Northwich Restaurant Guide

“The food is something to shout about” at this “great country pub” that has served the village for more than 250 years – “it’s all cosy, warm fires in the winter and a great sunshine patio to catch the sun on a summer’s evening”. (“We class it as our local, but it’s more about food than a local pub, although it’s great to sit at the bar and chat to the friendly staff”).

2023 Review: Ex-Manchester House chef, Aiden Byrne’s attractive pub is cutely situated opposite said St Mary’s Church in one of the scenic commuter towns on the Cheshire/Greater Manchester borders. Steaks, burgers, pies and the likes of lobster and chips typify its quality gastrofare; and they also serve pizza and snacks from their garden ‘shack’.

This “French-style fine-dining experience” in Cheshire has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, serving “the kind of traditional Gallic fare you want to eat – frogs’ legs, coquilles St Jacques, onion soup, profiteroles”, all of it “meticulously presented”. Chef-patron Oliver Troalen trained in Paris and began his UK career at the French Embassy in London (ever the diplomat, he “didn’t bat an eyelid when a friend asked for her steak to be served ‘burnt’!”).

2024 Review: “An excellent local restaurant with talent in the kitchen (Miarisuz Dobies) and professional front of house” (his wife); regulars are “never disappointed” by the French- and Central European-inflected food (including five- or seven-course tasting menus), with “every detail wonderful and made in-house”.

Named in homage to a rocky outcrop that has long been a settlement for Buddhist monks, Don Buddhika’s black-fronted restaurant is “still going strong with its Sri Lankan speciality dishes” – small plates, curries, grills and more, with dedicated vegan and gluten-free menus. Besides this venture in the swanky Manchester ‘burbs, as of late 2023 they’ve also opened a second outpost a short drive away in the market town of Knutsford.

“Casual dining on long trestle tables in a successful food hall” – the MO at this revived Victorian indoor market, where there are “plenty of food outlets” to take your fancy, ranging from sourdough pizza heroes Honest Crust to new arrivals Soots Pasta. Add in “wines and beers from the surrounding independent stallholders” and this “fun venue” is a “go-to destination” when in town (and “child-friendly – they love it as much as mum and dad”).

2024 Review: “Forget flying to southern Italy – go to Sud for wonderful pasta and other Italian dishes”, say fans of the “fresh, vibrant, authentic food” served at this “fun” Altrincham outfit with “slick and friendly service” – the original of a group now with outposts in Ancoats, Sale and Manchester city centre, and which changed its name from Sugo to avoid a clash with a Glasgow operation of that name. “Lots of eye-rolling, and funny noises came out of my mouth, and my wife and I literally didn’t speak for 15 minutes during the main course – I’ll never eat pasta with a knife and fork again!”.

This “atmospheric old pub” in rural Cheshire from the Chester-based Brunning and Price group is a “great” place to drop by for “nice food from a menu with a wide choice”. It’s a handsome red-brick building with plenty of exposed beams, and an attractive canopied garden.

A “lovely location” for a “lovely meal” – chef-patron Joseph Rawlins (who braved Gordon Ramsay’s shouty tutelage) and partner Gaëlle Radigon, who oversees the “very friendly” staff, are the masterminds behind the top-class French cuisine at this converted barn in the Cheshire sticks, and where it’s “a bonus to take apéritifs outside in the sunshine” before you dine.

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''.

2024 Review: “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”.

“This new Aiden Byrne venture oozes class” according to early visitors to this well-known north western chef’s latest venture, which he opened, with wife Sarah, in late 2024 in an intriguingly converted, 400-year-old building in the heart of Cheshire’s ‘Golden Triangle’. “Service is exceptional”, as is feedback regarding his “no-choice, monthly changing, tasting menu only” approach – at dinner the full nine-course menu is £90 per person. Top Menu Tip – “A whole (small) buttermilk loaf served with roast chicken butter. Duck gizzards and kidneys served with duck broth”.

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.

2024 Review: 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”).

2023 Review: Founders Diana & Justin have backed up their passion for Californian-style coffee with a “relatively cheap” menu of sandwiches and nachos plus biodynamic wines, at the Altrincham café they opened five years ago in an “ideal location near the end of the M62”.