Leyland Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Completely consistent… they still do the best ever Pizza Napoletana” – this huge Italian ‘Ristorante & Pizzeria’ just outside Preston was opened in 1985 and has grown over the years to house 300 guests in one sitting, of whom about a third are in a striking glazed extension, complete with al fresco terrace.

This award-winning curry house from Mohammad Ali continues to punch above its weight (geddit), having expanded three times over the years to its current 205-seater size; the Ribble Valley spot offers a “really nice atmosphere and lovely food” to match, with one fan who has “been going for over 25 years, so rigorous testing” (indeed) claiming that they have “yet to find one to beat” its Lamb Madras.

Victor Yu’s enjoyably flash Cantonese pub conversion in the Ribble Valley guarantees a “perfect night out with good food” – and is “just as brilliant as ever” after 22 years. He opened a spin-off in Manchester last year, Choi Wan in the new House of Social food hall, inspired by Hong Kong-style street food.

“Mark Birchall’s achievement of 3 Michelin stars in seven short years in the north, speaks volumes” for the inspirational values he’s brought to revamping his Grade II 13th-century manor house a short drive north of Liverpool. “Not just a meal, it’s an experience” and one that is “superb from beginning to end” – enhanced by “the beautiful location, and the additional touches such as the vegetable garden and the cheese room”. The occasion starts in the lounge for a drink and a snack and then proceeds to the contemporary dining room – a glazed add-on with exposed rafters. “Service from an expert front of house team is spot on: very professional, very knowledgeable, and very approachable and friendly”: “not at all pretentious despite its awards”. Dinner is tasting menu style from £265 per person, or there is a cheaper four-course menu also available at lunch which is £145 per person. Practically all reports acknowledge the food as “faultless in every way” – “nothing to say about Mark’s food that’s not already been said: it is all simply pitch perfect” – “the flavours and ideas are staggering”. This said, even fans feel “it’s just a shame their prices have gone up so much in recognition of the three stars…” – “the cost is now so high, that a visit can now only be a rare treat”.

“Casual by name and feel, but the food quality is really fine dining” – the more casual option for eating at Mark Birchall’s triumphant manor house operation operates in a contemporary structure, with brick walls and pitched timber-frame roof and “its setting is beautiful as you come around the lake to the barn”. “Good value for a Michelin-starred restaurant”, it carries its ambitions quite lightly with food that’s straightforwardly high quality – “top notch ingredients are seasoned to perfection”. Top Tip – “the set lunch an absolute bargain for food and service of this level/calibre”.

“Quite what Aughton has done to earn all these good restaurants, and even more Michelin stars, is beyond fathoming” and although Tim & Mag Allen’s award-winning four-year-old venue is “obviously somewhat in the shadow of its illustrious neighbour Moor Hall, Solo remains an excellent (and much more affordable!) alternative”. “Tim Allen genuinely seems to enjoy both cooking and engaging with his customers and he brings a sense of calm when other staff members seem to be rushed off their feet (although still attentive and enjoying themselves). The food (concept, presentation and delivery) is outstanding and offers excellent value. Every course is exquisite from amuse bouche to petits fours demonstrating his skill for combining unusual and unheard of ingredients (finger lime and meat radish anyone?) to create perfect and complementary flavours and textures”. And in July 2025, the restaurant closed to herald ‘an exciting new chapter’ to reopen in November 2025. The upgrade PR promises ‘a more modern, crisp, fresh new look’, ‘a new Chefs’ Table’; a redefined food offering ‘providing more flexibility through shorter and expanded menu options’; ‘a more casual, and shorter, tasting menu style experience’. (But we’ve left its current high grades in place on the basis that most likely things will only get better).

2024 Review: This “buzzy and consistent” brasserie at a stylish modern hotel and wedding venue offers “excellent service and good food”, with an eclectic menu that stretches from “delicious steaks and fish ’n’ chips” to sushi and other Asian delights, then back to comforting domestic desserts including chocolate mousse and fruit crumble.

This “very popular French bistro and bar”, from the Vérité family, is “a fantastic little gem”, serving “faultless food in a buzzy atmosphere” – “a warm welcome is guaranteed, service is professional”, and the menu features “Gallic classics including great fish and seafood”. Founded 16 years ago by Mark & Michaela, it’s now run by their sons Jacques (chef) and Charlie (maître d’) – and is apparently a favourite of chef Marc Birchall on his days off from Lancashire’s stellar Moor Hall.

In an “unusual setting” on the banks of the River Wyre by a historic toll bridge (“right down by the water with a pleasant walk before the meal”), the Beaumes’ rambling riverside inn combines views of the Lake District and chic lodgings ranging from a penthouse suite to luxury cabins. “A quiet lack of fuss presides over the whole experience” while on the food front, it “continues to offer probably the best food on the Fylde (that sticky out bit of Lancashire between Preston and Lancaster)”. “The food varies between simple or classic dishes done very well and a few excursions into experimentation (which sometimes work, sometimes don’t), so – split the difference – and say it’s very good”. Top Tips – “bargain three-course lunch for £27 per person”; it’s “well worth popping into the on-site deli”, TOTI (‘Taste of the Inn’), where you can pick up “a really splendid choux bun”; “you’ll never go wrong with their superb French Onion Soup, followed by an oxtail suet pudding”.

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.”

“Really great, inventive food prepared to exacting standards by a talented chef” makes this two-year-old from a strong team headed by Oli Martin (ex-Northcote and Hipping Hall) a “real gem”, serving “ambitious tasting menus (for £79 per person at dinner, no à la carte) with strong presentation and good blends of flavours that are precise but not excessive”. (Giles Coren of The Times also heaped praise on “supremely gifted and thoughtful chefs (and) proper northern hospitality” in his November 2024 review).

2024 Review: “Went here after reading Jay Rayner’s Nov 2022 review. Superb!” – this no-frills café near the Central Lancashire University campus (from Hong Kong natives Fai Tsang and her husband, Wai) is “very much a café rather than a restaurant but you can (need to) book”, thanks to brilliant Cantonese cooking that’s worth rolling up your sleeves for. Top Menu Tip – “The roast duck and siu yuk are delicious with the crisp skin contrasting the tender meat. Soy chicken is very flavourful and the brisket tender, tasty and well spiced”.

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.

“Doing something different from any other Indian restaurant around town”, this six-year-old venue expanded into the premises next door to meet demand for the family recipes introduced by founders Ranjeet Singh & Alvino Cardozo, who live up to their restaurant’s name (and address on Lord Street) with food they see as a ‘spiritual’ experience.