Stones Restaurant

Quite a magical surprise for a lunch spot.
I’ve heard that dinners are a different story for better or worse, and not yet tried out a dinner menu (I believe it’s more of an occasion) but the lunch was incredible value and amazing food.
The quality and portions were excellent, and the staff knew all about their wines, beers and meals. Lovely venue, and great to sit by the river on a nice day. I ordered a coffee for desert and it was accompanied by a small selection of delicious chilled chocolates.
There is a lot of attention to detail and you can feel the love of the owner and chef in what they are dishing out.
Pretty special.

Saw a review in the Evening Standard for Stones, so as we were in the area decided to take a look. I think it has changed hands since the previous reviews. Anyhow we were really impressed and very much enjoyed the lunch
3 courses for £20 in a very clean and classic dining room on sunny saturday afternoon. The bream and the steak were superb.
Pleasant service and reasonable priced.
I would recommend if you are in the area. Also Matlock is beautiful.

We were the first customers into the restaurant, but nonetheless received a great level of service. Our waitress, who I presume to be the manager, was polite and helpful. Nibbles were olives and slightly peppery cashew nuts, which went down well. We selected the house Merlot and enjoyed a rich, fruity flavour which was full of character and worthy of the £15 a bottle price tag. For starters, I had a terrine of chicken and ham served with a little truffle oil. This went down well and the flavours were well complemented. My mother’s King Prawn dish was well-​executed but a bit stingy in size.
Braised blade of beef represented a much more satisfying portion and was a great success. The use of red cabbage, intertwined with the blade was intelligent cooking and provided a richness that contrasted with the vegetables and fondant potato. I feel this course was overpriced at £19.95, though. £15−17 would be the very most I feel it should be valued at. As a dish replacing the duo of beef that included fillet, offering no drop in price was ambitious to say the least.
Whilst the first two courses presented a pleasant experience, they didn’t really provide the kind of stratospheric triumph one might hope for from other comments. Then, of course, came the dessert. A magically designed and constructed Prune and Pressed Apple dish, served with an Armagnac Ice Cream Quinelle was an absolutely inspired combination that would likely be worthy of a star from the Michelin inspectors. Original and complimentary flavours combined well with contrasting textures and flawless presentation to culminate in an exceptional dish. This course was light years ahead of the rest of the food and a real stand-​out dish from anything I’ve seen served in the area.
Whilst I’d like to see the prices toned down a touch (I feel that they’re a little excessive for the food served, except for dessert, which was worth every penny), there is no doubt that Stones is the best restaurant in Matlock right now and has a bright future ahead of it. A planned conservatory extension this summer will bring much-​needed extra space. I understand that work is to be carried out over lunchtimes this summer and that consequently Kevin Stone will be working at the nearby ‘2010 Restaurant’, on a slightly lower-​priced menu. This will be an exciting time to follow his work.

Very nice location on river by bridge, we had drinks/​olives /​nuts outside before returning inside to eat (small point but it would be nice to lose/​hide the bins from outside area). The home made mediterranean bread was exceptional as was the rest of the meal. The wine we selected was excellent.
Place was a little quiet to begin with as we arranged to eat very early but soon filled up and the atmoshere was good-​staff were pleasant and helpful. Not the cheapest of places but I can strongly recommend it. In my current top 10

An Oasis!
A veritable feast for the eyes, and the soul!
Not one for folk you like an all-​you-​can-​eat buffet, but the menu was to die for.
I sat outside in the corner by the river and the back of the house, and while I waited for my meal, a little trough containing assorted olives and nuts was placed in front of me. I ordered a nice red, and it came suitably warm.
The starter was braised fennel with Mango andmixed leaves. The main was salmon fillet on crushed new potatoes with creamy leeks, capers and tomato, and with my Espresso came 6 handmade petit fours including caramel swirl, truffle, and orange chocolate. Utterly, utterly yum :-)