Reviews in Clitheroe

I have been to countless numbers of Italian restaurants in Britain but very few compare to La Locanda. A couple of the London ones maybe. This is true authentic Italian cooking at its best. Don’t go and expect to see things like garlic bread, pizza, chicken carbonara, duck in orange sauce on the menu because you wont get them. Instead what you get is a unique Italian experience. The menu consists of a nice variety of interesting dishes. Not too many to get you confused or indecisive. Just the right amount. This is an Italian restaurant in its purist form. It’s not an English Italian restaurant, it’s an Italian restaurant in England. There’s a big difference. To add a little gloss to the whole experience I asked the owner if they ever put rabbit with polenta on the menu. She replied, “every thing is possible, just give us a week at it will be done”. Now you don’t get that level of service from your local italiano restaurant.

I have been here several times over the last 18 months and I can confidently state we have always had very good food. We don't have very much in the way of good food pubs in my neck of the woods (Crosby, Merseyside) and we regularly travel to the Ribble Valley for a day out and some great food. Our favourite place by far is the Red Pump Inn and we have tried them all in the area (whitewell too crowded with wedding guests, 3 fishes over-rated and the new Eagle in Barrow just ok)! We are a family of 5, eldest 18, youngest 6 and we very much like good food and we always get this at the Red Pump. My husband and I are going to stay overnight and treat ourselves for our anniversary; we can't think of a better place to spend it. The Ribble Valley is beautiful and the red Pump is just perfect; Ribble folk are very lucky. Thanks.

I have eaten here more times than I can remember. I just love it because it's in a great location and the atmosphere is great you feel like you are on holiday especially when its sunny and the view is superb on a clear day. plus the prices are so reasonable.

we first stayed at the Red Pump in January for our wedding anniversary, because we can no longer afford Northcote Manor and the Inn at Whitewell was full. it couldn't have been more lovely, food and room were just what we like - not over the top, real attention to detail and great ingredients cooked with flair. On the back of that visit I booked a wedding reception on behalf friends who live in Cairo. Martina was fantastic in helping me deliver an intimate reception for their friends and family and they were delighted with the setting and the food.

Well worth the trip from Manchester. A really lovely restaurant with cheerful, friendly staff. The seafood tapas starter was the highlight, closely followed by a perfect sirloin main course. A good selection of well priced wine and a good pint of real beer was bonus. It wasn't as busy as the quality of food merited. Highly recommended.

Having read numerous good reports,I decided to visit the Spread Eagle for Lunch. However, whilst the interior and staff was quite pleasant, I'm afraid the food was disappointing.Additionally, for a lunchtime menu it was well overpriced,especially when most reputable eating places reduce prices for their lunchtime menu. All in all,basically it's a pub playing at being a top class restaurant. Needless to say in this respect, it fails quite badly.

Having read numerous good reports,I decided to visit the Spread Eagle for Lunch. However, whilst the interior and staff was quite pleasant, I'm afraid the food was disappointing.Additionally, for a lunchtime menu it was well overpriced,especially when most reputable eating places reduce prices for their lunchtime menu. All in all,basically it's a pub playing at being a being a top class restaurant. Needless to say in this respect, it fails quite badly.

visited on a Thursday evening, so it wasn't too busy. good choice of pizza and pasta, but found the specials and meat/fish menu to be a little on the pricey side. ordered cannelloni, found it to be a little on the sloppy side, and the portions were quite small. Hubby had a bacon spaghetti dish, again small portions. left feeling a bit disappointed, and hungry!..

Bashall Barn has had an amazing extension. The new restaurant is spacious and contemporary in stunning rural surroundings. Whilst dining you can watch the cows being milked in the attached barn, don't worry you cant smell them. I didn't get chance to eat but i definitely will next time.

We called in one Sunday lunch time on the off chance of a table as the pub where we had intended eating was closed for a private function - and we were really glad that we did. We got the last table I think, and can appreciate why it was so busy - I had a crab salad starter and my partner the scallops, followed by steak (for him) and roast beef (for me). All were excellently cooked and presented and good value for money. One small gripe - the menus were a little dog eared and some of the cutlery needed a polish, but nothing to stop us going back.

This is a nice, pretty pub. A bit confusing when you go in. You need to ask at the bar, who will then instruct a waitress to take you to a table. We were pretty lost at first, and the waiters totally ignored us. It was quite intimidating. Once in the restaurant the service is friendly. The food was not very good. I suppose being a local, I am spoilt by the wealth of 'foodie' pubs in the area. But I was expecting a much better quality of food from reviews I had read. Six of us ate. I had the steak sandwich, which is supposed to be their speciality. The whole thing tasted a bit cheap to be honest. The bread, was flavourless and wet, as a big pile of boiled mushrooms had been thrown on. (Why not fried, why not onions?) The steak itself was fatty, cheap and overcooked. It is a family friendly place, full of happy kids. A pretty place, and not expensive. Not a place for someone who likes to eat well

The 'fishes' is the nearest restaurant to my house. I have been going here for years, as well as the other Nigel Haworth pubs (they are pretty much all the same). The food is good, but by no means the best thereabouts. It does coast on reputation, and there are plenty of places nearby that have surpassed it in the last few years. The log fire is pretty, but don't sit next to it, even in Winter. It roars. Just thought I should warn people about the bar. The guy before mentioned his surprise that the lemonade came out of a bottle. It is always this way. There is no soft drinks machine, and very little variety in their bottled drinks, which are all tiny and overpriced. There is also a lack of decent cask ale. If you are going for a bar experience, you would be much better at the 'Aspinall arms' which is literally around the corner, and does pretty good food too. Foodwise, I have been through the entire menu. It's all good, but if you want a real food 'experience', try the 'red pump' at bashiell.

The food here is good and you get plenty of it. The service is absolutely awful. I've been several times over the past few months- it is right near where I work. I am not a particularly picky person when it comes to service, but every time I go it is pretty bad. Here is an Example - Last time I went, the young boy who served did not write the order down. When I remarked on this, he said he did not need to. Fine. I asked for the coffees to come with the meal, he said 'yes, yes', and then brought them straight away. I asked for no mayo on a sandwich. It came with mayo. Chips where ordered, they never came. The bill was later asked for from a different server with an ipod in. He said he would bring it, ten minutes later, he had not. This is not the worst service that I have had here. It's a pity. The food is good, and it is all very pretty, but always quite stressful.

hi, this is my families favourite place to eat, Sunday the 9th we went it was full to the seams, the food was so good. could not fault it, the staff are friendly, the owner/manager has time to talk to each table, we ordered fudge cake for my grandson when we booked, as it can soon go.and its his fav sweet. we love the atmosphere , with the little fairy lights everywhere. it all makes the place special, going again on sunday 24 th may 2009. " try it"

2nd visit with family (sister's birthday), very impressed again; pigeon breast starter was divine and the sirloin steak is the best I've had in the whole of Lancashire I kid you not. Hub had venison ravioli which he was well impressed with and following that with the rabbit fest dish (rabbit cleverly done three ways) very very tasty (I pinched some), the kids both had the rabbit casserole off the specials board and although it was a little fiddly for the youngest it was still declared a success. We've been twice here and it is excellent, really; not crowded, not rushed, really friendly and "posh without pomp", jeans and t-shirt but superb quality. Martina and Jonathan have done a tremendous job here and every credit goes to them and their team...wait on staff superb, pleasant and genuinely very good. We will definitely be back. Very well done.

While visiting from Victoria, BC, Canada, your restaurant was recommended to us by our hosts, the Carters, in Rimington. This is the best Italian restaurant we have ever been to. The warm welcome, the food and the wine were all beyond compare...and for a very reasonable price. Not to be missed and we will recommend La Locanda to anyone we know! Many thanks indeed for a most enjoyable evening.

One of my best friends used to live in this pub when she was little and never revisited the place since she left many many years ago and then a few weeks ago we decided to take a trip down memory lane and go and get something to eat, we were not disappointed, the weather was beautiful and the beer garden is one of the nicest ive ever seen, the food was good too, the waitress got some of our order wrong but it was quickly rectified and left us feeling happy with the whole experience!!!! I would say one thing tho, I usually find places to eat on this website and if my friend had not suggested this place I would never have heard of it and missed out on the lovely experience I had!!!

We have been again! nothing else to say but,"superb" Why does no-one else leave a revue? does any-one else read Sugarvine? The best food in the area, please give it a try!