointed, to the point where we feel we will not be returning to any event at Sedgefield.

We have just got home {early] from willy wonkas christmas candyland at sedgefield racecourse..the leaflet states christmss candyland party..2 hours non stop entertainment including party games disco and visit from santa...free gift for every child....the disco was the music to play the non stop party games which were a few games of standing statues..When we first got there it seemed as if it was going to good...a few giant lollypops and sweets and 'willy wonka ' posing for photos...ufortunately this is where the intrest ended..we went down some stairs into the bar area..the tables and chairs looked very nice..a few sweets on a 3 tier cake stand on the table.the odd boring games of standing statues....but the highlight was still to come !!!The visit from santa and the amazing pressie...A BALLOON..albeit it was made into an animal....just a small one not the big ones a person normally gets....the look on the childrens faces were priceless !!!..abs terrible we came home 30 mins before the end so did a few others....2 hours of non stop entertainment.!!!! Wevwere still waiting for it to start when we left !! No food thought they would have of put sandwiches on ets as it was a childrens party...you could have had crisps and hotdog as long as you paid.admittingly was £5 per child but still was a load of rubbish.....if its on next year we definately wont be going back..

Bought tickets from Groupon. Called the racecourse to book the tickets. Told they would be posted but they never arrived. Called the racecourse to be told if I wanted entry I would have to pay for tickets on the door. Emailed the racecourse but they are ignoring my email. Its been 5 days now.

Bought a voucher on groupon, in the description advised that needed to pre-book, there was no answer by telephone and no one answered the emails. The fair was a disgrace, looked like a jumble store. There were no food stalls. The layout was appalling, a very tight walk way so if someone stopped to look everyone else was stuck. Couldnt wait to leave, only spent 20 minutes there, would have been quicker if you could have walked round. In the car park needs maintenance to the pot holes.

I purchased a groupon for the Xmas craft and food fair with an afternoon tea. It was totally misleading and a waste of money. The fair was spread over two buildings, with stalls crammed into two small first floor spaces. Extremely poor quality goods on sale, some stalls were laughable at what they were trying to sell. Hardly any food stalls. When we arrived the fair had only been open a half hour and people were already leaving, a sure sign of something not good. We had to wander into sedgefield to kill time as our afternoon tea was booked for an hour later , we had planned to spend an hour and a half in the fair. Tea was rushed, they had clearly overbooked and were struggling to cope with numbers. Dirty dishes on tables, last customers milk used for us, and fairly average shop bought cakes. The quiche was nice, I will give them that! Afternoon tea is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable . The only saving grace was the company of four other ladies we shared a table with who were as equally annoyed about the fair and the tea, so we had a good laugh about the whole experience and vowed never to come back. And we won't. A total rip off.

I bought four tickets to go to the xmas craft and food fair with afternoon tea, what a waste of money ! The stalls could be viewed in half an hour , never saw any food stalls apart from one selling cup cakes . We then went into Silks restaurant for afternoon tea , this was awful. The sandwiches had clearly been made on the morning as the bread was dry and the filling was very poor . The cakes were slopping and had clearly been frozen. Won't be returning total waste of money .

A complete waste of money!! Only wish id read the reviews on trip advisor for previous fairs you've held. We basically paid £5 per person to shop, there were no where near 50 stalls only about 20-30, some selling knocked off rubbish and others selling overpriced rubbish, very few decent stalls, main one was a lovely older lady selling hand knitted toys. Oh yeah and the body shop stall I could've just gone into town for and not paid to go in it! It stated on the 'this is Durham' website there would be a kids disco, balloon modelling and Punch and Judy, there was none of this, I would imagine I'm not the only annoyed parent who trekked from further afield to come to this shoddy excuse of a fair. I'm sure trading standards would also have something to say! Health and safety would have had a field day as you couldn't move. As for refreshments served throughout the day, there were few sandwiches and we got there at 12, most of the sandwich fillings had run out! There was a huge lack of indoor seating and considering I was told you had plenty of staff, why were the tables dirty? Having spoken to your 'manager' who blatantly lied saying the this is Durham site had last years info when it clearly said today's date then saying it was £5 last year, at least there was some entertainment, how can you justify charging the same this year with none!? Oh sorry I forget you had a bagpiper who didn't even play Xmas songs, it didn't even look festive at the entrance, not even abit of tinsel! Even worse when we left at 2pm (we were only there that long as we had babies two to feed and change) people were just walking in as your windows for taking payment had closed! I strongly advise anyone who is considering going here with family for one of these fairs to think again and read trip advisor! It was like coming downstairs on Xmas morning and finding no tree and no food! Will not be returning!

I must admit to having been a few times to the racecourse as both a diner and a spectator, however it is as the former that I write this review.Now without the input of CGC caterers, the racecourse's restaurants continue to shine. The food is of such high quality; the menus carefully and often unusually constructed to please all pallets. On this occasion I met the head chef and congratulated him on a beautifully put together three course meal served in their Hoops Bistro. With great views of all the racing action, accompanied by a truly stunning 3-course meal, I really did convey my congratulations to Andy. Whether a devout follower of 'the sport of kings' or just a fancier of a flutter with an enjoyable meal and ambience, I would very much recommend the racecourse.

I drove from gateshead to get to sedgefield Xmas fair with my daughter and what a joke it was ! A waste of time, far to overcrowded. I'm surprised it wasn't a health and safety breach in the room where the stalls were. Santa Claus looked cheap and fake and the kids entertainment was basically a disco with little toddlers running around with balloons. I stayed all of 20 mins and wasn't able to get lunch as I would of had to wait another 2 hours . I asked for a refund as I was totally disappointed and told no . Maybe if you live close by and it was free.. go however i would not bother !

I note that all the poor reviews are from people who did not go for the racing - oh dear how sad never mind!Good fair testing course for chasers and hurdlers. Good facilities and catering. Too much dedicated to private boxes, but that is life nowadays; this and the wood in the middle (which we do not see on TV) means that visibility is inhibited even on the owners' stand, but better than Chester or Cartmel! Nice Owners' lounge with good hot food, and owners made welcome; nice staff too.My first visit (as an owner), if I make another visit, it will be as an owner, and I would ask the management to make my horse run faster!This is a good course to come to - well done

Sedgefield Racecourse is one of my favourite places to go for a treat or different day out, I always recommend it to people as we always enjoy it. The Game Fair was really interesting with a wide range of events and displays, and the service was great with friendly helpful staff on hand to assist. The afternoon tea was lovely, the price was just right for the quality. Sandwiches, scones, cakes, all great! The venue is something different and as the weather was good this added to the enjoyment that we all had and was a great day out as a family and we bought nice items from the Craft Stands.

Was not as busy as last year however it was still a good day. Afternoon tea was lovely and the young man serving us was really helpful. Delicious cakes, bread a little dry on sandwiches. Shooting team great Ian in particular he was a brill coach and very patient with everyone! Sheep shearing was interesting felt it could have been a little earlier as we hung around all day for it. Was great kids could sit on tractors etc and camping looked good! We will return next year with the tent!

We have just visited the Sedgefield Racecourse for the Game and Country Show with afternoon tea. I was very disappointed as there were hardly any craft stalls and certainly very few other stalls. I did expect maybe one or two farmers market stalls, however there were none at all. There were a couple of catering vans, however no chairs or tables for people to sit. We did have a pint of beer and a half of lager and at £6 it was overpriced. The afternoon tea was delicious with as much tea and coffee as required. Staff were friendly and helpful. Our Groupon deal included entrance for Saturday as well and we did think that we would go again, however we have decided that it would not be worth while. The ladies toilets were nice and clean except that the soap dispensers were empty, obviously no one had bother to fill them.