The Bistro At Dunston Hall in Chesterfield

So I took the family out for breakfast for my daughter’s birthday and thought we’d give Dunston Hall a try, as friends and family had recommended it.. Wow the food was amazing,all local produce and cooked really well. The sausage was to die for.. A great start to her 18th birthday. I too would rate this place highly.. Well done. Dave.

Today we visited for breakfast I had a large breakfast 4 bacon 2 sausage 2 eggs of choice 2 mushrooms 2 grilled tomatoes 2 toast black pudding baked beans and a pot of tea absolutely stunning great service good atmosphere a pleasant experience 😁

Lovely food , not the cheapest, but thoroughly enjoyed the meal , will return soon Also it’s table service and Nathan was really friendly and professional.

Found this gem of a bistro while spending a few days in the area. A wide-ranging menu and the quality of the food is amazing. Pleasant and extremely helpful staff too which made for a really enjoyable visit. Lunch was so good we came back later and had coffee & cake! Highly recommended.

We went for a walk in Lynacre woods, then decided to try the Bistro for lunch. Although they were busy, the lovely staff accommodated us and managed to fit us in. Enjoyed our food immensely. A lovely find on the edge of Chesterfield.

We visited for lunch and as it was a Sunday there was a very limited menu. We ordered 2 burgers (one well done) and a roast. We asked for a jug of water but was advised we don’t do water by the jug. Asked for a wine list twice before it arrived. When the food appeared we had no cutlery or condiments on the table. We asked for salt and the container was empty so I got up myself to get another one. We then asked for apple sauce to go with the roast. All the while the food was getting cooler by the minute and it wasn’t very hot to begin with. We asked the waiter which was the well done burger and he shrugged his shoulders and placed both plates down so we tried to work it out for ourselves but there was no discernible difference. When the plates were cleared we were asked if everything was OK and we said very average. She asked if anyone had checked on us during the meal and we said no. End of conversation. Couldn’t wait to pay and get out. We have eaten her on several occasions with varying results but I would only visit again for coffee/cake, definitely not a main meal. The food needs to be much hotter and the staff need to show more attention to detail.

My parents and I came for a mid morning breakfast with my 6 month old daughter. We ordered 3 full English breakfasts which all came out stone cold and the sausages raw and pink inside. We notified our server who was very apologetic and sent them back to the kitchen with the promise of bringing out three fresh ones. The second batch arrived and was again cold with the same raw sausages. The poached eggs were barely cooked on one and solid on the other as well. Needless to say we notified our server again and decided to leave. Whilst queuing to pay for our drinks another customer overheard us talking and advised they had also sent their breakfasts back twice as they had experienced the same issue. Clearly some serious issues in the kitchen! Overall a very disappointing visit.

Cosy atmosphere, lovely staff, reasonably priced

Lovely little garden centre, the food is great and worth the money. It is often busy on weekends, so I recommend booking in advance.

Enjoyed the garden centre. Fair prices. Friendly knowledgeable staff. Big tea room, nice selection of food though service was slow on the day we visited due to staffing problems but everything was served with a smile and little fuss. Toilets were immaculate. Dog and wheelchair friendly. Additional farm shop had a good variety of food and wine.

Called in here for lunch, really enjoyed the flat bread and some cake, delicious.

Lovely place. Don't sit at table 16, it's near the door and people and STAFF, keep leaving the door open and your food gets cold so quickly could do with a door closer on it or a swing door

Appalling service, not that we actually got any. We advised the lady at the door that we’d only like coffee and cake rather than lunch, to which we were told that’s fine and showed to a table, a very cramped table that could be half the size smaller so that you can actually sit comfortably in the comfortable chairs, and told someone will be over to take our order. This is when it went down hill, I went and looked to see what cakes they had and upon asking a woman at the counter a question about one of them, she looked at me like I’d spat in her face and begrudgingly answered my question. I went back to the huge water lily pad sized table and waited, and waited, and waited, after twice asking people who were clearing tables if they’d take our order to which again I was told someone will be with you soon, we have up and left. The woman who had originally seated us saw us leaving and said “that was quick?” so we had to tell her that we had been ignored for nearly 20 minutes without anyone taking our order or even speaking to us. All we got in return was an “oh” no apology or anything. I have been here once before a few years ago and it was as different again which is why we thought we’d try it, that and a friend has a new job here and raves about the place, sadly for us this was not the case and we will not be returning, nor would we recommend it.

We called in Saturday lunchtime for a coffee and a cake. It was extremely busy however fortunately we were lucky enough to get seated. Service was very slow and it was evident there was a shortage of staff as the coffee was Luke warm and took a long time to come , the scone was very dry and did not have a lot of fruit in it.. the fruit was sparse…. The most concerning thing which has been playing on my mind is a loud disturbance between staff members with a male shouting and swearing at another staff member coming from the kitchen area. I do hope the staff member / members involved on the receiving hand has been supported as this has made me feel really uncomfortable and reluctant to visit again

Excellent food, pleasant staff and good atmosphere. Would recommend the fish and chips 👍

Every time we have Sunday lunch at the bistro, we are never disappointed...the service is good...the food is perfectly cooked and always hot... it's also reasonably priced.

Today, my mum and I visited the bistro and had breakfast and coffee. The quality of the ingredients, staff and atmosphere where amazing. Highly recommend We also visited the deli, and the range and quality of ingredients was absolutely incredible. We brought some dry ingredients as well as some prawns from the fish counter which are probably the best I've ever had. Tonight using ingredients from the deli I made a prawn tagliatelle Prawns from the fish counter Pasaata Semi dried tomatoes Pasta (tagliatelle) Garlic Lemon Lime Soy sauce

I took my elderly parents for a bite to eat while wandering round the gardencentre We were greeted and seated in such a friendly way it was very refreshing, nothing was too much trouble for the lady serving us, who was very patient with my partially sighted father who was doing his usual trick of asking lots of questions! There was one item missing off the menu, the lady returned apologising but offering suggestions for an alternative I spoke to a couple of members of staff while there and came away with a view that service excellence was not attributed to just one person, they were all so friendly and helpful Food was excellent, service and atmosphere superb Good value in beautiful surroundings, topped off with a bimble round the beautiful garden centre, a new plant for my mothers extensive collection of pots and a visit to the new food hall 2 very happy parents!

A really wonderful place for breakfast or lunch. The food is amazing and the staff are very friendly. I have been several times and highly recommend this hidden gem, surrounded by the lovely garden centre and fabulous deli - not to be missed! 😊

Lovely venue , good on our visit very poor overcooked chicken and chips , no condiments after twice asking… coffee came black no milk or sugar as per order…. Table never cleared the whole time we were there… plates piled up etc…

Food was excellent, good range of choice

We had a coffee and cake, the Portuguese custard tarts were delicious.

Visited twice now but don't think I've seen it at it's best yet. The first visit was on a Tuesday morning at about 10.45. Had a short wait whilst someone came to show us where we could sit. We chose to sit outside, although the weather wasn't good, because the noise inside was too much!! So loud you could hardly hear yourself think! But the outside is pleasant. Half of it is covered. There is also a children's play area. My friend went inside to order but eventually came back to say that the 'system' was down so they weren't taking any orders at all! ?? Somewhat miffed we decided to go and look round the garden centre but as we were leaving someone had apparently come up with an amazing idea!!! They could use pen and paper to take orders!!! Wow! We only wanted coffee and cake! How many orders did they lose before going back to the old fashioned way? The second visit was a Monday afternoon at about 3 o'clock. Although we could see that it was busy not all the tables were being used. Even so, customers were queuing out of the door , waiting to be seated!! No thank you! We left. What's with the having to be shown to a table lark? Isn't it obvious whether a table is being used or not??🤷🏼‍♀️ But, apart from that, the staff were pleasant and it is beautifully decorated (if noisy ) and the new farm shop is also worth a visit. I will give it one more go as, on paper, it really should be the perfect place for lunch with friends or a quick coffee and cake. Hopefully I'll be able to give it 5 stars.

Had steak baguette with blue cheese and mushroom with gravy. Very good. Cakes looked nice. Good selection of coffee and soft drinks/alcohol.

Arrived just after 12 midday for lunch and the place was full, both inside and out but we did get a table. There was a short wait to take our order but as it was busy you could see why. Coffees (Americanos) came ten minutes later - we've had better coffee, could be a bit stronger for our taste. Then, because it was so busy we had a 25 minute wait for the food - but it was worth it. The pie of the day with veg, chips and gravy and the stacked burger with chips was faultless and delicious. The staff were non-stop with taking out food and drinks and clearing away tables. We shall go back, but probably not at peak time. :-)

Came on a Tuesday afternoon. Burger was excellent but the risotto was a bland rice soup - very poor. Service was slow - waited 15 minutes to be seated with a baby and dog. More than half an hour until ordering even though it wasn’t busy. Staff not very attentive and young waitresses looked disinterested. Table wasn’t cleared for ages and not wiped down. Got the order wrong - although did apologise, no offer of exchange or reimbursement. Had to get up and pay after a while as staff seemed to wander off and neglect the outdoor area. Nice place, clearly had some money spent on it, but left feeling disappointed. Not cheap and didn’t do the basics well enough - I hope this will be received as constructive

I had the veggie breakfast, my friends the fruity eggs bread. Both were excellent. By far the best place to go. We particularly liked the interior which feels luxurious yet relaxed. We had a lovely wonder around the garden center and found the food hall which is outstanding. So many amazing and unique products. Can't recommend enough 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Great scones and cakes staff are very attentive and friendly I would recommend

Beautiful surroundings, friendly staff, excellent service. Son loves it. Playground outside is fab for kids all ages, love the new outdoor area.

Fabulous place to come for an afternoon treat with my son. Staff are very friendly and attentive, drinks arrived promptly, the food was delicious my son who is a picky eater had cleared his plate. We also had cakes and they were very nice. Will definitely be returning

My daughter & I booked a late lunch. We're seated & served promptly as it was not too busy. My daughter's chicken shawarma was ok but my Philly cheesesteak wasn't what I expected. Firstly it should have been on a soft roll, it was on a baguette & a bit on the hard side, I left half of it, the steak was not in strips as I had expected, more like pulled beef which was too spicy, finally not much cheese. I have had this dish in the US, this was not a Philly cheesesteak as far as I was concerned. Disappointed.

I have had a number of breakfasts and afternoon tea here and each time the food was very good. The service and waitresses were very polite and professional. However, unfortunately this place is massively let down by the managers lack of professionalism and maturity towards their own staff. Bordering only “bullying” at times they’re attitude and behaviour certainly doesn’t warrant a “managers” position.

The best fish & chips I've ever had which i have had every time I've been except today when i tried the chicken shawarma and it was amazing. One of our favourite places to eat.

Visited for coffee. Lovely comfortable seating. Table service which was pleasant and efficient.

We've been twice and enjoyed the Sunday lunches both times. Staff today were very good and I think some of the other reviewers must have been unlucky.

Great food and service.Ellie gave great customer service with a smile.looks like the new part of the deli will be good? can't wait for when it opens

The Bistro is a lovely place to stop for a meal...1st time for us...I must admit I was expecting better food..it was ok, but not the best...I had the Dunston pie..minced beef, not chunks..and not much flavour...the service was very good, friendly staff..cost, on par with other restaurants of its ilk..we will return..try a different meal..the garden centre was also very good

Lovely surroundings spoilt by interested staff, Sunday roast was very poor in all respects. Many empty seats say's it all. Two years ago I left a 5 star review here. Very disappointed ☹️

We visited for breakfast last month, a bit of a late post this one. Really enjoyed it. coffee was lovely and was actually nice for it to be made properly for a change at a place which you dont always get. Staff good and welcoming too. Play area outside for kids which is a lovely touch.

Nice surroundings spoilt by under par food, service not the best no one seemed interested. Not just my opinion the empty seats said it all , Sunday lunchtime should be busy on such a nice day

Very good nice service. Very good customer service. Pleasant staff. Will be going again this weekend

Lovely food and atmosphere. Been a few times now at different times of year and always had a great experience. Friendly staff and good food.

Just a little loud when trying to chat

Great place, the cakes and food were outstanding. The staff friendly and helpful, and very reasonably priced too.

Staff very unhelpful and abrupt, drink was tepid, and cake clearly old and dry. Over priced for the quality and service given. Will not return!!

I visit Dunston Bistro on a regular basis, I love it there. The staff are fabulous and all very friendly. The food and drink is great. There's an amazing selection of sweet treats. I had the best raspberry and white chocolate blondie on my most recent visit. Love the vibe in the bistro, can't fault the atmosphere. Thank you!

Great service, very friendly and helpful staff and amazing food! Couldn’t recommend a better spot for lunch or even a quick coffee :)

5 stars says it all! Thank you.

Not particularly customer friendly, when a member of staff dropped something all over my friend, we were questioned why we should expect any recompense for an accident. I have a long history in customer service and unfortunately today Dunston didn’t meet any standards.

Disappointed with the bistro, fist visit but probably the last. I think the food is overpriced ( which is fine if it’s nice ) but the flatbread I had was certainly nothing special, hardly any chicken on it at all and the chips were lukewarm and very dry indeed!!! Scones dry and rock hard. Coffee also not hot enough at all. Need to up their game ALOT. On a positive note the staff we encountered was very lovely & polite.

Lovely coffee and sandwiches were very nice indeed.

We both had the salmon en route was fantastic.

We've been going to The Bistro since it opened after its refurbishment, we usually make an appearance every few weeks. I can honestly say that we have never had a bad meal here or bad service. The staff are always friendly and attentive, there's not usually a long wait for food. Just one time last summer we had to wait a while due to staffing and the amount of customers, however the staff continued to update us - great communication. Besides, it was nice to just sit outside in the sunshine 🌞 See you again soon 😊

Excellent service received from Evelyn. She was kind, caring, professional and went above and beyond to ensure my friend and I had a lovely time and a lovely meal at the Bistro.

Treated my mum to an early Mother’s Day afternoon tea. I went into the bistro 4 days before to book and ask for an easily accessible table as my mum is in a wheelchair. Pointed a table out to the lady that was taking my booking and she said she would put a note on our booking that we wanted that table. Turned up on the day and People were sat at the table I had requested. The girl seeing to us pointed to a table that had been reserved for us, but clearly the note about my mother being in a wheelchair had been missed as the reserved table was at the far end of the cafe and there was no way I could get my mum through as most of the other tables had people seated at them so the chairs were sticking out. So we took the next best table. Then when the afternoon tea arrived we actually waited a few minutes to see if anything else was being brought out as it looked very poor. 3 finger sandwiches each which were mainly filled with salad and the bread was rather dry like it had been made up a while. Then there were 3 pots of condiments that looked liked they were just there to fill the bottom of the tier up. 2 very small scones each with a bit of cream and jam. A few other little cakes but nothing spectacular. It was very underwhelming and a little upsetting as me and my brother were there to treat our mum. We all said for £20 a head you would at least expect a few crisps perhaps and maybe a little sausage roll or something , it was just mainly sweets and not once did any of the staff come over and ask if everything was ok. £60 for 3 of us , gutted.

Stopped off for a coffee and snack before a meeting. Staff were lovely found me a table is a corner at request and were very polite and helpful. Ordered a tea and a slab of sausage and egg slice all very nice Positives Friendly helpful staff Food is nice and reasonably priced Clean and well serviced Negatives A little noisy, as it’s quite open, nothing to break the chat, but it’s in the garden centre what do you expect Overall I would definitely stop by again for a pit stop

Really lovely place and fantastic food and service. I have been here a few times and never have been disappointed. The food is really lovely and very fresh and the staff are very friendly and helpful. Would definitely recommend and will go back.

Pleasant staff, food was very superb

Lovely food and atmosphere, friendly helpful staff a little on the experience side for what it is, a garden centre coffee shop !

Great food only thing better is the service and staff

Went for Sunday lunch, food was great, service was non existent. Felt like we were an inconvenience whilst managers just sat around on their laptops.

We called in after a walk at Linacre Resovoirs. Pots of tea magic The blade of beef tremendous. My friends enjoyed Fish and chips. One taking his wife.

Went for lunch on Friday the 26th of January was an amazing place with friendly staff, beautiful scenery inside and out and food to die for (would definitely recommend the burger 😋) can not wait to go back especially in the summer to sit outside ☀️🍹🍔🥙

Excellent service received from Amy at The Bistro Dunston Garden Centre, today, she went above and beyond to ensure me and my friend had a lovely time. We have always received delicious food in a lovely environment.

Really nice place to visit. Food is great and very helpful and friendly staff. Can get really busy on occasions. Free car park and inside garden centre.

The prices for the breakfast meals are quite simply ludicrous. I had the Full English, which costs £12+, the meal that came was basically a child size breakfast with cheap sausages. Do yourself a favour and go somewhere else.

The food and service was top notch, I will definitely be returning soon, the staff were very friendly!

A reasonable but not extensive menu with additional seasonal additions However if you are a group, you have to pay as one table. Due to an inflexible payment system the whole party are expected to pay, even if one of the party needs to leave earlier than the group. The staff were quite abrupt regarding this arrangement too.

We have just attended breakfast with Santa, the event was held in the new stables. The stables are beautiful and the staff were very attentive. There was tea, coffee & juice on arrival and each family was sat at their own table. The Christmas tree is so beautiful and Santa was amazing, the gift was also very good. Breakfast was excellent and we were given a choice a few weeks ago to order. Breakfast came out freshly cooked and hot. This event was excellent value for money and the food was to the sites bistro’s high standard. Thank you to all the staff on site for making it a magical morning.

Appears to be run by children. Double pattie burger was over cooked slices of beef, double cooed chips were hard and cold. The bacon brie and cranberry sandwiches was ham, no brie and red condiment - really bad!

Was lovely, but quite expensive for what it was. So if you want to treat yourself or someone I'd recommend.

We ordered soup and salad, it took ages to come. The soup was so salty that none of our party could eat more than a couple of spoons full.And the (Waldorf) salad was very sweet - not sure if walnuts were candied maybe but then a thick molasses style dressing on top. The apple was in balls though which was a nice touch (but meant there was no peel). They make a point of it being a wait to be seated, table service kind of a place - but then you still have to pay at the counter which undermines the experience rather and seems a bit unnecessary when there are armies of teenagers pacing about at a loose end.

We are here back in June and really enjoyed everything so decided to come back for a family meal at the weekend. Although the service was excellent like last time, the food wasn't up to the same standard. I got the beef burger which was a disappointment. The patties were dry (but they didn't look overcooked so not really sure why) and didn't really taste of anything. The menu said it came with pastrami but turned out to be 2 thick very chewy pieces of what looked like roast beef. They were so chewy they were impossible to eat even separately to the burger, but never should have been put in with the burger! It came with really lovely fries but there really weren't many of them at all. Others had the roasts which were mostly good. The meat was all really nice but the parsnips were very underdone and hard and not pleasant to eat. Some of the roast potatoes were amazing but some were also undercooked.

Lovely food in lovely surroundings , service was prompt and efficient

Just loved it ..the young servers were an absolute delight..we kept them rather busy(even though there were only two of us) but nothing was too much trouble .Have been many times to Dunstan and hopefully many times to come

Busy weekend afternoon,called for cake and coffee. This was a much better experience than the last visit. The staff were excellent speedy and pleasant. The drinks were nice and the cake and sausage roll very nice. Plenty outside and inside seating.

Very welcoming place, nice food and drinks, pleasant staff

Lovely lunch, nice little spot on the way up the peaks

A friend and I went for lunch gluten free was good. Really enjoyed.

Situato all'interno del garden center, il posto è carino e di buon gusto. Il cibo è moderno e più interessante della solita cucina inglese. Non posso che raccomandarlo, i prezzi sono abbordabili e il servizio efficiente.

Breakfast was tasty scrambled eggs the best Good choice of items Book a table it does get busy You can then check out the garden centre

We want cake and coffee. No one wiped the table we sat at so there were crumbs from the previous customer plus there was only one gluten free cake option and no gluten free bread to make some toast and jam. Very disappointed

What a lovely place to go for lunch, fabulous service and delicious food, we will definitely be back

Lovely sirloin cob and rhubarb lemonade. Unfortunately, we were 'attacked' by wasps after the meat and couldn't finish our food. Fantastic waitress who noticed and only charged us for one. 😍

Pleasant experience good food. Good ares for children to play and safe

Only had coffee but it was lovely.

To be fair, we didn't stop as there was a 45 minute wait for service. The place was quite busy, but there was still seating available & 45 minutes was just too long to wait.

Best eat experience in Chesterfield

Had bacon bap, bap was very dry, no butter etc. and bacon was like a board. It seemed as if it had been cooked, heated and cooked again, not good at all.

A lovely restaurant. Great food and friendly service.

Only reason gave 4/5 is we feel it's too pricey. Cakes amazing and service very good. Can get a bit noisy when busy - which it often is.

Came with a friend (GF) for lunch....We both had the Lamb Kofta Flat Bread - It was delicious (and very filling!). It came quickly, good service. The Bistro is always busy...no matter what time of day! Glad we booked a table 🙃

Lovely place for coffee and cake today with my sister. Great garden centre too

Service was very poor. Staff seemed untrained to deal with busy times. The cafe wasn't busy but had to attract the attention of a waitress so we could order! Food very average. Nothing to rave about. Had better scones elsewhere. Won't be going back there. ...

Decent food spoiled by lack of staff and poor attitude to service. Booked in advance and on arrival no space to sit at table as it had been crammed in so tightly to maximise number of tables. Wanted to order desserts but after waiting 10 minutes with no menu decided to leave instead. Have been a few times and had mixed service but will not return, its pricey and this isn’t reflected in the experience

Perfect place to call with my son for an after school treat. Situated in a beautiful garden centre. Bistro staff very friendly, welcoming and all made a fuss of my son when we were at the counter to pay.

Lovely place, popped in for coffee and cake and it was delicious

My friend and I visited the bistro last week, the staff were very young not professional at all. There was some altercation and the staff were very rude and vocal. They are in hospitality and they should be trained. Children were crying and screaming and parents were ignoring them. We had the fish and chips, not good! A terrible experience. Went to The Peacock this week staff were very professional the food was excellent, try there!

Excellent Sunday lunch. We had never heard of here before and not familiar with the area, but following trip advisor reviews booked to meet family. The service was excellent and the food absolutely delicious. Not the cheapest but worth every penny. Meat and veg cooked to perfection, potatoes to die for, and a banging Yorkshire pud!

Came here with a friend for coffee and some cake and as always, the cakes were to die for and the staff were friendly, we always come back to the bistro for that reason, can’t wait to try the scones next time!