The Devonshire Arms — Restaurant in Derbyshire Dales

We were staying locally at Chatsworth and had needed somewhere to go for a meal and friends had recommended here. At around 2pm we tried calling to book, but the phone wasn’t answered so we decided to have a walk down (this should have been the first warning of what was to come).

We walked down to book, and ended up standing for 10 minutes waiting for someone to come over to the booking desk. When that person did come over, she walked away to get someone else, which took another 5 minutes.

We managed to get booked in for that evening. When we arrived in the evening, we were slightly early so ordered some drinks first.

We went to our table and placed the order. After 45 minutes of waiting for food, we asked what was happening to be told ‘one minute and it will be out’. 15 minutes later and it eventually was.

We had ordered two portions of fish and chips, and the salmon noodle dish. The chips were cold, and there was only a teaspoon of mushy peas on each plate. Whilst passing the fish and chips over, the waitress dragged the fish all along the wall next to where we were sitting… how lovely.

The salmon was grim. It was rock hard, shrivelled, and dry. The noodles were freezing cold on the outside and just warm in the middle - it had clearly either been sat on the pass for too long, or microwaved.

The waitress was very apologetic and pulled her manager over. The manager attempted to apologise, stating multiple times that they were too busy and that’s why the service was so bad. I would hate to see busy there - only half of the tables in the dining side were taken. The manager promised that we wouldn’t be expected to pay for the food - good job since we hadn’t eaten it. She then stated that she would also refund all of our drinks.

We went to the bar to wait for the refund for the drinks. The manager then stated that her manager said she couldn’t in fact refund all the drinks, and offered a refund for less than half. When we said this wasn’t good enough, the offer of any refund at all was removed. We were also told that our email would be taken for the manager to be in touch with us. It was not.

So we were left with a promised full refund which we were never offered, and service that was below poor.

Will definitely not be returning and will be telling all those who recommended about this experience. Disappointing is...

We didn’t complain—mostly because we wouldn’t have known where to begin.

Let me begin on a high note: the waitstaff were lovely—charming, attentive, and clearly doing their very best. But sadly, even their stellar performance couldn’t rescue the food from itself.

The moment the food hit the table, it was obvious the person in the kitchen was not a ‘chef’ who cared. Pride? Nowhere to be seen. Skill? Missing in action.

The trout—both unfortunate victims—were scorched underneath, as if they’d lost a bet with a blowtorch. They were beyond dry and tasted of nothing but burnt. The garlic butter was more of a myth, and the potatoes? Cold, greasy, and somehow seasoned only with regret.

And then came the duo of lamb. “Duo” here meaning: two crimes committed against meat. The lamb fillet had either been reheated in a microwave or cursed in an ancient oven—it was completely inedible. The mash had a peelable layer—like a sad crème brûlée. The green beans were weirdly textured, flavorless, and colder than my enthusiasm by this point.

I thought the lamb croquette might be the saving grace, but alas—it was mostly mash, with perhaps a homeopathic trace of lamb. Frankly, they should’ve renamed the dish Duo of Potato and spared the actual lamb the embarrassment.

The chicken schnitzel and chips seemed like a dish even a distracted goldfish could nail—but alas, it was just... okay. As for the salad on the side—it looked like it had given up on life entirely, drizzled in a creamy dressing that had solidified into early retirement. Not exactly a culinary triumph.

We glanced at the dessert menu, shared a moment of delusional optimism, and then came to our senses—there was no way we were risking it. Instead, we made a heroic detour to Co-op, where a humble sticky toffee pudding stole the show and easily became the highlight of the meal. Sad, but true.

And the kicker? It wasn’t particularly cheap. For food that felt like it had been personally prepared by a stressed-out contestant mid-meltdown on Hell’s Kitchen, it was offensively overpriced. Honestly, they should be embarrassed to send out food like they did—and no, I’m not exaggerating. Unless there’s a complete change to the kitchen- avoid...

Stayed at The Devonshire Arms Hotel Baslow recently for 2 nights. The hotel is well situated for sight seeing around the area. Our room was adequate, had comfortable beds, clean bedding and the usual array of toiletries plus a complimentary brandy should you wish to have a night cap. The car parking was good. The staff were all friendly and helpfull. Special mention to the male cleaner, Alan, who did an excellent job of cleaning throughout. The food was the very big downside to the hotel and especially our visit. Cooked breakfast on day one was edible however did not meet expectations nor was it well presented. On day 2, I chose to have just scrambled egg on sourbread toast. Having waited, the chef eventually arrived and we eventually received our breakfast. The sour dough bread hadn't been toasted and the scrambled egg had been burnt and had a lot of black bits in it and had the strong distinctive burnt taste. So it was in edible. I therefore went to the fruit bowl on the cereal buffet table and had a banana and tangerine for my breakfast. Service was very slow. Very disappointing. I then travelled into Bakewell where I purchased a Superb, hot, delicious Full English breakfast that was served in a timely manner. The evening that we dined in the restaurant we ordered and after over one hour of waiting and asking had we been forgotten our meal eventually arrived. I had steak and ale pie. The pie pastry was overcooked and I could hardly cut it. The French fries were burnt and the teaspoon of vegetables were not hot. My friend had chicken burger however the bun was black on the top and the french fries were also burnt. The sticky toffee pudding was OK. Our dining experience took over two hours and fell well below expected standards. The Devonshire Arms Hotel at Baslow could be a very nice hotel and holiday destination however in our opinion the catering, food and long waiting times detracted from what was supposed to be a special experience for us.

I wouldn't recomend and I...