Fine dining restaurant named one of the UK’s best

Darleys is celebrating after being recognised as one of the UK’s best local restaurants by The Good Food Guide.

The fine dining restaurant, at Darley Abbey Mills, has been included in the guide’s Top 100 Local Restaurants 2024 list.

Specialising in classic British and European dishes, Darleys is the only Derbyshire restaurant to appear on the list.

To be shortlisted, all restaurants must be independently run; owned by the chef or a hands-on proprietor.

They must offer regularly changing, seasonal menus at affordable prices and be able to demonstrate strong relationships with local suppliers.

And they must be rooted in the local community, offer at least two dinner services a week and be able to give customers a genuine, warm welcome.

For its 2024 list, The Good Food Guide received 60,000 nominations.

A shortlist of restaurants from each region was then drawn up. The finalists were then visited anonymously by a Good Food Guide inspector.

In a joint statement, Elizabeth Carter and Chloë Hamilton, co-editors of The Good Food Guide, said: “We, and our undercover inspectors, have been touring the country to ensure the list is made up of the best of their kind.

“Places that are home to extraordinary local creativity and talent, personal hospitality and genuine community spirit, and that are wonderfully affordable too.

“Eating out locally has never been so diverse, so enjoyable, so satisfying. Let’s make sure it stays that way.”

Darleys has claimed a host of impressive awards in recent years, with 2023 seeing the team rewarded with a Michelin Guide certificate and an AA Rosette Award for culinary excellence.

In May, the restaurant was named as a regional winner of the Muddy Stilettos after picking up the Best Restaurant title.