Hanley 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.

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.

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).

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.