Masa

Excellent food, the atmosphere was a bit too quiet at 7 but built-​up when the second set of diners joined later

Visited on a Saturday night in early December, our second visit. As other reviewers have noted, it is in a beautifully converted Chapel building so the layout is quirky with most of the tables being in the upstairs gallery area. Service was a little slow, bearing in mind it was only ½ to ¾ full but the food was delicious. The warm bread which is freshly made was outstanding and they even whipped up a batch of gluten free bread which was also delicious. An amuse bouche of cauliflower soup and white truffle oil started us off, with starters of duck terrine and goats cheese mousse following. The mains were generous — sea bass with tagliatelle and blade of beef –and the complimentary veg were plentiful. Desserts were also on the generous side and the cheese well worth the £2 supplement on the fixed price menu. You can usually park outside on the street or there is a car park a short walk away at the end of the road.

We’ve been wanting to try Masa for some time, after good reports from friends, so a spare Friday night and armed with a voucher (£40 worth of food for £20), it seemed an appropriate time to give it a try. Set in a Wesleyan Chapel, Masa makes good use of space afforded to its by its former use. Downstairs is a copious area of comfortable seating, were you can sit and have a drink from the well stocked bar, whilst perusing over the varied menu. Not a cheap venue, so we were glad of the voucher; the menu had a sufficiently varied selection of starters and mains, from a tempting duck starter to fish of the day, Sea Bass on the day we visited. We plumped for the chicken wrapped in pancetta and the blade of beef. As our mains were being prepared we were shown to the main eating area upstairs. Initially we were the only diners, but as the night wore on, the restaurant gradually filled, which added greatly to the ambiance.
After an apéritif of warm broccoli soup served in a tea cup, and some fresh bread with chilli flakes, the mains soon arrived. The chicken wrapped in pancetta was accompanied with dauphinoise potatoes and creamed leeks; the chicken was moist and tender, and a lovely rich flavour. The blade of beef sat on savoy cabbage, bacon and sweet red onions, with a fondant potato, all in a red wine jus. Again packed with flavour, the beef melted in the mouth. We also shared a side order of cauliflower, mange tout and carrots, a very healthy portion, to accompany my meagre single carrot I got with my meal. Side orders really do irritate me, if you going to sell an expensive main course, give me something to go with it, I don’t want to always pay extra for something that really should come with the meal. Rant over!
Fantastic main courses, packed with flavour, hopes were high for the desserts. The chocolate and orange crème brûlée sounded perfect, accompanied by shortcake biscuit and a chocolate twirl, with fresh mint ice cream. The Crème brûlée was lovely, a fantastically smooth chocolate taste, but try as I might, the orange flavour wasn’t there. The fresh mint ice cream whilst nice, overpowered the rest of the dish too, a shame. My wife’s lemon and lime cheesecake, with raspberry sorbet, also lacked flavour in the cheesecake. All in all a good meal, but both desserts didn’t quite hit the mark, shame really, as the mains were really rather good!

The restaurant was quiet for a Thursday night, which is a surprise as the food was fantastic!
Good service, lovely complimentary «amuse bouche» and very tasty food.
Highly recommend this restaurant.

My partner and I visited Masa for Valentine’s Day 2009. We had booked a table well in advance which required a £20 deposit. The location is very close to Derby’s city centre near BBC Radio Derby.
The Wesleyan Chapel creates a very romantic setting and the atmosphere was nice too. The waiting staff appeared to be on edge and nervous about something but we didn’t let it spoil our evening.
The food was really nice and was complemented by the good choice of wines and after dinner drinks.
Quite pricey so wait till a special occasion. I think they have jazz evenings in the summer with discounted meals so this would be a great opportunity to try it out.

Situated in a converted old Wesleyan chapel close to Derby city centre, this restaurant and wine bar retains many of the chapel’s original features, giving it plenty of character alongside modern looks. The split-​level restaurant is comfortable and looks on to the spacious bar area below. I find the food here is really very good, though if you are looking for somehwhere cheap then this is not the place for you. When I came I had the scollops and they really were top quality. The service here is good I would recommend it if you want to come out for a celebration or quality meal for any occasion as it’s something a little different.

A really nice place with wonderful settings and surroundings, it’s very posh and it seems like the perfect place to propose to your other half.