Gisburn Restaurant Guide

“Set in an organic farm with tremendous views of Pendle Hill” – Doug Crampton’s “amazingly cool” venture on a long-established family farm (for nearly 500 years) is the absolute epitome of the trend to field-to-fork dining. “A timber-octagonal building” that makes the most of the “brilliant vistas all round”, it “takes a bit of finding as it’s not brilliantly signposted (in the end we asked a man working on his garden and he smiled and pointed us in the right direction)”. The open kitchen serves “very special” food that “lives up to the setting”: “hearty, tasty and crowd-pleasing, often featuring produce foraged on the farm, and in the local countryside”. Staff are “delightful and friendly” too. “It celebrated its first birthday last week (open in March 2024) and deserves to succeed – everything of a high standard… including the indoor and outdoor furniture!”

“Full of original, rustic charm” – “Maurizio and Cinzia Bocchi will take you to the heart of Italian cuisine” at their converted cottage in the Ribble Valley: “A ‘little Italy’ in the heart of Lancashire” where “Maurizio’s cooking is authentic and unfussy” and “makes use of seasonal recipes that go back generations”. He’s also a ‘Taste Ambassador’ for Marketing Lancashire and local sourcing is a key feature, as is a list of lesser known Italian wines and craft beers.