The Dragon

It’s Wednesday and we are edging ever closer towards the weekend, I have this feeling though that the weeks are going by ever so quickly, I mean how are we in July already!

I thought it was only right to bring you a fantastic Public Bar Review post on one of my and Isobel’s second favourite eatery, we’ve been here so many times and have never had a bad experience.

Today’s post is on The Dragon!

History

The Dragon is a tremendous pub that is situated in Derbyshire in the small village of Willington.

The pub is also situated around many other traditional pubs which are located in the area, they’re: The Green Man and The Rising Sun

This pub is so beautiful because it also sits next to the Trent & Mersey Canal, there is a fabulous walkway which takes you from Willington right up to Derby or alternatively, you can travel the other way and end up at Burton Upon Trent.

Just look how beautiful it is, situated right next to the Canal and you will always be shocked with the amount of Canal Boats which travel along this Canal.

In fact, The Dragon is only a 5-minute walk away from The Mercia Marina, which again is another fabulous place to go and walk around and enjoy a refreshing beer!

The pub is roughly 160 years old and dates back to around 1860!

The pub only being located around an hour away from the Peak District, there are facilities for couples to stay over, furthermore, the management also operates a variety of parties and functions throughout the year.

It doesn’t stop here, the ownership of the site is also connected to two other pubs within the Derbyshire area, Harpur’s Of Melbourne and The Boot Inn, which surprisingly enough has an onsite microbrewery.

A selection of beers from The Boot Brewery can be found in any of 3 tied pubs as well as many other publicans within the local area.

The dragon has recently been sympathetically extended, renovated and restored to bring a beautifully modern and rustic character feel.

The pub has also got the accommodation to seat up to 70 people within the restaurant, also, there is a sufficient amount of space in the beer garden along with an outdoor bar which overlooks the canal.

I mean from reading the post so far, I really hope you are being convinced to travel to this amazing place, obviously only when it’s safe to do so!

Review

Before me and Isobel actually met, I’ve never set foot in The Dragon, I knew though my mum always said it’s a remarkable place to go to.

Happily enough I met Isobel and I insisted after a full day of exploring that we should stop off at this charming place.

Now, I will admit, the parking is limited,  I will say the car park isn’t the greatest, it’s really tight to drive around!

Because this pub is so popular, it’s certainly advisable to book because the demand for custom is phenomenal.

However, because we were really hungry we both decided to take a risk, we were surprised to find a car park space.

On the day, the pub was really busy, I mean bearing in mind this was like from August last year and it was a glorious day.

Sadly, we couldn’t sit inside, but we found a table which was sheltered inside a canopy area, half of the tables were unsheltered, we were extremely lucky to find this table though.

This shelter certainly felt really cute, it made the experience more romantic for both of us!

It was all table service outside, which made the foody trip more special, the cask ales that were on this particular day was Dark Drake by Dancing Duck Brewery or Sharps Doombar, I selected Doombar and Isobel had her favourite Southern Comfort!

We both came on a Sunday, so we couldn’t actually order from the Main Menu but that didn’t disappoint us as the options available on the Sunday Lunch Menu did sound very appetising.

Due to us being very hungry we went straight in for Starters, I had Bruschetta and Isobel went for Black Pudding Scotch Egg, the starters were amazing and the waiting time was roughly around 10 minutes, I thought this was exceptionally quick which I was really happy about.

The main course was just splendid, we both went for The Dragon Platter, this meal was served on a massive plate which came with a selection of meats and all the trimmings were served in separate bowls.

The cauliflower cheese was the highlight of the meal, it was so cheesy which is just how I like my cauliflower cheese done, I wonder if any of my followers are the same.

The meats were superb as well, thin slices of meat which were very tender indeed, I was literally in Sunday Dinner heaven, it was gorgeous and delicious.

Afterwards, we were starting to get slightly full, so we decided to have a small break and play some card games which Isobel thrashed me at, the one that we both love playing is Freeze, Isobel always beats me, clearly, she is the Card Champion.

After playing a couple of rounds of Freeze, we were feeling ready for pudding, I was hoping that Sticky Toffee Pudding was on the Dessert Menu, happily enough it was!

Due to being overly stuffed, we decided to share a pudding together and again I couldn’t fault it one bit, the syrup was really gooey and the custard was piping hot.

I just couldn’t believe how beautiful the food was, what made it more impressive was the food was all freshly prepared on-site.

After finishing our scrumptious food, we left and went back home!

Ending 

The Dragon has to be my second favourite place where I’ve been to for food, the presentation of each course was just marvellous and the quality of each dish was just terrific.

Our expectations were thoroughly met on this occasion and we could only say the service that was provided was really exceptional and high standard of customer service was delivered.

We had such a fantastic time here and it made the day just even more amazing, after a full day of walking we were greeted by some of the most beautiful food ever.

Isobel and I have agreed to say that we highly recommend this pub, we entered inside with smiling faces and we left with extremely happy faces.

I would suggest that if you’re in the Derbyshire area that you should stop of at The Dragon and indulge yourself into some of the most quality pieces of food ever.

You won’t be left disappointed, I can assure you for that!

Just be warned though, if you do decide to travel to The Dragon it’s advisable to book to guarantee yourself a perfect seat.

Cheers

The Cask Connoisseur