The Half Moon Inn — Restaurant in England

The Half Moon used to be on my Friday night pub crawl circuit approximately 35 years ago but I rarely visit pubs these days as I've been haven't drunk alcohol since 1988 ! So what brought me to such a watering hole on a Monday night. Got him from a whistlc - stop journey to the capital needing a good ling walk to clear my head. Had walked about 3 miles in tonthe centre of Durham City when I realised my local favourite football team Sunderland were about to kick off against Middlesbrough live on SKY at 8 pm The only way I could view the match was to visit one ofvthe msnybDurham pubs offering wide screen coverage of live games and sup a soft drink.or two to be sociable for the duration upmuntil about 10pm. £2.40 for a pint of diet coke seemed very steep.but with my pub visits being so irregular i later discovered this price was pretty competitive compared with Yarm ( £3.55 ) which I'd encountered the month beforehand. The bar staff were friendly , helpful and to a degree understanding about mynbire on soft drink prices but naturally failed to offer any discount. The TV coverage was magnificent with apparently up to 10 screens dotted aroundvthevestablishment for people to enjoy the match. I witnessed 3 but there must have been a few in the adjoining beer garden. A pleasant enough trip down memory lane but for me essentially it was the only way of not missing the match after forgetting Sunderlsnd did not play their fixture during my weekend away in London. Pleasant surroundings , clientele sparse snd quiet but thar was a plus point for viewing sport. It was a Moday night after all. I would go.back but as a non partaker if alcohol these days I'd prefer to view in the comfort of my own home ! ...

We had a very enjoyable afternoon watching the rugby and then went on to eat and after decided to have a couple drinks before heading back to indigo hotel. After one drink I alone decided to have one pint Guinness before we went home. I was refused the one pint on basis we (3 of us) were being too loud and too drunk. I was shocked. I am 60, my wife is 56 and my friend 69. The young 20-25 year old bar person offered no real other explanation other than ‘loud’. There were around 10 persons in the bar. I did find it funny at first the novelty of it quite amusing but actually after speaking to said bar person I was quite insulted. There were a few men near us who were chatting and swearing now and then but not being a problem however we were picked on - the 3 of us- I have a southern U.K. accent, my wife is Irish, my friend from Durham. One can only assume we were treated so badly due to our accents not being local. My local Durham friend was of course furious but I told him leave it the silly person behind bar has no clue. It’s a nice bar but clearly if owner lets idiots run it there will be less sales - we won’t be visiting again and with so many other pubs near by why would we? I write this 1 hour after being told I am so drunk I could not be served one pint Guinness! Indigo bar happy to...

I had the displeasure of visiting The Half Moon in Durham, where the experience can only be described as a battle of wills between me and the TV remote. We asked the lovely lady behind the bar to switch to the football on the big screen—she was a hero, doing the good work of customer service. Two minutes later, the owner must’ve heard that the big TV had been hijacked and decided to step in, to move the football back to the small TV in the corner. But wait—there’s more! The reason? The rugby (which, let’s be real, wasn’t even starting for another 1.5 hours) had to be on the big TV.

Now, I get it, rugby fans are passionate, but there were zero rugby fans in the pub, and it was Italy playing. So, the most logical decision was obviously to have Italy take over the tiny corner TV, while the big screen stayed loyal to... no one, because there was no rugby fan to even appreciate it.

In conclusion, if you’re in the mood for a pub where the football battles an invisible rugby-loving dictatorship for supremacy, this is your place! Would I come back?...