Monsal Head Hotel & Bar

Excellent food. Great choice of ales. Friendly helpful staff. What's not to like. The views surrounding the hotel will blow your socks off. A wonderful day out. Highly recommended!

Unbelievable pub. Went in after a harrowing day in a festival filled Bakewell and recovered perfectly. Exceptional home cooked food and a beautiful atmosphere. Make sure you get a look at the amazing view, one of the best in the peaks.

We have just eaten there this afternoon I haven’t been for a good 10 years. The hospitality was great. The bar tender was full of banter, and welcomed everyone with a cheery smile/comment. Food was also very good. Well worth a visit if you’re looking for a warm welcome. It’s a shame you don’t get this experience in many establishments in hospitality. We just want to eat and drink in a warm friendly environment, and we have just experienced this here. Keep up the great banter Team Monsal! Louise and Steve

Fantastic hotel with lots of parking, comfortable and spacious rooms. We arrived early and the kind chap behind the bar made us a coffee whilst he checked it we could go to our room. We were able to check in early as we had a wedding to go to that day. The following morning we awoke to a beautiful view from our room and had a 10/10 breakfast from the bar. We will definitely be back again!

After a grand cycle along the monsal trail , we decided our out of shape bodies were deserving of a swift refreshment. ||What a greeting we had, absolutely fantastic from the chap behind the bar. |We ended up eaves dropping into every conversation that was had at the bar with other customers , which filled us with amusement and joy! ||After never hearing the song “Passion by the flirts” before , we have to agree with the barman, it was worth a second play because he was enjoying it so much! |So much so, my daughter “shazamed “ the song and it became a firm favourite on our car journeys for the remainder of our holiday! ||Amazing staff , lovely atmosphere 10/10.

My partner and I had a lovely stay here. Great area, with amazing views, and nice trail walks nearby. Nice pub attached, they serve good quality food and the staff was really friendly. The hotel and pub were dog-friendly. The room was modern and the bed was comfortable. The only issue could be low pressure for the shower, but we did have a bath so it was not a big deal. Would love to stay here again.

The Monsal Head Hotel was in a fabulous location with Panoramic views of the monsal valley trail from our bedroom window with breathtaking views outside. Service was excellent and everyone so friendly especially Gordy who couldn’t do enough to make us feel welcome . The stables pub on site was really cosy and welcoming , the food was delicious and a great menu . The hotel is only a 5 minute drive to Bakewell and only a short walk to a lovely village . We would definitely return and would recommend it to anyone. Julie

We sat at home wounding what we could do on a child free sunday afternoon. Told my wife about a pub my mum and dad used to take me to when i was a child, so we got redy and off we went. We got thire and showed her the views and went into the the pub for a pint and some something to eat. We decided to have the pie and mash, omg it was out off this world the best pie i had in a long time ( two pies and 2 drinks for £40) after we had finished we had desert wich also was outstanding. I have sticky toffee pudding, and my wife having a new cheese cake, which is also outstanding. We definitely will be returning in the near feature. Thank you x

This is a very popular place for tourists and in the summer it gets very crowded, It has a good range of local real ales which are served well. However. The food is terrible. It is overpriced, poor quality and in the case of the burger we had, just disgusting. It seems their strategy is to use the cheapest ingredients and charge top price for them. Everything is served with large amounts of salad to fill the plate up.

I'd jumped over one too many stiles that day and was definitely in need of refreshment and recharging! Whether you've also had a hard day's hiking in the hills, or arts-n-crafts shopping in nearby Bakewell, a drink at the Stables Bar here is a welcome rest stop. It's a classic cosy country pub, on the small side, and we warmed ourselves by the fire enjoying a mix of local ales, gin, wine and a cup of tea among us (separately obviously!). They had a decent enough selection to satisfy the beer connoisseurs of the group, and the service is friendly and welcoming - happy to bring the cuppa over to where we were sitting. I felt nicely satisfied in the glow of the fire, resting my feet and flicking through a book from their collection (most of them about beer!). The views over Monsal Dale and the viaduct outside are enough of a draw on their own - we caught it at sunset that eve, then also came back the next day and took the steep path down the hillside to join the Monsal Trail. The pub looked much more touristy by day, with the outdoor seating packed with folks making good use of the sunshine. I was recharged enough to get back to our cottage anyway, and my tired legs shall be ever grateful :)

Lite bites at the Monsal head: http://manchesterpyromaniacs.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/monsal-head.html

The view here is spectacular however I chose to come to this restaurant as the website specified any dietary requirements could be catered for without prior notice including coeliac, vegan etc. Unfortunately this wasn't really the case and the waiter wasn't very understanding. I have a number of chronic health conditions that are severe and disabling and due to taking medications I have developed food intolerances. I can't eat added sugar or wheat and also have to avoid meat. The only vegetarian option was a gnocci containing both cheese and wheat so I'm unsure how they would cater to vegans as claimed on their website. The only roast dinner option was lamb, which they'd run out of at 4.30pm. They were unable to adjust any of the mains (such as removing the Henderson's sauce from the fish as it's already pre added apparently). Again this is in contrast to the websites claim that dietary requirements can be catered for as everything is prepared from fresh. The waiter rudely asked if I knew what Henderson's was and seem bemused that I couldn't eat added sugar remarking that all food has sugar in it... And that it must be a nightmare eating out. Unfortunately it only is when people make comments that make you feel like a burden. I ended up eating the most expensive item on the menu which still contained meat and a jus that most likely had added sugar such as balsamic viniger but I was assured did not without even having checked wut the chef. I have not had any problems in any other restaurants I've been to over the weekend so was very disappointed that this one did not live up to its very specific claims.

The Stable Bar is very oldy worldy , very good range of real ale and well its a lovely scenic lovation .

We were walking in the Peak District and chose to stay at the Monsal Head as we've enjoyed many a meal and drink in the Stables bar before and love the location. It was excellent! Cosy in the winter and lovely outdoor seating with spectacular views for the nice weather. We had a beer in the Stables at the end of our day's walking and then went to our room to shower and change for the evening. The room was spacious and recently refurbished with a wonderful walk-in shower. The combination of modern design within an old, characterful building is very well done. The staff were all friendly and helpful and there is a busy, ongoing programme to redecorate all the rooms. We ate in the Stables bar, tasty food and generous portions. Good choice including a chef's special. Breakfast in the main hotel was equally good and set us up for another day's walking. We live in the Peak District and would definitely go back to stay again.

Unpretentious hikers' pub and hotel serving tasty, filling food, real ales and a good range of wines with fantastic views over Monsal Dale - as The Good Pub Guide notes, it is worth coming here for the views alone.

Lovely hotel and bar just at the top of Monsal Vale in the Peak District. We had a wonderful lunch in the large beer garden outside the pub - slightly above standard pub grub - the steak melt is very fine indeed :) Good real ales in the bar too - very highly recommended

Very nice location, with potentially the best view in Derbyshire. Service here is always prompt, with a nice selection of ales and an excellent menu, which verges on the pricey side but justifies it with the quality of the food. Specialities include The Monsal Wellington at £14.95 or the very good steak melt - a cheaper option - at £8.70

Called in for a well earned pint after a days hiking in the rain with my girl! Nice bar with real ale and a very nice menu too. Walkers made to feel welcome, a nice large beer garden just outside, with great views. Well worth dropping in.