This Thursday was our wedding anniversary so we treated ourselves to a nice lunch out in the Peak District. It’s rare that I write a blog post about somewhere I’ve only been once, especially when I didn’t take many photos – but I enjoyed both courses so much that I think the Prince of Wales in Baslow deserves a spot on the blog.
I’ve been wanting to try this upmarket Peak District pub for a while, but it hadn’t been open the last few times we had a babysitter. When my husband mentioned lunch out I couldn’t book quick enough!
Prince of Wales Baslow
Firstly, I am a big fan of Baslow. I love the bougee vibes that emanate from the nearby Chatsworth Estate. It’s only twenty minutes away but feels like a proper day out.
The pub seems split into two quite separate sections. There’s a cosy bar area (which I will be adding to my guide to the best pubs in the Derbyshire round up post) which very much welcomes muddy booted hikers and is dog friendly. The restaurant area is up a few steps and seems a bit more refined. There’s an open kitchen and it was fascinating watching the chefs at work.
Food at The Prince of Wales Baslow
Unusually for us, we skipped starters. I’d been eyeing up the mackerel paté and the soft shell crab with chimichurri but hubby wasn’t really in the mood so we proceeded straight to the main course.
I’ll be really honest, I struggled to pick a main because nothing really leapt off the menu. The Derbyshire lamb burger sounded incredible, but I was in the mood for something more restaurant-y. I was also very tempted by the steak (obviously not just any old steak but Baslow Beef prime steak) but I’d literally just ordered a huge glass of Sauvignon Blanc (and red meat demands red wine in my book)… in the end I thought I’d try the ‘catch of the day’, despite not finding the description (“curried chick peas, red pepper piperade, burnt aubergine puree”) overly enticing.
This is where I am my own worst enemy – because the dish itself was incredible. The piperade (a Basque vegetable sauce) was absolutely delicious, sweet flavoursome peppers perfectly accompanying the perfectly pan fried piece of sea bream. There were lots of beautifully al dente vegetables and the chickpeas and aubergine puree were both really delicious. It was one of the most delicious, nourishing dishes that I’ve eaten in a long while and I really enjoyed it.
After all that healthy goodness, I couldn’t possibly pass up pudding, even when my husband declined. I opted for the stalwart, sticky toffee pudding which was divine. The pudding and the sauce were both exceptionally good but the piece de resistance for me was the stem ginger ice cream. Delicious!
Service throughout was exceptionally professional. We found it a bit pricy (two main courses, one dessert, one soft drink and two, admittedly large and lovely quality, glasses of wine came to £70 ish) but I would definitely return.
Go for:
A beautifully contemporary country village pub with exceptionally good restaurant.
Details:
Prince of Wales, Church Lane, Baslow, Bakewell, DE45 1RY.
Dog friendly in the bar area.
Car park accessed in front of the pub.
Restaurant and toilet up steps.
2 replies on “Lunch at The Prince of Wales Baslow REVIEW”
The “bougee vibes” from Chatsworth Estate 😂 Love that expression.
I’d want to go here just based on the fact that they welcome dogs. I don’t have a dog. I just “aww” over other people’s dogs!
For “Prince of Wales”, I was thinking more standard pub grub fare, probably because I’ve been to pubs of the same name and that’s what you come to expect. The food here looks pretty swish! Not only looks fancy, but sounds delicious too. Definitely a pub to check out while in the region by the sounds of it!
Caz xx
Thank you Caz – yeah the food was pretty swish. And Chatsworth *is* bougee! 😂 Thanks as always for reading. Have a lovely weekend. X