The Okeover Arms

Sadly not the experience we were expecting, following reviews we'd seen. We booked a table for 3 people at 6:45pm on a Friday night. When we arrived 10 minutes early, we were shown to our table and left to review the menu. After 5 minutes or so we were approached by a member of staff who asked if we had eaten with them before. As we hadn't the menu was explained and we were left to review our options. After another 15 minutes we were then asked if we'd like to order drinks, which took another circa 10 minutes to arrive. After ordering our meals, and the menu does say "Our food is made fresh to order so during busy times please be patient" and we ere in no hurry, the starters arrived 1hour and 15 minutes after our table booking time and as I cut into my Chicken Wings I was met with raw chicken. The waiter apologised profusely and returned the uncooked food to the Kitchen. Another 15 minutes later after my wife and friend had finished their starter my replacement Wings arrived. After another extended wait, our main courses arrived, the mains were okay, though the Chicken curry had a texture of bitty similar to curry sauces that you get in a bottle but the flavour was okay. By the time we had finished our main course, we had been in the restaurant for 1 3/4 hours and couldn't bear the wait to order a desert or coffee so requested the bill. When the bill arrived, much to my dismay it contained 3x drinks, 3x starters and 3x main courses! On pointing out my disappointment that I had been charged for raw chickens the waiter apologised and revised the bill taking off the £8.00 for my starter, no other compensation or consideration. I paid the bill and we left some 2hours and 10minutes after our arrival. We would not recommend the Oakover arms for food and sadly we will not be dashing back for another meal.

Today we had an excellent meal at the Okeover arms at mappleton near Ashbourne and staff were efficient professional & service was extremely good of the meal from Oliver and we were celebrating my son’s 17th birthday meal with my mum and dad and eldest son and my husband, would recommend and we’re definitely going back again soon from Kate Rollin

Very impressed with the range of food available. Mostly Indian fare but menu includes all the usual pub grub favourites for those with a more timid taste!!! Great food at a reasonable price. Highly recommended and would definitely visit again.

Nice room……… comfortable bed… …….great ale……… fantastic food…. enjoyed a full breakfast………friendly staff………in a country pub in a wonderful location……, had a wonderful trip………….and look forward to next time………………………………………………………..

Went with my family for dinner with my two kids at the weekend. The food we had was really good quality and you could tell it was all freshly prepared. The landlady was extremely friendly and gave our dog lots of treats, there was a great atmosphere and seemed to be very popular, All of the staff were very friendly and checked if everything was okay which it was (more than okay). I had the lamb burger which was delicious and I will definitely be returning.

Only gave a 3 because the staff were nice. It's sad I didn't post a good review on my previous visits as they are normally very good. As for this time... they were not especially busy but tried to make out they were fully booked. Hardly any food was coming out of the kitchen. We had to wait an hour for our food after 3 rounds of drinks and asking when the food would arrive. When it did it was obvious the roast dinner was microwaved. Chewy meat, 1 carrot, one parsnip and a flat yorkshire pud that would have been fine if it said pancake. As for the tandoori chicken... a small leg of roast chicken with less meat than a small breast of... sort of 2 bites and it was gone but the worst bit was it was plain chicken with a splash of non indian seasoning added to the skin that offered no taste at all. Also asked for no veg beyond the chips so they added minted onions which I can't have. A half reasonable portion of chips would have done rather than an amount you could almost count on one hand. Could you spare them? And they have put their prices up. They were nice enough when we complained but honestly tried to convince me the chicken was marinaded. Only if the marinade was water. I have been to enough indian restaurants to know what tandoori chicken looks and tastes like. Admittedly they offered a curry sauce to go with it which was okay but I had eaten all the chips and had cold chicken by the time it turned up. I didn't want to send it back as I figured I would be waiting another hour for it. We won't be back anytime soon. One piece of advice. If you have a chef or kitchen problem, just be honest about it and we can go elsewhere. Don't make people wait an hour when you aren't actually that busy and then provide poor value and poor food and try and convince the customer it's something it's not. You only hurt your own reputation and loose customers.