The Hanging Gate Inn, Belper

The Hanging Gate deserves a much better rating than 6.3. Perhaps this is because food is the real focus for the owners, not beer, although the choice of ale, lager and draught cider is excellent!

THG has become our default venue for weekend dinner out, because they do a great steak at a great price and the service is friendly. The decor is perfectly pleasant country-modern. making for a very good place to eat with friends or with a partner.

What's lacking, if anything, is a touch of quality in certain menu items. For example, the Mezze starter is not what you're going to get in an authentic Greek restaurant - instead you get a reasonable British stab at it. The menu is probably too ambitious, too broad, but the rump steak dinner at nine or ten quid is very good value indeed. The chef knows how not to ruin a medium rare piece of meat, it arriving pink in the middle, and the onion rings and thick cut chips are the best you'll find for miles and miles around.

It's one of those British mysteries why, making such great chips, they only serve them with some of the dishes, not with all. Order another dish and you might get oven chips which are, predictably, duff. Extraordinary!

21 May 2011 14:39

The Red Lion Inn, Hognaston

Visited the Red Lion very recently (May 2011).
We only had a half a Stella to drink, needing food more than water, so cannot comment on the beer (though they had 3 hand-pumpe ales on).

The food was very good 'pub food,' but the prices were steep.
I had bangers and mash at �9.95 and my partner had scampi and chips at the same price. Marks out of 10 for mine, 9. Good sausages, nice onion gravy (though a touch short of onion) and very good side dish of 4 non-mushy vegetables. 8 for the scampi plate says my p., "6 when you include the price."
Both desserts were excellent. a Bakewell Tart and cream and a Bailey's cheesecake (with cream on the side), the latter was exceptional. "You can tell the lady who made it, she's stood at the bar in the pink top," said the waitress. Great to see the idea of harnessing the talents of a local villager in action. Just as it should be.

I'm not sure we'll re-visit because of the prices: 17.95 for sirloin steak is way out of order, no matter how good. 15 something for duck, same for chicken breast, a quid more (I think) for filet steak w/ stroganov sauce. 9.95 for a plate of salad, 4.95 your soup. Other starters were over 6 quid. This is a cosy pub room we're talking about, not a top-class restaurant with fine linen tablecloths, etc.

This said, there were plenty of takers for dinner. This is a pretty handy country Derbyshire pub with a pleasant atmosphere. If you're a little better heeled than we are, you may well have yourself an even better time than we did.

21 May 2011 14:27