Fusion restaurant Ramside Hall, Durham

Stuart Forster reports on the experience of dining in the Fusion restaurant Ramside Hall Hotel offers diners in Durham, England.

Disclosure: Stuart was invited to dine as a guest of the Fusion restaurant. Ramside Hall did not review or approve this post. Some of the links below and banners are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How come so many people already know about this place? That question ran through my head while dining at Fusion, the informal, pan-Asian restaurant at Ramside Hall on the edge of Durham.

Fusion is at the Ramside Hall, a long-established hotel in the Carrville district of Durham. Since I last visited, as a child accompanying my parents and grandparents, the Ramside Hall has added two golf courses to its grounds and opened a sizable spa. The Fusion restaurant is located within the hotel’s spa extension.

Our table was located by a partition providing views of the spa’s tempting hydrotherapy pool. It looks like a relaxing place to while away a few hours.

The oval bar at the Fusion restaurant in Ramside Hall in Durham, England.
The oval bar at the Fusion restaurant in Ramside Hall.



Ramside Hall Fusion restaurant

Despite dining on a Monday night, Fusion was busy. Soft music, subtle lighting and the chatter of dozens of conversations helped create a convivial atmosphere.

The majority of tables were occupied; some by hotel guests, others by locals enjoying an evening out. The couple at the neighbouring table were clearly meeting for a first date. As we departed following a lovely evening they were sitting by the pewter-topped bar drinking cocktails together. Things were obviously progressing well.

If their initial meeting does flourish into a relationship then they have set the bar high, in terms of choosing venues for future dates.

Locally, Ramside Hall has an upmarket reputation. That said, Fusion’s vibe impressed me as being pleasantly laid-back.

Fancy one? Calamari with garlic mayo. Perhaps dining at the Asian-inspired Fusion restaurant in Durham will result in some diners exchanging other types of rings?
Fancy one? Calamari with garlic mayo. Perhaps dining at Fusion will result in some diners exchanging other types of rings?



Asian restaurant in Durham

An oval bar sits at the centre of the lower part of Fusion’s dining room. Wall-mounted televisions screen live coverage of sporting events. Dining on Asian-style tapas at the bar is one option open to guests.

A wooden screen and branches decked with faux cherry blossom help separate the bar area from the upper part of the dining room. Framed pictures of Asian faces and a dynamic-looking auto-rickshaw hint at the pan-Asian influence on Fusion’s menu.

Grilled fillet beef served with pan-fried vegetables and topped with coriander at the Ramside Hall's Fusion, an Asian restaurant in Durham, England.
Grilled fillet beef served with pan-fried vegetables and topped with coriander served in the Asian-inspired Fusion restaurant at Ramside Hall.

Asian kitchen in Durham

Glancing down the menu I spotted a handful of starters that I’d happily have tucked into, including Thai-style tom kha gai soup, shredded duck pancake and chicken satay.

We opted for a portion of tender calamari and soft shell crab. Served with garlic mayo and sweet chilli sauce, the subtle flavour and moist texture of the batter-encrusted crab meant it was a pleasure to devour undipped.

Kukky, our server, proved attentive throughout the evening, ensuring that our water glasses were regularly topped. If it had been a weekend perhaps we’d have been tempted to place an order for a cocktail or bottle of wine with her.

But our Tuesday schedules were busy. We kept our drink consumption to a fruit-based mocktail and a single glass of Malbec. (A selection of Fusion’s wines are served in 175-millilitre or 250-millilitre measures.)

To dip or not to dip? Soft shell crab served with with mayo and sweet chili sauce in Fusion restaurant at the Ramside Hall in Durham, England.
To dip or not to dip? Soft shell crab served with mayo and sweet chilli sauce.



Sushi and dim sum

Sushi, dim sum and Bento boxes — featuring any four from a selection of dishes and served with jasmine rice — meant we could have maintained a meat-free Monday.

That was never going to happen after Kukky mentioned that the day’s special was fillet steak in a garlic and pepper sauce.

For a moment I was veering towards lambchop with massaman curry but at the last moment ‘ducked’ away. The prospect of crispy duck with pak choi, green red chilli and udon noodles proved irresistible. The tenderness of the succulent breast meat, which came sliced and topped with coriander, made it a pleasure to consume.

Crispy skinned duck breast served with udon noodles and topped with coriander at Fusion, a pan-Asian restaurant in Durham.
Crispy skinned duck breast served with udon noodles and topped with coriander.



Fusion desserts

After wavering, envious glances towards the slice of cheesecake served at a nearby table were enough to ensure we enquired after desserts. We weighed up the idea of ordering a bento box, containing a little of each dessert. Ultimately, we shared a crème brulée topped by mango segments and served with lavender shortbread.

The food, service and ambience of Durham’s Fusion restaurant combined to make a positive impression. Judging by the restaurant’s popularity, that’s clearly no secret among the foodies of northeast England.

Crème brulee served with mango pieces, cream and sliced strawberry plus lavender shortbread. at the Ramside Hall's Fusion Asian restaurant in Durham.
Crème brulée served with mango pieces, cream and sliced strawberry plus lavender shortbread.

Location of Fusion

The map below shows the location of Fusion restaurant by the spa of the Ramside Hall Hotel in Durham:

Google Map of Fusion restaurant at the Ramside Hall Hotel in Durham.



Travel to Durham City

The Ramside Hall Hotel is just off the A690, the road which connects Durham City and Sunderland. Junction 62 of the A1(M) is less than half a mile from the hotel.

Durham City is less than three hours by train from London King’s Cross. Edinburgh is approximately one hour and 45 minutes’ train ride from Durham.



Further information

Fusion (Carrville, Durham, DH1 1TH; tel. 0191 3865282) is 10 minutes’ drive from the centre of Durham City. See the website for opening times, menus and to make bookings.

The restaurant is at Ramside Hall, a four-star hotel with two 18-hole golf courses, a driving range plus a state-of-the-art spa and a gym.

See the This is Durham website for more information about things to see and do in County Durham.

Stuart Forster, the author of this review, is an award-winning travel and food writer based in North East England.

Photos illustrating this post are by Why Eye Photography.

Thank you for visiting Go Eat Do and reading this review of Fusion, the pan-Asian restaurant at the Ramside Hall Hotel in Durham. Enjoy steakhouses? Take a look at this mouthwatering review of Ramside Hall’s Rib Room restaurant.

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6 Comments

  • Brooke Herron

    October 19, 2017 at 07:55 Reply

    You had me at crispy duck and lavender shortbread. I am a sucker for shortbreads and ice creams in tea and herb flavors like lavender, Earl Grey tea, green tea etc.. There is something so cooling yet also exotic about them!

    • Stuart Forster

      October 22, 2017 at 10:42 Reply

      The succulence of that duck was something special! Did you know that it’s said Earl Grey tea was first blended for the water of Northumberland, just a few miles north of Durham?

  • Chandi

    October 20, 2017 at 20:57 Reply

    I love that kind of food. Too bad I’m never in Durham. Nice photos!

    • Stuart Forster

      October 22, 2017 at 10:39 Reply

      The north-east of England’s culinary scene is on the way up. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to experience it before too long.

  • Georgette

    October 23, 2017 at 15:07 Reply

    This was a dangerous post to read before dinner. I might need to come to Durham just to eat because those calamari rings with garlic mayo look superb. Thanks for the foodspiration this Monday!

    • Stuart Forster

      October 23, 2017 at 16:07 Reply

      I’ve been thinking about the succulence of the duck a few times since visiting. Definitely a place I’d be happy to return to.

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