Congleton Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Theatrical presentation” is a longstanding feature of the Pear family’s stalwart fixture of four decades’ standing, whose ‘Dinner at 8’ package was an early adopter of the tasting menu format, with a 7-course menu delivered in a single sitting (you arrive at 7.30 pm). Fans say “Covid hasn't affected the consistent high quality of this unique dining venue. And to the famous ‘Dinner at 8’, can be added the growing popularity of their afternoon tea”: “a choice of gentleman’s or lady’s gives a useful mix of sweet and savoury, including the legendary homemade desserts. Ample portions (take-home boxes cheerfully provided), well served and a good range of teas''.

This “very French” spot attracts a good volume of feedback suggesting it’s “worth seeking out” in rural Cheshire for the “inspired cooking” of locally born chef-patron Joseph Rawlins, who trained under Gordon Ramsay and has worked in Paris. He took over this well-established venue five years ago with his French partner, Gaëlle Radigon, who leads a “professional and engaging” front-of-house team.

2021 Review: “I can’t vouch for its authenticity as a Sri Lankan experience… but it’s a delight to eat!” – so say fans of this family-run three-year-old café. By its nature, a good choice for pescatarians, veggies and vegans.

2022 Review: Patrick Hannity's decade-old spin-off from his Manchester original is less well known than its progenitor but is “usually excellent”, too; the food is “light, balanced and filled with flavour”, incorporating produce from his Peak District farm.

“The landlord is the chef and he knows how to cook fish, which he sources from the best suppliers”, say regulars at this unusual and “delightful” Peak District village pub which is “supported by the community” – having bought the freehold 20 years ago when the venue faced closure. “Good ales” completes the picture.

2022 Review: “Excellent Thai food full of flavour” (including wallet-friendly set lunches) are the order of the day at this Peak District outfit decorated with traditional carvings and sculptures, and hosting twice-monthly jazz and cocktail nights.

2022 Review: “The best thing to hit Macclesfield since the silk industry died” – “a sister to Altrincham Market (and Manchester's Mackie Mayor), conceived and run by Nick Johnson and his wife. This Edwardian building was the first cinema in town, fell to other unglamorous uses some 70 years ago, and has now been sympathetically restored to house excellent individual food stalls serving a range of high quality dishes: the freshest of fish, steaks, pasta, pizzas, mussels and more”.

A sweetly named, capacious and “consistently good village pub with bedrooms” that dates back to the 19th-century and is handy if you’re scooting along the M6 in need of a fix. In addition to a “welcoming interior” (courtesy of a hefty £2.5 million renovation back in 2009), there’s a “wide-ranging menu” of pub classics with a “few imaginative edges” plus real ales from local microbreweries.

Chef-owner Rob McIntyre's shrine to the dumpling in Hanley is a noisy and atmospheric spot kitted out in black and red, with a menu inspired by Asian cuisine – they make their own crispy chilli oil. The Observer's Jay Rayner is a big fan following a summer 2024 visit.

“Very much a place to see and be seen” in Cheshire’s Golden Triangle – “great for celeb-watching and the waiters are proud of that” – this two-year-old from the national Italian stable is the result of a reputed £3m makeover, complete with palm trees and a terrace with a retractable roof. Investment has continued, with the addition of the 60-cover ‘Il Giardino’ for al-fresco dining last summer. Marcello Distefano, who now runs the group founded by his father Carlo, grew up in the area and knows the site well from its days as Brasingamens nightclub, a celebrated hangout for WAGs in the ’90s and ’00s.

Opposite a twelfth-century church, this “really good” village outfit is “exactly what you’d want from a good-quality pub”: a “relaxed, friendly and chatty” spot turning out some “perfectly judged” food (not least fish ’n’ chips, though the desserts are also “technical and brilliantly flavoured”).

“Fabulous breakfasts to start the day with excellent omelettes; flavour-packed soups; and great coffee” (“with that rare accompaniment, a glass of iced water”) are all highlights of the “imaginative creations from the open kitchen” at this funkily decorated, brick-walled bar/diner, which is “open all day” – a model of “simplicity with highly efficient service”.

Now landed in Knutsford town centre since 2022, this wine-bar restaurant originated in North London before relocating initially to the village of Audlem, thence here. Chef Chris cooks with sustainable and sometimes foraged ingredients while his partner, Laura, serves wines from small independent producers. Too limited freedback for a full rating, but one local fan says it’s “a small, friendly restaurant serving excellent food”.

Too little feedback this year for a full review on this intriguing eatery in The Potteries – part of the World of Wedgewood experience – whose high-profile founding chef, local Staffordshire lad Niall Keating, left after three years in May 2024. There is a full-on chef’s table blow-out, but most visitors opt for the relatively affordable posh-brasserie menu (which is the formula price given).