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Dining Out

Dining Out – The Boat Inn, Pinxton

Dining Out

Dining Out – Harpurs, Melbourne

Dining Out

Dining Out – The Little Kitchen, Little Eaton

Dining Out

Dining Out

Dining in Deryshire – Southwell Garden Centre

September 26, 2023 Alistair Plant

The sansevieria is better known as a mother-in-law’s tongue. The one Susan and myself purchased from Southwell Garden Centre, on a warm mid-week afternoon at the beginning of September, is a fine looking specimen… and the red pepper tart was delicious. At home Susan looks after the house plants, bar one: the multi stemmed miniature […]

Dining Out

Dining In Derbyshire – Anila Indian Restaurant

September 26, 2023 Alistair Plant

For many years I’ve driven past the little single storey building that sits katy corner wise on the green at the junction of the A610 and the A6 at Ambergate. My first memories are when it was the Little Chef and we considered it a treat for the family. Times change however and during lockdown […]

Dining Out

Dining Out – Meynell Langley Gardens & Tea Rooms

August 30, 2023 Alistair Plant

Which ever way your journey takes you, the approach to Meynell Langley Nursery is through the most pleasant, verdant, typically English countryside that you could wish for. Meandering down twisting country lanes you could imagine yourself back in the days of the grand country house, where kitchens were supplied with produce, lovingly cultivated in the […]

Dining Out

Dining Out – The Machine Inn, Ashbourne

August 30, 2023 Alistair Plant

You may, like me, wonder what the Machine Inn in Ashbourne and a corset have in common, and your interest may be further piqued when you see the simple line drawing that identifies one of Ashbourne’s newest restaurant and boutique hotels. But looking into the history all becomes clear as for 125 years Ashbourne was […]

Dining Out

Dining in Derbyshire – Taj, Alfreton

July 25, 2023 Alistair Plant

The newly opened Taj Indian Restaurant on King Street, Alfreton provided us with the opportunity to meet and share a unique dining experience, I’ll explain… Owner Vir Chijar is an experienced pizza chef of many years! That’s a twist we weren’t expecting and that’s not all as he has a vast experience in the food […]

Dining Out

Dining In Derbyshire – Darley’s

July 7, 2023 Alistair Plant

Darley Abbey is a mill village just over a mile from the centre of Derby, on the bank of the river Derwent. On the other bank sits an area of historic, industrial heritage now part of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage site. Approached from Alfreton Road, you turn along Haslams Lane and pass the Derby […]

Dining Out

Dining In Derbyshire – Seafood Cave & Grill, Matlock

June 30, 2023 Alistair Plant

It felt a little surreal as Susan and I drove into Matlock Bath, late on a sunny, mid-week afternoon. Most of the traffic was heading in the opposite direction; office workers in a rush to get home. We weren’t in a hurry and our route wasn’t busy. It felt like one of those summer evenings, […]

Dining Out

Dining Out – The Cobbled Street Cafe, Belper

June 30, 2023 Alistair Plant

One of my lasting childhood memories is of me and my mum, meeting my grandmother every Saturday morning in an upstairs cafe in Chesterfield. We would happily queue on the stairs until a table became available and order our milky coffee and delicious toasted teacake. Time has moved on and the smell of freshly roasted […]

Dining Out

Dining Out – Bang In Belper

June 30, 2023 Alistair Plant

I used to have a ‘local’. Somewhere I could walk to for a pint with our dachshund, Rupert. When I walked through the door I’d be greeted with a one word question: ‘Usual?’ And the dog would be allowed to sit on my knee at the bar. He’d size-up everyone who walked in from the […]

Dining Out

Dining in Derbyshire – The Curry Lounge, Somercotes

June 3, 2023 Alistair Plant

It was early on a Wednesday evening when we parked on the Market Place in Somercotes adjacent to the familiar restaurant entrance. The welcoming, contemporary designed foyer hadn’t changed but for one addition; in pride-of place, the wall facing the door was adorned with a large ceramic plaque. On it, in bold type, it reads […]