The Cock Inn, Stowe By Chartley

We are an adult family who consider that we are fairly discerning when dining out. This is one of our favourite eating places. There is always a warm welcome the menu is varied and appetitising; the food always cooked to perfection and presented beautifully.

It is heartening to find that this establishment has not followed the example of so many eating places whereby the menu is restricted to what an overly-arrogant chef decides is 'trendy' and therefore what customers should be eating. It is difficult to find eating pubs/restaurants these days that include classic options on their menu if you do not particularly want to be restricted to eating rabbit, squid or black pudding! It would appear that the vast majority of customers want the option of simple, classic food nicely cooked, presented and also hot! We only wish that we lived nearby as Le Coq Inn is always a delight to visit!

29 Jan 2009 12:48

The Plough Inn, Hathersage

Visited this pub recently ............. Nice welcome from landlord and his family ......
Premises clean, cosy and tables in restaurant looked inviting. Asked if beef was 'pink' and advised it was but could be served well-done if required. Ordered 2 x well-done beef Sunday lunches and asked if gravy could be served in a boat to be on 'the safe side' since neither of us like a plate of gravy.

Both meals arrived 'dripping in pink' ........ but were returned for extra grilling. About 15 minutes later they arrived back, beef cooked as initially requested, albeit both now with plates 'swimming' in gravy. Nevertheless, we accepted since we were in a hurry, only to find both the plates and vegetables stone-cold. The vegtables were solely a few 'cubed' root vegetables resembling something from a Birds Eye bag.

We both ate only a little and politely expressed our disappointment asking why so much could go wrong with two simple orders since they were not overly busy, in fact only a few were dining in the restaurant that day. We would have liked the landlord to have apologised since he was chatting to various customers and not 'rushed off his feet' and even perhaps offered a 'return incentive' such as an offer of two complimentary glasses of wine. To be fair we were only charged for one meal but it ruined our Sunday lunching and we both left still feeling hungry and disappointed. We were not seeking a cheap meal, just a simple Sunday roast with a reasonable selection of vegetables presented as ordered. This may have been a one-off experience but we do not have any plans to repeat it. My rating is for the overall experience.

29 Jan 2009 12:25

The Jinnie Inn, Rolleston on Dove

Passed this pub so many times but ventured forth this week. Pub quite small but very clean and cosy. There is another room designated to restaurant meals or as an optional area to eat bar meals. The staff are personable, polite and customer-friendly. Lunch-time bar meals were fairly good too although the head chef was on holiday. Nice fire. Will definitely repeat this visit.

29 Jan 2009 11:59