Northcote

A comfortable country house hotel on the edge of the Ribble Valley, Northcote has held a Michelin star for over two decades and has been an important trailblazer for modern, seasonal British cooking, led first by Nigel Haworth then more recently by Lisa Goodwin-Allen.

The dining room certainly has an old-school charm about it - snow-white tablecloths, sparkling glassware and besuited service signal that we’re firmly in fine-dining territory, not to mention the magnificent crystal chandeliers overhead. The beige leather chairs are plush and squidgy, which is excellent news as you’ll be settling in for a little while to enjoy your choice of a five-course seasonal tasting menu, one of the set menus or a la carte, depending when you visit.

Lisa’s menus champion Lancashire’s bountiful larder, providing ample opportunity for great ingredients to shine. Chargrilled asparagus was packed with flavour, served simply with creamy sheep’s curd and sharp wood-sorrel leaves, and the menu doesn’t hold back on big flavours elsewhere either, with a glazed, roasted quail breast, juxtaposed neatly against a swish of turnip puree, tangy apple gel and deep, rich sauce.

Northcote might feel a little old-fashioned to metropolitan eyes, but there’s no fault to be found in the flavours and technical execution of the cooking here. Our favourite dish of the evening was, in fact, something that felt a little more contemporary: a scallop with the most perfect of sears, sat in the middle of a sauce Veronique - a vermouth, grape and tarragon sauce, here made with fermented grapes and split with tarragon oil. It was as beautiful to look at as it was to eat.

Matched with note-perfect wines and friendly service, Northcote’s dependably delicious cooking finishes showing talent in the pastry kitchen too - a playful dish of frozen Amalfi lemon crumb, served with yoghurt sorbet and honey meringue. If you catch Northcote on a glorious sunny evening, as we did, you may gaze out into the Ribble Valley beyond and think, there are very few better places to be.

One of the UK’s most lauded hotel restaurants, Northcote has been held in high regard for many decades. This bastion of British cooking was originally put on the map by Nigel Haworth, who won the restaurant a Michelin star in 1996, and the Lancashire hotel continues to be a pioneer of modern British cooking thanks to award-winning chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen, who has led the kitchen for the last 20 years. In 2022, Goodwin-Allen won the AYALA SquareMeal Female Chef of the Year Award.

Situated north of Blackburn, Northcote is nestled in the picturesque Ribble Valley, right on the edge of the Forest of Bowland. The restaurant itself uses a range of local suppliers, as well as growing a huge range of produce in the extensive kitchen gardens, which you’re free to walk around when you visit. Inside, this is a modern restaurant that manages to be both formal, sophisticated but still relaxed.

The restaurant offers a variety of menus, including seasonal gourmet tasting menu, vegetarian tasting menu, as well as a Sunday lunch. Goodwin-Allen’s seasonal menus change regularly, and shine a light on great British produce from Lancashire and beyond. On the menu at the time of writing you’ll find a Rossini of aged dairy cow with Madeira, mushroom and parsley, wild red prawns with mange, honey yoghurt, lime pickle and red curry, and a riff on tiramisu made with coffee and calamansi. Wine flights are also available, either by the glass or by the bottle, with Northcote boasting an award-winning wine collection. Many wines are available by Coravin, allowing you to try fine wines by the glass, where they would normally only be available by the bottle.

On top of that, Northcote also boasts a chef’s table for up to 16 people. The table is set behind a glass wall in the kitchen, putting you at the heart of the action. There are 26 rooms available for overnight stays in the hotel, and Northcote also boasts its own cooking school, with classes available to book should you wish to learn some new skills.