please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Despite the address, this place is actually in Hurdlow and not Sparklow.
We had dinner there on the first of our two nights camping around the back of the pub. Extensive menu including a selection of pies. The one I had was nice but I didn’t feel quite justified the bigging-up which they get on the pub’s website.
However, as this is a site for beer and not food then onto that… as well as Doom Bar there were three local beers on tap (3.7-4.5 per cent ABV) plus one from Thornbridge on gravity. The two we tried were excellent, well kept and obviously don’t hang around for long because the following day only one of the three was still available.
Big up for the campsite too which is in a lovely location with spacious pitches and clean shower blocks. No electric hook-ups and no on-site shop but you can take beer back to your tent from the pub plus they do takeaway coffee.
|
Friendly helpful staff, good range of food and excellent beer. Clean toilets. Welcomes walkers, cyclists and dog owners (provides water for dogs) as well as everyone else. Also does coffee from 10 am until the bar opens. Visited 19th May 2011
|
Last visited this place over two years ago. Since then they've expanded their camping area and added a bunkhouse. The place is very popular and so if you want to eat booking is essential at weekends. Although the excellent food is the focus here, there's still a bar area to sit & drink in and so it still retains a nice atmosphere. Pedigree, Hartington and Buxton ales on, all good.
|
beer & food all top notch
Paul can appear brusque (I thought he was at first) - but he runs a tight ship, later at night when things are less rushed you'll find he's a friendly chap after all.
If you want food it's always best to reerve a table as the place is deservedly popular. We booked for 12 and although the pub was heaving we were pleasantly surprised by how quickly we were served (we had pre-ordered on their recommendation, and when we saw how full it was we were really glad that we did)
P.S. camping & parking both great too
|
A great pub Great hand pulls/Food/Service. All 12 of us had a great time.100%
|
We ate here 2 nights in a row, food was excellent on both occasions. Very nice pint of Hartington bitter on, they also had IPA and a guest beer. We were made very welcome even though we rolled in covered in mud after cycling 3km along the Tissington trail in slush& snow. They also have a bunkhouse, camping field and a paddock to park your horse in.
|
I'm glad to know that I wasn't the only person to fell unwelcome in the pub.
We stayed for a weekends camping, the facilities were good even if the showers and toilets could have done with a clean at least once during that time.
We ate in the pub one night and the food was excellent even though I did feel extremely rushed by the person I took to be the manager/landlord.
|
Excellent food and great choice of beer. The Royal Oak was recommended by the owner of the cottage we stayed in; we stayed 3 nights and we so impressed that we ate here every night. The disparaging comments by the first reviewer regarding the landlord are a complete contradiction, we found that Paul was nothing but friendly, helpful and provided great service. Highly recommended, we will return!
|
decent camping area.
good little pub
good food (if you manage to get a table)
shame about the landlord - very unwelcoming.
|
Stayed here for a weekend using the pub's camp site. Facilities were good as was the food. Unfortunately we only ate in the pub once as we felt thoroughly unwelcome due to some odd and unfriendly comments made by a person who we took to be the landlord. Apparently the same thing happened to someone else in our party who stayed the previous year. All other staff were friendly and helpful.
|
This place looks a bit unprepossessing from the outside - like an old rural local, but inside its superb. Its been modernised without losing the atmosphere and character of a rural pub. It served local Hartington Ales (I had the IPA which was excellent), and superb home cooked food. It hasn't gone all fancy-dan gastro pub, just very very good pub food - and you could tell it was home cooked. I had the finest beef and stilton pie I've ever tasted. What's more I was in a party of 13 that descended on a Monday lunchtime and service was prompt and with a smile. Brilliant. Note for the BITE admin - this pub is actually in Sparklow, not Hurdlow, so it was very difficult to find on your search.
|
