Darfield Hotel

The bar staff and locals were friendly and capable, and I’ve eaten here a few times before without trouble. But after a couple of drinks I ordered takeaway fish and chips on 10/02/26, and the fish was extremely greasy and fatty. Maybe the oil or fat was past its use-by date, I can’t say for sure. About an hour later I had severe diarrhea and vomiting for the next two hours. I was very disappointed, since this didn’t match my first impression. Perhaps the new owners need to pay closer attention to food service and storage rules.

The sheets looked clean and crisp, but the room itself felt old and unclean. I had 3-4 bites in a row across the back of my neck, which I assumed were bed bugs. The lighting was too dim to check properly. The window didn’t fit its sash anymore, leaving a gap, and you had to hold down the hot water tap over the basin to use it, so washing your hands with warm water was difficult. The emergency exit led through an area marked ‘Private’. I only saw a fire alarm in the stairwell, which seemed too far away to hear from the room.

After a long day riding, three mates and I stopped in for the sticky Saturday ribs special. The pub was quiet, yet our ribs and chips took nearly 30 minutes to arrive, and only three portions came out, rather cold. They realised they hadn’t cooked the fourth. Staff said sorry and started another, but it took at least 20 more minutes. I asked about a complimentary drink or refund, which would’ve been nice in the circumstances, but got a “whoops, sorry.” The ribs were average when they finally arrived. Eat some dirt darfield hotel.

The blue cod was really good, well seasoned, and the potatoes were tasty with a generous serving. My rib eye was chewy and could’ve used more char and salt, while the mushroom sauce was lukewarm and had barely any mushrooms. I also didn’t like that the salad came in a bowl on the plate, so I tipped it out to eat it. We had the full cod and chips too. Service was pretty good, and the price seemed fair for a rural pub.