Six Halts — Restaurant in North East Derbyshire

Six Halts is a Marston’s Pub and so provides the usual chain pub food and drink for all the family (not forgetting the Ice Cream Parlour for the little and big kids). This description would usually put me off visiting 😉, so why am I writing this review?

Well...

As I require a gluten free diet, I like to come here with my wife and her mum for a burger meal. I wholeheartedly recommend the Cowboy Burger which they have on their NGCI menu. For those not familiar with the weird world of gluten free, it can be difficult to find a place that serves a burger AND a bun / cob! It wasn’t so long ago that the Six Halts didn’t provide the bread element of their burgers, so I had to take my own (which feels SO weird). However, over the last year or so this has changed for the better, (Genius brand burger bun provided). Other places take note!

The service is quite good, even at busy times, although table reservations can be hit and miss - e.g. online bookings may not result in tables being reserved. However, we don’t get too many mishaps but, if we do, we always get an apology.

Commenting with the focus on gluten free and being coeliac, I'd say there's still a long way to go in terms of food and drink provision (or just the attitude towards it?). There is no draught GF beer and only one bottled beer available (Peroni). Yes – it’s good to have ONE available, but – aside from the dream of having a choice of more than one bottle brand – the idea of having a pint of beer (not cider) is such a luxury for me, so I would welcome any consideration for GF beers on draught!

Pros: pleasant staff; good burgers; convenient; reasonable prices.

Cons: NGCI menu not always available on the table which turns my visit into a Crystal Maze style mystery game to find it; lack of pricing on NGCI menu (online AND printed format); NGCI fryer can’t be guaranteed safe every time for chips / fries (they advise to check when ordering); chicken curry comes with an extra poppadom instead of the naan bread (only if you ask!) but this really isn’t a solution when it’s the same price. Go on...if you really can’t source any GF naans, just chuck a few chips on the plate (where the naan bread shaped gap is) and you’ll be loved forever!

There are many issues to contend with when dining out as a coeliac and this pub has at least taken some steps to help me enjoy such occasions. I have some faith in this pub / chain getting better and would love to write another review when it does to help others who must follow a...

We went here for my father-in-laws birthday, hoping for an enjoyable and relaxing meal. Unfortunately, it was anything but. A real comedy of errors. My wife and I ordered a vegan burger at the same time as everyone else on the table, the bar staff seemed to be quite perplexed by the idea but put it through. It took approximately 45 mins for food to arrive at the table, at this point we noticed that the burgers that arrived were not vegan. We raised this to a member of staff, who took the plates away only to say "that the ticket that was received didn't say anything about it needing to be Vegan". We told her that we ordered the burger and requested several times at the bar that it is made Vegan. We were told they will have to make the burger fresh so may take a couple of minutes.

It was only after everyone else in the party had finished their dinner that we were offered a refund and was told the food would arrive any minute. As the food arrived I asked for takeaway boxes so we could take the food away as I didnt want everyone else have to sit and wait for us. Some 5 minutes later, a waitress arrived with two cardboard boxes, that were empty. We told her that we would prefer to have the food in the boxes, another 5 mins went by and we finally received our meals.

Needlessly to say it was pretty ridiculous and the rest of the party were fuming. I will certainly think twice about going back. Considering they have an extensive vegan menu, its not beyond the wit of man to expect people to order a vegan meal.

Other than that, everyone else enjoyed...

We have been to Six Halts on a number of occasions in the last couple of year. But each time we return, hoping it to be better, it just gets worse.

I noticed they had a new menu, thought to give it a try. This place just get worse and worse each time we return. For some reason, me and my family keep returning hoping that they may have improved. But nothing changes.

In the last 2 years, we have been 4 time roughly. Busy periods and none busy periods. Today, it had taken nearly an hour for food. On previous visits, it’s was roughly 45 mins, every time. On a previous visit, a family had arrived, eaten and left before our food had arrived. Ordering a mixed grill, medium to rare steak - it’s was nothing close to medium to rare.

Kids meal - this is what has pushed us finally from this place. As you can see In the photos, the first images is off a ‘Under 5’s’ meal. Compared to the ‘Over 5’s’ sausage and mash. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the portions sizes are ‘out of proportion’ for the ages stated. Apparently, the Sausage and mash for over 5’s is the correct portion, as the under 5’s portion only has 1 sausage. Even worse. There was barely nothing on the over 5’s meal for my 11 year old.

The online app stated a drink was available, when going to the bar, the staff had no clue on what drink I was on about, and In fact, wasn’t even available, apparently. (Neck Oil IPA)

However, Friendly staff, small selection of drinks from the bar to choose and really nice atmosphere. Even for the kids, the bouncy castle...