Pesto at The Peacock in Amber Valley

Lovely Italian Tapas, some food is a bit "samey" but there's plenty of choice and variation if you choose well. Desserts need improving, there's not been any added or changed for a while although the Tiramisu is popular (just not my choice) and chocolate brownie, chocolate orange torte, panna cotta or lemon tart are the other main choices.The Ice cream and sorbet is on the expensive side for what you get in the bowl. Drinks menu is varied and prices average for a restaurant.

lovely restaurant - fantastic service from David :) the food is a little hit and miss.

Wow! So much choice! A tapas style Italian restaurant which we were adversed to choose 3-4 each. The portions were large so next time (and there will be a next time) I would go for 3. Each was delicious. Staff were friendly and service prompt.

Love everything I tried there!!

Dropped in with no booking in a busy lunchtime. Made welcome. Food great and service excellent. Italian tapas style is not just a concept. It’s done really well

The food was top class and so was the service. The young man who looked after us (Adam) was superb. I love the idea of an Italian tapas style menu, although if I have one criticism, it is that the charging of the dishes is quite complicated. Irrespective of this, we will definitely go again

Lunchtime treat - we live locally to Pesto and haven’t been totally overwhelmed by it over the years. Today, visited for lunch and everything was amazing . Hot food, great taste and value for money

This place is amazing staff amazing well seasoned food and excellent service this is not our first visit and we have been hooked it's a little gem great value for money can't wait to visit again

Excellent food, staff were polite and helpful. Not rushed. Lovely experience

Fabulous food in a festive atmosphere. Brilliant staff and service

Our 1st visit to this beautiful resteraunt absolutely beautiful food David our waiter was so friendly and nothing was too much trouble the whole experience was nothing short of 5 🌟 will definatly be returning x

Had lunch here, we had excellent Italian "tapas" - if that makes sense! Small plates of lovely food. My wife and I chose 6 plates between us and enjoyed all the flavours of each. If I lived in this area I would eat regularly here!

This is a really lovely place to eat, whether it's just friends or family..it's a great atmosphere and the views are pretty good too! So this is Italian tapas (larger than your typical tappas dish)...done very well. The menu is vast, and there is a lot of choice for even the fussiest of eaters. Despite the extensive menu, the quality and taste are soooo good ! I highly recommend this place, and the prices are incredibly reasonable. Now throw in the excellent customer service, and you have the makings of a wonderful day/evening out all round! Pesto at the Peacock I will be back for SURE!! Oh, and I strongly advise you to book ahead!!

Absolutely delicious food and helpful staff.

Great place to visit ~ the special "3 meals for a set price" allow you to enjoy a taste of everything! Couldn't eat it all thou so the portions are brilliant 😋

Got a gift voucher from daughter , went there 1st time , they had a power cut , it was out of their hands not a problem we rebooked, went there second time , got to tills , 4 members of staff talking amongst them selves totally ignored us , do you wait at the door to be seated for your booked table or do you go to the bar ??? Or nice for a member of staff to say " can i help sir ? " & not ignore you ,

Some of the best food I have had in an Italian restaurant. Amazing choice on the menu, very good value for money as well.

A Pesto Paradise: A 5-Star Review of Pesto at The Peacock If you're seeking an Italian culinary experience that transcends expectations, look no further than Pesto at The Peacock. From the moment I stepped through the door, I was enveloped in a warm, inviting atmosphere that perfectly complemented the delectable dishes that awaited. The menu at Pesto at The Peacock offers a wide range of Italian delicacies to satisfy every palate. The pizzas were perfectly cooked, with a crisp crust and a generous topping of high-quality ingredients. The fish dishes were equally impressive, the meatballs are to die for, the beef stew was amazing. And let's not forget the deserts the trio of deserts and the tiramisu were amazing. The service at Pesto at The Peacock was impeccable. The staff was attentive, knowledgeable, and eager to provide recommendations. They created a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, making me feel like a valued guest. The attention to detail was evident in every aspect of the dining experience, from the presentation of the dishes to the timely service. In conclusion, Pesto at The Peacock is a must-visit for anyone seeking authentic Italian cuisine. The menu is impressive. The welcoming atmosphere and impeccable service make it a truly memorable dining experience. If you're looking for a place to savour delicious food and create lasting memories, Pesto at The Peacock is the perfect choice.

Great food, good staff and value for money.

Great meal as always, lovely staff and atmosphere 😍

Nice Italian dishes. Served promptly with attentive staff. Definitely will return

Went here tonight for the first time the food and service were great! Will come back again.

Came with family for my sons birthday meal,great service and food as usual.

Fabulous place. Food was exceptionally good. Service very quick. Very polite and caring staff. 100% recommend

We visited Pesto for the first time and were presently surprised by the food, service and atmosphere. We had the lunch option which meant that we could pick from a number of parts which were grouped into three price brackets. We had three plates each (6 total), shared them between us and they were the perfect amount to satisfy both of us. I would recommend visiting Pesto as I think it is one of the better examples of a small chain.

Fabulous food, lots of choice at a reasonable price. Great friendly service

We went for my partners birthday this weekend. Table booked online for 7pm. We arrived and were shown straight to our table with no delay even though it was very busy. Staff were very friendly and helpful. We ordered several dishes from the menu, and all of them were amazing, well presented, and full of flavour. The bill was less than expected. Overall we were very happy with our visit.

Once again pesto excelled! Great food! Great service! great atmosphere! Great value! 100% recommend.

Great food, great service. Many choices, with great portion size.

Excellent service. Great choice of dishes. Until you've been a couple of times it's a bit difficult to know how many dishes to order as they are small tapas style dishes.

The baroness of many chins will be dining there on Thursday, the baroness will be ordering 6 plates of food.

Everything about this place is great…the food is amazing, reasonably priced, staff are lovely and it’s always buzzing. We travel from Sheffield to eat here and haven’t ever had a disappointing experience.

This was our first visit to Pesto at the Peacock. We had a lovely time, food was lovely, so much choice ,Think you need about a day to decide what to try! All the dishes we had were lovely, so tasty and well presented. The staff who served us were polite . We will definitely be back!

Love this place, especially if you are celebrating. Get there before 7 to take advantage of the early bird pricing. Meatballs, Arancini and pork belly a treat

Superb food as ever and great service, always a pleasure to dine here with such a warm and friendly welcome. Look forward to coming back soon !

Excellent tapas choice I went for pizza meatballs and the olives my partner went for beef stew tomato bruschetta and the parmesan potato and we enjoyed everything ! service was good ! the place was really busy but the wait for food was only about 20 mins ! we would certainly recommend and we will be back very soon !

Enjoyed a fabulous meal here, earlier today. Having been disappointed with average tapas in the UK, how refreshing it is to taste such wonderful Italian tapas. Every dish we had was rich in flavour, beautifully seasoned and presented simply in classy crockery. Service was excellent and the restaurant itself is very pleasant. Best of all, this restaurant offers super value for money, with each dish priced around £5 to £6. Well done, Pesto, you are next level. 👏

Visited here for a family birthday celebration, staff were great especially Louisa who served us. The food was good and all came out together which was impressive for a table of twelve. Restaurant has a good atmosphere and a good choice of drinks. The only time we could get a table on the Friday evening was 9.15pm which was a bit late but we accepted it. My only complaint was that we wanted a drink each after our meal at 10.28pm but was refused as was told the bar was shut. It would have been nice to have finished our evening off and perhaps you should have last meal orders earlier or leave the bar open later. Will definitely visit here again but earlier.

Food was OK, not a patch on pre covid through. Service fantastic

Not a frequenter of tapas and didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. An extensive menu in three price categories but there was the ability to select from any collection. Good sized portions and three plates were enough for us. The amazing thing was that all 15 dishes ( there were five of us) came out of the kitchen at the same time and only a 15 minutes or so from giving the order. Highly recommended.

We had a booking at pesto, the food was fairly quick at coming out and definitely some strong points! Amazing calamari and garlic mushrooms, lovely selection of bread with oil and vinegar too, the fried chicken was so tasty too! The Panzerotti was a bit disappointing as the filling tasted identical to Heinz creamy tomato soup We found the service to be quite the disappointment too, a long time for drinks to be ordered and for our table to be cleared after, and it was around 15 minutes wait before we were able to ask someone for the bill Overall reasonably priced food and drinks with lots for everyone to enjoy, we will definitely come back though

Oooo this was a tasty treat! Be sure to wear your fat pants and leave room for dessert

The food was not fresh and tasteless.

Great food , great service, what's not to like

Never been before it was great the service was very very good and well worth a visit 😀

Absolutely appalling customer service by two members of staff … never made it to a table never mind eat. Very disappointing especially as first time since it became Pesto … staff very rude🥹

This is an excellent venue to eat , this is our teenage grandchildren’s favourite place to eat , the variation of Italian food is superb , such a refreshing change to find lunch for youngsters and adults that isn’t the run of the mill food. Service is second to none, staff extremely professional,flavour and quality of food is great and the price is very good. Italian food is at its finest.

Good food and service, clean and comfortable

Great food, excellent service 👍

We visited for my wife's birthday dinner this week. The food was nice overall, but I was disappointed that my request to decorate the table with birthday adornments was ignored. It was an important detail that would have made the evening more special.

Brilliant meal,service&atmosphere as always!!

To me the food wasn’t great the chicken in the dishes wasn’t good pulled pork was that clever and pizza was a joke added food wasn’t even hot

Small plate Italian restaurant, great choices even for vegetarians. Great service, really popular so booking needed. The food was great and all staff really helpful.

Amazing food as always can't fault it however the service was disappointing to say the least, got sat at an outside table but waited for at least 20 minutes for some to come and take a drink order however no one came, so approached a member of staff to left them know we where ready. Bearing in mind they had already taken food and drink orders from tables seated after us, we then ordered food and drinks at the same time and then food was brought out pretty sharply but no drinks and no cutlery either. Shame has always been a great place to eat and never had issues in the past.

Excellent restaurant, amazing food and service, and fair prices. Highly recommend a visit

Thanks Pedro and team for a really gorgeous pizza on a scorching day after doing your delivery, much awaited and enjoyed,along with garlic bread 2 and qtr hour drive back now!! Thanks guys highlight of the week yum yum!! Stu... cpu driver.

Very nice restaurant. Will definitely be back

Great choice of food, lovely atmosphere.

What’s happened to Pesto ?, just had a poor meal, chicken very dry, ribs very fatty and tasteless, fish cakes very bland, worst one we have had !, disappointing.

Typical pesto restaurant. Food very consistent and great service.

Really gone down hill!! The staff don’t seem to have any clue what they are doing. We walked in and 5 of them were stood around the till talking… when I finally had to go up to the till at the end of a not too successful meal to ask for the bill because nobody was doing the task of serving tables, 4 of them were stood talking again!! I asked if anyone actually knew what they were doing and the manageress just walked off!! Easier to ignore a disgruntled customer than actually address your short comings I guess! We ordered drinks at the start when we sat down… I had to get up and chase where our drinks were… they then came wrong, and the waitress admitted she didn’t know how to use the till to put the correct drink in, but never thought of asking someone for help! Our food came, and one dish was wrong. By the time the correct dish came, we had eaten the others. When the food came, we had no plates or cutlery! I had to ask the waiter twice for these. The table next to us also had to ask for cutlery and plates to eat their food. Are these not basic standards of training for your staff? There was no check back on how the food has. Very disappointed with how this place has gone down hill. Would not recommend.

Beuatiful surroundings. Food was ok nothing special, there was no wow effect. I was charged more for a meal I haven't ordered. The waiter didn't want to change The bill which was rude. I wouldn't like to go back... Maybe just for a coffee. Left dissapointed

Great little terrace to take the dogs to. Food tapas style was perfect. The young lady how attended to us was lovely.

A packed pub, serving really nice Italian food, just a little slow at service. We had a table for 8 booked at 6.15. I remember distinctly being told we could only have the table for two hours when we booked, which is probably why we were getting anxious over the lack of service. We had to ask to order the food. No one was checking on us. Once the food arrived and devoured and the plates cleared away, we were presented with the dessert menu, but again, we had to ask a different staff member to order. The food was really nice and the staff were lovely and friendly, I just wish we'd have been checked on more.

Very good food, well worth a visit

Lovely food.delicious..would go back.

Easily one of our favourite places to visit for a meal. The food is always lovely and hot, always served quickly too even during lunch hours! You can’t beat the price, it can be as cheap as you want to make it, even with smaller portions they are always enough for a fab meal. Today our server was David, absolutely lovely gentleman. Was very efficient and kind, checked up on us multiple times and made our experience overall a wonderful one. He was quick the take our order and quick to deliver our drinks. Also very impressed with his Italian pronunciation! The gentleman who delivered our food, Jamie, has delivered our food the past few times. Always incredibly polite and easy to talk to. He knows exactly what he’s doing and knows everything he’s handing out, even when we ordered quite a lot of portions. Absolutely fantastic server who you can have a lovely chat to as well! Born of these gentleman are a credit to the restaurant and a big reason we return time and time again. Cannot recommend Pestos enough!

First time visiting here for a quick few drinks and food , Quality service , Very reasonable prices and awesome food well done to all of you very impressed 😊

Food was great. Hubby had to hunt the waiter to pay bill & let them know two other diners had been waiting about 20 mins to order dessert. Tables left with pots all over & not cleaned away. Found two waiters stood talking instead of taking care of diners. It was the night of the football final, but, should that really make a difference? Customer service first, springs to mind.

The food is beautiful and really good value. I had spaghetti, meatballs and belly pork. £14.50 and everything was amazing and big enough portions that I had to ask for a leftovers tub. Service is great and shout out to Dan who was lovely dealing with 6 tipsy women.

Cannot recommend highly enough always good food and service

A lovely find .. just by chance good food , lovely setting.

1st time @ Pesto..I'm a coeliac so gluten free needed..Still plenty of choice..we went for birthday and wedding anniversary and thoroughly enjoyed it..would definitely go again 😎..13/7/24..great meal again for birthday this time..also great service from staff ❤️😎

Fantastic food, drinks, service and atmosphere 👌🏻

Been to this restaurant twice now and definitely worth both the money and also for us the journey. Absolutely gorgeous food and staff always lovely and friendly 😊

Food was lovely like always. Lucy our server was very patient with us being a large group and very friendly and accommodating. Would always recommend

A great spot and even better food! There was actually more on the menu then I thought we chose six dishes to try and loved them all! Could easily come back and choose new dishes 2/3 more times!

Firstly, a huge thank you to Adam who served us and capably explained the menu and our choice selection, he delivered our drinks quickly and was extremely accommodating with our starter/mains timings. So thank you Adam for being friendly and helpful. The food itself varied from delicious pizza style starter bread to disastrous weird spongey textured vegetarian (meat) balls. The mozzarella and tomato salad lacked basil or any sort of pizazz and the side salad was frankly miserable. The sausage thing was strange and seemed like no Italian sausage we’d ever encountered. On the plus side the prawns bruschetta were delicious and we’d definitely recommend. A bit hit and miss really, pick your small plates carefully and you could have a successful pleasant meal.

Absolutely excellent. What a refresher for the area. Huge menu, young vibrant servers and clearly they know their market. Way and beyond local competition, this is the absolute business if you like Italian. Coming back very soon. Well done Pesto!

First visit, thoroughly enjoyed it. As a vegetarian I was amazed at the range of food, which was excellent. The service was really good and they had a great range of drinks to suit every taste. Would highly recommend.

Very good meals,good value, lovely sunshine outside

Really lovely atmosphere. Great food.

Fantastic food, friendly staff,great service, good value .

Very good value for money and pleasant setting if not a little noisy. Speedy service with very friendly staff

Delicious food and drinks, great service and a wonderful atmosphere to celebrate an 18th birthday.

2nd time going to Pesto for family celebration. 1st time was a Sunday with 5 people and food and service was excellent even though the restaurant was absolutely packed with diners. 2nd time was just 2 of us and again food and service fab. Well done Pesto. Will definitely be going again.

Very poor I won't be back. Order stuffed up staff rude. Huge thanks!

Love this place, love the food but sadly a 50th birthday meal for two in March 2024 was sometimes like being in a kinder garten, small children being allowed to run around the very busy restaurant whilst parents just sat there chatting or on phones, while the waiters and waitresses were carrying heavy trays of hot food and drinks, children should not be allowed to just run around, it's a restaurant not a play school, management should make it clear that children must be seated at all times.

Party of 7 on Saturday evening, great food and service by David was spot on. It’s a little noisy but that’s down to other diners. Food order was faultless, everything arrived hot and nothing was left at the end, even with a couple of fussy eaters in our party. Only let down by the comfort of the dining chairs, many diners were swapping them so I’m sure you must know.

Outstanding. Best Italian food I have ever tasted

What a lovely experience with great food, can highly recommend having Italian food as tapas, absolutely wonderful.

We visited for lunch the food was excellent value for money. Very happy all round we will be returning soon

Very busy but the service was really good and the food was lovely.14/10/23 Saturday night.was busy but booked a table, we really enjoyed it the waiter was really good his name was David .The food was really nice

Went out for a meal and have to say had the pleasure of meeting one of the the rudest most unprofessional managers I've ever met in my life. I work in retail and believe me walking up to a table and saying "yeah you wanted a manager" is not how you address your paying customers. Won't be back again

I love this place. it's one of my favourite restaurants, amazing Italian.

Will definitely be returning. A group of 10 visited for a birthday meal. Even despite being lots of different dishes arriving, the staff/service were great. All the food we had was really good and highly recommended.

Nice variety of dishes and great service.

Food was really nice and you get alot for such a cheap price I had the cheapest menu and for £11.50 there was so much food and tasted amazing

Feel it's not like it used to be

This place is excellent. Really, really good food and very good staff. Lots of parking. The quality of the food was exceptional. And to add to all that, the area is very nice and it is an incredibly old building, formerly a coaching house, the oldest parts of the building being the best part of a thousand years old. It has come on in leaps and bounds since I lived in Belper, and then Ambergate, and used to go in here. Back then, 20 or so years ago, itbwas a chain pub doing burgers and the like. Very good.