The Elm Tree, Chesterfield

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Will Larter left this review about The Elm Tree

I entered through the front door of this handsome stone-built pub in an attractive and peaceful village that has been doubly bypassed. (There is also a side door from the car park, which is probably used more often.) I was greeted by a smell of cooked food, mostly rather fishy, and on looking around I found several rooms with every table either occupied by diners or looking like they soon would be, as it was quite busy Saturday lunchtime. In front of the bar was a front of house desk, partly obscuring the four hand pumps. I leaned in to take my traditional photo of the available beers, but the staff member who had briefly stepped away didn't seem bothered by me invading his workspace, and he took my order of a half of Marstons 61 Deep (the alternative was Hobgoblin Gold, with two different pump clips; the fourth pump was vacant). I had to wait while the lass behind the bar fulfilled a number of orders from the tables - this really is very much like a restaurant, and I would guess they started working this way in July 2020 when pubs reopened after the first lockdown and found that it suited them to continue. I took my beer outside to the garden where there are a dozen or so bench tables and a view across the valley to Bolsover Castle, which was very dramatic and pleasant, as long as you don't mind the M1. My beer was as good as this one ever gets, but not good enough as a reason for ever returning here.

On 9^th November 2022 - rating: 5
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