The Stepping Stones in Derbyshire Dales

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!!

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

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

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

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!

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

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

Lovely food and good service by Star.

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 :)

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

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

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

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.

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! ☺️

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

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.

The food was good, but there was only one "Surf n Turf" and no mixed grills or steaks left, which was very dissapointing.

Fantastic little place. Highly recommend for a chilled out night Our serve Ryan was spot on with the service, polite and all round nice guy. Constant communication throughout our meal, was never waiting on a drinks!

We went for our daughter’s 18th birthday meal as a last minute arrangement. Booked online which was really easy. So happy we chose stepping stones at Ashbourne as the food arrived quickly and was made to our requirements without any trouble. It was hot and looked and tasted lovely. We didn’t have desserts but as we had finished our meals a brownie and ice cream with a candle was brought out for our daughter which was amazing and so unexpected! Thanks to all at the stepping stones, highly recommended x

Service was good. The staff were very nice. Food was just edible.

Tina provided amazing service thank you so much on the 27th January 2025 for our birthday meal.

A lovely Sunday dinner, nice and relaxed, very friendly and helpful service from Lucas.

Ryan is always friendly and provides great customer service.

Lovely evening tonight, and we were all very well looked after, including our dog! Ryan did a great job serving us. Thank you for a nice evening

The hello and worship pepper skewer was lovely, and serves was excellent.

A very nice meal. Cameron was helpful, polite and competent.

Great Food at great prices. Ryan was so helpful and me and my wife are here on a romantic break and the meal here at the stepping stones Clifton Ashbourne was amazing quality and all tasted amazing

The service from Ryan was 100% everyone was very polite and the food was excellent

Food was good value for money, staff were pleasant and helpful, the place was clean and tidy and pleasant to sit in with lots of space.

Started with signature sharer which has never let us down its really delicious. I had Steak & ale pie with the usual accompaniments and my wife had the steak We both really enjoyed the food very much and we do come here about once a month. The Sunday Roasts are really special here,

The friendliness of the staff is a bonus, the food is always very nice and the service is excellent. My go to is a proper pie, steak fully encased in pastry and NOT one of those awful pots of stew with a round biscuit on top. The signature sharer starter is always a winner and we tend to have that all the time now as our starter, ( why change when it’s so goooood) The wife had the aged steak which she thoroughly enjoyed.

We had a lovely time here celebrating a surprise birthday for a family member. We had Laura look after our tables, who gave us great service. Nothing was to much trouble. Thank you Laura x

Ryan was a star!!! Amazing service and went out of his way to please us. Also he’s got a cool accent

Pleasant atmosphere and friendly helpful staff. Food ok but could be better. Cost was a bit high.

Food ok but not happy with a gratuity charge added to my bill of nearly £10.00 which made the bill expensive.

A nice place for a catch up with friends. No frills and no fuss food. Tasty but on this occasion my garlic bread was cold. Had a 30% off main voucher

First time back here after stopping coming here a few years ago we ad Laura to look after us she was absolutely amazing and nothing was to much for her we were well looked after and the food was amazing Thankyou Laura

Always a friendly welcome. Standard range of Marston's food but good choices from the menu. Also bar snacks available.

Lovely relaxed pub, always made to feel welcome. Caters very well for allergies. All staff lovely and chatty.

It was Mrs Kelly who made the booking for myself and our friend who has MS and is wheelchair bound. The first table suggested was too low for Gary to get the wheelchair and his legs under. It was no problem at all for Ryan & Cameron to help us find a more practical table. Top stars from myself, Louise and Gary. The food was hot and came out in good time. The Chicken & Mushroom pies are to die for and 3 sausages with the mash and veg showed us we could eat a good portion. The pub is now on our monthly meeting list. The only issue was when we ordered. Mrs Kelly asked about the deals and was told she could have the 2-3 lunchtime meal AND add mine and Garys main menu choices with 30% off. On paying we were told as we had 1 meal under lunchtime menu offer that we could not get the 30% off mine and Garys main meal choices. We feel this should have been pointed out as we did actually ask about the offers prior to ordering. As not possible to isolate each order on the offers we chose 30% off the bill and the lunch meal and dessert was full price? Now we know we will order seperately. More of a phaff than a problem, but it could annoy people who are on a low budget as we are all classed with disability and cannot work. Other than that we had a great meal, just left feeling a little discruntled.

Ryan was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about the menu. All staff should be like him. Food was very good

nice and warm environment along with a similar welcome, food cooked above expectation but best part of visit is the service, Ryan and Beth made the night, top notch service

First time I have been here in 10 years. I used to have good memories of the food but not anymore. The food was very poor for the cost. The presentation was on a par with Wetherspoons and the taste was unacceptable for the price. Very poor food and very expensive for what it is. I wouldn't go back in the future.

Very lovely afternoon. The food was very good and the service was excellent

Really pleasant experience! The staff was very friendly and helpful. Very nice atmosphere, and the fireplace adds a lot. Definitely can recommend!

Lovely place and Lucas was great when helping us with splitting our bill!

Lovely place and lovely service. Food was amazing. We shared Mac and cheese and chicken burger and they were both delish! Ryan was a great server and was lovely and friendly :)

Delicious variety of dishes for everyone, the staff are incredible, big shout out to Beth, Laura and the rest of the team including the kitchen crew who always make the visits exceptional, wonderful atmosphere, couldn’t ask for a better family and doggy friendly venue 😁

2 adults, 2 children (9 and 12) Children's chicken and fish were mostly batter, (and hard batter)fish 'finger' sandwich was same fish (goujons) as child's meals not fingers and again was mostly batter. Tartare sauce was under big leaves of lettuce so couldn't taste it - had to ask for more (staff very obliging). Didn't bring these matters up at the time as we were in a hurry and could not wait for more food to be cooked - even if offered ? Husband had steak sandwich and fries which he enjoyed.

The Food was cooked as normal food chain. service was fantasic place was clean and tidy would go again

Fab and Fergie behind the bar were great. Will definitely be back!

Excellent food and service best in Ashbourne. Can’t recommend the Chorizo Mac and Cheese enough 🤤

Lovely meal at this delightful pub on our way back from a day out! Fabulous service from Laura and the other members of the team. Will definitely be back again when we’re next in the area!

Had a lovely time here on Saturday, me and the family all enjoyed our food the pie was delicious. Our services was more than we could ask for, Tina and the team were attentive to all our requirements. Would definitely recommend and will be returning. Thank you.

My first time dining in Ashbourne, and will definitely be my last due to the terrible service, extremely long wait times and disappointing atmosphere. Tina’s service was unbelievably rude, condescending & patronising and completely uncalled for. A rare trip to Derbyshire to celebrate Christmas with loved ones was spoiled by the experience of this service. If you are a person of colour, I would avoid this establishment.

Tina, apparently a manager needs to be re-trained in customer service or find a new job. All the other staff were very approachable and friendly accept for her. Made our whole table feel very uncomfortable. She came across as very racist as when she was dealing with other customers she's was polite and friendly. When we called her out about this when paying for the food, she said she was "joking." If she's thinks that's a way to joke around with customers, then she really needs to find another job or get re-trained in customer service. Disgusting behaviour from somebody that's meant to be a manager. Would never recommend this place to anybody.

I booked a table for 9 people on a Saturday afternoon. We aren't from Ashbourne and we hadn't tried anything round there before and was looking forward to trying it out as the menu and pictures online looked great. However, we were very quickly thrown back and made aware of their incredible downfall from the staff. The first few staff were welcoming, accomadating and approachable but as soon as Tina came to take our food order the vibe changed drastically. She appeared pretty angry and inpatient with an overall bad attitude from the get go and when we were trying to order she demanded us to 'shush' multiple times, and continually talked to us in a way that made us feel scared, uncomfortable and small. We were a big group so sometimes there were times when more than one person was speaking - it happens. We are a friendly bunch and would expect experienced staff to be able to manage and approach a big group with understanding and friendliness. We then ended up waiting a very long time for our food, which both cheeseburgers ordered were very bland, overcooked and dry - they couldn't be eaten. We mentioned this to another member of staff who was apologetic and said he would speak to the manager and chef who should be able to remove it from the bill, add 1 different meal and give another free. The rest of the food was standard, nothing special and in fact many of us didn't manage to finish as we waited so long for the food our appetite was ruined. We decided we wanted a takeaway box anyway but Tina said they don't provide this so they would have to wrap the food in cling film. She then gave us some food wrapped in foil. When we came to pay, the gentleman who we spoke to about the burger was dealing with us and we wanted to double check on our bill. Tina stormed over and approached him, said rudely "what are you doing that for??". The way she spoke to him was appaling. We had to then intervene and explain ourselves and she decided we weren't getting anything for free. She took over the gentleman in an abrupt and unfair way and continued to give off bad attitude not only towards us but also that specific member of staff. We were too depleted and drained from our experience that we didn't want to try to get a reimbursement, so we ended up paying for something we were told we didn't have to. I did however mention to her at the end of our visit that the way she spoke to us was very disrespectful and condescending, she was defensive straight away saying she was joking when she told us to shush, however NO ONE laughed and she had a straight face when she said this. She wanted us to "shut up", and we did, with shock. The way Tina acted impacted not only our views on the stepping stones pub (which we would never return and in fact warn people about), but also on Ashbourne as a whole. If anything it appeared as though we were racially targeted and openly unwelcomed by Tina.

Let me set the scene, Party of 11, 27th December. Only a few covers in for the evening. Firstly I must say that the front of house staff were all amazing. 10 starters ordered. All were very average. In comparrison, wetherspoons is better. Mains. Hummmmm Lots of steaks ordered along with pies and a mixed grill. What seemed strange was the waitress insisted that we all cut the steaks to ensure they were all cooked correctly.... We did as instructed however one of the provided steak knives did not even cut through the steak. All others managed to hack through all the medium rare steaks. The problem steak was quickly swapped. There was a lengthy explanation to is about the ribeye steak we sent back about the cut of meat (unfortunately, the staff member was talking to a butcher) The Chef did seem to cook the steaks as asked but a little over so medium rare was medium and all arrived somewhat on the colder side. However... The steaks seemed to have come straight out of a cold fridge, cooked quick on a standard grill with no seasoning. Meat quality was as if you were eating the Grandpa cow. Mixed grill very average but eaten by a speed eating hungry 16 year old. Cheese and potato pie, potato's were a little hard. Onion rings... don't bother. My review is more about the quality of the food rather than the staff or cooking. If you are after a great place to meet and drink, happy days, if you want good food, have a snack from Aldi next door first.

We came for boxing day and we had a lovely meal. The christmas dinner was amazing and the staff were very friendly. Highly recommend!!

Have been here previously for Boxing day lunch and just as good as expected. Staff were lovely and no rush through the meal

Great staff excellent service and food

Christmas dinner. We arrived half hour early and were promptly seated and attended to straight away. Food was offered immediately even though we were early. Very well deserved tip.

Absolutely fantastic experience with Stepping Stones - from initial enquiry right through to the end of our meals. We made a large booking for my husband's surprise 40th and it all went really - all staff were really helpful and Laura who looked after us on the day was very attentive and made sure everything was just right. The lady who dealt with the booking, Tina I think? Was fantastic - she was so helpful with my deposits and making sure we had everything sorted for the big surprise. The place was lovely, clean and well looked after. The food was delicious! And we would definitely go back if in the area!! Highly recommend! 💯

Lovely evening again at Stepping Stones, friendly attentive staff couldn't do enough to help.

Food was nice, Ryan a chatty individual and very pleasant. Nice atmosphere.

Lovely place, the staff are so kind and polite, made my two little daschounds feel very welcome. A breath of fresh air to see a clean and well kept dog friendly place with an assigned area as nice as the other area, dog bowls blankets and treats provided. Can’t wait to visit again. Thanks for having us!

The food and service was great but we wanted to pay separately and this was made very awkward by the waiter. We ended up paying cash as 1 payment cos we had paid a deposit and they said they couldn't do it separately. Very disappointing as we all wanted to pay separately

Beth was great . Helpful and nothing too much trouble . We asked for adaptions to the menu and she sorted this for us with no problem . Thank you . Happy Christmas 🎄

Fantastic service, Ryan was very attentive to our large group, thank you 😊

Our server Ryan was friendly. Very thorough with our order. A credit to your restaurant

Ryan was an absolute star he took care of absolutely everything, his consideration for the tables needs was so brilliant and comforting would love to come back just for the energy he provided to the evening

Great food, great atmosphere, the staff are fantastic. We will definitely be back again. Leonna, Beth and Alex are fantastic

We had an amazing meal with the best servers / bar staff etc. We will definitely be returning! Beth was amazing and made us all laugh Leona was the best waitress with fab service and was sure to fill our drinks again Alex was rapid on the bar and made the experience so personable. Thank you so much to all the staff! From the Teagues/Braziers xxx

Service was great , jamie the trainee waiter did such a good job as did the young lady training him didnt get her name . Food was fantastic

we was greeted by Ryan who was very welcoming and his bright and bubbly personality lasted throughout the service along with very nice food thankyou 😁

Please stay away unless you want to get bitten by a dog as we did tenants and marstons not interested needed hospital treatment please stay away for your own safety

Lovely unplanned lunch out. Service was impeccable. The full menu was explained to us as we sat down and drinks brought quickly. Staff member Ryan was particularly brilliant, engaging with our toddler when he tried to speak to him which was lovely. I'm always sceptical about chain pubs quality of food but was really impressed. The food was hot and tasty.

I had the fish and chips with mushy peas would recommend lovely service from Leonna will definitely be back soon with some of my friends

I had a lovely time at stepping stones i was served by leonna she had really friendly and she recommended the chicken burger and i enjoyed it that much i would of had another but I was full