The Blackbird Inn

excellent good service lovely atmosphere we would recommend anybody to go and try - i met a friend i hadn't seen for 47 years - lovely experience

The Blackbird in Ponteland is a fantastic venue for a meal or a drink, the staff are outstanding and the atmosphere is brilliant, highly recommended.

Great atmosphere, lovely building and decoration. Fantastic food, very reasonably priced. Staff friendly, helpful and accommodating nothing was too much trouble. Well worth a visit.

The food was good but the service very slow and the waitress failed to offer to fetch more drinks from the bar, top up the water jug or even bring the card machine over for payment (all of which we had to request after waiting patiently for longer than we'd typically expect to.)

Great food today at the blackbird. Majority of staff great, but could do with a little cooling in the restaurant area, hot day and temperature was through the roof

Nice atmosphere in the bar area but let down badly by very poor food. Ordered the prawn salad starter and it was literally a gem lettuce cut in half with a handful of prawns scattered around. Won't be back for food!

We arrived for our table at 8.00m, the time we had booked. We eventually received our food at 9.15pm, after continually asking where it was. The waitress was very polite and apologetic and we were offered a discount on our food, but the wait was unacceptable

Lovely setting and excellent service. Food is top end, definitely restaurant quality rather than pub grub. The children's portions are a good size and the bar staff know their stuff and very much involved in your drinks orders.

We had an absolutely delicious two course Sunday lunch, it would of been three courses but we were to full, the desserts sounded fab next time will definitely try one, especially the almond panna cotta with cherry ice cream. The pink prosecco complemented the meal perfectly. We will definitely be back!

Served piping hot. Lovely vegetables and plenty meat. Lovely surroundings. Favourite place for a Sunday lunch. The service was very good. Will definitely return. Highly recommended.

Excellent food, friendly staff with goo knowledge of food content. Good location with plenty of parking space. Definitely will come back in the near future.

The food was excellent and the service was efficient. There was an atmosphere of warmth and welcome. The menu was wide ranging and I have every intention of returning

The visit was disappointing, we waited for 10 mins at a table we had booked to order but no staff came. So we had to go to the bar and order ourselves. This happened with drinks, main course and dessert. The inn and room was almost empty. Staff just seemed to be chatting amongst themselves behind the bar. The food was nice though

Lovely pub, excellent staff and yummy food - not to mention an amazing selection of gin! Would definitely visit again with our family and friends.

Great pre-Christmas get together with colleagues. Good food, good service, good drinks. All together a great venue (upstairs restaurant). The overall experience was one we all enjoyed.

We had a great lunch at the Blackbird Inn. It was a busy Sunday lunch service. Staff were cheerful and food was lovely and reasonably priced.

Went for family lunch (3 generations) good range of high quality meals and lighter bites so something for all. Would advise booking a table as popular place.

Everything was fabulous! The food, the service, the staff were all top notch and we'll certainly be back! In fact the plan is to bring the whole family next time!

We all enjoyed our meals, a Dunday lunch. The Yorkshire puddings were a little well done, but the meal still tasted lovely. Would go back.

Very good overall. Very good food and very friendly service. If I had to find any criticism , it would be that the starters are perhaps a bit overpriced ; and the skinny fries, while very tasty, came with a bit too much salt on them for our personal taste. But overall a very good meal and we shall be happy to return.

Good atmosphere upstairs in the restaurant with large tables and comfortable chairs. Nice food and great beer. Very friendly and helpful staff, good efficient service.

Buzzing atmosphere in historic looking pub. Because it was busy, service was slightly slow but the food was worth the wait, not massive portions, more about quality and taste. The staff were very attentive and friendly, will be back!

Great food, beautiful decor and friendly staff. Have been to this restaurant before and every dish I have tasted has been delicious. Lots of free parking.

As usual the restaurant gives us more than expected. So glad to see the blackbird back up there as one of ponetelands best pubs and restaurants.

Very pleasant relaxed atmosphere. Attentive service. Decent food as well. The menu has a good choice, and is not overly expensive. Would return and dine again.

The service and food were excellent. Our table was reserved with our name and we were quickly served with some drinks. We had no starters but the main course was delicious. Dessert was of the highest quality.

We are frequent visitors but today we were met with extremely poor service. Having a 4 year old becoming tired whilst waiting for over an hour for our main course to arrive is unacceptable. There appeared to be heated discussions amongst the staff with regard to our table, lame apologies but the manager did not appear overly concerned . We are now on the lookout for an alternative Sunday lunch restaurant.

We booked for a family Sunday lunch. Having been to the restaraunt for a la cartel before and it was fantastic. However we waited for about an hour for our main courses to arrive and when they did the beef was very very tough. So much so that one of the group was unable to eat it. The vegetarian option of nut cutlet was dry and tasted terrible again a big disappointment. We were so upset as we had brought the family as a treat and were let down by the food

Disappointing, the fish was not up to the usual standard - thin and dry. One fish replaced by gougons that were acceptable. Customer service not what would be expected - should have discounted one meal.

Excellent- superb food and attentive service made for a very enjoyable evening, also a good selection of Gins and a good wine list we had the old vine Zinfandel

We almost always have the haddock with chunky chips, both of which are excellent. The staff are always friendly and the waiting time is acceptable.

The usual great food every time we visit. The staff are always courteous and helpful. The only problem is the proximity to the bar, which is usually quite noisy.

Food very good but service very slow - nearly an hour to get mains & a further 30 mins for desserts. Service good waitresses very attentive

You can't really go wrong with the food, it's all tasty and well presented. The menu should satisfy everyone and the staff are always attentive.

Delicious Fab time Burnt fish cake :( but acknowledged by kitchen and free desert given Shame as rest 5/5 really lovely place and great service - good choice of drinks and nice food

Good food /good staff/ enjoyed our Sunday lunch experience and would definitely go again Also sky tv if you are interested in sport with your food

Had a really lovely night. The staff were friendly and helpful. The food was lovely and the function room was amazing!.Thank you Blackbird for making my birthday night special.

Attentive, polite staff. Good food and drinks menu. Made to feel very welcome. Family friendly early Friday evening. Popular with locals popping in for a pint after dog walk and also groups celebrating an occasion.

Good service and food. First time we had been and would definitely return. Waitress was very helpful, service efficient and most importantly Sunday lunch was delicious.

excellent food, very good service in a nice setting. the pub was very busy and added to the atmosphere as the rugby was on at the same time.

My three sisters and I came to the Blackbird on recommendation. We have never had such a bad meal. The prawn cocktail was almost all lettuce and at £6.95 was very poor. Three of us had the burger they were so hard and overlooked we could not cut them, the only redeeming factor was the chips. We left a tip for the young waitress Who was very pleasant. We will not be eating again at the Blackbird and could not recommend it to anyone. Mrs Elsie Clark

Lovely food served by lovely efficient and attentive staff. The Minstrel's Gallery is a particularly nice comfortable room, although the stairs could be tricky for people with limited mobility.

Tuesday evening with my wife, very relaxing meal in the restaurant, great food and a fantastic head waiter. Would recommend Great choice of wines, beers and especially Gin, bit of a bad head Wednesday Morning

The usual good food and service, quieter than on previous occasions. First occasion to have the hamburger - good but not as good as the haddock.

Our reserved table in the bar was well positioned for the needs of the children and adults in the party. The staff were very helpful and served us all at the table without questioning. The food was lovely and everything was eaten readily. We were made to feel very welcome and nothing seemed any bother to the staff. A really nice friendly visit with lovely staff and surroundings. Thank you.

Today myself, husband and daughter visited the blackbird for Sunday lunch. Firstly all the staff were extremely polite and friendly. We were given a table with high stools and after seeing it might not be suitable for my daughter they moved us to a table near the fireplace. The service was great, very efficient. The food was delicious, myself and husband had a roast dinner and my daughter had chicken nuggets. I would definitely return and would recommend to others.

A very disappointing start to the evening when we were brusquely ushered downstairs despite being booked upstairs! Downstairs is too crowded and the tables so close together I could not physically get both legs under the table. A much more caring waitress spotted our plight and offered us a table upstairs. This is a proper dining room and a delightful space which was not being used, however there was a lovely log fire burning and we were given a table in front of it. Excellent. The waitresses and service were fantastic as was the food. What a wasted room this is, they cram people in downstairs probaby unlikely to return (for that reason) when they could have a superb dining experience upstairs. I really can't understand the management's reasoning! Full marks to the waitress who saved our evening, turning it from a potential disaster to a thoroughly enjoyable occasion. Not so many marks though to the gentleman who showed us to our table when we arrived.

Restaurant was busy when we arrived which meant we were a bit delayed in sitting down. Food was outstanding and service really good. Overall a great experience

Lovely food, atmosphere and staff. Will be going back soon

Surroundings fab, atmosphere great, menus varied Allowed to mix and match from menus no problem...food was really good. Service was good...m y friend and I have nothing bad to say about our night. Lovely to see Blackbird 'buzzing' again.