Eating Out Recommendations Summer 2025
Looking for great places to eat this Summer? In this post you’ll find some of the independent restaurants and pubs I’ve enjoyed recently and highly recommend.
Focussed on my patch of north Staffordshire, but with forays into Buxton and northeast Wales, highlights include an imaginative tasting menu from one of the region’s top chefs, quality pub food in the Moorlands, beautiful and fresh Japanese food, sensational Thai food in a picturesque village, Mediterranean food in Llangollen’s newest restaurant, plus my latest visit to a favourite local restaurant.
TASTING MENU FROM THOM BATEMAN AT APRÈS
Since he opened his first restaurant back in 2020, the Michelin recommended Flintlock at Cheddleton, chef Thom Bateman has produced quality, tasty food you can’t help wanting to dig in to. But at the start of this year he took things up more than a few notches with the opening of Après. Located upstairs from The Flintlock, Après offers an enhanced tasting menu experience. I was wowed by my first visit and you can read all about it here.
I returned recently for a menu that included versions of dishes you might have seen Thom cook on BBC TVs Great British Menu.
My favourite of the night was based on the humble potato. But it was elevated to something wonderful with layer upon layer of flavour and texture including spice, rich onion, truffle, plus delicious crispy bits that reminded me of a favourite naughty potato snack: Ringo‘s!
Next up was a superb dish of Atlantic cod with a wonderful smoked butter sauce, served with textures of cauliflower and cucumber. This was followed by what was perhaps Thom’s most memorable Great British Menu dish: wild boar and mangalitza pork.
As an intermediate course there was a refreshing, startlingly red cherry sorbet with woodruff. To finish, a rich chocolate dessert with Pedro Ximénez sherry, textures of hazelnut, and tangy crème fraiche.
Living locally, it’s been great for me to see first-hand the development of a local chef with a growing national reputation.
THE KNOT INN, RUSHTON
We had some scorching weather this Spring which turned into a heatwave at the start of Summer. So, after a walk with the dog, having a range of good pubs to retreat to and recharge in has been even more important. An example was an enjoyable lunch in the cool of The Knot Inn.
I’d eaten there twice before and you can read about my first visit here. Although I’d enjoyed the food, there’d been service issues both times. But perhaps I’d just been unlucky; The Knot has a good reputation and there were no problems this time.
I do like a good prawn cocktail and the addition of plump crayfish made this one extra inviting (Prawn & Crayfish Cocktail £10.50). The generous portion came with little gem lettuce, brown bread and butter. A lovely refreshing starter on a hot day.
I chose another salad for my main course, Chicken Caesar Salad (£17.00). And what a whopper that turned out to be!
On a large mound of dressed leaves were chunky pieces of nicely cooked chicken breast. Also on there were rashers of crispy bacon, a halved runny egg, croutons and Parmesan shavings. You could say that anchovies should be in a Caesar salad. Or at least offered as an extra. But at that very reasonable price point I’m not going to quibble.
The hot day, and the sizeable starter and main, called for just a little sweet treat rather than full-on dessert. So I selected from the always brilliant ice creams and sorbets from Dalton’s Dairy. I chose creamy vanilla ice cream and zingy orange sorbet (£4, or £5 for 3 scoops).
If you’re more of a sun lover, The Knot has a large beer garden. We sat in the bar which is dog friendly, as is the snug. The restaurant is dog-free.
BEAUTIFUL JAPANESE FOOD IN BUXTON
I was so excited when I first heard about my next recommendation. In the heart of the Peak District, Sushi Zen Boba serves beautiful, fresh Japanese food including sushi, sashimi, rice bowls with grilled or raw fish, salads, ramen, teriyaki, stir-fried noodles, plus boba/bubble tea.
On Buxton’s High Street, it’s a lovely friendly place. And it more than met our expectations when other half (ID) and I ate there one Sunday night. We started with a couple of appetizers to share. Crispy fried, tasty Chicken Gyoza (£7.49) and light Soft Shell Crab Tempura (£11.99). Both came with rich tonkatsu sauce for dipping.
ID loves raw fish, so also had a plate of delicate, sushi-grade Tuna Sashimi (£10.99).
To follow, we shared another 3 dishes. For me, Dragon Roll (£15.99) was the highlight of the meal. And, somehow, it tasted even better than it looked! Eight large sushi rolls with avocado and crispy prawn inside, topped with rich grilled eel, teriyaki sauce, and sesame seeds.
Noori Gunkan (£6.49) looked unassuming. But it was packed with flavour and crispy, crunchy texture. Sheets of deep-fried seaweed were topped with tiny cucumber dice in a wonderful sweet and hot sauce including kimchi and sweet chilli.
Tobiko Gunkan (£7.99) was subtly flavoured. Cylinders of sushi rice were wrapped in slightly chewy seaweed and topped with refreshing, bright orange flying fish caviar.
To finish, we both had ice cream (£5.99). Simple but enjoyable Sesame Seed Ice Cream for me, Mixed Moshi Ice Cream for ID: four different flavours in wonderfully chewy sweet rice dough.
As well as bubble teas and ‘tipsy boba’ there’s the usual range of soft and alcoholic drinks. We had draught Asahi (£6.99 a pint). With so many different things to try, I’ll certainly be going back to Sushi Zen Boba. Although it will be hard to resist that Dragon Roll!
QUALITY THAI FOOD IN A VILLAGE PUB
I was first wowed by the beautiful, flavoursome dishes from Mon’s Thai Street Food at a pop-up last year. And this Summer I enjoyed more at one of their takeovers of the kitchen at the White Hart in Alton; a lovely community-owned pub in one of the Moorlands’ prettiest villages.
To begin, ID and I shared three starters.
- Gung Yang (£6.85) big, juicy prawns grilled and served with a perky dip.
- Luk Chin Tod (£6): bouncy-bouncy-bouncy fish balls with sriracha.
- Peek Gia Tod (£6.00): crispy deep-fried chicken wings with sweet chilli sauce.
We followed these with a couple of shared main courses and a portion of Jasmine Rice (£2.50).
My favourite dish of the night was the outstanding spicy, herby, roast duck salad Laab Ped (£12.50). There was a generous amount of tender duck (we scoffed a piece each before I remembered to take the photo above) on a bed of salad. It was cloaked in a wonderful dressing that was sweet, spicy, and salty. I detected soy and fish sauce plus chilli and nutty toasted ground rice. There were loads of fresh herbs too: coriander, chives, and refreshing mint.
Our second main was Gang Panang (£12): a moderately spicy, creamy coconut curry with vegetables plus your choice of protein. On the previous occasion, we’d enjoyed it with chicken. This time, we went for tofu and I loved it just as much.
To drink, I had a pint of local Fireside Stout from the Rural Brewing Co. who are planning to open their new brewery in the grounds of the pub.
At the time of writing, the Thai pop up is at The White Hart Alton on Fridays and Saturdays. But follow Mon’s Thai Street Food on Facebook to check the latest info.
MORE GREAT PUBS IN THE MOORLANDS
Where I live in the Staffordshire Moorlands, we really are blessed when it comes to pubs. And that’s true whether you’re just after a decent pint, a snack, or a satisfying meal. I’ve already told you about The Knot Inn and The White Hart, but here’s two more that are always good.
THE STAR AT COTTON
Now both my partner and I work part-time, Mondays often mean a walk in the Moorlands followed by lunch, either a mini picnic or in a pub. While many rural pubs either aren’t open or don’t do food on Mondays, The Star at Cotton is a great choice. Its combination of quality and good value is hard to beat, especially if you go for the Mon-Sat lunchtime offer of two courses for £19 or £24 for three courses.
On my last visit, I started with Broccoli Pakora: perfectly tender whole florets in light, crispy batter. They came with a chunky, sweet and spicy mango chutney plus rocket salad garnish. A thoroughly lip-smacking dish.
To follow, I had the very substantial Smash Burger: tasty patties, cheese, bacon, fried onion, mustard, lettuce, and tomato on a quality bun. It came with a good-sized portion of excellent fries. Fantastic.
THE LAZY TROUT, MEERBROOK
I’ve been going to the Lazy Trout at Meerbrook even before I moved to the Moorlands, and have had countless enjoyable meals there.
On my most recent visit, I had a very tasty caponata-style Bruschetta (£6.45) on top quality bread. It came with crumbled feta and a punchy pesto dressing. For my main, I chose the Aberdeen Angus Beef & Ale Pie (£15.45). Beneath the light, thin and crispy herby suet crust were big chunks of fall-apart tender meat in excellent flavoured gravy: ideal for dunking the fab chips in. The pie usually comes with veg, but they agreed to my request to swap it for salad. This was very fresh and nicely dressed.
Both The Star and The Lazy Trout have dog-friendly seating inside and out, plus dog-free restaurant areas.
THE THREE EAGLES, LLANGOLLEN
I’ve recently returned from a short break in Llangollen. Although I’ve been going to north Wales for decades, this was my first time in the attractive northeast town. Looking for somewhere to eat dinner, we chose The Three Eagles which had reopened just a few weeks before under new owners.
A former pub, it now styles itself as a Mediterranean bar and grill with lots of tempting items on the menu. As we had our dog with us, we were seated outside. But the courtyard is a pleasant spot, and we appreciated the shady cover in the intense heatwave.
I started with three big, crispy Calamari (£8.95) served with salad and tartare sauce. To follow, I had the Mixed Skewer (£19.95) of herby marinated shish lamb and chicken. This was tender, tasty, and came with perfectly cooked rice, cacik cucumber yogurt, Turkish bread, and charred Padron peppers.
Other half and I also shared a big fresh Chopped Mediterranean Salad (£10.95) with feta, olives and breadsticks. To finish, we shared some heavenly Baklava (£8.50). This was generously filled with pistachio, and the accompanying ice cream went well with the syrupy pastries.
My visit to Llangollen was a short one, but I’m planning on returning. And I’d definitely eat at The Three Eagles again.
A RECURRING FAVOURITE: THE GROSVENOR
From a new recommendation to an old favourite that I make no apology for including yet again. I don’t know how many times I’ve been to the The Grosvenor Restaurant for breakfast, lunch, or dinner but it never disappoints. And I had another very enjoyable lunch last week.
To start, I had Crispy Filo Rolls filled with feta flavoured with spicy harissa and tempered with honey. They came with a fruity chutney and cooling drizzle of yogurt. From the ‘Nibbles’ section of the menu, it was a bargain at £6.25.
For my main, I chose moist Pan-Roasted Chicken served on a lovely and light yet flavoursome risotto of mushrooms (mainly oyster) with peas and tarragon. A particularly nice, unexpected touch were the charred halves of chicory, endive or some similar lettuce. A very accomplished dish and well worth £20.50.
If you haven’t visited the friendly Grosvenor near Cheadle, turn into Hales Hall Caravan and Camping Park, follow the drive a short distance (past the STOP marking) and you’ll see the former country house on your right. Parking is to the side. Dog friendly in the Library Room.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my latest eating out recommendations and been inspired to try or revisit some for yourself.
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MENUS & PRICES CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING
ALL PHOTOS © MOORLANDS EATER & NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION
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