The Library
Pub and cocktail bar
A busy bar on Saddler Street with two-for-one cocktails every day and outdoor seats.
📍 46 Saddler St, Durham DH1 3NU
Pubs and beer bars: 6 bars
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The Shakespeare Tavern
Historic pub
One of Durham's oldest pubs, in a building said to date back to the 1100s, small and old-fashioned and reputedly haunted.
📍 63 Saddler Street, Durham DH1 3NU
The Victoria Inn
Victorian pub
A Grade II listed pub from 1899 that has barely changed: a curved wooden bar lined with pumps, no music, roaring fires and a great whisky selection.
📍 86 Hallgarth Street, Durham
Half Moon Inn
Traditional pub
One of Durham's most traditional pubs, a listed building with a beer garden by the river.
📍 86 New Elvet, Durham
Swan and Three Cygnets
Riverside pub
A Samuel Smith's pub on Elvet Bridge with a riverside view and good value pints.
📍 Elvet Bridge, Durham DH1 3AG
Head of Steam
Beer bar
Hidden in a little courtyard off North Road, a beer lovers' paradise with beers from around the world, including more than 200 in bottles.
📍 3 Reform Place, North Road, Durham DH1 4RZ
Map: pubs and beer bars
Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.
Your questions
What are the best pubs in Durham?
Start with The Library, The Shakespeare Tavern, The Victoria Inn, Half Moon Inn and Swan and Three Cygnets. Our full list has 6 bars.
More Durham bar guides
- Cocktail barsEvery cocktail bar in our Durham guide in one place: speakeasies, hotel bars, award winner
- Hidden and late-night barsHidden and late bars in Durham: Bar 33, The Boat Club, Fabio’s and The Library and more.
- Date nightRomantic cocktail bars in Durham for a night for two: Bar 33, Tin of Sardines, Old Tom’s G
- Fun bars for groupsLively Durham bars for birthdays, hen and stag dos and nights out: Tin of Sardines, Old To
- Cocktail trailsReady-made Durham cocktail trails on foot, Elvet Bridge to Silver Street and The Riverwalk
Who wrote this guide
This guide is written by the team at M.AD Agency. We run Cocktail Week, the ten-day cocktail festival held town by town across the UK and Ireland. Since 2022 we have taken it to more than 20 towns and cities and worked with hundreds of bars. We love Durham's bars, so we put this guide together from our own research and trusted local guides.
No bar paid to be included and nobody can buy a place. We check the guide regularly as bars open, change and close.
Our nearest cocktail festivals to Durham
Want your bar in this guide?
Run a bar in Durham that should be here? Get in touch at hello@cocktail-week.com and tell us about it.