Darwen, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

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.

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.

“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.

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”.

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.