Fat Hippo (Durham)

Embarrassing wait time and rude member of staff

Before I start, let it be said that this the only time I've ever had a poor experience at Fat Hippo. Previously, I've always a delicious meal that I didn't have to wait ages for. When my girlfriend and I arrived at Fat Hippo in Durham, we were greeted by lovely members of staff who walked us to our table and remained cheerful and pleasant the whole evening. Our server was extremely polite and courteous when taking our order. However after placing our order, we had to wait 50 minutes for our food to arrive. We weren't the only table who had been waiting and there was another couple in the corner - who ordered before us. - that had been waiting a long time as well. To make matters worse, once our food arrived (which was remarkably nice) a new server placed it down with so much attitude that my girlfriend and I couldn't believe what we had just seen. I understand that everybody has a bad day and we weren't expecting a whole performance when our food arrived, however the sheer rudeness and temper of the server who had brought us our food (not the one who we placed our order with and was a pleasure to be served by) had left a bad impression on us and we left Fat Hippo feeling disappointed. Fat Hippo in Durham is our local Fat Hippo and unfortunately after this experience I can't imagine that we'll be back. The food was lovely but the wait time needed improving and the unpleasant server can't be acting like that in front of customers.

Response From BH on 17 May 2025
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, we truly appreciate your feedback. We are glad to hear that our staff were initially pleasant and welcoming. However, we apologise for the long wait time and the unpleasant experience with one of our servers. We take your comments seriously and will work on improving our service to ensure a better experience for our customers. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again in the future.

NOT GLUTEN FREE - COELIACS AVOID

Our appalling experience at Durham Fat Hippo last night. Upon arrival, I informed the what I assume to be the Head Waiter that I suffer from coeliac disease, not a choice. He informed me that chicken is not gluten free but any of the beef is fine, as it was when I had previously dined in the Newcastle restaurant. I scanned the QR code and proceeded to look at the menu, selecting the non gluten containing menu and the allergen that I wanted to avoid. On scrolling through the menu it became apparent that in EVERY SINGLE BEEF PATTY, there was a may contain warning of CEREAL - GLUTEN on the non gluten containing menu, making absolutely no sense. Confused, I asked a Waiter who asked Head Waiter who after waiting what seemed an eternity, came over to the table. When I explained, he went away and said I’ll get my manager over. Head Waiter returned explaining that the may contain was due to the kitchen handling cereal containing gluten, when I asked why it’s not on every ingredient, he then informed me he would get the manager over… again. Eventually the reluctant to speak manager came over. I showed her the menu and went through the process as attached. She then went to get her phone to do the same process and after seeing what I was seeing, proceeded to inform me that it’s because of handling cereal containing gluten in the kitchen line which was and is, utter nonsense. I made the manager aware that simply cannot be the case as it would say that on everything, the may contain element is the ingredients of the product, nothing to do with the kitchen. Despite trying to pull wool over my eyes again like I was some school child that had little knowledge of what I was talking about, the manager eventually divulged that her mother was coeliac and eats in there regularly which was taken with a pinch of salt and then proceeded to say that the menu had changed on Tuesday which is where the issue may be coming from. Judging by your INGREDIENTS, every single coeliac, which isn’t a choice, it’s a disease that effects many people in many different ways, has been eating burgers containing gluten on your ‘non gluten containing menu’ since Tuesday and it’s taken a member of the public, a customer, to flag an issue that your company and staff should be fully aware of. We drove over from Hartlepool to enjoy another excellent dining experience at Fat Hippo and got the total opposite. We were treated like we didn’t know what we were talking about, made to feel like we were having the wool pulled over eyes and felt as though we were signposting something that even the company were not aware of, totally baffling and unacceptable, I am sure you will agree. I am happy to inform you that we did end up having an amazing dining experience at Tango in Durham. The staff were very thorough, the menu was set out with clarity and when reading what the burgers may contain on the gluten free menu, there was no gluten present, as you would expect on a non gluten menu.

Fantastic food chocies

Celebrated my 49th with my partner. The food was fantastic as well as the choices. The staff were friendly and were kind enough to place a candle on, what was an amazing dessert. Thank you.

Response From BH on 28 Apr 2025
Thank you so much for choosing to celebrate your special day at Fat Hippo in Durham! We are thrilled to hear that you and your partner had a fantastic experience. It was our pleasure to add a special touch to your dessert. We hope to see you both again soon. Cheers!

Last min treat

We booked at 5.10 and were seated at 5.20 by friendly staff. Food great as always

Response From BH on 21 Apr 2025
Thank you for your glowing review! We are thrilled to hear that you had a 5-star experience at Fat Hippo (Durham). Our team takes great pride in providing excellent food, service, and ambiance to our guests. We are glad that you enjoyed your meal and we hope to see you again soon. Cheers!

Delicious food

Really enjoyed my food & visit

Response From BH on 21 Apr 2025
Thank you for your kind review! We are thrilled to hear that you had a fantastic experience at Fat Hippo (Durham). We strive to provide excellent food, service, ambiance, and value for our customers. We hope to see you again soon!