Derby, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“Pleasant old pub, with a modern dining room at the rear, in the Derbyshire countryside near Ashbourne”. “Very competent” cooking emerges from the kitchen of chef Gareth Ward, “including top-class fish (from the same source as sister establishment The Cow at Dalbury) – not often do you find both turbot and halibut on offer alongside good-quality local beef and lamb”.

“What a stunner” – this “hidden gem in an old brick building on an unlikely side street” near the M1 serves “fabulous, beautifully composed” dishes in a “slightly playful style – a simple description defies the complexity of the cooking” – from chef-patron Nick Gillespie which “rivals and beats better-known names”. His very individual meals are complemented by an “extraordinary drinks list” and an interior which mixes untreated oak table tops with black granite.