Lancashire Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: This large, modern roadside outfit, just off the M6 near Preston, has established an enviable reputation for its “well cooked, authentic Indian food” over the last 15 years. “Pity it looks rather like a works canteen”. Important to note: it is alcohol free.

Victor Yu’s “exceptional” Ribble Valley landmark celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, serving delicious Cantonese meals with a real sense of occasion. “Love this place, service is brilliant and Victor is an absolute star”, say fans – “the tasting menu offers something for everyone; it’s expensive, but worth it”.

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.

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.”

“Set in a tiny hamlet in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley”, Steve Smith’s “fine-dining destination disguised as a pub with rooms” is one of the top 50 most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll. “The food is superb, and the wine list well chosen” and it’s all served “in an easygoing atmosphere… you can even take the dog!” Even amongst fans, though, opinions divide sharply over the level of value it provides: what is “very fair” to some is – to others – becoming more borderline (“I know everything is more expensive now, but sadly this is now in the sphere of me not being able to justify the expense”).

Chef-patron Michael Heathcote has established a solid following for this Ribble Valley establishment, where he celebrates a decade this year. The “top-value Sunday lunch” is a big attraction – along with “exceptional fish soup”.

“The pies are world-beating and the staff are the friendliest people ever!” at this ever more famous pub in the Forest of Bowland – nowadays one of the top 100 most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll, and fans still say “impossible to fault” thanks to its “brilliant and varied cuisine at great-value prices”. “Chef Stosie Madi’s star is burning bright, and rightly so, with daily- or twice-daily-changing menus using produce that’s as local and as seasonal as possible (which often means foraged by Madi on the days they’re not open)”. “The food continues to be exceptional, and the most reliable for miles, combining an unerring flair for simple deliciousness with a remarkable mastery of a whole range of techniques”. All this said, popularity is starting to weigh somewhat on feedback. “Prices are still not punishing, but they are much-increased, and the menu is now restricted to a three-course format, with appearances on the Hairy Bikers and the Top 50 Gastropubs keeping them full”. And disappointments – though still largely drowned out by fanboying feedback – are no longer completely unknown (“it’s just a pie when all’s said and done, but the cost!”)

“A beacon of hospitality and gastronomy in the desert of the Fylde” – “the Beaume family’s quirkily decorated riverside inn” is “a great example of what can be done in a pub with rooms to make it interesting” (and incorporates a deli, art gallery, farm shop, plus greenhouses for all-year dining). Amidst the selection of hearty yet enticing dishes, “there’s lots of good stuff”. Top Tips – “the French Onion Soup is still the best I’ve had, and oxtail suet pudding is always impressive. And if you can get one of the tables with a river view, you may get to see the striking sight of the river changing direction when the tide starts coming in. If you are very, very lucky, you may even see the tail end of the Wyre Bore”.

2021 Review: This “lovely gastropub in the pretty village of Downham, under the shadow of Pendle Hill” is part of Jocelyn Neve’s Seafood Pub Company – the interior has been “completely renovated”, but retains a proper atmosphere with its “roaring fires”. Views on its performance diverged a little last year: most reports suggest the “excellent fish and seafood is definitely worth going for”, but a couple of mixed reports (“good but not as good as it was”; “trying hard but no organisation”) sound a warning note.

2023 Review: “Hardly any further from Junction 33 of the M6 than Forton Services”: Craig Wilkinson’s “always popular”, “railway-side pub” has, say fans, “always unjustly sailed a little below the radar, while food and cooking continue in their accomplished, classically inspired, utterly satisfying way”. “In a time when so many places turn out Identikit dishes from the same playbook, it’s somehow refreshing to get a really good terrine, confit duck legs etc”. Top Menu Tip – “Meat is first class, the Sunday roast beef is the best ever: pink and melting in the mouth”.

This “proper local pub but with Michelin star food” is many reporters’ “restaurant of the year” – with service that’s both “fun and professional, not at all stuffy” and “stunningly good food” from chef Tom Parker, who trained at nearby Lancashire powerhouse Northcote. Top Menu Tip – “the beetroot ice cream is sublime”.

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.

2021 Review: “A top option on the Fylde coast” – Paul Moss and Caroline Upton’s well-established and jazzily decorated bar/restaurant near Blackpool only attracted limited feedback last year, but still good all-round.

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.

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.