Northcote

“Northcote is an oasis of gastronomic excellence that, alongside its restaurant, chef’s table, and carefully curated wine cellar filled with unique wines, also boasts a truly interactive cookery school and a biodynamic kitchen garden. The Northcote kitchens have always held a deep loyalty to artisan producers and the great larder of Lancashire, with seasonality at its heart. The menus have a core of flavours that need to be true and dynamic, with a blend of modern influences. The ultimate aim is to delight our guests with flavours that are memorable, presentation that is sensational, and an overall experience that lingers forever.”

Chargrilled Wye Valley asparagus with Leagram’s sheep’s curd and sorrel; Northcote black bee honey with organic milk and lemon; and wild sea bass with young charred organic leeks and lettuce, and iron cross oxalis.

Nigel Haworth, who moved upstairs to become “chef ambassador” in 2017, was a barnstormer for everything Lancastrian and made this place the famous temple to local gastronomy that it has become. Lisa Goodwin-Allen, who took his place as executive chef, is a more modern, playful chef, but with roots equally grounded in the soil of Lancashire. Regulars and passing pilgrims alike are beyond lucky: nothing needed to change here, but now that it has, it’s doubly wonderful.

"Lisa Goodwin-Allen is a kitchen goddess. I’ve always thought so ever since she served up a sequence of brilliant dishes on the Great British Menu, and swept all before her." –Matthew Fort, northcote