Sunday Lunch At The Wheatsheaf Pub and Pantry, Bakewell
Published On Thursday 24 Jul 2025 by Sticky Beak
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Over the period of many years, decades, actually, His Nibs and I have eaten and/or drunk at The Wheatsheaf Pub and Pantry in Bakewell. It has been the best part of a year since we last visited there (with BB, TBW and Ginger), and this particular occasion coincided, quite by chance, with the Bakewell Country Festival.
Knowing the town pretty well, we managed to snag a parking spot on our first attempt and did the short stroll back into town to the lovely stone building that is ‘the ‘sheaf’. As far as location goes, the ‘Sheaf is in a prime spot, smack-bang in the centre of the town’s action. With the weather being so warm, the outside seating was full of folks supping cold drinks; inside was nice and lively too, with a couple of dogs sitting nicely with their owners in the eating area to the rear of the venue, where our table was.
Our server was a lovely young lass, with one of the broadest smiles I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing, and it was clear how much she enjoyed her job as she bade everybody that left to have a “good rest of your day”. The first thing she did, after seating us, was to offer table water, closely followed by taking our drinks order.
As well as the Sunday Roast menu, there are plenty of other options to select from; the menu changes weekly to stay in tune with the weather conditions: due to the warmth, there were more lighter options and salads on offer – fine by me! I ordered the Prawn Cocktail to start (£10), followed by the Chargrilled Rump Steak Salad (£18.50); His Nibs had the Chicken Gyoza (£8) as his first course, opting for the Mixed Meats roast (£23) for his main.
Whilst we waited for our food, I had a good nose around at the décor in a bit more depth. The Wheatsheaf Pub and Pantry is a lovely light, airy space; the top half of the walls are painted in a bright cream neutral, the lower half a dark Teal/Marine shade. Pop music from the 60’s to the noughties played at a sociable level, and I found myself having a chair bop, much to The Mans’ amusement! Lucy, who has been the General Manger of The Wheatsheaf for about 18 months came over to say hello, which was nice, and we had a great natter. At this point, our starters came over, so Lucy left us to tuck in – which we did, whole-heartedly.
Presentation-wise, you couldn’t fault the dishes. The [magnificent seven] Gyoza dumplings were arranged in a fan shape around a central bed of Rocket leaves and a pot of rich, unctuous Teriyaki sauce. Black and White Sesame seeds added a blast of crunch and nutty taste to the dish, complementing the tender minced Chicken that was stuffed generously into each half-moon Gyoza. This was delicious, and surprisingly filling, His Nibs said.
It isn’t often that I’m left speechless at the proportion of a meal, but the Prawn Cocktail was mahoosive! A deep bowl had been layered with fresh Rocket at the Bottom, topped with just about the entire Atlantic Ocean’s stock of Prawns, and served with a charred half Lemon and slice of crisply griddled grain bread. I was very happy to see that the tangy Marie-Rose sauce was enough to coat the seafood and leaves adequately, but not so much that it drowned everything in its pastel wake. As with His Nibs’ starter, mine was certainly satiating and I had thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it.
Our server had come to check we were happy with our food, and smiled happily as she carried the empty plates back to the kitchen. Fresh napkins and cutlery, including steak knives for us both, got carefully placed out in readiness for our mains, and a quick check done that we’d got everything we needed.
Now, I really should’ve known that I was going to get a huge slab of steak on my salad, but I’d just assumed that the reality would be a few slices of the Rump Steak. We all know what assumption is, don’t we?! Yep, I got bit hard, faced with an entire (at least) 8oz steak! Best I crack on then! Thickly sliced, the steak had been cooked perfectly medium-rare, as I’d asked, and the meat was delicious. Tender and juicy, the flesh cut easily with the steak knife and its fat had imparted an extra level of flavour to it. The carpet of Rocket leaves that the meat was served on were crisp, cool and beautifully peppery. Adding a tantalising sweetness were abundant sundried Tomatoes and those dinky Roquito peppers; more flavour bounced into the party via a herby, green Chimichurri. This was one of the nicest salads I’ve had…and certainly one of the biggest. There was nothing I didn’t love about it.
The Man had Chicken Breast, Lamb and Beef on his plate, and each one was generous. The whole breast was delightfully moist and the Beef and Lamb (both served pink) were tender and flavoursome. To say His Nibs was a jolly happy chap would be the understatement of all time. The meats weren’t the only stars of the gastro show though, oh no; mashed Swede was irresistibly sweet and fragrant, and a trio of whole Carrot halves had been roasted to concentrate their natural sugars. A mixture of Cabbage types had been finely shredded and still retained a super hint of crunch that made the [already super-smooth] mash seem even velvetier.
All the roasties had those charred, crisp outers and fluffy inners and even the square of Sage and Onion stuffing was delicious. No story is ever perfect, though, and here the anti-hero was the Yorkshire Pudding. Taste-wise, the batter was spot-on, it was just (how can I put it diplomatically?) crispy all over, and not in an easy-to-cut way, either. However, that was the only thing you could find fault with, and to be honest, The Man normally only has a bite or two of a Yorkie anyway.
Yet again, check-backs were done and fresh cutlery and napkins laid down in readiness for dessert. Predictably, we opted for the [award winning] large Bakewell Pudding to share for our final course; well, you can’t come to Bakewell and not have this iconic morsel, can you? There was a choice of Ice Cream, pouring Cream or Custard to accompany and, given the temperature outside, we went for cooling Vanilla Ice Cream.
Served warm, the buttery puff pastry just melted on our tongues, and the fruity blast of Raspberry was provided both by the layer of seedless jam between the pastry and soft-set custard layer and the swirl of coulis that surrounded the whole pudding. Needless to say, this was a sublime pudding and it’s easy to see why it has won accolades. Although tea and coffee were offered, we simply didn’t have any room for anything else, either solid or liquid, in our tummies!
Our experience at The Wheatsheaf Pub and Pantry in Bakewell had been superb; the service was flawless, the premises kept spotless between customers, and the food and drink great. I would very happily return again, and am therefore happy to award Hot Wings to this fab dog- and child- friendly venue. Oh, and you can even have your wedding reception here – the previous days’ Bride and Groom popped in to convey their thanks to Lucy and her team.
To book a table call 01629 813600 or visit www.wheatsheaf-bakewell.co.uk and hit the ‘book’ button. The pub is open Sun-Thurs 9.30am-11pm and Fri-Sat 9.30am-Midnight; kitchen times are slightly different: Tues-Sat 9.30am -11am, then Noon-9pm, Sunday 9.30am -10.45 am, then Noon-7pm, and Monday 9.30am – 11am, then Noon-7pm.
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