Birds Nest

Birds Nest is the long-running Chinese takeaway on St Johns Street in Wirksworth, the lead-mining town below the limestone cliffs south of Matlock. It is the town's main Chinese option and has traded from the same shop on the main road through the centre for years, serving the steady local trade in a small market town that lacks the run of competing takeaways found in Matlock or Belper.

The menu is the long Cantonese-British takeaway list — house specials, set dinners, chow mein, curry, sweet and sour, chop suey, salt-and-pepper and chilli dishes, and a starter run that takes in spring rolls, prawn toast and chicken wings. Reviews split — some long-standing customers call it fantastic and out of this world, others report inconsistent nights, which is the pattern common to evening-only neighbourhood Chinese takeaways.

It is collection-only and trades evenings, with later closing on Fridays and Saturdays. A practical option for households across Wirksworth, Bolehill and Middleton, and for visitors based at the cottages around the Star Disc and the cobbled Market Place.