The Bulls Head

Anyone who lives in or around Derbyshire knows about The Bulls Head

Renowned for their attention to detail, attentive staff and most importantly their hugely generous portion sizes, The Bulls Head sits in a class of its own in the Gastro Pub realm.

Claiming the title ‘A Really Good Pub’, The Bulls Head serves high quality ales, lagers, wines, pizzas, steaks, burgers, all with that quintessential English Pub feeling.

To celebrate our 2 and a half year anniversary (and more importantly, looking for an excuse to wine and dine ourselves!) Jake and I treated ourselves to a meal at the Bull.

There’s the pub floor, a chilled atmosphere with a perfect view of the bustling pizza kitchen.

And upstairs the restaurant carries a sophisticated, stylish ambience.

But my absolute favourite is the stunning Garden Room.

Unfortunately I didn’t get many photos of the actual room as my camera got a little forgotten in the excitement of finding our table, so I’ll describe it instead alongside the few photos I did capture!

Forest-like and enchanting, the room is laden with hyper-realistic faux trees, adorned with twinkling fairy lights, and flickering candles in ornate cream birdcages scattered about the branches and tables.

Nestled amongst these trees are wooden tables and chairs, laid ready for the upcoming feast.

The main lights are subdued, allowing the gleaming candles and glitter of star-like lights on the ceiling to cast a soft golden glow over each table.

Jake and I were given the best seats in the house, on a romantic table tucked away underneath a beautiful tree, on huge carved wooden seats. It’s hard to appreciate the beauty of these chairs without seeing and feeling them, but they’re magnificent. Enveloping your whole body and beautifully carved, these chairs are a work of art.

The consideration shown by the waitresses is second to none, ensuring we had balloons on the table for our anniversary and were greeted with a cheery ‘happy anniversary’, something often missed by many other restaurants.

Whilst perusing the menus we ordered our drinks, both going for the homemade lemonade (and a glass of wine on the side for me…)

Fresh and zesty, with a scoop of homemade lemon sorbet on top and served in mason jars; these drinks are a welcome far cry from the standard glass of Fanta hastily thrown on the table by a scruffy waiter – The Bulls Head seem to go the extra mile at every opportunity.

Also given complementary homemade bread and oils to nibble on whilst (slowly) making our (very important) dinner choices

And a complementary homemade lemon sorbet scoop (served in hollowed out lemons!) to freshen our palates before our mains.

(You know you’re onto a winner when you’re given dessert for free before you even start!)

Then it was showtime!

Our feast had arrived.

The Bull’s Head imported an authentic Italian pizza oven, import Italian pizza flour twice weekly, make the dough fresh on site every day and stretch the dough by hand to then dress each pizza to order.

Making really, truly, completely impressive pizzas (and this is the reason I genuinely refuse to eat pizza at any other restaurant, as nothing measures up.)

With 25 different pizzas to choose from, it’s a good job they let you do half ‘n’ halfs, making my choice that tiny bit easier!

I had half Bordeaux and half Vancouver

Are you ready for this?

Bordeaux:

Wild Boar Salami, Bacon Pieces, Roasted Potato, Mozzarella, Red Onion, Sour Cream, Bull’s Head Tomato Sauce, Paprika, Fresh Chives, Garlic Oil

Vancouver:

Venison Mince, Fresh Tomato, Spanish Onion, Mushroom, Marinated Olives, Mozzarella, Bull’s Head Tomato Sauce

And my lovely date had half Paris, half Cairo.

Paris:

Wood Fired Wild Mushrooms, Spinach, Blue Cheese, Garlic Oil, Bull’s Head Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella, Fresh Parsley

Cairo:

Sundried Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, Marinated Olives, Parmesan & Walnut Pesto, Rocket, Fresh Tomato, Mozzarella, Bull’s Head Tomato Sauce

With Beer Battered (with locally brewed ‘Freedom’ lager) onion rings

Homemade chips

And Garlic Mayo and Sour Cream & Chive dips for the crusts.

Phew. I’m tired (and hungry) just recalling that.

We set to conquer our mountain of beautiful food so delicious it must be good for your soul.

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts I was unable to finish my pizza, sob.

But our lovely host, Ebony, came to the rescue with a pizza box so I could take the last bit home for next day’s lunch.

But as we all know there’s ALWAYS room to squeeze in dessert, so we gleefully accepted the puds menus…

As if just doing outrageously good pizzas wasn’t enough, The Bull’s Head make their own fresh gelato on site every day.

Gelato is regarded as ‘Premium Italian Ice Cream’… served slightly warmer than ice cream (so it doesn’t numb your tastebuds, meaning you can taste it better), it has less fat in (always a bonus), and has less air and is fresher to guarentee a powerful flavour, making it an all round winner.

So we settled on the Long Horn, with two big spoons!

The Long Horn is a triple paddle of rich Belgian Chocolate Gelato, Hot Dark Chocolate Fudge Sauce, Chunks of Homemade Brownie, Whipped Cream, Chocolate Sticks, Banana, Crushed Hazelnuts and Fresh Waffle.

Once again, phew.

And, ever striving to impress, we were also presented with a ‘Happy Anniversary’ board and a complementary scoop of vanilla gelato

The attention to detail and extra little touches throughout the meal make it memorable, and makes The Bulls Head stand out so far from the crowd of unattentive, impersonal restaurants we see everywhere.

If you’ve not tried The Bulls Head experience, book yourself a table there this instant and you will not regret it, you’ll have the meal of a lifetime. And that’s a command.

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