Restaurant 17

You're sat on one of Durham's most atmospheric streets, where the Wear cuts through the city centre and the medieval bridge frames everything perfectly. Restaurant 17 does unfussy, ingredient-driven cooking—the kind of place where they're not trying to prove anything except that good food tastes good. It's become the sort of spot locals book weeks ahead for, whether it's a proper date night or somewhere to take someone visiting from down south who expects Durham to have nothing interesting to eat.