British, Modern Restaurants in Buxton
1. Losehill House Hotel & Spa
British, Modern restaurant in Hope Valley
Losehill Lane, Edale Road - S33
Down a lane near the lovely Hope Valley, Paul and Kathryn Roden’s Peak District property has a marvellous setting and wins consistent praise from a loyal fan club for its “beautifully presented” food, and “pleasant” staff. The choice is primarily à la carte, with the evening selection offering three courses for £60 per person.
3. Old Hall Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Chinley
Whitehough - SK23
2022 Review: This Grade II-listed former coaching inn incorporates fourteenth-century Whitehough Hall, whose dining room with a minstrels’ gallery provides a medieval setting for the “excellent food” served here. Former banker Daniel Capper took over the running of his childhood home when a leaseholder failed.
4. The Swan Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Kettleshulme
Macclesfield Rd - SK23
“A pub that can serve ultra-fresh, skillfully cooked seafood is a rare treat” – “this country inn in the hills above Macclesfield” has a “light and comfortable small dining room adjacent to the old bar”. It enjoys “strong support from the village”, which clubbed together 20 years ago to buy the freehold when the pub was threatened with closure.
5. The Lime Tree
British, Modern restaurant in Bollington
18-20 High Street - SK10
2022 Review: Patrick Hannity's decade-old spin-off from his Manchester original is less well known than its progenitor but is “usually excellent”, too; the food is “light, balanced and filled with flavour”, incorporating produce from his Peak District farm.
6. The George
British, Modern restaurant in Alstonefield
2023 Review: “The days when this was a pub have long gone: it is an unashamedly ambitious restaurant which charges a full price for some very good cooking” – so say fans of this Peak District gastropub near the Dove Valley, who say “the chef knows what he is doing, and as long as you can afford it this is one of the best places to eat in the Peak District”. William Sitwell of The Telegraph paid it a visit in September 2022 and gave a similar but more nuanced view: the “cooking really is excellent and delicate with clever flavours” and “there is talent and charm by the bucket-load”, but he felt the dishes on the menu were presented and served in tiny portions, and he was encouraged to think of them as tapas. He declared, they “are the most un-tapassy things I’ve ever seen”.
7. Fischer’s at Baslow Hall
British, Modern restaurant in Baslow
Calver Rd - DE45
This well-known Peak District property has been run by Max & Susan Fischer since 1988 and is currently managed by their son Neil, who is credited in reports with keeping standards at least as high under his parents. Watch this space as there are plans to open a champagne bar on the terrace this summer.
8. The Gallery Restaurant at The Cavendish Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Baslow
Church Lane - DE45
This swish country house hotel, in one of the Peak District’s most picturesque villages, is transforming before visitors’ eyes as part of an ongoing, £1.1 million makeover. As we went to press, the more casual ‘Garden Room’ had already been reborn, with chef Adam Harper (ex-of the acclaimed nearby Fischer’s) overseeing a new menu with impeccable local sourcing such as Chatsworth beef; this, the more formal fine diner, will follow suit, but meanwhile won praise this year – well “on its way to a Michelin star” by some accounts. All reports acclaim the “brilliant food and ambience in all areas” and it’s also tipped for afternoon tea.
9. The Peacock at Rowsley
British, Modern restaurant in Rowsley
Bakewell Rd - DE4
This “old manor house” handy for Chatsworth (and “not to be confused with the Peacock Inn in nearby Bakewell”), may “feel old-fashioned”, but its “great food and interesting menu” (from tasting menus to more “relaxed” options, both taken in the “fine dining room”) make it “a pleasure” by all accounts. Local ingredients (beef and lamb, say) are sourced from the Haddon Estate on which it sits.
10. Hyssop
British, Modern restaurant in Glossop
54 High Street West - SK13
2023 Review: Fooderati insider Thom Hetherington was amongst those sending out an SOS on behalf of this well-regarded neighbourhood restaurant in his hometown, which was gutted by fire in September 2022. By the end of the month it had crowdfunded the money to re-open and restore its mix of funky small plates (typically you would order 7-8 in a meal), plus gins, cocktails and a thoughtful small selection of wines.
11. The Devonshire Arms at Beeley
British, Modern restaurant in Beeley
Devonshire Square - DE4
2022 Review: This “lovely gastropub” on the Duke of Devonshire’s Chatsworth estate gets mostly positive feedback for its “good food and real ales”. There’s sometimes a perception, though, that “it falls short” of its potential: “the cooking was fair, but it could be so nice here”.
12. Where The Light Gets In
British, Modern restaurant in Stockport
7 Rostron Brow - SK1
“A very different but great experience” – Sam Buckley’s hipster hotspot has won fame at these atmospheric brick-walled premises in a former coffee warehouse with huge windows, which opened in 2016. It’s “a super space for a romantic dinner”, especially if your date is of a foodie disposition; the “gorgeous food” from a tasting menu at £110 per person puts a major emphasis on sustainability and local sourcing and there are “delicious wine pairings, introducing you to novel wines”, all served by “lovely staff”.
13. The Blind Bull
British, Modern restaurant in Little Hucklow
Visit England’s pub of the year in 2023, this renovated, twelfth-century Peak District inn’s other claim to fame is being the fifth oldest pub in the country. Feedback on its conservatory dining room was more limited than we’d like this year, but acclaims its “excellent food, lovely view and proficient service”. There’s an eclectic selection of modern pub grub, or you can choose to dine from the focused (four choices for each course) dinner menu at £39.50 for two courses.
14. Rafters at Riverside House
British, Modern restaurant in Ashford-in-the-Water
Riverside House Hotel, Fennel Street - DE45
“A lovely place, with excellent food, high levels of service, great wine list and a perfect location” – this prettily located Peak District restaurant with rooms occupies a solid, ivy-clad period mansion (complete with walled garden) and is owned by John and Alex Hill, but with a dining room run by Alistair Myers and Tom Lawson who run Rafters in Sheffield (see also).
15. The Pack Horse
British, Modern restaurant in Hayfield
3-5 Market Street - SK22
It’s “well worth a trip out” to the Peak District National Park to find this “exceptional” small village gastroboozer; chef Luke Payne’s “upmarket food with a northern twist” has won the seal of approval from many a national restaurant critic, and there are excellent walks from the door.
16. Restaurant Lovage by Lee Smith
British, Modern restaurant in Bakewell
Bath Street - DE45
“This is the restaurant the Peak District has been waiting for” – a “chilled and unfussy” four-year-old, in a former stable block, which Lee Smith (ex-of the acclaimed Samphire on Jersey) opened after a crowdfunding drive. The staff’s “enthusiasm for the place makes for a happy experience, but most of all it’s the modern English cooking done very well in a lovely room… I’m lucky it’s my local”. Some reporters feel we rate it too conservatively, but to go further: more reports please!
View full listings of 16 British, Modern Buxton Restaurants
Popular Buxton Restaurant Searches
Buxton Restaurant News