Purely based on the name – as we love it – we’re leading with The Wonky Table restaurant. In the heart of the buzzing Cathedral Quarter, they dish up rustic dishes with a contemporary twist – so a sea bass fillet comes with an orange and tarragon sauce while the cured salmon starter is dressed with a vodka and cucumber jelly. Using seasonal ingredients and with a warm and friendly atmosphere, The Wonky Table is a delightful restaurant full of charm and is just a mile from our City Centre (Cathedral Quarter) hotel.
Equally well named is the Hide Burger Bar – so named, we presume, as once you’ve eaten your body weight in finger-lickin’ good food, you’ll be wanting to hide your burger baby from the rest of the world. With a well-honed list of burger options including plenty of vegetarian options (check out the fried Halloumi burger with sweet chilli and ginger jam, yum!), they do killer onion rings and rosemary-salted chips that will have you asking for seconds.
Heading into spicier territory, Derby is blessed with several outstanding curry houses. One of the most popular is the Himalayan Gurkha Restaurant, specialising in Nepalese cuisine. With a delicate balance of herbs and strong seasoning to the fore, the menu is a mix of rice-based dishes, spicy North Indian curries and dumplings and noodles from Tibet and China. It’s proved to be a winning combination, as it’s one of the highest-ranked restaurants on TripAdvisor.
Anoki is a traditional fine-dining Indian restaurant that combines a somewhat regal dining room decked out in high-backed chairs and white linen with classics like Goan sea bass curry, chicken jalfrezi and keema karahi. Handily, our City Centre (Riverlights) hotel is half a mile from the restaurant and easily walkable.
Moving into European territory, Masa is an award-winning fine-dining restaurant that makes everything in-house – and we mean everything, including the bread, ice creams and petit fours. The seven-course tasting menu is a good jumping off point for the indecisive while the setting in a converted chapel makes Masa one of the most endearing restaurants in town.
Overlooking the River Derwent, Darleys has one of the best locations in Derby, and a European-accented menu to match the views. Recommended by the Michelin guide, the lush terrace overlooks the gently sloping weir and is the perfect spot on a summer’s night, while they offer an à la carte menu, Sunday lunch and a seven-course tasting menu.
For quality French dishes, Le Bistrot Pierre is a popular chain restaurant an eight-minute drive from our Derby North West hotel. If you’re hankering after a bowl of moules frites or a whole baked camembert, this is the place for you.
If however, you can’t quite decide what you fancy, head to Cosmo or Iberico World Tapas. Cosmo do a bit of everything; from sushi to dumplings to traditional roasts, they serve food from across the world. Similarly, Iberico dish up a range of international cuisines using Spanish sharing plates, and impressively, hold a Bib Gourmand from the Michelin Guide. Head down to their Cathedral Quarter restaurant to find out why!
