The Three Fishes

People drive for miles for Nigel Haworth's Lancastrian cooking & the pub's 40 tables, which can't be booked, quickly fill up. Ordering food at the bar can be irritating (a blackboard waiting list kicks in when all the tables are taken) but food that arrives outweighs any niggles – dishes such as Bob Kitchen’s organic day old Lancashire curd with a buttered crumpet & Ascroft’s beetroot & mustard cress salad or Wallings Farm free range Gloucester Old Spot sausages served with mash & onion gravy. Haworth's legendary hotpot raises comfort food to new heights while other treats include battered deep-fried haddock, marrowfat peas, real chips (cooked in beef dripping) & tartare sauce, all matched by traditional desserts such as almond tart & blackcurrants seeped in lemon & local wild flower honey. The large building, a series of stone floored & exposed brick rooms, feels surprisingly cosy & there's real warmth in the welcome from the young front of house crew.

Wine List Of The Year

With all 50 wines visible on one (albeit sizable) sheet, the chance to take in the whole wine list at one glance is spot on for this newly refurbished Lancashire pub. What it lacks in pizzazz of contents, it makes up for in clarity and approachability, and doubtless does its job brilliantly.