Restaurant in Boylestone, United Kingdom
Self-taught ambition, tasting menu, real value.
Lighthouse is the strongest case for serious dining in Derbyshire: a self-taught chef, two consecutive Michelin Plates, and seasonal Modern British cooking that punches well above its rural pub setting. At £££ per head, the midweek Grazing Menu offers genuine value; the full tasting menu is the reason to make the trip. Book ahead — the intimate room fills.
If you are weighing Lighthouse against a safer, more famous option — say, a well-regarded gastropub in Ashbourne or a Peak District hotel dining room — book Lighthouse instead. It is operating at a level those venues are not. Two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) confirm that the kitchen's ambition is real, not aspirational, and a 4.8 Google rating across 305 reviews suggests the experience holds up consistently, not just on good nights. For a first-timer in Derbyshire's dining scene, this is the venue that will recalibrate your expectations for what countryside cooking can be.
The comparison that matters most for first-timers is this: Lighthouse sits in the same conversation as destination rural restaurants like Moor Hall in Aughton or L'Enclume in Cartmel in terms of intent , a self-taught chef cooking seriously seasonal Modern British food in a setting that feels far removed from the city , but at a price point (£££) that makes it far more accessible than either of those. That gap between ambition and price is where Lighthouse earns its reputation.
The room itself is a converted pub: beamed and raftered, with the warmth that comes from old timber and considered lighting. For a first visit, the setting will do some of the work before the food arrives. What the kitchen then delivers operates on a different register entirely. The cooking draws on Peak District produce as its backbone, but the flavour references are international: Japanese umami appears alongside blond miso and koshihikari rice; a Thai-inspired coconut and chilli broth features across the menus; Hungarian Tokaji shows up in the drinks flight. The result is Modern British cooking that does not use its geography as an excuse for conservatism.
Current tasting menu is the full case for the kitchen. Reported dishes include lobster bisque with a croustade of ox heart as an opening snack , an immediate signal that this is not a pub playing at fine dining , followed by sourdough with whipped garlic butter, monkfish tail with blond miso and koshihikari rice, a morel mushroom stuffed with truffled chicken mousse, and loin and shoulder of Peak lamb with smoked Jersey Royals and black garlic. Desserts have included preserved rhubarb with black-pepper ice cream and a pine-scented chocolate yoghurt. The drinks flight runs from citrus- and spice-infused sake through to Tokaji, and the wine list is described as keenly priced. For a seasonal menu in late spring and early summer, the lamb and rhubarb pairings are particularly well-timed.
Midweek Grazing Menu is a shorter, sharing-format alternative that offers better value for money and a more relaxed experience than the full tasting menu. For first-timers who are not ready to commit to a long tasting format, or who are visiting mid-week on a budget, this is the smarter entry point. The Thai-inspired coconut and chilli broth appears on this menu too , one dish that recurs across formats and is specifically worth seeking out.
Lighthouse is described as intimate, which in practice means seat count is limited and the room fills. For groups, this has two implications: first, that securing a booking for four or more people requires more forward planning than for two; second, that the experience in the main room is communal by nature, with tables close enough that you are aware of the full room. There is no confirmed private dining facility in the available data, so groups looking for a truly separate space should contact the venue directly before assuming one is available. For celebrations in the main room, the tasting menu format does the occasion work well , the sequenced courses and drinks pairing give the meal a natural arc that suits a special night. For groups more interested in flexibility and sharing, the Grazing Menu is the better fit.
If private dining is a firm requirement for your group, consider Midsummer House in Cambridge or Opheem in Birmingham, both of which operate at a comparable level of ambition and have documented private dining arrangements. Closer to home in terms of rural destination dining, Gidleigh Park in Chagford and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton both offer private dining within hotel settings, though at significantly higher price points.
Reservations: Moderate booking difficulty , book ahead, especially for weekends and the tasting menu; the intimate room size means availability moves quickly. Budget: £££ per head; the midweek Grazing Menu is the better-value option. Dress: Smart casual is appropriate for the setting , beamed pub room with serious food. Menus: Full tasting menu available; midweek Grazing Menu (sharing format) also available. Drinks: Keenly priced wine list; drinks pairing available on the tasting menu. Location: New Rd, Boylestone, Ashbourne DE6 5AA , rural Derbyshire, own transport required. For what else is nearby, see our full Boylestone restaurants guide, our Boylestone hotels guide, and our Boylestone bars guide.
For a broader view of where to eat and stay in the area, see our Boylestone experiences guide and our Boylestone wineries guide.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse | The Lighthouse acts a culinary beacon in the Derbyshire countryside. A sweet, intimate restaurant, it provides a platform for the self-taught chef's ambitious seasonal cooking, which is presented as either a tasting menu or midweek 'Grazing Menu'. The latter offers great value for money and is designed for sharing, providing a shorter, more relaxed dining experience. Whichever menu you enjoy, look out for the fantastic, Thai-inspired coconut and chilli broth. A good selection of keenly priced wines accompanies.; First, take a moment to appreciate the irony of a place in landlocked Derbyshire having a lighthouse. In this case, though, we are hardly being warned away, but drawn in, by the shining beacon of a smart contemporary pub dedicated to seasonally informed Peak District produce in elegantly appointed, beamed and raftered surroundings. Tasting menus are the order of the day, and the kitchen rocks and rolls with imaginative energy, offering moments of discovery in every dish. Lobster bisque with croustade of ox heart is a statement snack, ahead of the obligatory but exemplary sourdough with whipped garlic butter. Japanese umami has become an indispensable flavour dimension to many a modern British dish, appearing here in the blond miso and koshihikari rice that accompany monkfish tail. The relaxing luxe of a morel mushroom stuffed with truffled chicken mousse then acts as smooth stepping stone to loin and shoulder of Peak lamb with smoked Jersey Royals and black garlic. A couple of desserts bring on preserved rhubarb with black-pepper ice cream, and then a pine-scented chocolate yoghurt creation. Wolfing down a miso fudge pastille with coffee will remind you why you urgently need to get another booking nailed in. With superlative cheeses and a drinks flight full of ingenuity – from citrus- and spice-infused sake to rot-laden Hungarian Tokaji – the Lighthouse sheds radiance all around.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | £££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
Comparing your options in Boylestone for this tier.
Groups can book, but the room is described as intimate, so seat count is genuinely limited. For larger parties, the sooner you contact them the better — availability moves quickly. Parties of 4–6 are more manageable than larger groups; if you're 8 or more, confirm capacity before committing to a date.
The venue is a smart contemporary pub-restaurant with beamed and raftered surroundings, but the format is tasting menu or Grazing Menu led — it is not set up as a drop-in bar dining spot. If you want a more casual experience, the midweek Grazing Menu is the better fit: shorter, sharing-format, and explicitly designed to be relaxed.
Boylestone itself offers no direct alternative at this level. The nearest comparable options are well-regarded Peak District gastropubs and hotel dining rooms around Ashbourne, none of which hold Michelin recognition in the same way. For full destination-restaurant comparison, you would need to travel to somewhere like Moor Hall in Lancashire, which is a different commitment entirely.
The Michelin notes specifically flag the Thai-inspired coconut and chilli broth as a dish to seek out. The tasting menu format includes snacks, sourdough, and a structured progression through Peak District produce, so there is no à la carte picking — you commit to the menu. If budget or time is a consideration, the midweek Grazing Menu offers a shorter, sharing-style version of the same kitchen.
At £££ with a Michelin Plate in 2024 and 2025, Lighthouse delivers more than the price point typically promises at a rural UK restaurant. The midweek Grazing Menu is specifically noted for great value. The drinks flight — covering sake and Hungarian Tokaji — adds genuine interest rather than just padding the bill. For the tasting menu format in a Peak District setting, this is competitive pricing.
Yes, with a caveat on format: the tasting menu structure suits occasions where the meal itself is the event, not venues where you want flexibility. The intimate room, Michelin Plate kitchen, and drinks flight built around sake and Tokaji make it a strong choice for a birthday or anniversary dinner. Book ahead — the small room means it fills, especially on weekends.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
