Buxton Restaurant Guide

This “brilliant inn on the fringe of the Peak District” was praised this year for its “well above average and varied fresh fare”, from a menu that skips happily from Chinese-style bao buns to Thai fish dishes and Indian-spiced cauliflower. “Dan, the owner, ensures a great atmosphere – as does a surprisingly large crowd of regulars” (plus their furry friends, this being a venue that is “very dog-friendly, which we really appreciated for our puppy’s first meal out!”). Directly next door is the owners’ more casual sister pub, The Paper Mill Inn, for pizzas, pies and regular pop-ups.

“The landlord is the chef and he knows how to cook fish, which he sources from the best suppliers”, say regulars at this unusual and “delightful” Peak District village pub which is “supported by the community” – having bought the freehold 20 years ago when the venue faced closure. “Good ales” completes the picture.

This “very French” spot attracts a good volume of feedback suggesting it’s “worth seeking out” in rural Cheshire for the “inspired cooking” of locally born chef-patron Joseph Rawlins, who trained under Gordon Ramsay and has worked in Paris. He took over this well-established venue five years ago with his French partner, Gaëlle Radigon, who leads a “professional and engaging” front-of-house team.

“Scandi, seasonal, local foraging vibes; small plates, fermentation and natural wines… all may be ten-a-penny in London, not so much in Stockport”, which has helped win massive ongoing acclaim for Sam Buckley’s hipster outpost, whose launch eight years ago has helped put the seal on the area’s emerging reputation as a haven of cool North Western vibes. It helps that it occupies a “nice space too” – an airy, brick-walled former coffee warehouse with large windows and high ceilings – in which is presented a no-choice menu for £110 per person (for which you are advised to allow two-three hours). All who report rate it do so extremely highly – its ratings would be even higher were it not for the fact that the volume of feedback we receive in our annual diners’ poll is always much lower than its phenomenal reputation might suggest. From November 2024 to March 2025, Sam and his crew will be aiming to take Manchester by storm with a pop-up ‘Where The Light Gets In: A Play in the City’. Till December 21 2024 this will be at the Altogether Otherwise community centre in Hanover Street – from January 7 2025 at The Bungalow at Kampus, a former security cabin on stilts in Aytoun Street. Whether this is part of a plan to shift longer-term to Manchester city-centre remains to be seen.

A “very enjoyable and original menu of small and large plates is eaten with a great view of the countryside” (particularly from the conservatory, though you can also eat in the bar) at this “always superb” 12th-century inn – Visit England’s pub of the year in 2023, and – even more impressively – the fifth oldest pub in the land. PS – if you want to linger in the Peak District, they now have five luxury bedrooms as well as a stand-alone cottage, ‘The Barn’.

The River Wye is the river in question, and this attractively located period restaurant with rooms (dating from the 1600s) sits nearby, complete with walled garden. It doesn’t inspire huge volumes of feedback, but fans are enthusiastic: “a fabulous meal here to celebrate an 80th birthday – wonderful food was beautifully presented”.

“Altogether a model for other pubs to aspire to”, this village gastroboozer sits in a “delightful” setting in the Peak District National Park, with many a ramble on the doorstep. “Luke (Payne) is the chef and can be seen in his open kitchen” turning out seasonal, sustainable British cooking “with skill and a light touch”, while “Emma, his wife is on front of house” overseeing the “smart and helpful” staff. NB pooch fans: as they themselves announce, they’re ‘completely dog-friendly’ (down to having a resident ‘Maître D’og’, Lola).

“Correctly described in last year’s guide as ‘What the Peak District needed… and now has” – this “warm, welcoming” and unmistakably ambitious venture (crowdfunded five years back) occupies the cosy setting of a converted stable block. Chef-patron Lee Smith oversees the modern British cooking, based on “really good locally sourced produce (meat is from a real farm shop next door)”, and “tasting menus are not obligatory” since there’s also a “good à la carte” – plus the £23 per person ‘Market Menu’, which will have you in and out in under an hour. Whichever you go for, it’s all “exceptionally good” and “definitely worth the detour” if you’re heading up north.

“Very much a place to see and be seen” in Cheshire’s Golden Triangle – “great for celeb-watching and the waiters are proud of that” – this two-year-old from the national Italian stable is the result of a reputed £3m makeover, complete with palm trees and a terrace with a retractable roof. Investment has continued, with the addition of the 60-cover ‘Il Giardino’ for al-fresco dining last summer. Marcello Distefano, who now runs the group founded by his father Carlo, grew up in the area and knows the site well from its days as Brasingamens nightclub, a celebrated hangout for WAGs in the ’90s and ’00s.