Arthur's — Restaurant in Amber Valley

Dinner Arthurs Belper 10 course tasting menu £65

Last minute booking at the best restaurant in Belper. This wasn't planned but saw they had a no show so we just rang up to grab the table. As they are normally fully booked when we have wanted to go.

They do a 5 course £38 or 10 course £65. We chose the 10 obviously. Using the best locally sourced ingredients.

To start is a lovely little snack described as Ham,egg & chip,which we could of eaten a whole bowl full. Next was the freshest Crich sourdough served with the roast tomato bisque.

Cullen skink tart with an oozing egg in the middle as you cut through it.

Next was the star of the show for us. Monkfish tail roast on the bone, Hot honey buffalo cheek, celery and apple salad,tartare sauce.

The duck dish was also a wow. Accompliments were so tasty. Caramelised pumpkin fondant, Confit leg stuffed shallot topped with duck dripping crumble, Bacon braised brassica,Black Garlic jam, Juniper spiked sauce bordelaise. These raised the dish to levels we have never had before.

Chef patron Leo has truly upped his game since our last visit. Recently just won Most innovative restaurant at the marketingderby food and drinks awards. Also Best restaurant runners up obsfood monthly awards.

This is unusually a BYOB restaurant. So if you like a drink with your meal don't forget to bring it.

The staff are lovely and friendly, we were served by Grace and James. Our advice is to get yourself booked in to this rising star before jayrayner and michelinguide...

I was really looking forward to dining here after reading great reviews but, although a nice evening was had, we left feeling slightly disappointed. The staff were friendly and nothing was any trouble. They were attentive and prompt with our meal. We had the 5 course tasting menu £45 and took our own wine as it is a BYOB restaurant. The venison was an outstanding dish! Really wonderful meat and cooked and seasoned beautifully. Bread (which is classed as a course) and the soup were nice but not very memorable. The apple tart tartan was served stone cold. The pastry was hard as nails and would of benefited from being warmed up a bit. The smokey fudge was not at all smokey. None of the menus flavours of any of the dishes were punchy. The restaurant was uncomfortably hot and had left over decorations and pin nails still in the walls near their rather unimpressive bookcase. All looked a bit tired and in need of a bit of a re-paint. I really hate writing this as I feel I sound a right snob but the place really needs some nice linen. There I said it! For a £45 tasting menu I would expect a proper linen napkin and the tea towel that the servers delivered our plates to us was tatty and I've seen cleaner ones.... The toilets had no hand towels and the toilet in the pub we went to beforehand was more pleasant than here. This is a lovely place with very nice staff but with nothing "special" about it's visit. I really, really wanted to love it with it being local and using local produce but our evening...

Firstly, when we arrived we were told we were booked in the next day and kind of left us hanging, however with proof on an email response we had saved from the restaurant they accommodated us. Onto the food and we chose the 5 courses, which was plenty for us. The dishes were all really tasty👌 and offered something different than the usual choice on offer from other restaurants. I was a little disappointed with the rhubarb and custard tart as that's all that was served on the plate and it had no 'crunch' and maybe could have benefited from a little something extra or a crisp pastry. Something for the restaurant to take note of; there could be a bit more attention to detail to make the dining experience that little bit better..... Double check your booking to ensure the correct date. Change the water in the vases on the tables, most looked brown and the flowers were drooped on our table. Maybe when setting out the replacement cutlery, place it down properly rather than in a heap at the end of the table. Provide a couple more milk pots with the tea/coffee to save people asking for more, there was only one small eggcup full for 4 diners. Offer tap water without us having people having to ask first. These are only minor points but noticeable to the customer so it would be even better if these points could be addressed for next time we visit. So overall, yes, we would visit again and look forward to it being even better...