I’m really getting into the swing of going out for tea again! I recently went with some friends to The George in Hathersage – somewhere I’ve been meaning to try out for a while. It’s a relaxed, traditional-style bar and hotel in a 500 year old stone building in the Peak District – but only a few miles out of Sheffield, and in easy reach by train. Apparently, it’s been under new ownership since June 2021, so I’ve no idea whether it’s changed much since Covid. The website suggests ‘dated decor and antiquated ambiance’ have been updated.

I had a quick look at the menu before we went and it’s quite extensive – lots to choose from and well over half of the dishes were marked gluten free or gluten free option. (I’ve linked to the February menu here, so I’m not sure how long that link will work, but you can navigate from the home page.)

Starters include dishes like crab pate, courgette & sweetcorn fritters, bourbon-spiced belly pork, but I opted for the spicy halloumi with a honey and sesame dressing. It came with spinach, pine nuts, carrots, spring onions and a balsamic glaze. The flavours were great, although perhaps the halloumi was slightly over for my liking. But we didn’t wait too long to be served and I was still enjoying my G&T when the starter arrived. (They have a whole load of local gins to try.)

Our server was understanding about me being clear why I’d gone for a gluten free meal, and happily made a note for the chef.

The main courses were equally varied, ranging from your trad. English fish and chips to a delicious-sounding pork fillet stuffed with sage and chorizo and wrapped in pancetta. That was my second choice dish – one for next time! They also serve pizzas and the menu states GF bases are available. As I was with friends, I didn’t quiz the server on how the pizzas are cooked to avoid cross contamination or ask the many questions about the fish and chips. And there’s teriyaki salmon on the menu, which I’d definitely want to find out more about. So it’s worth assessing the coeliac safe credentials of some of the dishes. Having said that, I do have reasonably high expectations they know what they are doing, and there was tonnes of choice.

I went for a confit duck leg with stove potatoes, celeriac puree, braised red cabbage, broccoli and apparently a blueberry duck jus. I wouldn’t have known there was blueberry in the jus, but the whole thing had lovely, rich flavours and the duck fell apart, as should be expected.

I didn’t want a full dessert, but I find it hard to resist the dessert menu, just to see! So I ordered a George Gourmand with a glass of dessert wine, which was supposed to be three miniature desserts. Sounded perfect – just a little something sweet to satisfy the taste buds.

When it came, it was enormous! For scale, the strawberry in the photo is one of the biggest I’ve seen. Under that is a sticky toffee pudding, there was a chocolate log type of thing, a coconut ice cream, a mango sorbet and a meringue! This was definitely a situation where less would have been more – I found it a bit over facing. But I battled on through most of it and it all tasted great. There was more than enough to satisfy two people.

Overall, we had a lovely meal with great service and a nice atmosphere. The place was packed out so it’s clearly very popular. I reckon it would be a good place to go with the family – there’s definitely something there to please everybody.

The George, Main Road, Hathersage, Derbyshire S32 1BB