Restaurant Review – Lunch at The New Inn, Milford

Fresh, seasonal and cooked in a traditional way.

The New Inn is situated conveniently on the main A6 just midway between Belper and Duffield. And true to its name it is experiencing a new lease of life under the careful direction of Kyle and Hollie. 

Make no mistake about it, this isn’t a fast food outlet where the ‘ting, ting’ of the microwave can be heard from the kitchen. On the contrary The New Inn, Milford is a place where all the ingredients are fresh, true to the season and cooked in a traditional way by their young chef. So with this fixed in mind relax, have a nice drink and enjoy the ambience of a light airy restaurant with stunning views over the Chevin, as your food is prepared.

We dined at lunchtime where there is a wide variety of dishes, one menu contains ‘light lunches’ and the other a  ‘lunch menu’, these encompass both English and Italian cuisine. The pasta dishes caught my eye and funnily enough we both chose a pasta dish but for the purpose of writing this article and adding variety I gallantly gave in to my wife and went for the traditional instead.

But before that we began with a starter and I got in first with a traditional Italian risotto prepared with fresh leeks, tender pieces of chicken and topped with parmesan. We don’t always associate rice with Italy but rice has been grown in southern Italy since the 14th century, and it soon spread North to Milan where this dish became a firm favourite. With a soft and creamy constituency this generous dish was lovely although very filling. This unfortunately caught me out and made my main course difficult to do justice to. I think I must change my style and give more thought to balancing my choice from the menu better.

The steak and mushroom pie had a puff pastry lid and the meat was really tender and full flavoured. It was accompanied by a dish of fresh vegetables, lightly cooked and with flavour still intact. A small wire basket of chips completed the dish. A generous main course I think you’ll agree!

My wife who has a little more common sense chose the baked asparagus with a crumb and Stilton topping, this left her room for her main-course of tagliatelle pasta in a cream sauce. The flat ribbons of pasta were in a rich sauce with chunks of chicken and slithers of pancetta and mushrooms, nicely presented.

Was there room for pudding? Sadly no, so we will just have to come another day for my fruit crumble.

If however, you have a more strictly allocated lunch time than ours, there are things such as homemade fish finger baguette, steak and Stilton ciabatta and homemade beef burger all served with a side of salad and chips to tempt you. 

The service at the New Inn definitely deserves a mention as the staff are so kind and attentive, they give you a real, warm welcome.