The Stepping Stones in Derbyshire Dales

So, thirteen cyclists on route to London call into a restaurant in Cheshire only to be met with dour faces and very poor service, EHST A CONTRAST to the evenings meal and beers such pleasant staff who do obviously cared that we all had our meals on time and that we were happy with everything. Such a pleasant experience and I’d like to single out Fergus and Hanna for a great experience. 👍

Perfect as we’re not from the area we came here approximately 4 yrs and 2 yrs ago and the Sunday lunch was perfect. We returned today as wasn’t disappointed thank you Faye and Beth 10/10 Lord and lady Butcher See you in a few years 👍🏼

Food and service was lovely. Ryan our waiter was very friendly and efficient.

You can’t go wrong with a Marston’s. You get what you pay for, but can always guarantee you get exactly that and nothing weird on your plate. Here for a quick trip, and Ryan is an absolute credit to the team. Certainly makes the place feel that little more like home, when away from home. Honestly, I haven’t met a smiley and bubbly person like this for a while. Ryan, you certainly topped our fabulous day. Thank you :-)

Staying at hotel next door, which advised food next door at this pub. To find after a very long day at alton towers that we could not get food at 8.10pm . This was not hanging around. It was straight from park , put bags in our room and straight over to pub. To be told they had stopped serving at 8pm. Only reason we stay was because we could get food without driving which is now not the case. Really bad considering is school hoildays and the start of the Easter weekend. Ended up at the Royal oak, 2 minutes away. They had a good deal for burger and drink for £13. Thankfully this included tea as now can't have a drink!

Food very bland ... stale burger bun... burger that dry it hurt to swallow it onion rings dripping in grease howver my server Beth was amazing and so helpful and friendly desserts were amazing

The chef’s pie was excellent and Ryan was extremely polite & helpful

Lovely food and experience in the restaurant. Everywhere was clean and tidy. Staff were all pleasant and friendly. It’s a very welcoming atmosphere.

Dreadful, most of menu not available, adults meal smaller than children’s. Rat outside as we walked out

It was a bit of a disaster. We booked a few weeks in advance and there were 8 of us. After taking the drinks order, we were told there was no roasts left (4.45 on a Sunday!) and lots of other things missing. No cloudy lemonade owing to “no lemons or limes” (despite the drinks having slices). Asked to swap the baked beans out on a kids meal and were given 1 (yes ONE) slice of cucumber. Service was slow. My main arrived 5 mins after the other 7. My dessert was brought out 10 mins after the other ones - and only after the staff checked no desserts were missing. My sundae had negligible sauce and felt like a kids portion. The custard with the crumble had a skin and was lumpy. The “veg” with the pies was limp and wilted. On the way in it says “treat your Dad like a king on Father’s Day” (2 months from now). That certainly won’t be a trip to this place!

Wonderful atmosphere with lovely food. Our experience made even better by our waiter Ryan who was very personable, polite, professional and fun. Thank you for fantastic experience.

It was a bit of a disaster. We booked a few weeks in advance and there were 8 of us. After taking the drinks order, we were told there was no roasts left (4.45 on a Sunday!) and lots of other things missing. No cloudy lemonade owing to “no lemons or limes” (despite the drinks having slices). Asked to swap the baked beans out on a kids meal and were given 1 (yes ONE) slice of cucumber. Service was slow. My main arrived 5 mins after the other 7. My dessert was brought out 10 mins after the other ones - and only after the staff checked no desserts were missing. My sundae had negligible sauce and felt like a kids portion. The custard with the crumble had a skin and was lumpy. The “veg” with the pies was limp and wilted. On the way in it says “treat your Dad like a king on Father’s Day” (2 months from now). That certainly won’t be a trip to this place!

Awesome customer service from Ryan. He made our visit lots of fun and was very efficient with the orders. Overall, very impressed.

Great spot for a comfortable reasonably priced meal. The environment and food were good, but the reason for my review is purely around our great service. We got great, friendly and comical service from Ryan. He made our day and put in the extra effort to make note of exactly who ordered what, so that each drink and meal was handed directly to the correct person. Would definitely recommend a visit due to the great service.

Great experience at the Stepping Stones! Served by Ryan, food and atmosphere both amazing and the service from the staff was second to none! Highly recommend!

Booked here as they allowed dogs on our visit. Food was disappointing as ordered sea bass which had obviously sat under a heat lamp as was dried out and prawns were rubbery and roast pots were not crispy. White sauce wasn't delivered with meal so had to ask for it after being told it was under veg which it wasnt. Signature burger x 3 lacking in amount of brisket. Portion of fries were a bit small and charged extra 1.50 for sweet potato fries instead of ordinary. Starters of white bait and chicken tenders were ok.

Had a lovely time - great food and super service from Ryan :)

We were in need of a reasonably priced filling meal, and thats what we got. Food was tastier than expected, but our experience was truly fantastic entirely down to our service by Ryan. Without Ryan it would have been a good meal, but he turned it into a brilliant meal, and a good end to our family day out. Big thanks

Ryan! What a great server!! He made our day. Give this man a pay rise. Lovely staff and great food

Really enjoyed our food at the Stepping Stones. Ryan was a pleasure to have serving us on our visit!

Great food and service (not the cheapest) but really good. Ryan was great looking after us :)

Great service thank you for Lorena for this.

Absolutely lovely pub, attentive staff reasonable prices and lovely veg with the roast dinner. Faye our waitress was excellent

We Went for food here on a Sunday as we were passing from Ashbourne on our way home £17.50 for a Sunday roast with 3 meats so was expecting something special.when it arrived only one little stuffing ball a little square of pork crackling one carrot cut in half one parsnip 2 little roast potatoes a nice Yorkshire pudding only thing that saved the meal and 3 waver thin slices of what looked like packet supermarket meat defentley not carved off a joint and I thought Toby carvery were tight on the meat portions 😃 wish a took a picture 😄 but never mind as we were hungry Was very disappointed for £17.50 lesson learned will not be returning Service and waitresses very polite But the sunday lunch needs addressing by the management

I had to wait 3/4hr for my meal, and when it came it was just about warm, the Yorkshire pudding was stiff and cold, and the roast potatoes were hard and overcooked. At over £17 this was a huge disappointment. However, when I was asked by the waitress how was my meal I was honest and told her, and she offered me another meal. I said no thanks, I've waited long enough. She told me she wouldn't charge me for the meal, which I was thankful for. I doubt I will go again, poor service.

Lovely food and great service from Limoni, would definitely come again.

Ryan and Fergus were excellent hosts. We felt incredibly welcome. We had a small sandwich lunch and highly recommend the sweet potato fries!

The meals are a Little lacking for the price point but the ideas are there I suggest changing sausages. But great looking place, the staff are great and were happy to deal with any issues and the atmosphere is nice. Bonus points as they have a relaxed area for families with kids toys etc and a garden for the kids which is nice. Thank you to Beth for being welcoming and friendly

Gluten free menu was lovely. The toffee pub was amazing. Beth was lovely polite and very happy. Lovely service from all staff.

All of the staff made our visit with two wheel chair bound elderly parents extremely successful. Everyone helped, holding doors etc and nothing was too much trouble. They moved chairs for us to ensure wheelchair access and let us choose from the children’s menu due to my parent’s small appetite. Massive thank you to all the Team, you made my Dad’s 87th birthday xx

We loved our lunch at The Stepping Stones. Lisa looked after us so well and she was super helpful and happy.

We attended for food after a long journey and were greeted by the lovely Fergus who was so friendly and helpful. Lovely food as well, would definitely recommend

Excellent meal and service from Fergus.

Staying in the local Travelodge for business. The chicken Burger is delicious. Sticky toffee pudding average. But the service from Fergus was impeccable. If I lived locally I'd be here every week. Thank you

We stopped in a nearby hotel for a few nights, so we went here for our evening meals, the service was excellent on both occasions, The food was very good, They are very keen on knowing if you have any allergies, which is very helpful, If I had could change anything it would be a choice to swap out your chips for a healthy opinion like jacket spud etc,

Beth was our server, and she served us so well. We needed some some sirloins bad and she was very accommodating. Best Guinness pours around. This is the spot for the boys.

Good, warm food close by everything. Lovely food, and lovely service by Limoni. Recommend the steak pie and the Sticky Toffee Cheers from the US

No value for food 15 pound for a a main with 3 pound of products on the plate. Total rip off we struggling as it is. Going Aldi for a sandwich

Went in sunday for a roast, Service was fine, but food was awful, not very warm, and the beef was just processed rubbish definitely did not hit the mark for the price

All of the staff were really helpful and provided some great service, especially Laura. The food was fantastic and fast service too. All round a great evening

Had a lovely meal here. Staff were friendly and food was good. We're not local and were looking for somewhere to stop for dinner on the way back from a day out. We were pleased we found The Stepping Stones 😊

Lovely dog friendly pub with good food after a long walk in the Peak District. Lisa was a wonderful server! Very attentive.

Nice pub with decent enough food and drink selection

Staff were lovely and very efficient. However this was possibly the worst £17 Sunday roast I’ve ever had. It wasn’t very warm, roast potatoes were more like boiled potatoes, veg was overdone and bland, only got two slices of overdone beef, and gravy was basically brown water. I can’t vouch for the other food but I won’t be having another roast here. Definitely don’t get what you pay for and I should have known why it was so quiet for a Sunday.

Always a decent stop off, good selection of food and a range of beers.

Friendly staff (Tina & Beth were brilliant). Nice athmosphere, good food and great cocktails. What more could you ask for. Highly recommend the Pornstar Martini. Epic! Thanks

What a delightful welcome we received from Fergus! What a Magnificent Man. Charming, funny and knowledgeable, steered us to food and drinks he thought we'd enjoy, and boy, was he right!

Here in business trip from France, I was happily surprised by this restaurant just a step away from the hôtel I'm staying in. Really warm and nice people, the food is good, fast service, and cosy place. Well, I obviously recommend that place, if you ever get near Ashford, just take a break there.

Tasty food, lovely friendly service from Fergus:)

Lovely meal& great service Lisa was amazing!

We ordered 2 meals, both were really underwhelming. The vegetarian meal was particularly terrible, the sausages were inedible, a complete waste of £30

Lisa was lovely and attentive, top notch service on a busy sunday! Great food, time enjoyed by all

Lovely experience. We were very well attended too and our waitress Lisa was very hospitable, friendly and quick. Thank you.

Stepping Stones, Ashbourne – 5/5 A fantastic pub with a warm, welcoming atmosphere and delicious food. The menu offers classic pub dishes, served hot and full of flavor. The service was excellent, with a polite and attentive server who made us feel right at home. A great spot for a hearty meal—highly recommended!

My waitress was lorena and she was absolutely incredible, polite , well spoken and kind. A lovely person and pleasure to meet

Tried to call in for breakfast this Saturday morning- arrived around 10 to 10 to find all the doors locked!- very disappointed

Great service from Tina, Paul and Beth, homely atmosphere, quality food, very friendly staff

Great place for a meal with loved ones or just a group of friends

After a very long wait I was served the worst unappetising meal of steak and vegetables I have ever experienced. The steak was cold and the vegetables were overcooked, shrivelled up and also cold. I was so shocked that the chef could prepare a meal so poor. Lisa the waitress was lovely and very apologetic for the terrible meal served. She very kindly had a word with the Manager who offered a full refund. However out of curtesy I would have thought the manager would also have come over to apologise.

Service from lisa was excellent very helpful and she was polite

Lisa was an amazing server, food was brilliant

Good food and efficient friendly staff

Lovely meal. Friendly staff. Served by Ryan who was pleasant and very helpful for a table of 15.

Sunday lunch this time at Stepping Stones.Did not disappoint ,food was lovely we had main course and beautiful desserts.Staff again were friendly but not pushy we were looked after particularly by Lisa during this visit .

Perfect pub lunch after a long bike ride around Cresington waters. Lovely warm atmosphere with very helpful staff. Food was amazing and the pints even better. Massive thank you to Ryan who couldn’t do enough for us, interesting with our 1 year old and making us feel very welcome. This kind of service is very rare to find, so thank you again Ryan we throughly enjoyed ourselves. We will be back!!

The staff are, as always, friendly with excellent service, ⭐️ #teamtina

Excellent food, excellent service!! Can't wait to go back again!!! Lovely warm welcome, attentive staff and great choice of food and drinks!! #teamtina

Even though the restaurant was empty, service took a very long time. Meals were average tasting and small portions. Could have spent less elsewhere for better quality and choice. The kids weren't very fond of their meals either unfortunately.

Thank you for a lovely meal. Good variety and quality. Service is very good. Staff are attentive and speedy. We had a steak and a veggie meal, both equally as well cooked and prepared. We went on a Monday, the atmosphere was friendly, relaxed and welcoming. A few tables were full too, despite it being at the beginning of the week.

Food was really nice but the drinks were a little expensive.

I was delighted with the quality of the food, the decor and ambience. This pub is very dog friendly with enough space for different tables of dog owners. It nice when the staff gave our dog some chews and a bowl of water. The food itself was delicious, in particular the signature beef burger and cheesecake whose quality were exceptional. Very well done to the staff and owners of this lovely pub.

fantastic service by both Cam and Beth would highly recommend The stepping stones for a lovely meal and great service

Soup was great but roasts weren’t anything special. Beth was great

Come for Bingo every Sunday, paul is the best and makes it a fun night

Brilliant service by all the staff, especially our server, Star.

Food was slightly disspointing-think they’d had a very busy lunch service-vegetables were served lukewarm and the roast potatoes underwhelming. Desserts were great and the kids menu food was excellent. Our server Star was excellent!!

Nice place for a decent family meal. Laura and Beth looked after us well yesterday.

Thanks to Beth for such warm and lovely service!!

Star was a fantastic server! Thank you!

Lovely waiter called star the tables were clean but food was quite overpriced

The food and service was amazing, it came out quick and Star was very helpful and welcomed us in.

Lovely food and good service by Star.

Fergus is a legend! Such a friendly disposition and always makes my family feel very welcome.

What a lovely afternoon at the Stepping Stones! Stopped off for some wonderful coffees and dishes from the gluten free menu which were delicious. An inviting atmosphere with friendly staff who were very accommodating and polite! Would definitely come again :)

We was greeted and looked after by Ryan and Cameron. They was both very polite and welcoming. Very friendly atmosphere and food was lovely.

My food was really good value for money and my waiter Ryan was very accommodating! Recommend

Food was excellent and service staff were brilliant, although the food was slightly slow to come out despite being quiet. Overall would highly recommend!

Regularly pop in here for after work drinks on a Friday. Sometimes food. Always good to see Fergus. Would recommend

Friendly staff. Nice Gammon. Was going to order steak but their delivery hadn't arrived so partner had the curry instead. Nice food, nice atmosphere, friendly staff. Would go again.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Fergus Experience – A Night to Remember From the moment we stepped into Stepping Stones, we felt a shift in the atmosphere. It wasn’t just the warm lighting, the perfectly chilled drinks, or the symphony of happy chatter—it was Fergus. Fergus isn’t just a waiter. He’s a hospitality icon. A man so effortlessly charming, we’re convinced he was born holding a tray. With the precision of a Formula 1 pit crew and the grace of a seasoned ballroom dancer, he glided across the floor, serving drinks with a smile so dazzling it should come with a health warning. He recommended drinks like a sommelier possessed by the spirits of Dionysus himself. My partner’s glass of red wine? A masterpiece. My pint? Poured with the skill of a wizard casting his final, most powerful spell. Even the way he nodded when taking our order—majestic. And his banter? Elite. The perfect blend of wit, charm, and just enough cheek to make you want to stay for one more round. Honestly, I don’t know if I went out for drinks or if I just witnessed a one-man Broadway performance. So, if you’re visit Stepping Stones in Ashbourne and don’t have the pleasure of being served by Fergus, have you really even been? 11/10 experience. Would return just to bask in his presence again.

We have had a long hike today and have been met with Fergus’ brilliant service. He has made us smile by his charm and willingness to offer his service. We will definitly come back.

Love place to eat and my Waiter lucas was very helpful with picking my main

Fantastic service. We had 2 people serve us, a lady and a lad called Lucas; both fantastic service!! Everything delivered with a smile and just super fab! ☺️

Beth was a lovely server and food was lovely.

Quick and polite service food hot and lovely

We arrived and despite not prebooking and it being already a little busy we were welcomed by a friendly staff member and promptly seated. Our orders were taken and the food arrived after not waiting too long which was very well presented, hot and tasty, overall we had a very enjoyable meal and the service was excellent

Nice meal at stepping stones, relaxed atmosphere, Ryan looked after us and was attentive, explaining the menu, thx for looking after us 👍

Reduced menu options due to imminent change. Only one real ale on draught. Chicken salad not up to usual standard. Looked after well by Ryan.

My server was Lorena who was welcoming, polite, courteous and efficient. Lorena should be applauded ! Whilst dining I witnessed an episode where one person (one of a couple whom had finished dining and were taking wine) decided to unfairly and in public start criticising one of Lorena’s colleagues. This was more of a rant and was quite unfair. Lorena’s colleague (I believe her name is Rebecca) was truly professional, calm and courteous at all times and I felt so strongly that I am noting it here so this can be acknowledged by her lucky employer 👏

Since visiting in the last two weeks I am pleased to report that the food is much improved. The service and cleanliness are consistently high.