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The Black Bull Hotel, Kirkby Stephen, ENG

The Black Bull Hotel

3.7
3.7
77 Reviews
£25 and under
Pub

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 1 time today
Experiences are available.
  • Dog-friendly
  • Good for groups
  • Kid-friendly
Nestled in the village of Kirkby Stephen, the Black Bull is a traditional family friendly inn at the heart of the local community. We welcome locals and fleeting visitors alike who all take advantage of having both the Lake District and North Pennines right on our doorstep. Providing a great range of drinks to inspire the taste buds and excellent pubs classics to indulge any craving. As well as 9 comfortable rooms for a place to rest your head, we are the perfect respite no matter if it's a few days, or just a few hours, the Black Bull is the place to be.

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    £25 and under
  • Cuisines
    Pub
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 11:30 am–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 11:30 am–12:00 am Sun 11:30 am–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
    017683 47170
  • Payment options
    Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Neighborhood
    Penrith
  • Parking details
    Hotel Parking
  • Public transit
    Bus Stop:: HSBC (502,572,572, S4)
  • Additional
    Bar Dining, Beer, Beer Garden, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Vegan, Wine

Experiences

  • A Mother's Day Treat!

    £23.99 per person

    Mar 30, 2025 only
    Celebrate Mother's Day in style! Treat the special women in your life to a delightful three-course set menu crafted by our team of chefs with the love and care our Mums deserve. Take your pick from a selection of scrumptious starters, hearty roasts, and indulgent desserts - we've got something to really make her smile. So, kick back, relax, and let us do the cooking and the washing up while you give Mum a day to remember.
    A Mother's Day Treat! Photo

What 77 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

3.7
3.7 based on all time ratings
  • 3.5Food
  • 3.9Service
  • 3.6Ambience
  • 3.6Value

NoiseEnergetic

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Black Bull Hotel offers a mixed dining experience with "great friendly service" and "lovely atmosphere." While some guests enjoyed "brilliant food" and praised the "dog-friendly" environment, others noted inconsistent food quality and service challenges. The hotel remains a popular spot with its "warm welcome" and charming setting in Kirkby Stephen.

77 Reviews
  1. Paul

    Cumbria1 review

    5.0

    Dined on February 18, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Nice friendly place lively staff good food dog friendly.
    The Black Bull HotelResponded on February 27, 2025
    Hi Paul, Thank you for your lovely review! We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, lively staff, good food, and our dog-friendly policy. We look forward to welcoming you and your furry friend back soon! Cheers, The Black Bull Team

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  2. Olivia

    London1 review

    5.0

    Dined on February 15, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    Good pub dinner with really kind and helpful service that lifted it above the ordinary.
    The Black Bull HotelResponded on February 27, 2025
    Hi Olivia, Thank you for your lovely review! We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed your pub dinner and found our service exceptional. We look forward to welcoming you back soon. Cheers, The Black Bull Team

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  3. Martin

    Cumbria1 review

    5.0

    Dined on December 25, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Had a great Christmas Day lunch there..staff were friendly and happy made are Christmas happy and fun

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  4. Angela

    Central Texas13 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on December 22, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2
    Service was very poor as only 1 lady working and had to serve the food and serve behind the bar. Food wasn’t very good either.

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  5. Laura

    Yorkshire2 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on July 28, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 3
    booked a table, other customers had advised they had been waiting over an hour for their food. no wait mentioned when ordering. online menu completely different to what was offered. We ordered two roasts- was told we could only have one meat after ordering. also ordered additional pigs in blankets again told AFTER paying and ordering that these were unavailable. Staff did not apologise once. we asked for a refund and left the food.

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  6. BridgetG

    Bath2 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on May 14, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I chose the chicken satay skewers. Sadly the chicken was burnt on the outside and very dry . The coconut and peanut dip tasted only of mayonnaise. The fries were okay. My partner had the suet pudding and mashed potatoes. He ate it all. We had a chocolate pud with vanilla ice cream. The chocolate cake was dry and the vanilla ice cream was grey and didn't taste of vanilla at all. Very disappointed. We have eaten out every night on the CtC and it's been really good but last night even though I was very hungry I left my food. So it wasn't good .

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  7. OpenTable Diner

    Cumbria1 review

    1.0

    Dined on May 13, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 1
    The food was mediocre and little vegetarian choices

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  8. MartinB

    Italy2 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on April 21, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    We booked for lunch but when we arrived expecting options of the advertised menu we were only offered bar snacks or a selection of burgers. That said they were very nice, the ambience of bar was lovely and the service was great especially from the gorgeous blonde land lady!

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  9. JohnR

    Cumbria1 review

    4.0

    Dined on February 14, 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    It was Valentines Date Night. We were very well looked after all night. The selection of food was very good, Starter-Main-Dessert. All of the food was well prepared, hot and delicious. My wifes steak was cooked exactly as she asked for. Overall a great foody night and looked after by perfect staff.

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  10. Pork

    Newcastle1 review

    1.0

    Dined on February 10, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 3
    I ordered the king prawns, nachos and chicken wings. We were a larger party. The food arrived at the same time. The prawns were prepacked frozen variety. Nachos were served cold. Cheese sauce again cold. Wings arrived cold. The rest of my friends food didn’t fare much better. When asked if everything was ok we said no and explained what was the issue. This was shrugged off and didn’t address the issues but rather argue about our opinion. Food was unimaginative and prepared by someone clearly not trained. All in all we paid the bill and left as we would not spend another penny in such a disappointing establishment.

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FAQs

The Black Bull Hotel is rated 3.7 stars by 77 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 1 time today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for The Black Bull Hotel

38 Market Street, Kirkby Stephen, ENG CA17 4QW

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Penrith
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu 11:30 am–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 11:30 am–12:00 am Sun 11:30 am–9:00 pm
  • Price
    £25 and under
  • Cuisines
    Pub
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Hotel Parking
  • Public transit
    Bus Stop:: HSBC (502,572,572, S4)
  • Payment options
    Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Bar Dining, Beer, Beer Garden, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Vegan, Wine
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  • Terms of Use
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