(Jump to 10 pieces of useful information)
The Waiting Room was opened in the spring of 1985 by Jenny Harding, and occupies the living rooms of a cosy Victorian terraced house in Eaglescliffe, a leafy part of Stockton-on-Tees on the route of the first passenger railway in the world.

25 years on and The Waiting Room is established as a very popular best-kept secret, it remains a beautifully relaxed environment, with tremendous warmth having grown organically as a neighbourhood-eating place from the days when friends and neighbours would pop along as the original customers. (The restaurant didn’t even have a sign for many years).

The Waiting Room is still family-run, and our food is still essentially created through good home-cooking methods and the slow development of simple, rustic recipes. The Waiting Room has attracted many kind words and accolades, including in the past few years inclusion in The Observer’s top 40 of all UK restaurants, and the “Best Independent Restaurant in the UK” award from The Vegetarian Society. Since 2003 the restaurant has been run by Luke Harding, together with the very talented Mark Ruddick, Anna Rouse and Carol Devey.

In addition to the restaurant’s food and unique atmosphere The Waiting Room is also famous for hosting incredible live music and arts events on Sunday evenings.

We are creating a book of The Waiting Room in 2010 – our Silver Jubilee. You can read more about The Waiting Room, in the book development area of this site. You can also register your interest in the book, and even make submissions.

(10 useful bits of info)

1. The Waiting Room is situated on Station Road, Eaglescliffe – literally 1 minute from Eaglescliffe train station. MAP
2. Eaglescliffe Station is on the route between Darlington and Middlesbrough, (or Bishop Aukland and Saltburn). And we now have 4 trains each day, going to, and arriving from London Kings Cross, (also stopping at Thirsk, Northallerton and York – to the South, and Hartlepool and Sunderland to the North). (Grand Central). Eaglescliffe is on the bus route between Yarm and Stockton with buses running every 10 minutes in each direction. (We are 2 miles from Yarm). Free car parking is generally available in the station car park at evening times, but it is quite full during the day, when there is some parking available on and around Station Road.
3. The Waiting Room is open every day other than Monday. We serve lunch between 11.30 and 2.30, and are open on evenings from 6.30pm. We generally serve up until 9.00pm, it helps us if people book ahead, ‘though it is usually OK to just turn up if you’re being spur of the moment about it.
4. The Waiting Room has two distinct dining areas; the front of the restaurant is a very homely, uncluttered original living room area. And the back room is a lively conservatory space, which offers greater flux and flexibility with twinkly lights and twinkly music. The back room is often booked for larger parties, and actual parties, and also hosts weekly live music and arts events on Sunday evenings. You can fit about 50 people in the back room.
5. Waiting for Sunday. is a very special night of exclusive happenings and original performances and has featured some exceptional artists from around the world. We serve a shorter menu on Sunday evenings, chalking 3 or 4 starters, and 3 or 4 main course dishes on to the blackboard. It is ok to just have a drink at WfS events, (‘though most people do end up eating).
6. The Waiting Room is twinned with Bom-bane's of Brighton where mechanical tables, singing wine glasses and Belgian waffles help to create a unique world of wonderment.
7. We change our menu each season. The menu can be viewed online. Larger groups are asked to pre-order where possible from the relevant menu. WF, V etc. other ingredients.
8. We can tailor catering arrangements for some parties and occasions from big birthdays to weddings. We can occasionally provide catering for special events away from the restaurant.
9. We are fully licensed, with very good organic wines and bottled beers. And we serve really good Equal Exchange coffee from Peru.
10. The best way to stay informed of Waiting Room news, events, and developments is to join our mailing list.