The Firehouse

Oasis and fire-station don't often meet in a sentence, but there is something about this quirky place on a busy highway. People flock into the converted firehouse, through a garden-fronted cottage, knowing that an exuberant menu will be laid before them within moments of stepping out of the traffic. The sigh of relief is almost audible. Firehouse plays to the loyal locals with large servings, quick service and an all-purpose approach. The long, wide-ranging menu encompasses sugar-smoked duck with orange tabbouleh, wagyu burger on brioche, slow-cooked goat with potato focaccia, and crisp Buxton rainbow trout on red elk cress and hazelnut meuniere. There might even be lemon doughnuts and passionfruit curd to follow. The ambitious flavours may occasionally strain the kitchen's capabilities, but not the admiration of those thankful for this oasis in the east.