please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
My first stop in Hathersage on a midweek visit was the Little John Hotel. It is quite a large place. But I was the only customer. There were certainly more staff. Just the 2 ales from Welbeck Abbey were on - Red Feather and their new creation Men In Sheds. There was no sign of a real cider. Parking is limited and you need to enter your registration plate into an iPad at the bar. There is also accommodation.
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Locals pub - large, multi roomed including a popular pool room, food and sports TV.
Beer was in great condition - not seen the Welbeck Abbey brewery before but I tell the care the barman was taking in changing one of the barrels that it was looked after.
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Our group was served by a very pleasant welcoming young lady and we had a nice pint of Wentworth beer last Saturday after a walk.
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Unfriendly and self opinionated staff. Presumably paying customers don't deserve a friendly welcome but rather rude comments. Avoid.
alexw - 23 Mar 2014 18:43 |
Well, well, an inner city hell hole in the middle of the beautiful Peak District.
I don't mind a tatty and depressing interior nor do I have a problem with the place becoming a slightly menacing bear pit on a Monday evening.
What I do mind is the hard faced barmaid making a totally unprovoked and nasty comment about me as I left the pub to her baseball capped mates. My crime? Having a quiet pint on my own while my wife got ready to go out at the hotel across the road.
Others might like this place. I don't.
I'd strongly advise visitors to Hathersage to use the Scotsmans Pack instead. It's much, much nicer.
0/10. The wine was unthinkable by the way.
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Pub is ok but could be so much better. There were 6 hand pulls but only 2 on. Although they were quite cheap it was just as well as the quality was slightly suspect.
Food was not bad, huge portions, although they did get my order wrong- I'd waited so long, some of my party had finished before mine arrived so I didn't say anything.
Service brusque and rushed at times as well
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I'm always a bit wary when a place has had bad reviews both here and on other review sites but I couldn't really find anything to fault about the place. However the reviews are a couple of years ago so things must have improved.
We went in during a hike on a Friday about 1pm. The beer prices were on the lower side for cask ale and there was even one for �2.15 a pint, the LJ bitter which wasn't a bad pint. The baguette sandwiches were around �6 for a large plate of bread,butter cheese,meat salad etc all good quality and quantity.There were plenty of chips in separate bowls. Strangely enough you had to make your own sandwiches from the ingredients on the plate. It was served quickly by a pleasant bar girl who also topped up frothy pints without being asked.
Decor was a bit "modern" for a traditional village pub but was comfortable enough.A hi-tec juke box on the wall played at an ambience friendly volume. Muddy boots and dogs were welcome.Toilets were immaculate. It wasn't trying to pretend to be something twee and touristy. I was glad it was there as the only other alternatives in Hathersage have gone gastro which of course means they caught the moreprofititis disease.
GeofB - 12 Oct 2012 20:32 |
Appears to have had a recent internal make over.Excellent value for food and an interesting range of beers.Friendly staff welcoming human and canine visitors alike.
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Traditional pub (especially needed in the village considering most of the nearby options are gastrified) that features in CAMRA's Peak District Pub Walks guide. It occupies a street corner position, and has interestingly leaded and stain glass windows, although the interior is rather more typical. There is a food operation, but this doesn't seem to be to the detriment of drinkers, which distinguishes it from its competitors.
It's roughly L-shaped around the bar with traditional furnishings and a pool table, and was pleasantly busy early on a Saturday evening, with a pelasant atmosphere throughout. The 4 beers mostly come from Sheffield microbreweries, with Pale Rider on top form as ever- a fine pint.
If on a walk in the area this is a more than reasonable pub to stop off in.
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Fine for a few drinks, quite tatty inside so muddy boots and dogs welcome, but the food (admittedly in large portions for those with no taste buds) looks atrocious. If you are hungry, go up the road to the Scotsmans Pack.
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Always find the Little John to be good, certainly the best in the village. The beer has always been good on my occasional visits, no idea about the food though.
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I visit this pub weekly and was dissapointed to read some of the bad comments it has received.
Most Sundays I go for a walk with my wife and our dog and then head to the Little John Inn for a good pint and some tea. We have always been greeted with a warm welcome. As I live close by I have never stayed in the Hathersage accommodation but as we have friends further afield we have had a look in the en-suite rooms and one of the self catering cottages and we honestly say we would recommend them.
I just thought I would take a few minutes to put a few positive comments up as I have never had a bad pint or meal here. Last Sunday I had the Little John mixed grill for main, my wife had the burger, I then had Chocolate sponge and custard and my wife had the apple and ruhbarb crumble and custard off the specials board.
As dogs are welcome in the pub and in the hotel accommodation our border terrier loves it too, sometimes the landlady gives him a bit of roast beef too!
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Dark and curiously unwelcoming venue, that seems to be missing a few ingredients key to a good pub. It's large, cold and quite sterile. On the plus side, the beer range seems fairly interesting; I tried an offering from the Storm Brewery, and it was a decent pint. The food, on the other hand is fairly atrocious microwaved fayre. Massive portions, but vile. The current BITE score (6.9) is far too generous.
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A few of us popped in here for a meal and a drink last night. The beer was good and the food was decent, with huge portions. The barman seemed a bit over-keen, but that's not a huge issue.
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The the 2 year old pile of discarded cigarette ends on the pavement outside should have served as a warning.
Dave Mason's comments about this grubby pit are spot on:
"Bar staff useless. Teenagers having a go--all with attitude. Obviously all have issues with each other. No sign of any leadership."
Management still non-existant.
Go in on a weekend afternoon and be entertained by aggressive Mothaf**king rap music at full volume courtesy of the unsmiling Mr Attitude barman. Hilarious. No really. Take the kids!
"The only reason this pub is still in existence is because almost all the trade is passing thus why should they give a damn."
They still don't give a damn and are quite prepared to tell you so. Far better pubs than this are closing down all over. Don't complain - they'll probably just gob in your gravy...
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I like this pub. It is the most 'normal' in Hathersage. While service can be comically poor on occasion and this can add a certain eccentricity to a pub, it is not good for a hotel, so I sympathise with the last post. But the beer range is usually interesting, and food is, well, filling and cheap for the area.
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My boyfriend and his dad love this pub so when we went walking in the peaks together for the first time we decided to stay here. I will certainly commend them on their beer, the food was big and tasty and the crowd seemed friendly enough. However, the pub has a late license on Friday and Saturday nights until 1am and our room (the Dungeon) was directly over the noisy end of the bar meaning that after a full day of conquering nearby hills we were unable to sleep. We also didn't have hot water when we needed it. Although we ended up getting a refund for our final night's stay after we found it necessary to check out early, the apparent "man in charge" wasn't in the least bit apologetic for the problems we had experienced and passed the buck to the owner who wasn't around until later in the day. This left us not knowing whether to book into somewhere else in case we didn't get a refund and left a rather sour taste in the mouth whilst trying to enjoy our day walking in this beautiful part of the world.
Would recommend for food and drink but think twice before staying here if you value a good night's sleep and a nice hot shower after a day of activity. Alternatively make sure you find out where your room is in relation to the bar when you book.
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Forgot to say that families are welcome, as are it seems pets, but check to make sure on this last point.
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Stayed there this weekend and all I can say is, "what a top place".
The food, excellent and just what you need to a, start long day walking, and b, replenish lost calories after said walk.
Had a full fry-up in hte morning and what appeared to half a cow in the evening, it also appears that my brother-in-law had the other half!!
Rooms are comfortable and clean and well appointed.
The bar staff are welcoming and chatty.
The beer was well looked after with at least three guest beers served on the Saturday night. The guest beers are all from micro-brewers and change on a regular basis.
There is a pub quiz on a Friday night and throughout the week there are themed meals, ie Tuesday Curry and a Pint, Wednesday Chinese and a Pint and Thursday Pie and Mash......and a Pint. All at an excellent price.
My thanks must go to Ian, for putting the two of us up at short notice, and also to his partner Stephanie for the excellent food.
I for one will be going back there, and would quite willingly make it my local in the area.
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nice food although they didn't have in what i initially ordered the alternative was very nice and even though i have never liked garden peas i found these very nice, so excelent food and a nice pub overall, a nice selection of drinks also.
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Good beer, food basic but cheap and filling. Service not great when I've been.
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Exceptional range of beers and all in great nick, we had a great afternoon working our way through them. The food was good too.
Nice and cosy inside with some seating in the, packed, car park. The pub is a refuge from the bustle of the town.
Highly recommended by me anyway.
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We stopped in the George hotel across the road. Their food was very over priced and looked a bit posh (to be honest) had a stroll to the scotsman park but staff were very rude and unfriendly and the tables were reserved for the locals.
We decided to go to the Little John, it looks a bit scary from the outside but how wrong was we.
Food was awesome and the amount left me extremely full, drinks were superb and the staff friendly.
If carlsberg went there, this would probably be the best pub in Derbyshire
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I'm sorry to read Dave Mason's experience of the Little John...My wife and I spent a great week in the area(2nd to 7th May) and dined there most evenings....As a climber also, I know that the food quantity can be daunting to say the least! But it in no way diminished the quality and the pleasantness/helpfulness of the staff..I shall certainly visit The Little John again on my next trip to The Peaks.(Dave, do give it another try)
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Good selection of well kept real ales, huge meals served, friendly staff, a good all round pub.
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A large, rambling hotel near the centre of the village. The rooms just seem to go on and on.
Usually four ales from micros, all in excellent condition.
Food is superb value, too much quantity but no loss of quality.
Landlord and all staff very friendly, this pub definitely recommended.
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Called in here recently for refreshment enroute a hike around the area. Had an excellent pint of the Wentworth Best Bitter and there were a couple of other brews to choose from in this clean and welcoming pub.Well worth a visit if you are in the area.
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Always my favourite pub in Hathersage - ales kept and served to perfection, and good food with portions that are absolutely huge. Combine this with a generally friendly and welcome atmosphere and you can't go wrong
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I was staying in Derbyshire whilst checking out the local walks, beer, and golf courses, I had read the negative review on this site and the positive ones, which confused me slightly. Anyway, I found the Little John Inn to be the best value for money that I have ever got in the UK. Great bar meals, great breakfast, superb accomodation and fine staff. Dont hesitate to book in for a few nights R and R!
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Would be worth a visit just to see the stunning female bar staff!
Me and my friend are two climbers, stayed over recently in a spacious twin room and the staff went out the way to make us feel at home.
So much i was shocked by the comment made about the pub earlier in this forum.
The Little John Pub dishes up massive and great quality food, if you want prenentious meals with two leaves and half a pork chop on your plate head down to the walnut club.. but if your looking for good portions and a friendly atmosphere, the little john is the obvious choice.
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This pub has a well deserved reputation in the valley for being one of the friendliest pubs. The relaxed atmosphere draws customers in everyday as well as its famously huge portions. As a local of the village i rarely hear complaints about this family-run, traditional country inn. Definitley worth a visit.
anonymous - 4 Aug 2006 10:47 |
So bad I joined this forum
On walking in to this establishment 2 features hit you.
The smell of cats and the unwashed glasses on the bar.
Bar staff useless. Teenagers having a go--all with attitude. Obviously all have issues with each other. No sign of any leadership.
No food available on the first night of my vist "chef is sick". Numerous patrons turned away. No knowledge behind the bar of where alternative food could be had.
On second visit food was available--this was obvious by the fact that every table had dirty plates on them--apart from the one table that was occupied by a member of management doing paperwork !!
How do they get away with this?
Do they really believe these standards are acceptable in this day and age?
Where is the senior management?
Do they ever visit this hell hole?
Will they see this review?
The only reason this pub is still in existence is because almost all the trade is passing thus why should they give a damn.
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Really good pub,good service,good friendly staff and a good selection of real ale.
Give it a try
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great boozer for climbers - food is ridiculously huge in portion, beer is ridiculously good (usually at least 3 guests on tap, often changing nightly). Can be hot, smoky and noisy though. Avoidthe crowds and grab a seat out back. And try not to gawp at the (very friendly) female barstaff!
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Bar staff were rather unsmiling but the beer was fine. We had booked ourselves in for two nights B&B but left after the first night. Accommodation was OK but the breakfast was poor: no cereals laid out, no juice, no toast. Proprietor said he had never cooked scrambled egg in his life and he wasn't joking - he couldn't fry an egg either. Wouldn't mind such a shambolic start to the morning but when it is�30 each it really isn't amusing.
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excellent food, good value but bar staff quite abrupt but altogether excellent pub
ian - 11 Oct 2004 15:49 |
I went to the Little John for the first time last Saurday and was worried by the amount of food left on plates by other diners. I shouldn't have been. The reason being - the portions are huge and all of the food was gorgeous. 9/10
Josie Pearson - 25 Jun 2004 11:44 |
Good atmosphere and fantastic food 9/10
anonymous - 24 Jun 2004 20:01 |
