Review: Chatsworth Kitchen – Does lunch live up to its rave reviews?

There are few things more glorious than a sunny day at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. A jewel in our county’s crown, many of us who live locally have grown up with this treasure; and for those who discovered the wonders of this lovely stately home later in life, they return to the estate time and time again to visit and enjoy a day out here. Whether that’s a stroll in the house grounds followed by lunch, a day out with the family at the Farmyard or popping to the garden centre on a Sunday afternoon. Chatsworth and it’s nearby estate Farm Shop is equally well known for it’s high quality, tasty food. So when we saw that Chatsworth Kitchen had recently opened at Peak Shopping Village, we didn’t waste any time and headed over for lunch. We’d already taken a look at the menu online and there’s a good broad appeal with the dishes offered for Brunch and Lunch but with some added finesse, as you’d expect at Chatsworth.

Located at Peak Shopping Village in Rowsley, just 8 miles from Chatsworth House, it’s been quite a while since we visited this small shopping enclave. Upon arriving we immediately thought it looked much improved with the variety of shops. As soon as walked in to Chatsworth Kitchen, we were greeted by friendly, welcoming staff and right away were struck by the classy modern-country-house decor.

There were two of us and we wanted a relatively light lunch so both opted for the chestnut mushrooms, with poached egg on toasted brioche. It was good to be able to request one of these as gluten free too. Keen to try some tasty sides, we both also ordered, french fries (lovely and crispy and some fries with the skins still on), herb marinated olives, new potatoes seasoned with shallot and mint, Chatsworth Kitchen garden salad and a pot of Early Grey for two. The menu keeps things simple with familiar comfort food dishes but with an added layer of imagination with interesting flavours – that’s where the menu stands out; Chatsworth lamb cutlets with cauliflower cous cous and a pomegranate vinaigrette sounds delicious as does the grilled salmon with Derbyshire asparagus, courgettes, toasted hazelnut and orange dressing.

The Brunch menu (served until 3.30pm) included the Chatsworth Kitchen Breakfast and Derbyshire Yogurt which sounded tempting. It’s good to be able to choose a light option or bigger plate. So what’s the verdict? Everything was delicious! It’s hard to fault it really. It just shows you that delivering really tasty, good food isn’t that hard and to be fair there’s a few places that could learn a thing or two from here. Chatsworth have gone the extra mile with this new venture (as you’d expect to be fair) and it definitely surpassed our expectations.

Once we’d finished lunch, we perused the kitchen ‘shop’ and there’s an array of foodie/deli goods and fancy kitchenwares from the Chatsworth Estate and local artisans and some rather nice looking locally made gin.

We had a wander round the other shops in the complex before leaving and it’s much improved since our last visit, which admittedly was a good few years ago. Its worth popping into the Peak Village Garden World while you’re here if you’re after plant pots or anything else for the garden, the prices are really good, it wasn’t expensive!

It’s going to be hard to find a lunch that’s as good as this, let’s hope things continue this way. Staff were also very accommodating all round. Also, it wasn’t expensive, a little more in price than other local cafés but then still very affordable and that’s important at the moment. We might just say, the Early Grey was lovely, we’re not sure where it was from and wish we’d asked. If you’re a fan of Chatsworth, you’ll like it here; if you’ve never experienced Chatsworth, you’ll like it here! We’ll definitely be back…

Read more here on background and creation of Chatsworth Kitchen.  To book a table and to see the current menu, go to: chatsworthkitchen.co.uk