The Mucky Duck Drakeholes

The food & location are constantly excellent however one thing let's this place down. The member of bar staff with the beard & tattoos is a permanent fixture behind the bar when there's nothing to do & disappears when lots of customers turn up. I felt embarrassed on behalf of the owners looking at the expressions of people waiting for a drink & knowing they were being ignored. Often rude & impolite he needs to be told to improve or disappear.

I've been wanting to visit here for the evening menu for quite a while now and finally got round it. We came early for a drink and sat outside and then moved into the main restaurant for our meal. The food was delicious, although to say we were one of the first seated we did wait quite a while for it to be served. The fries were also under cooked but were replaced straight away once we mentioned it. Lovely service all together. Will be back, maybe for the lunch menu next.

This pub is set in such a delightful spot and Drakeholes holds cherished memories to me as a child who, in the early 70s used to visit my grandparents' caravan in a nearby field (which had its own cottage next to the canal). I'm so pleased to see the pub re-open after years of closure. The bar which we used was not in the original part of the building; I don't know what the plans are for the rest of the building. Nice pint in the beer garden overlooking the canal and surrounding fields. I would have loved to have stayed for another.

Fantastic welcome today, we sat outside for an hour in the glorious sunshine before lunch. Glad we booked because it was very busy. We had chosen to sit in the Orangery and what a beautiful room it is. I ordered goats cheese cheesecake and my husband had Scotch egg with black pudding. Both were beautifully presented and were scrumptious. For mains I had rare roast beef and my husband had Leg of lamb. Both came cooked perfectly accompanied by roast potatoes, mash, stuffing, a huge Yorkshire pudding and Spring greens. We had extra cauliflower cheese too!! Just delicious every mouthful. Unfortunately no room for dessert this time but we'll be back!!!! £25 for the 2 courses. Excellent value for money with fresh ingredients and 5*service. Highly recommend The Mucky Duck at Drakeholes.