Restaurant at The Chequers Inn

Charles Rising (1 October 2007)

I live locally and had been advised by a friend, that the food at the Chequers Inn was top quality and the beer was well kept. My experience of Peak District pub cuisine in the past has been disappointing. I have seldom eaten anywhere in the area, which has proved more than satisfactory, with some meals being barely edible. Recommendations from friends have almost always been unreliable, to the point, that I have sometimes questioned my own judgment and wondered if perhaps, my expectations are too high. Is it too much to expect a main meal costing around £10 to be well presented, properly cooked, tasty and filling?

Judging from my experience this evening dining at the Chequers Inn, it seems this is the case. I ordered the steak and onion pie, which came with mixed greens and creamy mashed potato, costing £9.50. My partner ordered roast beef, at £10.00.

My pies arrived with a miniscule serving of mashed potato and a neat little bowl of mange tout and french beans. It was not exactly substantial, or 'innovative', but it was perfectly palatable, though it is difficult to go too far wrong with pie and mash, after all..

My partner's meal was, however, a different matter altogether. A plate with three thick slices of well-cooked beef, a spoonful of gravy and a slightly burnt Yorkshire pudding was served. We politely waited a few minutes for the rest of the vegetables.

As time passed, I summoned a passing waiter who advised us that, yes, there were more vegetables to come and they would be on their way shortly. In the meantime, my partner discovered a couple of dried up roast potatoes artistically concealed beneath the slabs of beef. A few minutes later the waiter returned to tell us, rather apologetically, that there were no more vegetables and the mixed greens were for both of us.

My partner bravely attacked her roast beef with the knife provided but was soon defeated and had to request a steak knife from the bar. I had a go at the beef myself, but didn’t get very far. This meat was so tough and tasteless it might well have served as the inspiration for Bob Dylan’s ‘Boots of Spanish Leather’.

A fellow eater at an adjacent table was battling away gamely with his own roast beef, but by this stage we had both decided the effort expended on cutting the meat was insufficiently counter-balanced by the pleasure in eating it ,to warrant continuation of the exercise. A hasty retreat was beaten to the local Co-Op and some pasta to satisfy our hunger.

In summary: my pie was adequate, but the portion was meagre, given the price (and there was no gravy - catering for the Southern palate, I presume?). My partner’s roast beef was unfit for human consumption and should have been consigned to the tannery. There weren’t enough vegetables.

Yet another example of the slops so often served in pubs throughout the Peak District at inflated prices – and so gratefully received by the tourists who frequent these hostelries and don’t seem to expect anything better. I expressed my disappointment with the meal in polite terms to the young waiter, and received a mumbled apology - and a frosty reception from the bar manageress when I paid the bill. The only positive was the ale – I couldn't fault the pint of Black Sheep I was served.

I won’t be returning, and, based on my experience, I would not recommend this place to anyone. The trouble is, if you’re a visitor to the Peak District, then you don’t have much choice, and places like The Chequers Inn have little competition to encourage them to provide a better service. My advice would be, go self-catering, do yourself some butties and a flask, and give places like this the wide berth they deserve.