Derbyshire, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

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.

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”.

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.

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.

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”.

2021 Review: “Really pleasing food”, “very good service” and a “lovely location” have earned plaudits over many years from the locals for Robin Hunter’s Derby Dales village gastropub, which has recently added the Church Lane Deli to its attractions.

2022 Review: A collaboration between Sheffield cook Richard Smith, his restaurateur wife Victoria and the award-winning craft brewers Thornbridge; “creative fish dishes” feature alongside meats – all well-singed on the fancy Bertha indoor charcoal oven – and the “great location” (skirting the Peak District) makes it particularly “good for outdoor eating”.

2021 Review: This “old mill overlooking the river and weir” – part of the Darley Abbey Mills World Heritage site on the Derwent – has an “interesting menu and consistently high-quality cooking”. “Lunch here is always a pleasure, thanks to its setting, space and service as much as its food”.

“Tucked away in a leafy suburb in the posh west of the city”, this comfortably appointed 26-seat venue from Tom Lawson & Alastair Myers has a dedicated local fan club. It’s “now entirely focused on set menus, from 4 courses for £65 to the ‘Kitchen Bench’ for £120 – highly priced for round here” but scoring decent ratings or better in all reports.

“Blessed to have this in Sheffield… it is bold and surprising!” – Luke & Stacey Sherwood “go from strength to strength” at this linchpin of the city’s dining scene “set in a shipping container” and which opened in 2016. “When it comes to consistent, flavourful, creative food that’s technically clever without being pretentious, it’s hard to beat” and a number of reporters feel “it’s a mystery as to why it hasn’t got a Michelin star”. “A new, larger venue might help with the slight feeling of overcrowding” (“hopefully the restaurant will move to a larger location where the timings do not have to be so rigid”). Top Menu Tip – “their soft drinks pairings are the work of alchemy: matching dishes with unique skill”.

2023 Review: With its untreated oak tables, black granite surfaces and antler candelabras, chef-patron Nick Gillespie’s unusual and “very quiet” venue makes an appropriate showcase for his distinctive modern British cooking, which provided some reporters’ best meal of the year. “Staff cannot do enough for you.”

2022 Review: No feedback as yet on this brave September 2020 opening – a tiny, 8-seat chef's table restaurant (all seats are at the counter) with an ever-changing and affordable tasting menu (7 courses for £30 on opening) from chef Luke Reynolds. Reports please!