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The Forge, Chester
The Forge, Chester
The Forge, Chester

British

The Forge

8.6/10
197
Grosvenor Park Road, CH1 1QQ Chester
British
Average price £40

Set Lunch Menu £29

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MENU

Set Lunch Menu £29

This preset menu includes: Appetizer + Entrée + Dessert

MICHELIN Guide selection

MICHELIN Guide's Point Of View

A city centre hotel plays host to this smart brasserie with an open kitchen and a buzzy vibe. The emphasis is on British produce, with a glass-...

Read more on the MICHELIN Guide's website

Restaurant menu

Last update: March 2023
Chef Dan Regan
Average price £40
Dietary optionsGluten free, Locally produced, Nut allergies, Organic food, Vegan, Vegetarian dishes
Cider Braised Ham Knuckle
£12
Parsley sauce, crispy mussel, gherkin ketchup. Wine Pairing: Vega Nueva, tempranillo, Rioja, Spain - £10.15
Citrus Cured Chalk Stream Trout
£12
Roe, apple, radish. Wine Pairing: Whispering Angel, Grenache, Provence - £19
Leek and Jersey Royal Velouté
£10
Burnt leek dressing, croutons. Wine Pairing: The Wolftrap Red, Rhone Blend, Franschhoek - £7.75
Set Lunch Menu £29
This preset menu includes: Appetizer + Entrée + Dessert

User photos

The Forge, Chester
The Forge, Chester
The Forge, Chester
The Forge, Chester
The Forge, Chester
The Forge, Chester
+51

photos

Reviews

8.6/10
Fabulous197 reviews
8.8/10

Food

8.5/10

Service

8.2/10

Ambience

9-10

7-8

5-6

3-4

1-2

Real experiences from real dinersOnly people who have booked with TheFork or paid with TheFork PAY can leave a rating and review.
How do we calculate ratings?
  • Kelly B.
    Kelly B.

    June 6, 20231 review

    10/10

    Food was amazing and service was exceptional. We will definitely return. I believe the Sunday roast is also amazing which we will also sample at some point.

  • Bev D.
    Bev D.

    May 18, 20231 review

    9.5/10

    Staff friendly and helpful. Service and food quality excellent. Good wine choice. Highly recommended

    The Forge (Owner)

    Thank you for taking he time to leave such a lovey positive review, we really appreciate it! We are so glad that you enjoyed your experience at the Forge and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Kind regards Rianne Chester BEM Restaurant Manager

  • Alper A.
    Alper A.

    May 5, 20231 review

    8/10

    People are friendly and the restaurant is clean. The food was very good but could have been better. I would still recommend. We had a snack and a main course and a dessert.

  • Jay S.
    Jay S.

    May 2, 20231 review

    10/10

    My first time visiting. Absolutely incredible experience, the staff were lovely! The food was the best I've ever had and to top it off, we got to see Ryan Reynolds

    The Forge (Owner)

    Thank you for taking he time to eave such a lovey positive review, we really appreciate it! We are so glad that you enjoyed your experience at the Forge and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Kind regards Rianne Chester BEM Restaurant Manager

  • Martin D.
    Martin D.

    April 22, 20231 review

    9.5/10

    Excellent food and service. I personally had not realised it was attached to the Indigo Hotel, You rarely get restaurants like this in Hotels. A real gem

    The Forge (Owner)

    Thank you for taking the time to leave us such great feed back, we really appreciate it! We are so glad that you enjoyed your experience with us at The Forge and we look forward to welcoming you again. Kind regards Rianne Chester BEM Restaurant Manager

  • Stephen E.
    Stephen E.

    March 31, 20231 review

    4/10

    Fish course was incredibly salty so much so that it was inedible and I complained. The response was, ‘I’ll let the chef know’. No apology and charged full price. The starters were bland and my husbands main course was very average. Wouldn’t recommend this restaurant.

  • Tim C.
    Tim C.

    March 4, 20232 reviews

    9.5/10

    The food is absolutely superb, the service could be just a little quicker. I suspect it is because all the steaks are cooked to order and they are quite large!

  • Zelda H.
    Zelda H.

    March 2, 20231 review

    9/10

    The food was fantastic! Wonderful atmosphere. Service a bit slow.

  • Phil C.
    Phil C.

    February 24, 20232 reviews

    9.5/10

    The food was absolutely superb and the team looked after our dietary requirements including allergies and food sensitivities with care. Do not be put off by the rather utilitarian exterior, inside is welcoming and it is definitely worth the trip. Very fine dining indeed and I think very reasonably priced.

    The Forge (Owner)

    Thank you for such great feedback, we really appreciate you taking the time to lave such a lovely review and hope to welcome you back soon. Kind regards Rianne Chester Restaurant Manager

  • Joel H.
    Joel H.

    February 20, 20231 review

    10/10

    Excellent staff, very knowledgeable about the menu, quick service and very helpful. They made us feel welcome and the food was incredible! Intense flavours and cooked to perfection, the desserts were unbelievably good. I honestly couldn't recommend this place more! Highly worth the visit!

    review_preview

    See 3 photos

    The Forge (Owner)

    Thank you for such great feedback, we really appreciate you taking the time to lave such a lovely review and hope to welcome you back soon. Kind regards Rianne Chester Restaurant Manager

  • Ian M.
    Ian M.

    February 17, 20231 review

    6.5/10

    I like the restaurant but very expensive. 1.6kg steaks was over £200 and by the time you add service onto that it means the it was nearly £60 each for the Steaks per person !! Make dinner over £400 for 4

  • Lydia D.
    Lydia D.

    December 29, 20222 reviews

    9/10

    My parents who have been there before highly recommended this place. So went. First impression, place looks really nice. Amazing cocktails. And amazing service.We ordered the famous T-bone steak, it arrived well done although we had ordered medium to rare. Anyway, it was rectified and our right order was brought to us, If we are to be honest, steak wasn’t what we hoped for. It was abit chewy. Anyway, on return to our hotel, which was a few hours ltr, my husband had stomach issues, The next morning, i had the same problem. We hadn't eaten anything unusual the whole day apart from brunch at home at my mums with everyone else. I did ring the restaurant the next day and spoke to the manager who said nothing could be done as it takes 24hrs to get sick if meat was bad. So it couldn't have been their steak. I guess i was alittle surprised by the response to my issue. I will still give my good review for the amazing service and wonderful coctails.

  • Chloe E.
    Chloe E.

    December 18, 20221 review

    10/10

    The roast dinner was terrific, the service was 5-star, and nothing was too much trouble for Luigi. We will be making a return in the very near future.

    review_preview

    See photo

  • David W.
    David W.

    December 13, 20221 review

    8.5/10

    Couldn't fault the food, delicious. FOH needs a bit of work though, although friendly and personable they do need to work on their communication and organisation.

  • Donna B.
    Donna B.

    December 12, 20221 review

    10/10

    Staff were very welcoming and friendly They went the extra mile Food delish Had the festive menu The trout starter was so fresh and light Had the venison wellington for main- really good Thank you

    The Forge (Owner)

    Thank you for the lovely feedback! Hope to see you back at the Forge soon:)

  • Caroline A.
    Caroline A.

    December 10, 20222 reviews

    6.5/10

    Poor service but tasty food. No drinks order taken pre dinner, waited ages before being asked for food order and even longer wait for our wine to arrive. We weren’t asked if we wanted anything else to drink after we had finished the bottle. The cheese board was very poor for an £8 supplement and the black coffee came with milk. There were staff in the restaurant but only one lady appeared to be doing anything. The food was good but disappointingly we won’t be returning.

  • Connor A.
    Connor A.

    December 9, 20221 review

    3/10

    When the meal was booked we as a party were under the assunption that the menu on the website was what we'd be choosing from however on arrival we were told there was a festive menu was all that was on offer. It would have been nice if this was communicated at all by to us by the Forge, but thats fine it happens. Then after selecting the mains we wanted half of what was on the menu wasn't on offer, so back to the drawing board again. We then proceeded to order and considering the price, which again wasn't communicated left a lot to be desiered. There was little to no atmosphere while eating and I could honestly say that this was up there with the worst dining experiences i've ever had also crap selection of beer.

  • David W.
    David W.

    November 25, 20221 review

    10/10

    Good food, friendly staff in a lovely environment

  • Andy B.
    Andy B.

    November 12, 20221 review

    9.5/10

    The steak was excellent - perfectly cooked and great flavour. This is a quality restaurant with quality food. I would definitely eat there again.

  • Lisa M.
    Lisa M.

    November 11, 20222 reviews

    6.5/10

    The Forge has lovely decor and a nice ambiance The food was quite disappointing for a fine dining type restaurant. The pork belly was pure fat with no meat, vanilla and lemon curd crème brûlée too tart. The coffee so strong had to lace it with sugar to drink. Service was under par, our drinks were forgotten which were removed from the bill. There seemed to be more staff than diners however they still managed to bring someone else’s food to our table twice. A 12.5% is included in the bill. Service should be at the customer’s discretion, no one is going to request this be taken off the bill.

    The Forge (Owner)

    Thank you for taking time to leave us some feedback, we do take it all on board and it helps us improve our offering. If you would like to further discuss this, then please email me directly on jack.elrick@theforgechester.co.uk

Tripadvisor reviews

235 Tripadvisor Reviews

More information

Opening time
Open today

Monday
06:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Tuesday
06:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Wednesday
12:00 PM - 02:30 PM
06:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Thursday
12:00 PM - 02:30 PM
06:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Friday
12:00 PM - 02:45 PM
05:30 PM - 09:45 PM
Saturday
12:00 PM - 02:45 PM
05:30 PM - 09:45 PM
Sunday
01:00 PM - 06:00 PM

How to get to the restaurant

Grosvenor Park Road, CH1 1QQ, Chester, United Kingdom

Public transport

Chester Train Station 5 Minute Walk Away

Additional information

NCP Pepper Street

About the restaurant

WELCOME TO THE FORGE

Situated in the heart of the historic Roman town of Chester (or Deva as it was 2000 years ago) is the Forge. The Forge is a the latest in a group of extraordinary restaurant and dining experiences by restaurateur and chef Mike Robinson. Continuing Mike’s passion for wild, sustainable British ingredients, and his love of simple cooking over fire and charcoal, The Forge has its kitchen front and centre in the middle of the lovely, elegant space. Incredible dry aged beef and wild venison will be found in the maturation cabinets, awaiting their turn on the amazing forge grill, there to be lovingly grilled and roasted over oak and beech logs.

Head chef Curtis Tonge, a Chester native and passionate chef, heads up the young, vibrant team in the kitchen, combining amazing, wild, sustainable ingredients from land and sea into sumptuous creations that form really memorable eating experiences.

At the Forge we focus on British ingredients, from as close to Chester as possible. Our venison, always a hugely popular part of our menus, is actually harvested from herds on estates that Mike manages to improve biodiversity and deer health – a process we call Farming the Wild.

Seafood is all British, from hand dived scallops to Menai oysters and line caught Cornish brill. In our restaurants, we truly care about sustainability and care of our land and sea, and our menus reflect this. All farmed produce comes from producers with the highest welfare standards.

Old fashioned service is core to our offering, with Restaurant manager Mari Ford ensuring a fabulous experience – from knowledgeable staff to the cocktails served tableside from our amazing cocktail trolley.

Hearty, delicious, great value, amazing service, and really memorable, are some of the goals we look for and we hope you share those feelings when you visit this very different restaurant.

Mike, Mari and the team.

Features

European, , , , Brunch, Contemporary cuisine, Fine Dining, , Black Friday, Christmas, TheFork Festival, , Valentine's Day, Gluten free, , , Organic food, Vegan, Vegetarian dishes

Services

, , , , , ,

You can reserve the restaurant for a private event (Max. 60 people)

, , , , , , , , , , Wheelchair Accessible, ,

Frequently Asked Questions

Restaurants around The Forge

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