British, Modern Restaurants in Rawtenstall
1. Northcote
British, Modern restaurant in Langho
Northcote Rd - BB6
“Just awesome every time we go. The team… the food… the place. It’s been brilliant for 30 years” – constant expansion, innovation and reinvention has characterised the steady growth in profile and physical size of this Ribble Valley operation, just off the A59: nowadays one of the more recognised foodie destinations in the UK, certainly amongst those ‘up north’. Lisa Goodwin-Allen runs the kitchens with “stunning presentation and incredible light and purposeful cuisine, with her personality coursing through the menu”. MD Craig Bancroft leads “a front of house team with a real sense of character”. “Wine pairing at Northcote is almost as much part of the experience as is the food and head sommelier Magdalena Sleziak is a real asset, presiding over a tremendous wine list (offering both value and extravagance), well thought through with choices from all over the wine globe”. All the above are on display each year during the annual Obsession festival early each year, which the property has turned into a part of the annual social calendar for very many well-heeled diners throughout the North West. And yet more change is now afoot, as in October 2024, the owners for the last five years, Britannia Hospitality Limited (owners of The Stafford in London), put the property on the market with Savills. It comes with planning permission for a swanky new dining room at the rear of the property which may yet further transform the dining experience here. We presume any new buyer will keep the existing team in place, and carry out the planned extension. But who knows? So there is likely some change afoot in the next 12 months, but it’s not yet 100% clear exactly how this one will roll.
2. Eagle & Child
British, Modern restaurant in Ramsbottom
3 Whalley Road - BL0
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.
3. White Swan at Fence
British, Modern restaurant in Fence
300 Wheatley Lane Rd - BB12
“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.
4. Breda Murphy Restaurant
British, Modern restaurant in Whalley
41 Station Rd - BB7
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.”
5. Freemasons at Wiswell
British, Modern restaurant in Wiswell
8 Vicarage Fold Clitheroe - BB7
“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.
6. Banny’s Restaurant
British, Modern restaurant in Colne
1 Vivary Way - BB8
2021 Review: This nautically styled old Harry Ramsden’s remains “very popular with Boundary Mill shoppers” owing to its “great fish ’n’ chips and service” (not to forget the textbook mushy peas.
7. The Higher Buck
British, Modern restaurant in Waddington
The Square - BB7
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”.
8. The Black Friar
British, Modern restaurant in Manchester
13 King Street - M3
“Once a sad sight – an abandoned Victorian pub at a busy crossroads in Salford” – this 19th-century boozer was resurrected in 2021 after lying derelict for over 15 years and now combines a “well-run restaurant in a sympathetic extension at the back” (the Glass Room), plus a proper boozer where you can dine on chef Ben Chaplin’s more casual pub grub. The “convivial, busy” venture’s charms also include a garden and outdoor tavern for the summer months.
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