Savoured a Delicious Sunday Lunch at The Bulls Head, Belper Lane End

Monday 3 Nov 2025 by Sticky Beak
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His Nibs and I have recently been away, so it had been a couple of Sundays that Mummy Bird had had to fend for herself on Sunday – which is just not on! Ever the dutiful son-in-law, The Man soon sorted out a Sunday Roast reservation for us at The Bulls Head on Belper Lane End. There’s plenty of on-site parking (though some folks need to learn how to park in a single bay!), so we left the jalopy in one and wandered inside. Given the chill of the day, it was lovely to see the log burner kicking out some major heat in the snug area, and a couple of pooches were happily appreciating the homely touch.

Dating from the 18th Century, this fab village pub is decorated in calming, natural tones throughout, and our particular area (right at the back, in an orangery/conservatory style extension to the pre-existing restaurant) had lovely green shades with complementary, deeper bluey-grey accents. The lighting was a soft, amber tone, adding to the relaxing vibe. As mentioned above, dogs are very welcome in The Bulls Head, as are smaller family members, for whom there are high-chars available if needed.

The lovely lady who’d shown us to our table took a chilled bottle of water over as well so, as we were seating ourselves, she was pouring us a glass of ‘council pop’. As is or usual habit, Mummy and I both had a glass of wine with our food: Pinot Grigio for her, Montepulciano for me, and His Nibs had a pint of Thornbridge Brewery’s Green Mountain.

For the Sunday Roasts, pricing is dead simple: 2 courses for £29pp, or 3 for £35pp. We collectively decided to go for main and dessert so, with no further procrastination, we put our order in: His Nibs and I went for the Derbyshire Beef (served medium/rare as standard) and Mummy opted for the Jerry Howarth (a local butchers) Honey and Mustard Glazed Gammon. The Beef comes with fresh Horseradish Sauce, and all three mains came with Roasties, Maple-glazed Carrots, Greens, Yorkshire Pudding, and 48 hour, slow-cooked Red Wine Gravy. We fancied a side of the Cauliflower Cheese, too (£4.75).

Whilst we waited for our food, we saw plenty of other roasts going to adjacent tables and we grinned happily at the size of the portions – let’s just say that we weren’t going to go away still hungry! It wasn’t long before it was our turn, and we eagerly dug in.

Both The Man and I remarked on the size of the two slices of Beef that sat on our plates – they were massive to say the least. The meat was beautifully soft and tender, melting in our mouths; Mummy’s Gammon was no less superb, and was also melt-in-the-mouth and deeply flavoursome. Plentiful Roasties were nicely golden and crisp on the outside and fluffily soft inside, and the whole Carrots were gorgeously sweet with Maple and comfortingly soft to the bite.

It was the Greens that took top marks, though; a wonderful mix of Sugar Snap Peas, Cabbage and Fine Green Beans, all were still nicely crunchy and bursting with taste. The Yorkies were just like your Mums and Nanas used to make; the taste was rich and batter-y, and that glorious contrast of soft bottoms and puffed, crisp sides. Oh, and I mustn’t forget that delicious gravy! This was the stuff of dreams in terms of depth of flavour and unctuousness – this was firmly in the ‘needs bread to mop it up with’ category.

If I had one gripe (which I clearly do!) it would be that the Cauliflower Cheese portion was way too small, especially for the price. The veg itself was perfect, and the sauce was nicely clingy and cheesy, but a dinky little bowl just doesn’t cut it – sorry. Anyhow, moving on to desserts…

Mummy chose the Triple Choc Brownie with ‘Noels of Warwickshire’ handmade Orange Curd Gelato and Chocolate Shards for her pud, I fancied the White Chocolate and Giger Cheesecake with ‘N.o.W’ Vanilla Gelato and Candied Ginger, and The Man Bird ordered the Sticky Date and Black Treacle Pudding with Salted Cramel sauce, Toasted Nuts, and ‘N.o.W’ Maple and Pecan Gelato. All three desserts were super, obvious from the grins and sighs of happiness that were emanating from our table! Mummy’s Brownie was served warm and the gooey treat was rich and deep in its cocoa content, and the pairing with a zesty, citrus Gelato was inspired.

I don’t think I’ve had such a marvellous Cheesecake for an absolute age as the one that I was enthusiastically tucking into at The Bulls Head! The body was incredibly dense and rich, the mellow White Chocolate balanced perfectly with the tang of Cream cheese. I am a bit picky when it comes to the base of Cheesecakes; nothing yanks my chain more than one that takes a ridiculous amount of effort to cut into, or one that simply disintegrates into a million crumbs. This one however, was giving major feels with its firm texture that held its shape when cut into.

His Nibs was back in familiar dessert territory with his pick of Sticky Date and Black Treacle Pudding; of late, he’d been having artificial colour-rich cakes, so was relieved to have something ‘proper’. Flavour-wise, this minx was delightfully intense and you could clearly make out the liquorice and caramel tones of the treacle, tempered by the sweetness of the Dates. Not normally the biggest fan of nuts, His Nibs was tucking in to them contentedly and even more so the copious Salted Caramel Sauce!

Throughout our meal, several members of the team had checked back that we were happy with our food, a smile on their faces each time. It was great to see a venue so busy; long may it continue for this brilliant Belper Pub and Restaurant.

Hot Wings given here, and we’re already planning to check out the midweek menu (which changes seasonally, by the way). The Bulls Head is closed Monday (though open on Bank Holiday Mondays) and Tuesday, open Weds-Thurs Noon-10.30pm, Fri-Sat Noon-11.30pm, and Sunday Noon-9.30pm. The Kitchen is closed Monday and Tuesday (open Bank Holiday Mondays), open Weds-Sat Noon-8.45pm, and Sunday Noon-6.45pm. To book a table, call 01773 441233 or visit www.bullsheadbelper.com and hit the ‘book a table’ button on the top right corner.