Bistro Duffield at the Kings Head, Duffield — Restaurant in Amber Valley

Last weekend, was the night before my friends wedding and he wanted to spend time with friends visiting the UK for the first time and show them a proper British pub experience. We had booked in another pub (mistake I know!) who let us down and last minute I ran into the bar at Angelo's asking for help. The landlord could not have been more helpful or friendly - he totally saved the night! He sorted us a table, made the whole group incredibly welcome (and introduced the Dutch to Sambuca shots!). The food was fantastic, we tried a range of dishes inc. starters and mains and it was beautifully cooked and absolutely delicious and the beer was great - the lads did drink plenty of it! We were going to stay for more but in a proper Benny Hill moment the bridesmaids and bride turned up and we had to hide the groom and sneak him out! Thank you so much to the landlord and all the staff for stepping up at a moment's notice and making the night really special for people who were visiting the UK for the first time and for creating some amazing memories and stories for the bride and groom! (Particularly the limoncello shots!) Honestly cannot recommend this pub and bistro highly...

We chose this cozy little Italian restaurant to celebrate a baby’s 1st birthday, because nothing says “happy first year of chaotic parenthood” like carbs and gelato. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted with the kind of warmth you usually only find in family-run spots where Nonna rules the kitchen with a wooden spoon. The staff treated us like royalty—like loud, sauce-covered royalty—with smiles, jokes, and zero judgment when the baby attempted to wear a breadstick like a monocle.

The food? Mamma mia. Every dish was a love letter to Italian cuisine. The pasta practically hugged you, the pizza was straight from the gods, and the gelato… oh the gelato. If joy could be frozen and served in a cup, this was it. Even the baby lost all interest in toys once he tasted it—we may have created a pint-sized gelato addict. The guests were delightful, the atmosphere buzzing, and the birthday candle only got blown out three times (once by accident, twice by curiosity). A five-star fiesta with parmesan...

An honest review, we dined last night for my birthday and were really disappointed by quality of food.

Starters - calamari was extremely chewy - not fresh and the size of the squid rings size & taste resembled fishy rubber bands. The batter was very poor also.

My king size prawns were served in a chilli & garlic “sauce” that was more like a broth & was so hot it was obviously microwaved.

Steak. My partner ordered a 7oz fillet steak than was so thin it looked more like a minute streak, asked to be cooked medium rare - steak was medium to well done- no pink in sight.

Paying £30.00 for a streak we expected much better than what we were served, plate was filled with huge amount of chips that was unnecessary. My steak luckily was cooked correctly however the quality of steak was poor & chewy with lots of fat that shouldn’t have been of the cut of steak I ordered.

We were never asked if everything was alright during our meal so didn’t have chance to change steak & raise our disappointment.

Won’t...