Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Lancashire
Hardens guides have spent 15 years compiling reviews of the best Lancashire restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 145 restaurants in Lancashire and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Lancashire restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Lancashire Restaurants
1. Northcote
British, Modern restaurant in Langho
Northcote Rd - BB6
“Lisa Goodwin Allen carries on the excellent tradition” at the North West’s best-known country house hotel, which – since Nigel Haworth stepped back a little from the stoves – is “going from strength to strength”, with cuisine that’s “inventive but not outlandish” (“clever dishes that are incredible on the palate, deeply satisfying in both form and function”). There’s a “hugely varied and interesting wine list too, introduced wonderfully knowledgeably, and giving opportunities for great wine recommendations and ‘flights’”. The location is an old manor house in the picturesque Ribble Valley, which has been much-extended over the years, whose “professional-without-being-overbearing” staff create “a friendly and welcoming experience” (although some longtime visitors feel it’s a “pity they have extended the cosy buildings leaving them less characterful”). “A beautiful experience in a beautiful part of the country”.
2. Eagle & Child
British, Modern restaurant in Ramsbottom
3 Whalley Road - BL0
“Beautifully renovated”, traditional pub on the village green (with an extensive garden for the summer months) that wins praise for its “high quality food” and “great selection of cask ales”.
3. Twelve Restaurant & Lounge Bar
British, Modern restaurant in Thornton Cleveleys
Marsh Mill Village, Fleetwood Road North - FY5
Funkily decorated contemporary bar/restaurant on the Lancashire coast near Blackpool that’s a “consistent” destination of nearly two decades’ standing. One regular visitor was less impressed this year, but even so says it’s “still the best place in the Fylde”.
4. Levanter
Spanish restaurant in Ramsbottom
10 Square St - BL0
“True Andalusian cooking in Lancashire” – Joe & Fiona Botham’s “excellent” tapas joint has a “fantastic selection of tasty morsels, reasonably priced” (“mostly made with high quality, Spanish ingredients”), plus an “interesting” wine list shared with sibling Baratxuri, round the corner. “It was pretty perfect to start with, but now you can book!”
5. Moor Hall
British, Modern restaurant in Aughton
Prescot Rd - L39
“In such a short time, what Mark Birchall has created is remarkable” at his year-old smash hit – already fêted with two Michelin stars (the second was added in October 2018). “Many restaurants at this level can become temples of gastronomy, where one has to be hushed and awestruck, but there is none of that here: staff and customers are all at their ease and it’s striking just how comfortable and relaxing the set-up is”. “Several of the staff have come with Mark from L’Enclume, so the service is top-notch”. “The dining area is a brand new extension to the old Hall: a very modern, light space. The kitchen is open, and behind the chefs you can see the kitchen garden that supplies some of their home-grown produce”. “Freed of the Rogan stable, Mark Birchall’s food has settled into his own rhythm and, arguably, has greater focus than it did at L’Enclume”. “There’s a selection of three-, five and eight-course tasting menus and dishes are perfection”: “precise, clean, perfectly balanced flavours with a modern approach” (involving brining, curing and baking on-site). Comparisons are often made with other top kitchens: e.g. “enjoyed it more than recent meals at L’Enclume and just as good as the Clove Club”. “The wine list is a fascinating collection and the sommelier team are very helpful”. Complaints? “Portions are sometimes a bit small”.
6. Midland Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Morecambe
Marine Road West - LA4
The “stunning view across Morecambe Bay” certainly adds to the magic of this “real gem” of an art deco hotel – “well worth a detour from the motorway” (the A863). Unusually, the food actually lives up to the backdrop, and it remains particularly reputed for its “superb, well balanced afternoon tea”.
7. The Parkers Arms
British, Modern restaurant in Newton-in-Bowland
Hall Gate Hill - BB7
“Stosie Madi continues to turn out some of the most exciting, most accomplished food in the North” at “this lovely, well-run pub in a pretty village at the edge of the Forest of Bowland”, which is “very much worth the trip”. There is “superb use of local produce in tasty and often unique ways” (reflecting her half-French, half-Lebanese heritage), and “behind it all, she has a deep understanding of classical (and less classical) techniques, ingredients and how to combine flavours”. Top Menu Tips: “game in season is a highlight”, as are pies and “anything cooked on the charcoal grill, whether meat or veg”.
8. Freemasons at Wiswell
British, Modern restaurant in Wiswell
8 Vicarage Fold Clitheroe - BB7
“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”).
9. Nutter’s
British, Modern restaurant in Norden
Edenfield Road - OL12
“Andrew Nutter is in the kitchen with Mum front of house” at the TV chef’s dining room, part of an “imposing” manor house inside “well-tended grounds”: “a reliable culinary experience with an exceptional wine list”.
10. YU
Chinese restaurant in Copster Green
500 Longsight Rd - BB1
“This former roadside (right on the busy A59) pub, looks nothing from the outside (a nondescript stone building and a somewhat windswept car park), but the interior is quite glam (like a 1990s nightclub) and it has now been turning out some of the best Chinese-ish cooking in rural Lancashire for over ten years”. It’s a “fun” spot and the cooking is “first rate”: arguably a little “safe” (“rooted in a westernised version of Cantonese food, with no offal and not even a mention of Sichuan”) but “spot-on” and “really marking it out from many Chinatown places, the ingredients are top-notch quality”.
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