Grouse & Claret — Restaurant in Derbyshire Dales

Very hard to grade this pub and associated campsite as it falls between three and four stars for me, but I’ve eventually decided for three.

Firstly, the pub –Lovely beer garden, literally feet from the main camping area. We visited for lunch on two of the four nights we camped there. The food on the first of those days this Sunday was perfectly acceptable. A decent roast meal most people in the group said. The second day today the food wasn’t as good. The same meal for me which was roast pork. Carrots on this occasion were like bullets. In fact, I’ve chewed softer ammunition.. Rest of the meal okay. Partner’s steak was good, but the oven type chips poor with some slightly undercooked inside.

Service on both days was the main falling down point. Long waits at the bar trying to order food. Only two young lads on at the main bar today and one other. While one guy was completely wasted posted in the garden bar, which has a very limited customer take up and choice of anything. Plates weren’t cleared, as the young service staff walked regularly by us on Sunday. Ordering via the app when the app worked was actually pretty good, but there were quite a few problems today in getting the payment screen to go through to completion.

Overall for the pub – it is in a really pretty location, and the garden in particular is a very attractive place to have a meal or a drink. The staff are pleasant when you deal with them, but there clearly isn’t enough of them to go round on busier days, and they don’t seem to be deployed in the most effective way, which probably means that you can’t give anything other than a three star rating - particularly with the food being very average at best today.

The campsite area offers electric hook up at quite a few pitches. It again is in a very attractive area and in close proximity to a toilets, showers and washing up block. When I used the toilets they weren’t particularly clean and the floor was dirty. I know it’s hard work for the cleaners trying to pick up after messy people, but the interior was dated inside and as I say, not particularly clean. Also, when I used the toilet on one of the days there was no toilet paper in the dispenser, which isn’t the greatest thing to find when you need it. On a plus point, the shower is very powerful and the water hot. Be warned that you need to access these toilets through putting a combination code in to open the door and some people in our party, and others, struggled to get through the door when they were using the code, which is a difficult situation if you need to go.

Overall, the campsite is attractive enough but a little bit dated, and the toilets and showers areas could’ve been cleaner and more up-to-date. But certainly not a place that I wouldn’t want to come back to in the future.

I think three stars overall is fair rating for The Grouse & Claret.

The manager's reply to me and to other reviewers in general is of a defensive tone. Very much conveying everything is fine at the site. If there are valid issues that customers raise, then denying them, challenging or simply ignoring them (our poor food on visit two, for example) on a regular basis in those responses, perhaps signifies what the main issue is to preventing...

This restaurant/hotel/pub oozes class when entering . I even asked to see the prices 1st before I sat down. Unto 5pm they offer a 2 courses for just under £14. Now it went wrong . On this day there been a dusting of snow and it was about 1degree outside We where sat down next to the radiator which was turned right down I turned it up fully. We sat in a cold corner hardly any lighting . The radiator got warm but surely if you are going to invite people in to eat, warm the place beforehand. A member of staff was joking about being cold and she was going to stand by the fire. Another said they might aswell serve outside. We gave our order , drinks arrived, sitting in the cold. Slowly the restaurant started to fill up. Another family arrived and where seated to a table next to us, We where still waiting for our food. They gave their order. We started talking a lovely family. After another 15minutes we asked our server if our food was nearly ready. Now over 45minutes. She said she would check. She came back and said it's just being plated up. So ok. 15 min later the young family food came out. It was pointed out again we now been waiting an hour for our food . A manager said sorry but our order was taken but not sent though to the kitchen . We where given complimentary drinks since we said we been pacing our drinks to enjoy with our meal. Now after nearly 1 hour 15 min our meal arrived. I managed to watch 10 minutes of the 1st half and all of the 2nd half of the Brazil game between our order and finally getting our meals . The other family lady again commented on how cold it was in there and she didnt enjoy eating a 2 course with her over coat on . The food was good and we asked for our bill. Not once was we asked if the food was ok On the bill it included a discount for NHS . I asked how did anyone knows my wife was a nurse no one had asked. I think the discount was added to give some discount for the meal being late. The young man and young girl who did serve us, since the original server I think had gone home, did a good job, so just I still added over a 10% tip. It wasnt their fault. On returning to our car I saw a Mercedes boot wide open in the car park. So I went back in to report it thinking a hotel guest has left it open . It turned out to be the manager car.

So summary , the manager looks after his customers like his car.

Being left in any restaurant for nearly an hour without any staff asking if we are ok or not even then asking if everything is ok once the meal is serve is not on .

This manager need to be trained to handle such a large restaurant or replaced . Older Staff need customer care training.

As my 1st sentence. This place oozes class on 1st sight I actually didnt think I couldn't afford...

Absolute shocking establishment. Directed to stand in 3 different places at the same bar (that had only 2 other people currently being served) before we got served, while some staff were standing around chatting.

A few of the staff had the enthusiasm and urgency of a death row inmate on their way to the spicy seat.

The drinks were terrible (Estrella draught lager). The manager swears the lines are cleaned regularly so the only other explanation for the metallic, bitter taste of the larger was that,

a. it has already been consumed once by the Iron Giant and that was in fact fizzy robot piss,

or,

b. It is old and been sat in the barrel for too long and should have been discarded.

Either way, a rip off at almost £7 per pint and would be more suited the the local hovel where you find the town drunks congregating at 10am in dark corners of the dive bar like vampires with an additional vitamin D allergy, drinking pints of cheap swill for £2.

The food is some of the worst I have experienced. The best description I could give is that it is Weatherspoon's food at restaurant prices, being prepared by a McDonald line cook who think's they're Gordon Ramsey.

I paid almost £17 for a steak pie and Dick Turpin himself could not have pulled off a finer robbery attempt.

Honey glazed carrots that tasted like they were pre-cooked 2 weeks ago and then reheated with the blaze of an angry kittens roar.

Tile grout with an identity crisis, masquerading as mashed potatoes.

Blanched greens that were blanched in what I can only guess were the lukewarm tears of the previous customers, then reheated in an antique easy-bake oven every day for the past week.

And the "Steak and Malbec pie", well...

It had 2 pieces of beef the size of your thumbnail in the entire thing, and the rest of the filling was that shiny, gelatinous, MSG filled, minced slop just meant to fill the inside cavity of the pastry.

I have seen cat food commercials that could give the contents of that pie a run for its money. If you have even been in the unfortunate circumstance of being hungry in the UK at 2am and the only available option for miles is a Ginster's or Pukka pie from the local petrol station, then you have witnessed a similar atrocity that was this pie.

The manager refunded the food at least, but argued that there was nothing wrong with the drinks.

The place looks promising from the outside, but it is just using its prime position on the A6 to fleece visitors to the area. Save your money and try somewhere else.

2/10 for a pub lunch.

10/10 for a place to disappoint your nemesis and make them...