A review of St Mary's Inn - A family and dog friendly pub with rooms in Stannington near Morpeth, Northumberland

It's no secret that we are huge fans of St Mary's Inn in Stannington near Morpeth. I LONG for this pub with rooms to be my local and like to visit whenever we can. After enjoying dinner with the children and a bargain afternoon tea (plus a few lunch dates I haven't blogged about) we were delighted to be invited to stay overnight to celebrate our wedding anniversary this November. 

You can stay over at St Mary's Inn from only £140 for two people including dinner, bed and breakfast which I think may be the best value stay I have ever encountered.

Our room

There are 11 bedrooms at St Mary's Inn - all light, spacious and uncluttered with warm furnishings and soft carpets. I loved the minimalist feel to the rooms that along with the silence of the countryside was utter bliss. Bedrooms are filled with local art, unique antique furnishings, wrought iron beds and luxurious modern bathrooms. 

I arrived a few hours before my husband Steve so took advantage of the free wifi (which was actually decent) and caught up with some work in my room before running myself a lovely warm bubble bath. 

St Mary's Inn Restaurant and Pub

The pub and dining area at St Mary's Inn is just so warm and cosy at this time of year. There are bookcases filled with books for you to help yourself to, freshly baked treats on the bar, dogs lying by the roaring fires as their owner enjoys a drink or two, candlelit tables, luxury fabrics and low lighting - you get the picture. It's as if St Mary's Inn was created with cold winter nights in mind.

Food Menu

The menu at St Mary's Inn is full of local and seasonal flavours at the moment with Northumberland broth, Autumn vegetable and lentil curry and cottage pie all featuring on the menu.

Devilled Chicken Livers, Black Pudding, Crispy Onions, House cured Bacon and Bitter Leaf

Air Dried Duck Starter from the specials board

Our starters were superb - Steve mentioned on more than one occasion that the livers were the best he's ever had and my duck was just perfect and delicious with the winter slaw it was served with.

Northumberland Venison Haunch

Red Wine Braised Shoulder of Beef

Both of our main courses were plentiful and served lovely and pink. They were melt in the mouth delicious and beautifully presented too.

We needed a short break between courses which was easy to do in the comfortable dining room.

British Cheese Board

Orchard Apple Crumble with a jug of vanilla custard

We headed to the bar after dinner with the idea of enjoying a few after dinner drinks. It was so lovely and cosy in here that I could have actually could have fallen asleep. It appears our eyes had been bigger than our belly so after our coffee's we headed up to our room where we enjoyed the most wonderful night's sleep. It was a very windy evening that night but I'm sure the rooms at St Mary's must have quadruple glazing as we didn't hear a thing apart from perfect silence all night!

Breakfast at St Mary's Inn

Residents can enjoy a leisurely check out of 11am and breakfast is served until 10am meaning there is no need to set your alarms. The morning was beautiful and I could look at these countryside views from our window all day. After a very powerful shower we headed downstairs for breakfast.

The breakfast room at St Mary's Inn looks like it has stepped straight from a magazine. It is flooded with morning sunshine, bright and airy yet the warm stove ensures it is welcoming and comfortable too. We were lucky enough to have the room to ourselves and definitely felt like VIP's. 

The selection was phenomenal with freshly baked croissants, cereals, fruit salads and juices, cured meats, cheeses, smoked salmon, breads and numerous jars of dried fruit, nuts, grains, yoghurts and preserves for you to create your own healthy bowl of granola to start the day. I was very impressed. We ordered our cooked items from the kitchen and certainly feasted like Kings.

Cooked breakfast (minus egg) with the most delicious fried bread

Check out was quick and efficient and we left St Mary's Inn feeling fully refreshed and ready for the week ahead. 

St Mary's Inn has a full programme of Festive Events this December including:-

Christmas Afternoon Tea throughout December - £14.95 per person

Sunday with the King of Swing Glen Roughead on 6th December from 2:30pm

Kids Christmas Lunch with face painting and festive surprises on 20th December

Christmas Day Lunch, Boxing Day Lunch, New Years Eve Party, New Years Day Lunch and Festive Fayre

Festive accommodation is available.