Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Dronfield
Hardens guides have spent 34 years compiling reviews of the best Dronfield restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 30 restaurants in Dronfield and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Dronfield restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Dronfield Restaurants
1. Pellizco
Mexican restaurant in Sheffield
8 Dyson Place - S11
Promising all-round feedback (if too limited for a rating) on this Mexican-inspired restaurant, which opened at the end of 2022 in Sharrow Vale after an 18-month residency at Cutlery Works. Tacos, quesadillas and antojitos (small plates) can be accompanied by a large variety of salsas – with most dishes costing about a tenner.
2. The Cavendish Hotel at Baslow
British, Modern restaurant in Baslow
Church Lane, Bakewell - DE45
“A real gem near Chatsworth” – the stately pile of the Devonshire family (who also own this establishment), which sits but a half-hour walk away – this “charming” and expensively made-over boutique hotel is lined with works by art stars like Elizabeth Peyton, Jeremy Deller and Phyllida Barlow, sourced from the clan’s own collection. Originally The Peacock Inn, it was apparently won by the 6th Duke of Devonshire in the 1830s, and was given its modern makeover supervised by Laura, the current duchess-in-waiting. Chef Adam Harper (ex-of the famed Fischer’s, nearby) champions sustainable produce from the estate and local cuisine in the more casual, brunch-friendly ‘Garden Room’, and also in this — the old-fashioned, eau de nil-coloured, formal restaurant, which makes a “go-to place for a special meal”, particularly if you opt for the “fabulous tasting menu” (which also comes at a “very reasonable price”). The slap-up afternoon tea is also worthy of attention.
3. Stones
British, Modern restaurant in Matlock
1C Dale Rd - DE4
“Holds its own amongst all the surrounding high-end restaurants” – Kevin Stone and his family’s local fixture occupies a pleasant, light-filled conservatory and in summer there’s a terrace overlooking the River Derwent. Reports suggest it’s “always a pleasure to eat there” – not everything is perfect but “the food is really good and competitive prices add to its good value”.
4. The Tickled Trout
Fish & seafood restaurant in Dronfield
33 Valley Road - S18
2023 Review: ‘Deliciously Derbyshire’ is the motto at this Peak District gastropub – feedback is too limited for a rating, but such as we have gives the thumbs-up to high-quality pub grub, which includes a wide variety of sourdough pizzas.
5. Losehill House Hotel & Spa
British, Modern restaurant in Hope Valley
Losehill Lane, Edale Road - S33
“A lovely hotel in the Peak District with great views from the restaurant” – this tranquilly located property is a “good-value” destination near the lovely Hope Valley for a celebratory meal.
6. Nonna’s
Italian restaurant in Chesterfield
131 Chatsworth Road - S40
2022 Review: Limited feedback on this ten-year-old Italian, with a wide-ranging menu, but it’s tipped in particular for its pizza.
7. Fischer’s at Baslow Hall
British, Modern restaurant in Baslow
Calver Rd - DE45
A substantial, grade II listed Edwardian manor house, clad in ivy, this well-established destination is the epitome of a cosy country retreat, and sits in the Peak District near Baslow. Max & Susan Fischer have owned it since 1988 – running it now with the aid of son Neil – and despite an effort to sell in 2023, Max remains executive head chef, with an emphasis in recent times of sourcing from the property’s garden. The entry level option at dinner is a three-course meal for £80 per person, with other options ranging up to ten courses for £135 per person. One former fan relayed a more downbeat report this year finding their experience “disappointing” and “overpriced”, but most feedback is very upbeat, and of “beautifully prepared food, attentive staff and warm, gracious surroundings”.
8. The Bulls Head
British, Modern restaurant in Holymoorside
New Road - S42
“A traditional-looking pub serving non-traditional food” – this Peak District inn with rooms continues to inspire nothing but positive feedback for its ambitious modern cuisine. “We had the signature tasting menu and it was superb!” – six courses are £89 per person: “ingredients are top-quality, all perfectly cooked, set in imaginative dishes and beautifully presented. Head chef, Mark Aisthorpe, was present in the kitchen and made the Yorkshire rhubarb dish by the table using liquid nitrogen. It was pure theatre and lots of fun!”. (There is also a range of cheaper menu options).
9. The Fork & Furrow
British, Modern restaurant in Alfreton
The White Hart Inn, Inns Lane, Moorwood Moor - DE55
After undergoing a £50,000 renovation in March 2023, The White Hart Inn restaurant became brand new restaurant concept – The Fork & Furrow.The expertly designed menus offer culinary experiences to surprise the senses, partnering with local suppliers to...
10. The Cricket Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Sheffield
Penny Ln - S17
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”.
11. Mowgli
Indian restaurant in Sheffield
631 Ecclesall Road - S11
Nisha Katona’s Liverpool-based operation has two branches in London (Charlotte Street and Westfield Stratford) offering her “very tasty” Indian street food – “with the occasional hint of raw spice”. The Lancashire-born former barrister launched the business in 2014 and now has 28 outlets around the country, whose “enjoyable, authentic food” is “really great for a chain”.
12. Rafters
British, Modern restaurant in Sheffield
220 Oakbrook Rd, Nethergreen - S11
“Up some stairs so a bit unassuming from the outside” – this fixture of Nether Green is a well-known Sheffield destination and once inside is “smartly-decorated with effective ambient lighting”. There was a changing of the guard in 2024, and it’s now wholly owned by co-founder and sommelier Alistair Myers with Dan Conlon as head chef. One local notes that “it’s recovered from the loss of one of the original partners and is back to its superb best” with a “very professional approach to food and service without being pretentious”. There’s a range of menus (of four, six and ten courses) – “the food is beautifully presented” and “of the highest order”.
13. Tamper Coffee
Sandwiches, cakes, etc restaurant in Sheffield
149 Arundel Street - S1
2022 Review: “The best freshly ground and tasty coffee in the whole of South Yorkshire, can’t beat it” – insist fans of this Kiwi-style spot in the Cultural Industries Quarter – now in its 12th year, so a veteran in the fast-moving world of artisan coffee. It has an all-day menu of brunch-ish eats, and serves cocktails as early as 11am. The industrial-style interior is replicated at its second site, at Sellers Wheel.
14. Street Food Chef
Mexican restaurant in Sheffield
90 Arundel St - S1
2023 Review: Richard & Abi Golland’s street-food operation wins high ratings for its tacos and other lively Latino dishes, available at its city-centre Burrito Bar or the fully licensed Mexican Canteen in Sharrow Vale Road.
15. Vero Gusto
Italian restaurant in Sheffield
12 Norfolk Row - S1
In a Georgian townhouse, this Steel City staple (est. 2006) is ably helmed by Italian-born and -bred couple Ester (chef), and her partner Saverio, who oversees the “excellent wine list” – one of the best in the region, to give it its dues, and offering a fine accompaniment to the authentic pizzas, pastas and more.
16. Luke's Place
British, Modern restaurant in Sheffield
132 Infirmary Road - S6
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!
17. Konjö
Pan-Asian restaurant in Sheffield
Cutlery Works, 73–101 Neepsend Lane - S3
Now since early 2025 in the funky Krynkl unit that was vacated by its parent restaurant, Joro (see also), this funky Scandi/Japanese fusion venue has made its long-awaited move from indie food hall, The Cutlery Works, and its street-food style is now a tad more ‘restaurant-y’. Early reports, though still few, are a rave: “absolutely brilliant food from Konjö, now in new premises and free to do the cooking they want. Very umami, more-ish, stonking food – and great, friendly team – love it!”
18. The Beeley Inn
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”.
19. The Peacock at Rowsley
British, Modern restaurant in Rowsley
Bakewell Rd - DE4
2024 Review: 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.
20. Piedaniels
French restaurant in Bakewell
Bath St - DE45
2024 Review: “Great-value French cuisine” has drawn guests for more than 25 years to this family-run venture from Eric & Christiana Piedaniel – both career chefs. It makes a “lovely quiet environment for lunch” just 10 minutes’ drive from historic Chatsworth House.
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