The best restaurants serving British food in East Midlands

I had an amazing experience in this Nando’s, just headed here for lunch whilst visiting Derby. Hussan gave us great service, was very polite and made our lunch extra enjoyable!

Decided to give this a shot as it is advertised as a family bar with entertainment. One of our party has allergies/intolerances so needed to check the ingredients on menu. A young man (wish I had his name) struggled to find relevant info but he did check and eventually managed to find info sheets and bring to our table. Food ordered and didn't wait too long and it was lovely and hot. Unfortunately no one attempted to clear our table for over an hour forcing us to move to another one so the childrens entertainer could be enjoyed by us all and yes we did enjoy the corny jokes! The soft play was also used and kept grandchild happy but it really needs a deep deep clean it was disgusting in places.

Firstly, as a pub it’s absolutely fine. Probably as good a Spoons as you will find. Specific gripe - brought the kids last week to eat and ordered through the app - chips “sold out” ! What sort of Spoons runs out of chips? They could have just gone to one of the 4 nearby supermarkets for more? We left because the kids had decided they wanted pizza and chips. Went back today - Saturday lunch time. Again ordering through the app at least half of the menu listed as “sold out” ! Managed to choose 4 meals from what was left. Then ordering drinks for the kids - no coke (actually Pepsi / Pepsi max) or lemonade!! I mean what sort of pub runs out of coke and lemonde on a Saturday lunch time ?? Won’t bother again.

Stayed here when visiting friends. As you will see from the photographs, it is very poorly kept. There was a very large spider when we arrived and the person who booked us in was less than friendly. Food was okay although no breakfast was provided. Would not recommend this place at all. Heating also went on the blink so we were brought an electric heater until they could fix the boiler. Money needs to be spent here urgently.

We drove over after a long hiatus - and very little has changed. The staff are uniformly polite and efficient - especially the lovely lady in the restaurant (originally from The Wirral) who I enjoyed a conversation with as she busily wiped tables. We went for coffee, ended up having a very well cooked lunch. Easy to negotiate around even with the Christmas goods appearing - not sure how I'd cope in my wheelchair though. For instance, the price list for cards was tacked up very high behind the top tier - I did mention this to a staff member who said she would 'do something about it' - I would hope so. And I would also hope that in time - a separate loo specifically for disabled customers (Radar key opening) that doesn't have to be shared with nappy changing facilities. Confined spaces and wheelchairs are not a happy mix. With so much investment in a new aquatic section - maybe some could be spared to improve that unsatisfactory situation? After all, you'd seldom see a fish using a mobility aid...... Downside - a lack of parking for the disabled - Over 60's day attracts a lot of customers who are less able - and the selfish idiots who choose to park over the lines thus taking up two valuable spaces. Perhaps the store could invest in a 'tannoy' system so that such people could receive a none too discreet reminder?

popped in for a few pints on a saturday afternoon . staff were very friendly and knowledgable about the beer . excellent selection including a sour which you don't often see. great atmosphere and friendly locals. my only complaint would be the tinny speakers and music - but that's small issue

First time going here, bought a big bottle of fanta, tasted disgusting. Checked the bottle & it was almost 5 months out of date. Won’t be going here again.

Found this place when passing it earlier in the day as we were staying at Eastwood Hall. Having dog in the name we thought it would be a good dog friendly venue which it is. The food service was on the slower side but when it arrived it was obvious why; everything was cooked fresh and piping hot. We were a family of 6 and ordered a real mix of food types. The Indian food was really good, full of flavour and rich in colour, spices and texture. Extremely friendly service and very affordable prices. Kind of a weird mix of menus, British; Indian & Moroccan which usually means not great at anything but the burgers were very good and the Indian dishes pretty amazing and much more the sort of thing I’ve experienced at some of London or Dubais “high end” Indian restaurants. If you’re local or staying in the area give this place a go, the richness in flavour isn’t what we expected but certainly very pleased with what we had.

We had a really lovely B&B stay here. The rooms are in a separate building to the pub - so nice and quiet. Super comfy beds and cosy bed linen. The breakfast was fantastic - a perfect old school English Breakfast - with butchers sausages and black pudding, eggs cooked how you like them, hash browns, tomatoes..... Yummy. The staff made us feel very welcome and we were well looked after. They were particularly kind to our children - sorting them out with Hot Chocolates and unusual breakfast requirements. They even went to the trouble of posting home some much loved cuddly toys that had been left behind. Thank you Billy and Team.

Visited this pub 3 years ago and loved the lunch. Hot sandwich was very soggy this time. The serving lady was lovely. The Landlord not so much.

We did the factory tour and after just had a cup of tea and a flapjack, which was delicious, very generous portions, too. The food in the restaurant looked, and smelt just as good.

I was enjoying a pint outside the Boardwalk in the afternoon on Sunday 27th October 2024 when one of the staff came around clearing the tables. She rather curtly enquired if I was ordering something as this was ‘the cafe area’ and the pub area was ‘over there’. It was a busy afternoon and I couldn’t see any places to sit ‘over there’. There is no signage to indicate the relevant cafe and bar areas – several types of tables are in use outside so the difference wasn’t obvious; it wasn’t evident that there even was a differentiation. Indeed, there were two vacant tables adjacent to mine, so it wasn’t as though I was preventing other customers from sitting down. I abandoned my drink and left the site immediately as I found the incident acutely embarrassing having taken place in front of other customers, and will not be returning. There is a clear need for improvement both in staff training in customer respect and courtesy; and in the signage outside the refreshment areas on the site. Subsequently, I contacted Mercia Marina who forwarded my e-mail to the relevant establishment on-site but they did not even deign to reply. Clearly, they have no interest in customer satisfaction. Mercia Marina needs to take responsibility for all the businesses in situ, as shortcomings in one outlet reflect badly on the reputation of the entire site.

Travelled 60 mile round trip from Doncaster Monday evening, in terrible weather to check out the refurbished place, checked web site bar opening hours listed as closes 11.00 PM Mon to Fri, not the case, closed at 9.15 PM staff saw us outside in the rain but did not acknowledge us, I was looking to book Sunday lunch for nine people , won't bother now, GET YOUR OPENING TIMES SORTED OUT!!!

We had the best night celebrating our daughter’s 18th Birthday. Fabulous staff who were amazing throughout the evening. The food was really tasty and so much to choose from. The service could not be faulted and the atmosphere in the pub was so warm and friendly. Big shoutout to the two bar persons who could not of been more accommodating. The balloons were a lovely touch- thankyou.

We went in at lunchtime on a Friday off-peak and were the only customers. Staff saw us enter, we went straight to the bar and waited for what felt like an eternity to be served as they went out the back as soon as they saw us coming... Prices were quite expensive. The atmosphere just felt off and awkward, it was not a pleasant experience.