Southgate Brasserie in Bolsover

Had a great meal for my nephew's birthday. The staff are always lovely. It's a great atmosphere. We will be returning soon.

Excellent meal with good service. Food was lovely and well presented. Staff very attentive but not in the way. We really enjoyed ourselves

A group of 10 friends. We had a great lunchtime menu with lots of choice. Some had starters and desserts. This was not a problem. The service was very good with very helpful staff. When one of our group had a health problem the staff were very good and caring. The food was very good as well

one of the worse nights… asked if we wanted water for the table… never got it. waited 20 minutes for a drinks menu. When starters arrived we were offered some extra plates to share which also never arrived. Starters weren’t even cleared before our mains arrived. Meal was definitely not worth the money, coleslaw tasted store brought, mash was 100% frozen, chicken was dry. Overall it was a very disappointing experience. Staff need training on customer service and chefs need to do a cooking course.

Had an amazing time at this restaurant celebrating the birthday of a family member. Staff were very pleasant and helpful, the food was delicious and nicely presented. Service was a little slow but the atmosphere was very relaxed and at no time did we feel rushed. Would definitely return.

We visited for a belated family birthday celebration and really enjoyed the entertainment before our meal from a fantastic magician who left us all amazed. The food was good, as it always is, and there was something for everyone’s taste. Service was attentive and immaculately dressed staff add to the professionalism.

Had a terrible experience here on Wednesday 27th March. A 45 minute wait for our drinks, RAW chips, cold burger, stale pastry that couldn’t be cut with a knife! Overall dreadful experience and the manager on duty wouldn’t come over to discuss our concerns. A small amount of money was taken off the bill by the lady that brought our bill. This was not representative of the food that we couldn’t even eat.

We got married at Van Dyk by Wildes last year. They were amazing could nt do enough for us. Been numerous times since afternoon tea/dinner/drinks. Returned last weekend for dinner and over night stay with breakfast.As always yummy food and great service. Woukd definitely recommend and their party night are great too.

Booked a table for two plus a high chair. Was rudely told that I must book three next time. Bad start. With all due respect what do you expect to be seated in a high chair… a doll?? We were seated at 11.30 and they took our order at 11.50. I asked if we could look at the lunch menu for our child but told ‘no not before 12’. I asked if they could bring the meal forward by 10 minutes to cater for our 1 year old as they had no kids brunch menu. Unbelievably they said no. This meant either ordering an adult meal off the brunch menu or giving our child food off our plate. Frustratingly we choose the latter as I couldn’t justify paying £14 for French toast to a a one year old. Whole thing was hurried and felt we were an inconvenience to them so we decided to leave immediately after eating and get a coffee and cake at Costa for a fraction of the price but treble the service. Very expensive meal for what it is at Wildes. My wife emailed you to complain, with a hope you would put this right. You couldn’t care less. So here’s your one star review!

Gorgeous venue. Beautiful place. Food average for work party. Had better. Drinks ridiculous prices. Need a bank loan. They are tearing the ass out on drink prices. On that alone would not return ..😔.

Visited Van Dyk for our works Christmas party on 2nd December. Beautiful location, luxurious decor and very inviting. However, the bar was understaffed with lengthy queues throughout the evening taking substantial time to get served and the food served was average at best - no choice for the starter other than tomato soup which wasn’t very flavourful and barely warm then a traditional beef or Turkey dinner. I had beef and it was like leather and the vegetables were bland. I did enjoy the cheesecake for desert. You’d expect a little more from Van Dyk.

We were so disappointed with the afternoon tea & service at Van Dykes. We had to get up on 3 occasions & ask for tea & milk, the cream tea was below average, a dry bun that looked like a child had made, hard Xmas cake & a very small trifle which came with no spoon. I asked the waitress if there was a smaller spoon other than a tea spoon & she said no you will have to use your knife. Unacceptable for the price of £27, not once did any member of staff come & ask if everything was ok or did we need anything. On the plus side the scone was nice!

While we had an enjoyable time at lunch, the service and food was varied. We said to the waitress no onions whatsoever in the burger. It came with raw onions. Why. We pointed it out later to let the chef know that no onions means no onions. Our food was excellent but the portions have shrunk. Our guest asked for ice cream. It was only 2 mouthfuls. Not on. Think you’re keeping prices the same but reducing portions. The room itself is charming and a good atmosphere. Some trainee staff were doing their best, but a busy Sunday lunch service is no place for a novice. We will return but we will be wary. A waiter asked if we had any allergies. We don’t We have strong dislikes which need to be listened to.

Staff needed training and came across as unprofessional and rushed. ( asking to take plate while still eating) Food was basic and ambiance of a airport canteen. Very disappointing. 👎🏻 . I’d driven past this place several times and always thought it looked lovely , I went on a dinner date on Friday evening and to be honest I was embarrassed for them. Needs a good manager with an eye for detail and standards. No class. Over priced . Big let down . Sorry .

We have eaten at your restaurant several times and always enjoyed it. Yesterday was very different for several reasons. Firstly, the food was not of a good enough standard to warrant anything like the £100 we spent. My falafels, as I mentioned to the waiter, were burnt and inedible. I couldn't even but through them with the cutlery. There was a huge amount of olives with my platter, not merely in the bowl of their own, but making up half of the separate marinated vegetable bowl too. My partner's mussels were good. His main, however, was the swordfish which not only was overcooked, but was accompanied primarily by another large portion of olives resulting in a highly unbalanced meal. As far as we recall, there was no indication on the menu that this would be accompanied almost solely by olives! The service which is usually very good was poor with staff, in an almost empty restaurant, preferring yo chat amongst themselves than serve the customers. There was a large gap between our main courses and desserts for no discernable reason and with no apology. This lunch cost over £100. We will not be returning.

Went for my birthday last week. We ordered nachos to start with which are just short of £10 so was so disappointed that there was hardly any cheese, guacamole, sour cream or salsa so ended up having to leave half of it so a pretty bad start. Our mains and dessert were a bit better and service was polite enough although we got asked on 6 occasions ( twice on every course by a different person) if everything was alright. While it is nice to be asked I think 6 times is a bit intrusive and shows lack of communication between staff as there was only about six tables with people eating. May give it another try at one of the shows but probably won't hurry back.

First visit to Van Dyks and the setting is lovely, modern but classic and felt a great place for an evening meal. As a first time visit we weren’t clear where to go once we had entered, it was only when someone came over we knew which direction to head to the orangery. The food was good, my parents shared a Chateaubriand steak which they commented wasn’t the best they’d had for the price as it was on the chewy side but was still nice. I had the classic burger and added bacon which was really tasty. We opted for deserts too which were all nice. The service was reasonably good, I couldn’t recall the servers name but he must have been new as whenever he cleared glasses we weren’t asked if we wanted more drinks or anything else they were just taken. The blonde guy that served us sometimes was far more attentive. Overall we had really high hopes based on the appearance and it was definitely very good food just didn’t quite meet expectations for the price but we would return.

Very welcoming and lovely friendly staff at the restaurant reception. Food was gorgeous. Beef bourginon, fish and chips and liver and onions were the selection. Enough room for a dessert but only for two. The only downside which we spoke to the staff about and its work in progress was no clear sign as to where to enter the restaurant and no dropped kerb for wheelchairs. The decor, service and food were outstanding.

I’ll start by saying this review has been reported and deleted three times now for being the wrong venue (I’m assuming by the hotel) and a suspicious glowing review posted straight afterwards. This is definitely the right venue - I am reviewing the restaurant within the hotel, as have many other people on this page. We booked Sunday lunch for close family at the restaurant several months ago, as my sister and her new husband were spending their wedding night at the hotel. We were a party of 13 adults and 3 children, and were spread across three tables, which wasn’t ideal, but we had been told this on booking. On arrival, we were told that we had the tables for an hour and a half, and then they had another booking. This was fine, as we weren’t planning on staying any longer than that, but it was rather abrupt and made us feel a little unwelcome. The food was all really lovely, and I cannot fault it at all. We all had a main course and then were offered dessert menus, which everyone decided to have too. Although the main courses came quickly, the desserts took quite a while. I ordered the pineapple tarte tatin, and was told it would take a little longer as it was cooked fresh, which was fine with me. As we were waiting for the desserts to arrive, our server came over to clear glasses away and told us that our time at the table was up, and the next guests had arrived. These guests had apparently specifically requested the tables we were sat at (which as I’ve already mentioned, we booked months ago), and refused the other empty tables offered to them. Our desserts arrived 5 minutes later (and were all delicious), and we’d barely set our cutlery down before the server came over with the bill before we’d asked for it. One member of our party had ordered another drink with dessert and this had yet to arrive. We complained about feeling rushed as we paid the bill, and the server brushed it off as being a busy bank holiday. The restaurant wasn’t full. I understand the need for time limits on tables when taking bookings, but the problem was with the speed of service, not the speed of our eating. Nobody had more than two drinks, and we ordered our meals within 5 minutes of sitting down. If a meal can’t be served within the time slot given, that time slot needs extending. If we’d have ordered starters too, we’d have easily been another half an hour, so I have no idea what would have happened then - we’d have probably been asked to eat dessert in the car park. Overall, what should have been a lovely family meal to top off a weekend of marriage celebrations, ended on a sour note as we felt we were being chivvied out of the restaurant. We absolutely will not be returning.

An arranged special birthday party for 12 which was booked early this year,cancelled by voicemail two hours before we were due to arrive,no apology.The manager insisted the booking was cancelled two weeks prior,it wasnt,it was moved from outside to inside as he said it was closed.The reason for the two hour cancellation,they had a Wedding,I didnt realise that a wedding could be arranged in two hours!,well,I hope it was worth it as 12 people will definatly never book your establishment again and the friends and familly of those 12 people will also never book,so thats at least 144 people.Bad management,bad manners and bad planning.Tip..avoid booking your special occasion here,you could be let down at the very last hour,literally.

I have written a review on the hotel page to give an overall impression of the excellent service we received this week. Nothing was to much trouble for the brasserie staff. The chef who made the tempura prawns as a main course for us on request. The prawn dhansak unbelievably delicious. The front of house who was so welcoming and the waitresses who made sure everything was as we wished it to be. Highly recommend you give this a visit

We have eaten here as a family quite a few times now and we have never been disappointed. I applied for the Loyalty card after the first visit and it has been a great asset. Easy to apply on line on the Van Dyk website we get discount off from Monday to Thursday and through January and February we have enjoyed 40% off our food bill. For this you must book and must present your card The fish and chips here are amazing. A massive fish, great chips and mushy peas. This is one of our favourites. You can either have small or large portion either £12.95 or £14.95. The beef ale and mushroom pie is one of my husbands favourites and is big. £15.95. I've had the rib eye a couple of times and it has been delicious £23 . Last night I had the belly pork £15.95 which was great and mum had beef bourguignon this also you could have a small £12.95 or large £14.95. The burger too is fab. All these prices are the full price without loyalty card discount. The Brasserie is a lovely place to sit in, with interesting artifacts on the walls. Great selection of beers and wines. The staff are always polite and friendly. Very helpful but not intrusive. Looking forward to our next visit.

It is a huge disappointment that I have to write a review like this , I have been here for a number of years and always recommended it however with the last 2 visits I would not recommend it to my enemy. The service was so shabby part of the food was nice the rest was really not I know the portions are always smaller but this was a joke for what you pay. I questioned this but they did not think it was important and said they would pass the comments on to the chef. It astonishes me that loyal guests want to remain loyal and was only saying it constructively not for anything more but to retain good service fantastic food and feedback. This did not happen on either occasions.

We have visited here on previous occasions for a group pre Christmas dinner, and booked a table for 10 in the small room as usual and requested a round table. That's about as good as it gets. On arrival, due to extensive building works taking place, the car parking spaces were severely restricted as numerous skips occupied some of the spaces. We were then told that the small restaurant had been booked out for a group booking and our meal would now be served in the Brasserie, but on a long table. When this was queried his attitude basically was "tough - it was only a request". No single apology was given for the change in our booking. Then we ordered starters. When they eventually arrived some 20 -30 minutes after ordering, only nine arrived. Despite numerous assurances that the missing one was on it's way, we had all finished ours by the time the last one arrived. Again, another lengthy wait for main courses, and the roast dinneres arrived minus potatoes, which we had to request. We also had to ask twice for additional gravy, needed to try to soften the biscuit like Yorkshire puddings. When the bill finally arrived, the restaurant manager again refused to discuss the shortcomings or inconveniences, and was verging on being rude. I would recommend that he quickly attends a course on "Customer Service Techniques" Would I recommend here - definitely no. Would I come back - resoundingly no. If it had been possible to score zero, that's what it would have received.

We have used this restaurant over many years. 1.12.19 had rebooked a table for 15 with pre ordered food. We are aware there is a wardrobe for coats, which was not offered. When we asked, we were allowed to use it, although the door was clearly falling off. Once seated starters were served. service was a little slow. starters were very acceptable. Service on mains was painfully slow with meals coming out in dribs and drabs. Roast dinners were not what they were. The highlight was good quality veg. The downside they tried to feed gluten to a coeliac, when we had notified of dietary requirements. Desserts were painfully slow being served. Staff apologised at one point and promised within 5 minutes. It must have been a further 20. Once again they served a gluten based product to a coeliac; that was clearly shown on the menu as gluten free. It was only the vigilance of diners that prevented one diner from being effectively poisoned. This was quite unforgivable! After the service of dessert, all staff seemed to disappear. It was necessary to go walkabout to find staff, in order that we could settle our account and depart. Overall disappointed. Standards have slipped.

Booked a meal with friends at one of our local venues. The table was not ready when we arrived. The waitress, Abbie, was great and served us well throughout the evening. We felt the starters weren’t fantastic but we all enjoyed our main meals. So much so we ordered desserts and coffees. A group of 8 professionals, enjoying a birthday meal. We complained about a starter which was buffalo wings as my friend found it so hot with spices she was unable to eat it. The waitress said she’s heard that earlier as well. We had asked for balsamic vinegar and the head waiter said ‘we don’t have this’ and walked off. This was rude. We then asked the waitress for some and she could not find any in the Brasserie but went and got some from the kitchen. We had booked the table well in advance of our evening, based upon seeing an advertisement on social media. The advert has said enjoy 35% off for loyalty members, pre-booked tables only. We had telephoned our booking and was told we could join the loyalty scheme on the evening and be able to use the discount. This was the understanding of all of our group. When it came to the end of our meal I asked my husband to go and ask about the bill and remind the staff about the loyalty scheme and the discount. All I can now say is that any enjoyment we had from eating in this restaurant quickly disappeared. I overheard my husbands slightly raised, shocked voice and looked up to see him surrounded by staff at the restaurant. I walked over to ask the problem. A man that appeared to look like a bouncer with a bunch of keys was threatening to call the police saying my husband had refused to pay. My husband was simply asking for the discount, as advertised, which we had been assured, over the telephone, we would receive. I told them to ring the police, we had done nothing wrong. I went back to the table. My friends agreed to pay the full amount. This was £50 per head for our table where only 3 people had alcoholic beverages. By this time my husband had been physically threatened by the man we later found out to be the owner/operations manager of the whole place. Whilst we were paying he was standing guard over our table. I asked him to please move as I was finding his presence intimidating and threatening. He refused and argued back. Eventually he moved approximately 2 metres away. I have never in my life been spoken to, in a restaurant, like this and felt really sorry for our lovely waitress who clearly has to work under this manager every day.

Booked in for my wife’s birthday. When I booked 10 days before we were due to visit. I was told that I could use the loyalty card discount scheme on the night by a receptionist who said they normally worked in the Christmas bookings, a discount of 35% was being offered on their social media. Had the meal which was good and the service was friendly. I asked to pay and to sort out the discount only to be told that it couldn’t be arranged on the night and that I would have to pay full price. I felt this was unfair and argued that their advertising was misleading. Essentially I was accused of being a liar, threatened with the police and then physically threatened by the owner/director Mark Wildes who put on a blue badge and threatened to physically remove me and physically detain me all at the same time. My wife agreed to pay the bill to defuse the situation, even then the intimidation continued while we were paying the bill. My wife asked him to move as she felt his behaviour was intimidating and he refused questioning why he should go. My wife’s birthday was ruined. I am a professional teacher not a drunken lager lout and I feel that I was treated appallingly. I will never return to Van Dyk, nor will any of my family, friends or the organisations I work with. I urge you never to eat, stay or attend a function at this establishment.

We have been for Sunday Lunch after having their decent delivery service for the same and we were totally let down. We had to call one of the staff over to take our drinks order after no one came, then again to order the food!! When the food arrived on cold plates it wasn't even lukewarm, it was replaced and still wasn't any different. The table next to us had the same problem but didn't say anything. The bar was full of used glasses and plates collected from the tables! Looked very messy. The service not very good at all. They did reduce our bill but would have much sooner had the lovely meal we went out for.

A 90 minute wait for salad meal, which was delivered minus half it ingredient parts is absolute shambolic for such an alleged prestigious venue - and i've eaten here before frequently. It wasn't even a busy evening. The service was poor unless your in a large party spending money,otherwise the staff are either inefficient or insufficient. We left in disgust without waiting to be offered coffees of desserts.

The service was excellent. It was really busy and didn't have to wait long at all. Food was lovely. It's a nice atmosphere warm and welcoming. Suitable for couples and families.