The Shakespeare in Derby

All been done up , especially the outside area , really nice

Called for food with son and grandson before the football at pride park, excellent.

Great pub on a Saturday night for good drinks and atmosphere

The staff are very nice and the atmosphere is amazing!!!

Manager in hat (think his name was Pete?) was an absolute sweetheart and such a gentleman,most of the staff were extremely friendly, however there was a man walking around in a suit,maybe another manager that seemed extremely grouchy and brought the mood down. Lovely food and great music. Shame the guy in suit made us feel unwelcome.

Very nice pleace and good food.

I attended the bar asked what drinks they had and got told to use my F'ing eyes by the barmaid. Incredibly rude won't recommending or returning again. There are other pubs in Derby better to spend my money at. Ashamed staff at the bar or visitors have to put up with such behaviour. Derby deserves better.

Great pub , it's definitely evolving with the times ! Beautiful pianist playing, lovely outdoor space . Bar staff seemed , clumsy and inexperienced though and very slow ...

omg guys Tom is the best !!! 100% recommend for the bottomless brunch. Tom needs a pay raise !!!!

The staff member made us feel very welcomed, and the place is nice, music is just the right volume. It was very cold though.

There is no need to say more 😍 amazing food 😋 amazing staff 😍 amazing lady singer on. Thank you 😊 xx

The pub is nice enough, not a huge choice of beers in comparison to other nearby pubs. During the day time the music is way too loud, ok for a weekend night but not great if you are trying to have a quiet drink and conversation. Avoid eating as the kitchen has been found to be unsafe and was under investigation. Currently on a grade 1 out of 5 for food hygiene with major improvements required. https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/shakespeare-pub-derby-prepared-burgers-9120371

I was well hydrated and well fed with good food on my brunch at shakespeare. auriel and Chris were lovely hosts <3

lisa was so good with dietary restrictions, auriel was great with bring drinks out quickly and chris was great

Went in last year for drinks. Staff busy chatting to friends so ended up walking out as didnt get served. Went in Thursday night. Person behind the bar saw us walk in & promptly walked off, not to return. Again we keft withiut having a drink. Will not be going in again. Plenty of other bars happy to serve us.

Cool little pub with decent food and good atmosphere.

Well... Our visit today was such a disappointment. The meat was inedible, first it came out cold so we sent it back and they reheated it, by the time it came back, our sides that were left with us were cold! We spoke to the area manager who was on site at the time, who did nothing but say they are looking for a new meat supplier! No refund or small gesture was even offered. The only positive thing about this visit was the service from our waiter (Nicky, I believe his name was) he served us with a smile and was a genuinely nice person. I can't even put to words how bad the meat was, so I won't go on, but I was not impressed!

Live music, good selection of drinks (very reasonable prices!), friendly team. There was even table service which was impressive. Cracking little pub, never been before but will definitely be back

amazing food!! great staff, good beers

OK, a bit on the expensive side, small, compact, nice place for a pint, But not to stay much longer.

Loved my visit to the Shakespeare! Unique venue, so happy they saved the original interior/exterior vibe. Food was excellent, posh pub comfort food, loved it. And every member of staff was friendly and helpful, and checked on us, despite it being a really busy Friday night. We were served by Luke who was awesome!!! Thank you!

Really enjoy my evenings here, cosy and traditional. The beer garden in the summer is amazing

Friendly staff and great cocktails

My favourite pub in Derby. Beers are great and the staff are top notch.

Having eaten here twice I would recommend not eating here if you would like the food hot. Both times food was cold and I mean fridge cold. Sent it back came back cold sent it back again. I’m guessing it’s not cooked on site, appalling food. It has never been smoked anywhere near the premises. Would never eat here again. My partner is a chef never had such appealing food served to him.

Adam played Taylor Swift and we got turnt

Cracking little multi roomed booze. Above average selection of beers and spirits. Bonus of live music on the Saturday evening we visited as a group. Don't know if they do food, we only went in for drinks, hence lack of stars for food. Would highly recommend.

Great atmosphere with a good selection of well kept beers.

A tale of two visits. Visited in mid October on a Sunday and had the butter smoked turkey breast with slaw and a red Berry jam, rater tots and slaw - it was fantastic - beautiful moist meat, full of smoky flavour and the best I'd tasted since being in the USA - service was good too - somebody checked on our meals and we asked them to give our very positive feedback to the chef. Fast forward one month. Another Sunday visit at a similar time again ordering the turkey and this time the brisket as well. Service was quick and pleasant BUT unfortunately this time both meats, the star of the show were very dry. Thus made them difficult to eat as there was no jus or gravy to moisten. Whilst the brisket was flavorful the turkey had none of the beautiful smokiness of the previous visit. From a service perspective nobody came to check - and given at the time we were the only ones eating, this was a major oversight. Ate the brisket but could not them manage the tater tots as all too dry and left a large piece of turkey. Some time after finishing somebody cam to clear and we gave the feedback as above - "we welcome honest feedback we were told" we sais that on the basis of that meal we would not eat at the Shakespeare again. The plates were cleared and that was it - no comments from the chef l, no apologies nothing done to recover the situation. Had there been sone response I wouldn't have written this review but we left the pub feeling thoroughly disappointed. Such a shame because the first visit had been great. Its a lovely pub. Nicely refurbished but if food can't be delivered consistently then you shouldn't serve it

Had a great lunch at the Shakespeare. Lovely pizza and service. Will definitely be back!

All the staff are lovely and gave great recommendations. The chicken dirty fries are amazing

Great music fri_sat nights big garden and outdoor bar great makeover

Terrible service. It wasn't that busy but staff were extremely slow and half of them seemed to be standing round and not serving. Gave up in the end and walked out.

Good Beer, good service and friendly guy on the decks with broad approach to pleasing the punters.

Very nice environment to chill to music and drink.

Nice pub with good atmosphere 👌

This place has been done up nicely and the food is enjoyable

Mixed opinions. For a new place opening, it looks great, but the service was extremely slow and poor. Many people around were annoyed at how slow it was. The bar is way too narrow as the barstaff can't even move without spilling a drink. We also on our first visit, we had a shopping bag stolen and staff weren't helpful. We'll think twice about coming back.

Amazing night, will definitely be returning soon

Really enjoyed coming in here. Gmfood and drinks were fab with great service. We will be back.

Had a fab night called in for a bite to eat, and a few drinks, atmosphere, service, and food were amazing and fairy priced. I couldn't have asked for better! Staff went above and beyond! We will definitely be returning to The Shakespeare!

Great food and service we Will be back

Was hoping for much better as this place holds great memories for me. I witnessed the Manager speak to his staff in a way that can only be described as bullying, not the best start. It then went downhill drastically. The food was very late coming out, barely warm and more seriously, the remnants of a plastic wrapper in the melted cheese. Won’t be visiting again! A big 0/10

This is not a craft beer bar. There is Beavertown (Heineken) and a couple of other branded keg beers. There was no cask when I was there. Staff poorly trained and unready for service. Unsure the food received was what we ordered. Obliviously, there are management issues, hopefully just teething problems. The refurbishment of the place is absolutely top notch creating a good ambience.

Staff are polite and friendly but not quite up to speed with service so serving an extensive cocktail menu feels like a mistake. On a Saturday night the pub was heaving and quite dirty with lots of very drunk punters. So it didn't make me want to eat there as it wasn't clean. The toilets were disgusting ( vomit covered by the end of the night) and open bins instead of proper sanitary bins was an interesting choice. Floors were mopping wet throughout the bar all night. Feel like this could be great pub during the day, but is pretty grim after a certain time. Not sure that's the pubs fault or just the quality of punter it's attracted.

Great new re-fit. Popped in for lunch to try a few of the small plates. Chef and staff very friendly. Will have to return to try more of the menu.

beautiful venue! highly recommend, such lovely staff & Chris from behind the bar was very polite

Absolutely breathtaking place, environment for everybody & the open mic is an amazing credit.

Horrible manager that doesn’t give staff breaks and clearly overworks them despite them still obviously being trained. The music is too loud and in general the place has no appeal. Preferred it when it was abandoned

Not sure if the manager here was having a bad day, but to be borderline screamed at for requesting no ice is completely out of the ordinary for any establishment. As a grandma, I don’t expect young men to feel it is okay to intimidate me this way. Totally unacceptable !!

Good drinks, friendly service. Food not so good. The meat in my sandwich was far from tender and the whole thing was very dry.

Some of the staff are lovely and others are just plain rude, not exactly what a recently opened business needs or wants but oh well 🤷‍♂️

First visit but Chris byard needs to learn some manners

Was great last night when I went in Staff were friendly I definitely be back

Overpriced and undercooked food - sent the food back but didn't get a replacement. Eventually given a refund when one of my friends made a fuss but the staff really didn't want to refund. AVOID.

Shocking Service, but then they appeared to still be training. I was really looking forward to this place reopening but it is very disappointing. Pretty much looks the same as how it used to be, which I guess you would expect. The choice of beers on the bar is a bit limited but guessing it's not a Freehouse. It was like stepping in a Marstons or Spoons pub. The Music was Very Very loud so you couldn't really chat.

Great food if you like the smokehouse thing. Lovely pint of Guinness and friendly staff

Lovely evening out. Super cocktails and great atmosphere. An amazing new venue and we will return. Some fabulous proactive staff managing well on a busy night. Welcome back to Sadlergate!

Great refurb and was so impressed with the atmosphere both inside and outside. Staff were incredibly friendly. Wonderful place to meet up and loved the live music. Will definitely be back.

Enjoyed the reopening night hugely. It was very busy so eagerly waiting to be served was “Much ado about nothing”. Indeed, “Measure for measure” the choice and taste was outstanding. As one of many looking forward to The Shakespeare’s re-opening it wasn’t just “As you like it” but beyond expectations in so many ways. Many a great success have faced a “Comedy of errors” negative review from people quick to criticise and slow to praise. I confidently predict The Shakespeare will be Derby’s best night night “Bard none!”

Fantastic atmosphere, great food, will def be back

We had a great evening in the new, very smart looking, Shakespeare. Both the inside and outside have had a face-lift, and it really shows - what a lovely atmosphere. Very friendly staff as well. Great selection of beers and drinks, along with some lovely food (tried the pizza). Definitely coming back to The Shakespeare.

Fabulous opening night! Great atmosphere. Impressed with new manager - looking forward to it being a regular haunt for family and friends. Well done on refurbishment - just what Sadler Gate needed!

We had a wonderful time at the Shakespeare last night. Yes the service was a little slow but I put that down to teething problems that will soon be ironed out. But ... the welcoming staff, the live music, and the sheer party atmosphere made up for that. The cocktails we had were delicious- I'd recommend the Bramble. Don't listen to the 'moaning minnie's', you've got something special there. Surely the huge number in the bar last night is testimony to that.

This is my new favourite spot in Derby! The atmosphere was excellent and I absolutely love the refurbishment. The staff were lovely and very attentive, and the food was served quickly. Definitely going again soon!

Shockingly poor. A new venue with the same appalling bar staff. 20 min stood at the bar and everyone else served first because of where we stood. No care and no attention to service!! I hope you get better

Not too much difference in the refurb, but quality and pace of serving drinks is dire. All the staff were very nice and trying their best but the background systems to help them are obviously awful and takes ages to get served and don't bother with cocktails, awful

It was the same Shakespeare I went to in the 1990s. I loved it. Went on a Saturday afternoon, had to wait a while for drinks as cocktails were being served. The main reason I'm writing a review, is because the main teething point I found, is that there are no sanitary bins in the ladies toilets. Come on Shakespeare, think of us ladies.