Harden's survey result
Summary
“Fine dining in a local pub” – “high quality ingredients and well-rehearsed techniques to ensure a top-class, punchily-flavoured product”; and with “a brilliant wine list” – again win massive acclaim for Steve Smith’s “lovely” old inn, set in a tiny village in the Ribble Valley. In July 2019, it re-opened after a major investment, with the addition of a new kitchen, chef’s table (min 6, max 12), kitchen bench (4 stools) and bedrooms.
Summary
“Fine dining in a local pub” – “high quality ingredients and well-rehearsed techniques to ensure a top-class, punchily-flavoured product”; and with “a brilliant wine list” – again win massive acclaim for Steve Smith’s “lovely” old inn, set in a tiny village in the Ribble Valley. In July 2019, it re-opened after a major investment, with the addition of a new kitchen, chef’s table (min 6, max 12), kitchen bench (4 stools) and bedrooms.
Summary
“Situated in a tiny village” in the Ribble Valley, this is a “delightful old pub” and Steve Smith’s cuisine has established it as one of Lancashire’s top dining destinations (bearing comparison with Northcote down the road). “The juxtaposition of some classical ideas (sauce grand veneur with game, for example), modern techniques and a hint of the Orient” produces some truly “excellent” dishes (although quite a few fans fear that “over complication” can be an issue: “the amount of sauces and colours on the plate can be OTT”). “Interesting wine list” too. Service is mostly “friendly and helpful” but can be “patchy” (“sometimes they’re good; sometimes they’re pleasant, but below par”).
Summary
“Unfairly overlooked by Michelin”, this gourmet village pub continues to produce “some of the finest food in the Ribble Valley” and some locals “are convinced that this place has made Northcote up its game”. “Steve Smith’s cooking has a modern idiom, but draws on classics and there’s a heartiness to many dishes that is both unexpected given its contemporary style, but also keeps it rooted in the building’s heritage as a pub”. All in all “it’s fine dining of a consistently high standard”. But are prices creeping up? In particular “the wine list takes no prisoners (but fortunately there are some good beers too)”.
For 30 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Freemasons at Wiswell?
Restaurant details
Freemasons at Wiswell Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Terrific food but let down by service and a complete disregard for COVID 19. We were brought gluten containing food throughout the dinner And again at breakfast despite stating when we booked 2 months before the booking that we needed 1 gf menu. Some of the gf substitutes were an empty space! The waiter leaving blood on the wine bottle and having to ask for it to be wiped off was a low point."
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £20.00 | £25.00 |  |
|
|
| Cost | Availability | Courses | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menu1 | 80.00 | Lunch only | 7 |
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Veggies | Pudding |
|---|---|---|---|
| £12.95 | £28.00 | £4.95 | £13.95 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £18.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £2.85 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
8 Vicarage Fold Clitheroe, Wiswell, BB7 9DF
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 9 am‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 9 am‑10 pm |
| Friday | 9 am‑10 pm |
| Saturday | 9 am‑10 pm |
| Sunday | 9 am‑9 pm |
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