The Duke William — Restaurant in Bassetlaw

We stopped here on a drive home from Harrogate to London on Sunday. We didn't really know where to go but Tripadvisor said this'd be good. A quick call to a friendly member of staff confirmed we could get a table so off we headed!

It's always weird when a pub is empty on a Sunday lunchtime, especially given the good reviews, but there was really no need to worry - the food was LOVELY.

The Sunday menu is limited to Roasts and 3 other dishes, and they have a 2 course and 3 course set-menu, although you can order a single course (we did). I had the beef and bone marrow burger with triple cooked chips which was LOVELY. Genuinely tasty and I could have eaten it again. I'm not a fan of super fat chips, but I won't knock them - lower calories at least!

My wife had the roast chicken and it was beautifully cooked - rarely guaranteed with chicken breast. It was moist and flavourful and came with well presented potatoes and veggies.

In all, we paid £12.90 for each main course which, given the quality, is an absolute steal. It depresses me that it was so quiet in there when the Ferrymen Arms or something just down the road looked really average yet was packed out.

The only improvement really, given it was so quiet in there, would be to have some music playing - it was a little weird without it.

Anyway go here and eat lovely food with nice...

We booked a table for a Saturday, the front restaurant was reasonably busy when we arrived and got busier. The table was near the fire place and meant one chair had to be carefully placed to avoid half sitting on the hearth stone, the table kept losing one of the pads under it’s leg and this added to the slight precariousness. We ordered a bottle of rose and were delivered a bottle of white pinot. Waitress disappeared so quickly-she didn’t offer to pour or for us to sample, so we didn’t have time to tell her. It was still a nice bottle of wine though! Our food orders were taken by a second member of staff. I asked for something other than tomato and mushroom with my steak ( both veg disagree with me), the response was ‘like what’… little bit terse, and I don’t know what easy alternatives they have in the kitchen. The food was very good, the other person who had steak in the party felt that the steak wasn't quite medium rare, I thought mine was lovely. The fish platter and the crab Thermidor was thought to be the best order of the lot. Two of us didn’t think much of the thick cut chips, a little bit unrewarding . Puddings were nice but not remarkable . Beer on...

We followed Bryony and Kevin from The Sun Inn (Retford), and although they have a smaller and lower funded eatery, there is no doubt that these two are going to make the best of this. The food is arguably one of the best gastro-pub styles in the area with a more than adequately stocked bar.

My fiancée booked with her friends - one of which was vegan - with no options on their menu, they made a custom one to accommodate.

My only criticism is that there is no car park as it is currently being used for the Marquee. That being said, the area is very quiet so parking on the road isn't necessarily a trouble. My suggestion is for The Duke William to develop a beer garden/outdoor seating area to accompany the...