Armando's Restaurant at The Talbot Hotel — Restaurant in Amber Valley

We dined at The Talbot Restaurant on Friday 3rs August, for evening meal, a table for two.... This has to be one of the very best dining out experiences I have ever had (and I'm 50, so I've had lots!) .

The main restaurant is very attractive with its old stone walls and high lofty beamed ceiling. The tables are nicely spaced apart, not squashed together, so even when busy on a Friday night, we still felt private and not cramped.

The service is exceptional, from the moment we arrived at the bar and sat in the lounge area for pre dinner drinks to select our courses, through to the main service.

The menu is traditional with a good selection to suit most tastes..there's a good range of pasta dishes, meat fish and specials of the day different sauces and all described well.

We really were impressed with the attentive service and the staff new exactly why they were doing, who had ordered what and timed the three courses perfectly. Our waitress was so friendly, polite and helpful.

I had a fillet steak with sauce and my partner had swordfish We both felt this was definately one of the best meals we had ever had.

We left feeling absolutely delighted at our dining experience and must congratulate Armondo, his wife and the staff at the Talbot on one of the most superb meals out we have ever had. I cannot wait to...

Another fabulous Italian meal, from bread all the way through to the limoncello aperitif, with exceptional service. Attentive wait staff, their & Caroline's care for our celebration day was second to none... they even decorated our table !

I had specific menu details to advise according to my choice of meal or drink mixer because of allergy & medication needs. The wait staff were knowledgeable about individual dish ingredients & preparation. They were able to advise alternative ingredients or mixer options, & coordinate my needs with the chefs with professionalism & confidence. Importantly, if they were at all unsure they deferred without hesitation to Caroline's experience. I felt confidently safe in their hands.

This is an excellent Italian fine dining experience from a friendly local restaurant. Both of our visits felt relaxed & personable & the food was fabulous. I can heartily recommend fine dining at Armando's Restaurant at The Talbot Hotel, Belper.

If I have any hesitation at all in writing my review then it's because I worry they may become too popular...so please don't book it too full because we love being able to...

We almost missed out on a fabulous meal at this very special restaurant because their website did not do justice to the ambience, professionalism and great food on offer. The menu was what tempted us to give it a try. It is like walking into an Italian tratoria in a Tuscan village. A real buzz developed as the evening wore on. We both decided to go for dishes from the specials menu and both sea bass and halibut were simply presented with great respect to the delicate ingredients. Service was attentive but never overbearing, always friendly and good natured. The bill when it arrived was modest in comparison with the quality of the food and service. It goes to show that good ingredients, simply, and sensitivitly prepared will win out every time....