The Pointing Dogs in Derbyshire Dales

Absolute shocker! Walked into a completely empty bar, staff member sitting at a table on the laptop, asked if they were serving food(6:50pm) and was told that I had to order now as the kitchen was closing. No problem, I'd checked the menu before I went, so I ordered the steak. Asked to swap the chips and mushroom tomato for a side salad. This should have been when I walked away because this was treated like I'd asked the girl if I could just eat her pet rabbit, never in my life has this been a request that required so much effort. Anyway, food comes out about 9 minutes later and I'm served with a plate of salad, some questionable onion rings, and about 6 slices of roast beef. I have been served steak sliced before, but this was most definitely left over roast beef and to top that off it was stone cold and by no means medium rare as I had requested. Fair play, she did come do a check back within a couple of minutes which is very rare these days, so I said "steak" was cold and she said sorry about that, I'll get the chef to fix it. Comes back about 5 minutes later and I don't even think the chef looked at it. "steak" still cold, onion rings now also cold. She comes back a couple of minutes later asking if everything was OK now so I say no, it's actually worse. Well, at point she starts telling me that it's because it's the salad that's making it cold and that the chef has probed these slices and they are fine and that it should be cold because I'd asked for medium rare! Incredulous, I just said fine, clearly not going to get anywhere. I worked in bars and restaurants for the best part of 10 years, managed a good few of these and if anyone I worked with ever treated a customer like that they would have been fired on the spot. I was then completely ignored for the rest of my visit like I had done something wrong even though I paid full price for my meal. Food - 0 Service - 10 Atmosphere - colder than my ex's heart

Spent two nights in Matlock and spent both eating and drinking here. Excellent food, very friendly staff and a nice pub to go to.

Had a fabulous meal and a few local beers. Fantastic bub .

Great place for food and drink. Really helpful staff and a lovely atmosphere with stunning views

Came in on my day off from work and had the best pulled pork deli roll ever! I will be returning 🤌

Called at The Pointing Dog for a drink after a walk. The layout inside is fabulous and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Initially didn’t want food but when we saw what was being taken out to other tables it made our tummies rumble so decided to order. Boy, am I glad we did.. the food was beautiful and very well presented. Our order came within 30 minutes (they were quite busy) and the waiting on staff were exceptional. This is now going to be our place to go for fabulous food, great service and a wonderful atmosphere. The staff were all amazing and attentive. Well done all. Keep up the amazing good work!

My food was delivered to another table who started to eat it. The waitress realised and took it behind a screen where she attempted to tidy it up. Then delivered it to my table. Seriously disgusted I left!

Always call in to the Pointing Dogs when we go to Matlock, a really friendly atmosphere and good reasonably priced food, the chicken burgers 🍔 are really good. The staff are very helpful with a good knowledge of the beers on offer.

Lovely pub very nice friendly helpful staff prices good 👍🏻

Little gem of a place 😀 recently popped in and found a lovely welcome - food was served quickly and brought over with a smile - drinks were on form and priced fairly - no pressure to pay and toilets were spotless - would highly recommend

Excellent beer and food, chicken burger great,mixed grill every thing was cooked to perfection.Would highly recommend a visit

This is one of the worst places we have visited for a meal. The start was not impressive, coffee was spilt in the saucer on arrival with the sugar sachets wet, no apologies. Meal way over priced and uninspiring, asked the waitress for another coffee and told I would have to go upstairs to order and pay. THIS IS ONE VENUE I WOULD DEFINITELY NOT RECCOMEND.

Popped into here after visiting Gulliver's Kingdom, food was nice and reasonably priced and staff super friendly:)

Ordered pie* and chips. Food took just shy of an hour to arrive (suspiciously soon after chasing it up), and was cold. Call me cynical, but I got the distinct impression it'd been sitting waiting to be served since a normal time after ordering. Time ticking away before our train (1h30 had seemed plenty for a pie* and a pint!), and clearly no chance of a solution in sight, I requested to cancel the meal, as we had (just about) time to visit the chippie instead. Waitress literally shrugged, with a sarcastic "sorry?" and immediately vanished. 15 mins later, chased this up at the bar, barman said there'd "been some confusion" and he would get another pie* out ASAP. This did arrive, *a small slice of pie, burnt to a cinder but edible, with soggy "mixed veg" (carrots and cabbage in the first case, peas and cabbage on the second, so technically within trade descriptions parameters!) Food (eventually) 5/10, service 1/10. Barman was helpful at least!

Great experience with Dining at the Pointing Dogs. Will was Friendly and was happy to make adjustments to the order due to dietary requirements. Lovely relaxed environment. The food was delicious, we all left satisfied.

We came into Matlock to have tea. Will greeting us at the door and was very helpful. The drinks were great! And the food equally delicious!

Gorgeous building, great menu & absolutely cracking service!

Popped into this pub because my train to Derby was cancelled. What a treat. Went upstairs, sat overlooking the river. The staff were really friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend

Visited on a busy Saturday night. Food was really nice and came quick considering it was busy and we were told there would be a wait. Staff all friendly and helpful.

Great service. Beer in excellent condition. Relaxing riverside outside area called the hideaway.

Brilliant place really nice staff, Top lad who works behind the bar, The food is amazing, The girl behind the bar deserves a raise..Going to the pub all week as we was working away, All she did was rush round making sure everyone was ok and if they needed anything.....Not had that customer service in a long time, top girl 👍

Lovely meal early on Saturday evening, great quality food, cooked really well. Amelia looked after us well and is a great asset to this business as front of house.

Just popped in for a pint, good selection

No complaints about the food, however the customer service was awful. The waitress had to ask our drink order 4 times, didn't know what beer, wine or soft drinks were available when asked. When asked for the food to be made gluten free (as a GF option on the menu) this was also misunderstood, despite the menu having gluten free options readily available making us presume this would be something they would be familiar with. As a coeliac this didn't fill me with much confidence however the food was all ok. The live band were set up in the middle of the restaurant rather than downstairs in the bar area and it was ridiculously loud for such a small intimate space ruining any hope of conversation.

Great bar. My wife and I had a lovely lunch here. Had a choice of tables on all floors. The steak and Mac bloomer was great as was the pulled pork wrap. Staff were very friendly. Only one downside was we wasn’t asked if we wanted sauces with our fries eg ketchup, mayonnaise etc. can’t mark it down for that though. Would definitely go again

First time been in there but we only had a drink but was a very pleasant with my family

Great food and good beer. Staff friendly and attentive.

Great food, good service, nice view, would recommend

great place great choice of drinks and really informative staff and dog friendly

Friendly, welcoming place. Good choice on menu. All enjoyed our meals. Will be returning and would recommend.

Amazing experience. The decor is great, lovely view from the top floor and a really comfortable space. The service was brilliant and the food, we had burgers, was delicious!

We had a nice family meal here whilst visiting Matlock. Good food and a decent eighties soundtrack in the background !

Nice atmosphere inside and decorated very tastefully, with a lovely view of the river - sadly the food was disappointing to say the least, took over an hour to arrive and was incredibly overpriced given the poor quality of the meat, stale bread and greasy chips. It has the potential to be a great bar, but as a restaurant this is not somewhere I would recommend.

Lovely pub under new ownership. Good service and food with a friendly service. Will definitely return.

Me and my family came today, met by friendly staff, who easily found us a table. We were seen to quickly and the food was lovely. The gentleman made a lovely fuss of our children. Nothing was too much trouble for them. Thank you for your great service. Looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Friendly staff with delicious food and a lovely view over the river

Fabulous & super friendly service. Small & cosy outdoor area with views & sounds of the waterfall. Sunday lunch was delicious & great value! Would definitely return!

Nixe atmosphere, Good space, food and drinks and service

Great Sunday lunch. Fantastic views over the river and attentive service.

Great real ales from Derby Brewing here. The 'Dark' ale is excellent. Very friendly staff.

Went for a quick drink and a burger on a stag do, we had to wait 2 hours before food arrived! Chased our order up after an hour and was told it was due to a 'printer error', then half an hour later had to chase the food again. Not a good enough excuse! Then half the group were served, the other half had another 15 minute wait. When asked to rectify the situation they reluctantly gave us a free shot each to apologise - nothing considering as a group we spent £250+ Mostly on drinks while having to wait for our food. We only had a few hours in Matlock, and very sorry to say we had to waste 2 of them here. I got the impression they're not that interested in diners at the weekend, and just want drinkers.

Great Bar, no music, made our own fun 😀

Been here for lunch upstairs overlooking the river, went for the grilled Halloumi flatbread with fries, Tzakiki and Sriratcha, which was lovely, we did say that we would have preferred the sauce on the side to distribute ourselves which they took on board, service was good, called for a drink the following night and again enjoyed, a nice addition to Matlock.

Friendly staff, great choice of real ales, with early-doors discounts on various drinks. Food is good and the Monday Night quiz will test your grey matter!!

Lovely pub, great atmosphere, super character, friendly, helpful staff. And proper beer.

Nice view of the big river and the bridge but the food was shocking it took 1hour for food to arrive even tho we were the only ones inside it was hurrendous £109 for rubbish food we couldve gone to mac donalds and spent way less for better food !!!! the chips come as triple cooked are actually burnt at the pointing dogs , what a shame , they did replace the chips and gave us our round of soft drinks on the house but come away hungry and with a taste of ‘triple cooked chips ‘ burnt ….

Good food but did have to wait a long time for mains.

Lovely place, great staff, good food.... you should go

Had a party in their Hideaway Bar for 36 and they looked after us superbly. Nothing too much trouble and the food was excellent

Great food and beer. Fast friendly service. Thoroughly recommended.

Booked for myself & 6 of my friends came over from Manchester for my birthday meal today. The service was fantastic, all the staff were super friendly & professional. Amelia (I think was her name) went out of her way to ensure we had the best service & really good giggle too. It made such a great change having staff with some personality instead of just ‘going through the motions’. The food too was delicious , we’ll definitely be back!

Good service and atmosphere friendly

Great food,but service a little slow, very amiable staff. The building could do with more heat

Food was delicious out this of this world would fully recommend

LOVE the guys at pointing dogs. Cannot say enough good things about this place. Lovely atmosphere, tasty food, cool views of Matlock.

First time here tonight and wow what a experience, amazing food, fabulous cocktails and served by the delightful Amelia and millie, what a fab night, already booked for next time, I recommend the braised beef and red wine pie 👌 perfect!💕

Amelia is an absolute queen and she made our night perfect. Lovely bar, fantastic selection of drinks and beautiful interior. Thank you

Great beer, warm atmosphere and fantastic view over the river! Would recommend.

Lovely place, good ambience, nice staff and dog friendly

Boxing day drinky poos, good staff attitudes even tho they were rushed off their feet, still a nice experience.

I've become quite fond of this place the couple of times I've been in. Granted, I've not had a meal, but it is a very nice venue with lovely views. The staff are all very nice and the beer offer is good. I did try the chips, which the staff proudly said were cut in-house (you'd be surprised how rare this is) and they were indeed very good. Oh, they're also very welcoming of dogs, so that is another bonus. Overall, I think my favourite thing about this place is that it has become far more welcoming to just nipping in for a drink and a snack (as opposed to when it was a steakhouse, or a bank), although I do intend to come for an actual meal at some point.

Great pint of beer in pleasant atmosphere

Nice conversion. One time bank then fancy steak place. Now a bar with river views.

Had an excellent meal here this evening. There were 6 of us celebrating a birthday. Every meal was just perfect. We all enjoyed our food, steak, gammon, fish pie, chicken burger and chicken schnitzels. Service was exemplary too. Will be going back and would definitely recommend. It’s so lovely to have a good eating place in Matlock that can cater for Gluten free and my many other intolerances too, meaning that food is cooked fresh and not pre prepared like many other restaurants.

Amazing service food was amazing 10/10

Great bar with a good menu in modern surroundings with excellent choice ales and lagers .👍👍

Nice place, not the greatest of service behind the very small bar downstairs but lots of seating and a great venue with lots of quirk. Didn't try the food as the drinks alone were a bit expensive but expected in Matlock that isn't a Wetherspoons. Cosy atmosphere too. Needs more vegan options on the menu in my opinion, burgers are what everyone does. And this is where it lost a star as everything else about it is fairly unique.

Had a nice welcome from the staff, the service was amazing and staff was so polite and friendly! The food was lush and fresh. Definitely recommend for a lovely meal and drinks!

We had a Christmas lunch for 20 in early December. Multiple choice of mains and starters were well cooked. Feedback from the attendees was that it beat their expectations. Great staff on the day who joined in with the singing. Many thanks from the Matlock Arc football team.

Very nice meal thankyou to the staff upstairs they were amazing especially the bar man and the young girl they do a amazing job

Great to see the old Herd building back up and running. Good luck to the new owners.

Absolutely awful experience. Waited over an hour for food. The vegan burgers were brought out and the server said 'oh I think this might be a meat burger' We explained that none of us had ordered meat burgers to which she replied 'oh it must be the vegan burger then' Food was cold. We ordered sandwiches that arrived on slices of burnt toast (not edible) and burnt vegetables with no side salad or rocket as stated on the menu. One order was wrong and when we asked how long it would take for a replacement they were not sure, 20 mins later we were still waiting. We ended up leaving and had two very hungry children. Were not overly apologetic. Would not recommend.

Lovely food, lovely atmosphere, lovely staff.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the meals at this pub. We had the soup of the day, gammon steak, and mushroom pie, and everything was delicious. They also had a good selection of beer. The staff were very nice and helpful. It seems like someone had a vendetta against the pub and left six negative reviews within the same day, which is why their overall score is lower than it should be. In my opinion, the pub is really good.

The pub was very busy when we visited with staff working flat out. Unfortunately I think this lead to long waits for food to arrive. The Camembert starter was lovely but unfortunately the main course was a let down with small portions of not particularly brilliantly cooked food.

Great vunue and staff. Good atmosphere. Sadly the food did not live up to expectIons. Admitedly was a very busy day, but we waited over an hour for our food, despite having a reservation. Steak pie contents were good but puff pastry lid just dropped to bits. Partners Prawns overcooked and dry. Hopefully at another time you may have a better experience

If I could I would give a minus star!! The waitress was lovely but that where it ends... we waited over an hour for a sunday dinner... when it arrived it was stone cold, we sent it back after another 10 minutes we gave up and walked. We ask for the manager who was next to useless with just a feeble "sorry". Not good enough, please do not use, you will be disappointed!

Shocking to have to wait an hour for roast dinners that arrived stone cold. It was not so busy when we arrived but clearly things unravelled as more diners came in. We didn't see the meals we sent back again, so we left.

If I could I'd give 0 stars. Had a reservation at 7:30 for 9 people which wasn't ready when we arrived. We then waited over an hour for the food to arrive which was basically cold and almost every order was incorrect. Mine and 2 others were given meals that were completely wrong so we sent them back. They then said it would be about 10 minutes for our correct meal which ended up being another half an hour. By the time our food came everyone else had already finished. No one came to apologise or offer any snacks in the meantime we only got a sorry when we kicked up a fuss. The whole situation was handled poorly and its by far the worst experience at a restaurant I have ever had. To top if off this was my friends birthday meal.

The worst meal I’ve had in my adult life! I felt so sorry for the waitstaff, delivering such awful and miserable food! We waited nearly 2.5 hours for food, meals were wrong and it was cold! We got the food for free and a discount on drinks, great! But not when you need a take away on the way home…

If I could give it 0 stars I would. We waited 1 hour 15 minutes for a burger, a sandwich and a kids fish finger meal. After asking how long it would be, we were told another 20 minutes ish. Absolute joke. We left. Had our 18 month old with us who was kicking off because of how hungry he was. No complimentary snacks, bread or drinks given whilst we waited. Nothing. Ended up round the corner at the chip shop. Which was lovely by the way and you've got the option of takeaway or restaurant.

Absolutely abysmal. The food was embarrassing to the point it was funny. Waited two hours for our food and I felt sorry for the wait staff who had to deliver such shoddy meals. A £16 halloumi skewer consisted of three skewers of 4 small bits of halloumi, 6 squares of pepper and 6 squares of onion. And that might be being generous. If I could upload a picture I would. Would not bother. Find somewhere else.

Cool new bar, spacious and whilst buzzing, it wasn't too crowded or loud on a Saturday night. We had only one glass of drink and fully enjoyed the atmosphere.

Fantastic building, amazing staff and the beers are top notch!

Overall very disappointing. Looks great inside and the views over the river are nice. But ... asked for tasters of beer and they were so small as to be worthless. We ordered food (pie and fish & chips) which arrived after a bit of a wait. The pie was okay but with a very small portion of mash. The fish & chips was very poor; the chips were overdone and the fish was lukewarm, tartare sauce and mushy peas weren't that nice either. Our server never asked if we wanted any condiments and never came back to ask if everything was okay. When we eventually did see her she was squatting next to a table chatting. The stairs to the upper floor looked as if they had never been cleaned, the loo seat in the gent's is loose and you are plunged into darkness if you sit for more than a couple of minutes.

We had a brilliant time here on Saturday. My daughter had chosen her wedding dress up the road and we came here for a family meal. They very kindly went to a lot of trouble to organise the tables for us to accommodate a wheelchair. The meals were superb. We had a wide variety of meals including vegan and gluten free and we all enjoyed them thoroughly. The staff were very attentive and checked in with us regularly. The staff were also super lovely, we shall certainly return.

Lovely use of the old HSBC building. Set out really well... But had to wait nearly 40 minutes for our food order to arrive. Staff were friendly, the girl that was serving us was lovely.. but could have run a iron over her t-shirt before arriving at work . A bit unsure if we'd come back here again. But on the plus side, it's dog friendly 🐕👍.