The Anglers Rest, Bamford — Restaurant in High Peak

Went on Thursday 8/9/16 with a very large group (17). We all pre-ordered and the menu I preordered from didn't state the type of soup but I thought you can't go wrong with soup but boy was I wrong. For my starter I was presented with what looked like a bowl of congealed blood, it was beetroot soup. I don't like beetroot but I still tried it and to be honest it tasted alright but I couldn't get over how unappealing it looked.

Now the long wait started for our mains, we waited, and waited, then waited some more .... then after well over an hour our mains arrived.

I ordered a can't go wrong pub classic, steak and ale pie with chips. To say this dish was salty was an understatement, everyone in the party made the same complaint. Most complained they couldn't get rid of the bitter salty tastes in their mouth even after washing it down with a few beers. The chips were very salty too, there was salt on the table so why not let the customer choose how much they want on their chips?

For some crazy reason and to try get rid of the bitter taste I decided to have dessert and this was my worst decision of the evening, rhubarb crumble and custard would be the perfect antidote to that nasty salty steak pie. The crumble was soggy and damp like it had been prepared days before and was fresh out of a microwave, good crumble should be crumbly and not soggy. The rhubarb was the consistency of thick slimy soup and was laced with cinnamon, rhubarb and cinnamon was a weird combination for me but even disregarding the cinnamon it was an extremely poor dessert.

The positives hence the 2 star award were the bar had a good atmosphere, the staff were polite and friendly and the black...

I really don’t like to blast a local establishment as I appreciate times are hard for pubs, but our experience here was almost comically terrible and so wildly out of step with the other reviews here that I had no choice but to share.

The positives: The chips were great, the coleslaw was delicious (and seemed home made), and the jacket potatoes were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the outside. The restaurant was roomy and there was a pleasant cafe attached to it, and the parking was apt. The lady at the bar was also lovely.

The negatives: The hummus starter was unlike any hummus I’ve ever had - basically just crumbly smashed chickpeas with no tahini, no moisture, and no flavour at all. The halloumi sticks were nice but dry, and not served with the promised sweet chilli sauce. The “steak” burger was an absolute travesty, I don’t think I’ve ever had such an awful burger. A small dry meat blob (seemed very much like a budget frozen patty), in a dry cold bun with a bit of melted cheese. Literally nothing else to it. The chickpea curry tasted fine, but had no chickpeas in it, and seemed like some arbitrary supermarket microwaveable vegetable curry.

The food was slow to arrive (over 45mins), despite the restaurant not seeming busy at the time, and no explanation being given.

The service was grumpy at best, and we felt unwelcome the whole time. Honestly at times it felt like the food was intentionally bad to spite us, though I’m sure this wasn’t the case.

Maybe we caught them on an off day, but we’ll certainly never consider...

Visited this pub with my partner. Stood at the 'wait to be seated' sign only to be told they're completely booked up by a young woman who then quickly walked away. A male member of staff then came up to us and I asked if it would be ok to order food for outside. He said yes.

We then walked through an empty cafe to exit the building which had about 10 empty tables in it. I assumed this wasn't part of the pub but sure enough, later on in the evening, people were sitting in there with drinks. Why could we not sit in there to eat?

I ordered fish and chips and my partner ordered five bean chilli. When our food was delivered, there was no tartar sauce (which the menu said it came with) and the mushy peas were cold. The fish and the chips were very nice. We had just done a long hike so neither of us were in the mood to argue and wait longer for food.

No sooner had we started eating when two inconsiderate women start chain-smoking across from us, which just really ruined the meal. Surprisingly no one wants to breathe in your second hand smoke. A smoking shed away from the outside tables would've been better, especially given current circumstances.

Overall 3 stars. Nice building, could do with a few more staff. Outside seating has no lights or heaters like most other pubs. And there needs to be a separate area for smokers away from people sat outside.

I'd definitely have to think before...