Lancashire, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Simplicity” combines with “top quality” at Carlow-born Breda Murphy’s deli-restaurant, a popular destination in the Ribble Valley since 2006 for her Anglo-Irish home-style cooking. “At first it feels overly conservative, but every dish is perfectly cooked, often with a small and interesting twist such as thick-cut lime and soy-cured salmon.”

“Fantastic food… fantastic value for money… and you can even take the dog”: this pub with rooms in a Ribble Valley village has emerged in recent years as one of the area’s top food-led destinations despite – in fact maybe because of – its easygoing and “cosy” style and the fact that what it serves is “so much more than pub grub – clever, no-fuss, local food of the highest order, all served in a relaxed environment”. In June 2024, after our annual diners’ poll had concluded, chef Steve Smith departed, and chef Matt Smith (who had previously worked at the pub) returned. Exactly how the dust will settle on this switcheroo is still not definite but we have rated it on the optimistic assumption that it retains its high quality.

Even in the foodie hotspot that is the Ribble Valley, chef-patron Michael Heathcote’s well-known destination stands out for its “relaxing pub atmosphere, great real ale and copious pub fare at fair prices”.

“The huge success of recent years has done little to change anything” according to the many fans of this “still-cosy, unpretentious and pubby” venue in the Forest of Bowland, whose renown has grown continuously over the years to become one of the top 100 most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll (although, “maybe, at times, those who are just drinking are more likely to be banished to the garden now”). “Really caring” staff are “led by the indefatigable bearer of dog treats for all canine guests, AJ” and create “an atmosphere that celebrates rather than reveres the food”. The main founder of the feast is chef Stosie Madi, whose food “continues to be a touchstone of what’s in season, with much being foraged by Stosie and her assistant in the kitchen, Vlad” (“eg. wonderful local mushrooms and blackberries on an autumn visit”). “In season, game is plentiful and comes from local shoots and farmers”, and fans say that pies here remain a “must try”. “As well as being able to judge cooking of meat and fish over charcoal perfectly, Madi continues to show a very deft hand with desserts, and knows very well why classics such as Mont Blanc or Rum Baba (both exemplary) are classics”. Perhaps inevitably, the establishment’s tear-away growing success inspires some push-back amongst a growing minority of reporters who say that “we keep trying it as it gets rave reviews, but just do not get it how it wins so many awards”. More common though still are those who feel that “the quality is so high, so no complaints!”. Top Menu Tip – “Among other dishes we had a silky chicken liver parfait, a steak that bettered a recent trip to Hawksmoor, a perfect hollandaise sauce, and a Basque cheesecake with local rhubarb that was simply perfect”.

“An amazing setting – beside the River Wyre – by a historical toll bridge” sets the scene at “The Beaumes’ comfortable yet quirkily decorated pub, which continues to offer the best food on the Fylde (that sticky-out bit of Lancashire on the edge of which sits Blackpool).” The “mouth-wateringly good” cuisine is just the start of it at the 2024 AA Inn of the Year, with the site housing seriously stylish rooms (in the main building but also luxury tree-house style lodges), plus a deli, farm shop and gallery stocking homewares and jewellery. Top Menu Tip – “Meat, fish and vegetarian choices are all excellent. Cheese Beignet starter is mouth-wateringly good. Beef suet pudding is gorgeous”.

“Craig Wilkinson continues to offer well-above-average, classically inspired food at his pub in the eponymous hamlet of Bay Horse, opposite what was once the similarly eponymous Bay Horse station on the West Coast Main Line”. Even those who have been “dining there for circa 20 years” (Wilkinson’s family has owned the venue even longer) just “cannot fault it” – and, “whether you’re sat in the bar area mixing with the locals, dining in the restaurant, or enjoying a drink in the beautiful garden”, the “atmosphere is fantastic” too.

“How lucky are the good folk of Fence and thereabouts to have such a wonderful restaurant on their doorstep – a go-to when in this neck of the woods”. Fans say chef Tom Parker offers “possibly the best-value Michelin Star food in the country”, served in a proper pub from a nine-course menu (in the evenings) for £85 per person.

2022 Review: “Great food and also a sense that they are putting back into the community” inspires support for this pub-with-rooms on the village green. Run as a youth-focused social enterprise, supporting young people to access training and paid work experience, it has won a string of awards over its almost ten years in operation. In summer, its ‘Incredible Edible Beer Garden’ comes into its own: almost an acre in size and with lots of interest as well as outside seating.

2021 Review: “A top option on the Fylde coast” – Paul Moss and Caroline Upton’s well-established and jazzily decorated bar/restaurant near Blackpool only attracted limited feedback last year, but still good all-round.

2021 Review: This nautically styled old Harry Ramsden’s remains “very popular with Boundary Mill shoppers” owing to its “great fish ’n’ chips and service” (not to forget the textbook mushy peas.

2024 Review: This crowd-pleasing pub once served as a hospital, but since its takeover and refurb’ by the Brunning & Price group some years back, it’s now a proper country gastroboozer (also with a handful of rooms); on the menu – high-quality British dishes abetted by some more exotic influences from around the world.

“Called in for Sunday lunch after a muddy walk. Found a warm welcome and fabulous food” – this “lovely” pub, microbrewery and inn on the green of a village bordering the Forest of Bowland continues to inspire good feedback for its variety of menus: from a lunchtime sandwich and pub-grub menu to a more ambitious à la carte and tasting selection in the evening. “Not so much dog-friendly… they adore dogs!” Top Menu Tip – “brilliant goats’ cheese panna cotta”.