The best restaurants serving British food in East Midlands

I wish to start this review by saying I am a true advocate of spoons, especially the Bingham one. I estimate my average attendance to be atleast weekly spanning the last decade, and I always have a good time wether it be for a quick breakfast, a cheap and cheerful dinner with family or getting absolutely slaughtered on a Friday night so this only adds to the disappointment of my evening. I attended with my family for a quick and easy dinner, I am aware of how busy the branch gets but this did not deter me from having a nice time. We sat down on a table that had only just vacated and was covered in the previous patrons plates, cutlery and used napkins. I do not have an issue with this and was more than fine to move them all into a pile myself and await for a staff member to clear this. We ordered in the app as usual, and to my bemusement, 3 x payments were taken for one order. I went to the bar to query this where I was met with the response of, verbatim “it’s only in your pending, we haven’t even taken it yet, and I finish in 5 minutes anyway”. I am no arguing man and gave the staff member who I will not name the benefit of the doubt and returned to my seat. I awaited patiently for our drinks and food to arrive, unfortunately the staff member delivering the drinks failed to see the mountain of 19 plates stacked right in front of me and walked off because I could manage to ask them to take it. We then waited patiently food to arrive, which took 55 minutes. ( again i understand how busy it was and this is not particularly important to me), however when it eventually did arrive, it was missing two pigs in blankets, and this was important to me as I had deliberately ordered this burger from the Christmas specials member because it indeed came with pigs in blankets. I raised this instantly with a staff member who was happy to rectify the situation. Another 20 minutes past and still no sign of any pigs in blankets, by which point I had finished my £31.89’s worth of burger. I also wish to add not a single mayonnaise with anything more than a tea spoon amount remaining could be found anywhere in the establishment. I was happy to let bygones be bygones, due to my usual content at spoons service, quality, atmosphere and general experience. I have then noticed that the so called ‘only pending’ transactions of £31.89 for ONE burger were no longer in fact ‘pending’ and had been taken from my bank. I rang the branch to ask how this would be rectified and yet again I was fobbed off to wait a few days or contact my bank to solve their mistake. It would appear the delegation of any kind of taking responsibility falls within the quality of anyone who wishes to work there. Disappointed, let down and expected better from my usual trusty local.

Had the Planter breakfast and my friends had the stack. Service was adequate, asked if I had a planters card - had no idea what this was so said no - wasn’t informed what it was and that was that. Couldn’t process more than a request at a time and felt like lots of questions asked for a simple request of an americano. After about 15 mins the food arrived, hot. My plate with baked beans appeared to lack the juice that goes with the beans and the tomatoes were chopped albeit fresh. The stack wasn’t worth the price, as for slightly note the breakfast was way better value. Hot drinks felt expensive - over £3 for a cup of tea!! Pleasant enough. Not worth a special trip.

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

Absolutely pathetic service and prices , not covering the cheese on cheesy chips so the paper has stuck to it and can't even peel the cheese off it , we won't be using it again and also charging for everything separately and then putting it together, like kebab meat and cheesy chips , I paid for them to be separately done but they put it all together Absolutely pathetic, it's the only chippy I know that dose what they have done and now can't even eat my dinner

I stayed one night and thoroughly enjoyed it. All staff were friendly and very helpful. The owner was there to greet me on arrival and also very friendly. The place was very clean. Room was spacious, clean, warm with a comfortable bed - I slept very well. Once I settled in I made my way to the bar for drinks and had dinner, which I enjoyed. Breakfast was also enjoyable. The whole place had a relaxed and friendly vibe, and I would definitely stay again.

really really really bad, food was barely edible. owners dog was climbing and sitting on the seat next to us trying to get our food. they apologised for how bad the food was and i didnt even complain. excuse was its ramadan? dont understand why that made my food terrible.

Great spot - really looked forward to lunch but the man behind the bar assume is the landlord made us feel most unwelcome - we will not be returning

Our jacket potatoes and baked beans were cold. We should have taken them back. When I mentioned it there was no apology, she said 3 times, "you should have brought them back" the tone of voice insinuating that we were in the wrong.

This cafe was such a big disappointment and not what you would expect. This is more like a transport cafe than a place synonymous with high quality offerings. It damages the experience, expectations and brand of Denby - a well loved, high quality and respected brand in England and throughout the world. People aspire to have Denby pottery in their homes because the quality is second to none and has a rich history of beautiful designs. So…….when visiting Denby you would expect this quality and attention to detail to flow throughout their shops here….. not true. The cafe really lets down the image and whole experience of Denby. They may use Denby pottery in the cafe but that is the only decent thing there. It’s like stepping into an old transport cafe and canteen. Awful table and chairs, very poor decor and design. The coffee was terrible and food was…. Transport cafe food. The staff desperately need training in almost every area of service. And the toilets ? Very dirty. Enough said… Senior managers and owners of Denby surely can’t take any pride in this cafe. It’s an embarrassment to the brand.

Brilliant quality food for valentines menu. Top restaurant food at our local pub. Congratulations to Jack the chef. Very diverse choice. Harvey and Peter were very attentive with their service and nothing was too much trouble. Other bar staff like Mel and Beth are always very helpful.

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.

Visited tonight for a birthday meal. Large group of us. Food order submitted a week ago to support the ordering. 27 meals all arrived at the same time. Service 100% food quality 100%. Thank you for a lovely evening.

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.

The Three Kings has been decorated and looks very nice. Staff were very friendly and accommodating, could not fault the service. Meal was nice - I have prawn cocktail which was excellent for a starter, however my main gammon, although acceptable, did not come out with any pineapple (perhaps it was because I asked for no egg and it was presumed I did not want the pineapple either?), plenty of fries. Overall a nice meal.

Reservamos cada año para nuestra reunión de Navidad juntos. 30 + invitados. No hay carvery este año. Estábamos contentos con el servicio completo con todos nosotros siendo de últimos años. La comida estaba bien cocinada, caliente y bien recibida por todos. Nada era demasiado problema, incluso cuando un invitado inesperado apareció. Habitación muy atractiva, bien decorada para Navidad. Muchas gracias a Sharon y su equipo.