The George — Restaurant in North East Derbyshire

Honestly not sure what the high ratings are about. Between the three of us, we had the beer battered haddock, the wagyu beef burger, and the roast lamb. The fish was practically inedible, tasted awful, and the batter was spongy and unpleasant so that wasn't even nice to eat. The chips that came with the burger and fish were passable at best, for a chipshop, and even then they seemed soggy and a touch greasy.

Most baffling were the so-called "posh peas" which came with the fish, and the vegetables that came with the lamb. The "posh peas" are simply mushy peas AND garden peas, mixed together, and seemingly some mint chucked in with them - which definitely does NOT go well with the fish as a result. Furthermore, when asked if it was possible to just have mushy peas, we were told that it wasn't, as the peas come that way before cooking.

Given that the vegetables that came with the lamb were limp, tasteless, and like they'd been over cooked as well, I can only assume that a great deal of the food items are pre-packaged and not home made or cooked beyond shoving in a microwave or an oven for the listed directions on the box.

As for the burger, I'm not sure it gets to qualify itself as Wagyu, given that all I could taste from the frankly extremely dry burger meat was what seemed to be half a pepper-grinder's worth of black pepper. When it wasn't just filling my mouth with dryness, it had faint hints of bread and cardboard.

The bun and the chilli jam, and what seemed to be pulled pork in the burger were alright though I suppose, and as a plus point they do serve pepsi max on tap as opposed to coca cola. Shame that for the prices they ask, the food is abysmal.

Two stars for atmosphere and staff as they were quick with the food and drinks (but prepackaged food is often real quick anyway), and the place was pretty comfortable to sit in, but the staff made no effort beyond the bare minimum of courtesy. At least they had the sense to not press the issue when they asked if everything was alright and we paused for several moments before giving an extremely forced "we're okay" just to end the awkward conversation we were otherwise going to have to have.

Incredibly disappointing, we were just glad to be out of there as soon as possible, and barely ate much of our meals. Honestly not sure how so many people have rated this so highly, and if this is a one-off, and we just got unlucky, that doesn't help matters, as it means the variance is so wide that it's a gamble whether you'll get a good meal or a serious waste of...

UPDATE 25/06/22

My wife and daughter went to The George today. She wasn't aware that food orders stopped at 14.15 hours. Lovely Lisa behind the bar was really friendly and bubbly so drinks were ordered instead. She came out later after the drinks had been made and said the chef was willing to cook for my wife and daughter. What a fantastic thing to do and the chef was amazing.

The food came out and it was absolute perfection. Many thanks to Craig and the staff he employs. A great asset to the business. ..................................................................

Unbelievably awesome food with great service. Ruined by a pretentious table sitting next to me that thought paying a few pounds more for a meal and drinking a couple of bottles of wine meant that they could pick fault at it and look down at those that served them.

Please leave your huge egos at the door and enjoy the food and hospitality offered at this great restaurant. Many thanks to the owner for all the hard work he has put into opening this place up again and to all the staff who work there. To the other table, yes maybe you should go to Mcdonalds next time. My 12 year old daughter thought you were... how should I put it,...

Nice cosy country pub/restuarant. (Not sure what else to say) 😅

Hospitality: 7/5 immaculate service! Everyone's well mannered, friendly, a appear to enjoy their jobs; (which does help) ;) Food times were rapid despite the growing service throughout my time here!🏆

Food: 7/5 Ghoat cheese tart had a good kick to it while not melting my throat. My main as known from me; (burger); was a unique type name, while the burger had an exquisite taste to the usual meat an patty. Afterwards came my cheesecake of the kinder Bueno. Which was incredibly nice a not overpowering! 🍰 I don't find many places with such value for a glass of milk. 😋

Layout: 4.5/5 This is a chain establishment, a it's just what I expected from the ownership. What's unique is its decor, and a good decent view of outside. Toiletries were not room temperature like the main room, and disappointed ther's no hand drier.

+1 🌟 High praise for the Owner who: -Everyone and anyone is able to have a laugh with -Loves everyone's well-being, a satisfaction. 🫡

Leaving note: I almost gave my master rating of 7 stars! I can understand why everyone...