Review: The Cricketts Inn, Acresford

The Cricketts Inn
Burton Road, Acresford, Swadlincote DE12 8AP

From the outside this is a nice looking pub, clean, tidy, well kept and set in beautiful rural surroundings. Inside it is a fairly standard looking country pub, rustic and welcoming, if a little bit on the scruffy side.

I arrived early and sat at the bar to have a couple of drinks, despite the pub not being particularly busy, the bar clearly hadn’t been cleaned properly in some time and had become very sticky and was giving off a smell of stale beer. Being a Marston’s affiliated country pub I was expecting a reasonable selection of ales, disappointingly they only had two ales on tap, one of which was Pedigree and the other was Lancaster Bomber. I ordered myself a pint of Pedigree and took a long swig the beer was definitely off, it tasted of nothing but sulphur, I didn’t drink the rest. I mentioned it to one the girls serving, she seemed not to care at all and didn’t do anything to rectify the situation, again this was somewhat disappointing.

After about ten minutes they called us through and we were seated, I ordered a starter of black pudding bhajis. When they were brought out they were nicely presented and looked freshly cooked, I cut into them they were still hot and nicely crisp. They had a very pleasant texture and taste though they didn’t seem to contain an awful lot of black pubbing, which being black pudding bhajis, was a bit of a let down.

Shortly after the starters had been cleared away they started bringing out the mains, I had ordered a 16oz ribeye steak, chips and grilled mushrooms, I asked for the steak to be cooked rare. I was glad to see the chips were not frozen chips and had definitely been hand cut, they were nice but nothing spectacular and the portion size left a lot to be desired. The steak was what really let them down in my eyes, it was nowhere the size or thickness that a 16oz should be, I would put the size somewhere between the 10 and 12oz mark. When I cut into it, it was definitely not rare, it was quite dry and after the first bite I could tell it had not been seasoned at all. Because of how my earlier issue had been dealt with by the staff, I chose not to raise it and continued to eat. Fortunately one of the group I was with had a pot of black peppercorn sauce and was willing to share, this actually improved the meal enough for me to finish the plate.

Some of the group chose to have deserts, I decided not to as nothing on the menu really appealed to me and I had been a little bit put off by how disappointed I was by the rest of the meal.

Unfortunately I had heard good things prior to eating at The Cricketts Inn, coupled with the fact that menu read very well and the prices weren’t particularly cheap, I went in with high hopes and I think this is partially why I was so disappointed with my experience. The food itself wasn’t actually that bad but it also wasn’t particularly good, it was disappointingly average.

Review: The Wheel Inn, Ticknall

The Wheel Inn
50 Main St, Ticknall, Derby DE73 7JZ

Having passed through Ticknall many, many times I have often thought what a lovely, inviting looking pub this place looks. As I was planning on spending some time walking locally, I thought it would be an ideal place to stop for lunch and start my walk from. Inside the place is gorgeous, clean, tidy and very nicely decorated, making good use of its many period features.

Despite there being many free tables, none of which were reserved, I had to wait to be seated. Unfortunately there is no real area set aside for waiting so your choices are standing around in the bar area, where people are sitting eating, or standing in front of the main entrance. I opted to stand awkwardly in the bar area, where I could at least get a drink.

Generally in a country pub of this style and supposed level of quality I'd expect to see a reasonable range of beers on offer, besides the usual awful lagers, unfortunately this is not the case, the beers on offer here are so run of the mill they're not even worth mentioning.

After a brief wait of 10 minutes or so I was taken upstairs to a, largely empty but very well decorated, dining room and shown to my seat. Looking over the menu the food choices seemed of a slightly higher end than other places I've visited locally and obviously the prices were higher to match. I ordered battered cod with hand cut chips and minted mushy peas, then sat back looking forward to what should be a very nice meal.

After about 30 minutes my food was bought out and my first reaction was one of disappointment, the fish was absolutely tiny and the portion of chips, though clearly hand cut and fried, was very small. I shrugged it off, opting for the mind set of "if the food is good quality then this could still be a very nice meal." The chips did not disappoint, they were lovely, crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside and tasted exactly how proper chips should taste. Unfortunately the same could not be said about the fish, not only was it very small, but the batter was quite thick, not at all crispy and didn't have much of a flavour at all. The fish its self had that fishy smell and taste that speaks of it being not particularly fresh, that said it was perfectly cooked. The peas were quite simply forgettable, slightly over cooked and over minted.

Overall not the best experience ever, not entirely great service, a lacklustre beer selection and food that simply did not live up to the price tag. There are better, cheaper places to eat in the local vicinity, though apparently it closes early on a Saturday.

Review: The Staff of Life, Ticknall

The Staff of Life
7 High St, Ticknall, Derby DE73 7JH

Firstly this is a truly gorgeous pub, set in equally gorgeous surroundings, I loved the place before stepping through the door.

The inside is just as nice as the out, clean, tidy and tastefully decorated. The pub is separated into several cosy rooms, each furnished with chunky, rustic furniture that suits the pubs country ascetic. Only having a fairly small bar the pub has a limited selection of beers, however the ones it does have are good quality and well kept.

We went on a Sunday afternoon so I chose to have the 2 course set menu, I had soup of the day starter followed by a roast beef dinner. The soup was spiced parsnip and it was beautiful, nicely seasoned with a rich creamy flavour and served with warm bread and butter, genuine comfort food. The roast beef was served with roast potatoes, a large homemade Yorkshire pudding and plenty of proper beef gravy. The beef itself was locally sourced and really good quality, the potatoes were crisp but still nice and fluffy inside and the Yorkshire pudding was clearly homemade and just purely epic. The meal comes with a side of seasonal veg, which unfortunately was disappointing as it was overcooked, a bit flavourless and slightly cold.

Whilst the pudding menu looked amazing I was far too full to actually try one. Overall the experience was excellent, the food was good and the atmosphere in the pub was very welcoming. I am looking forward to going back during the week or on a Saturday to enjoy the standard daily menu.

Review: The John Thompson, Ingleby

The John Thompson Inn & Brewery
Ingleby, Derby DE73 7HW

Another gorgeous pub in gorgeous surroundings. I was using this as a starting & finishing point for a country walk and thought it would be rude not to call in and have at least a pint before setting off. From the outside the pub looks like a proper country pub and I'm happy to say the inside is equally as charming and rustic. The pub actually has its own brewery so has a reasonable selection of small batch brewed beer available on tap, I opted for one of the pubs own brews and found it to be very pleasant indeed.

Whilst they do serve food I didn't try any on this occasion so am unable to comment on the quality, however if it's anything like the rest of the pub I'd expect it to be nice, homemade fayre.