It's very confusing to review restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, and other businesses as an American…read morevisiting for a bit. I did visit the Strawberry Duck with a local. When he told me about the name of the pub (several times), I was enchanted. I had the fish and chips and much were very fish and chips. I am also a long time vegetarian trying to eat some fish. Failing miserably. The draft beer selections were the same as every other pub in London that I had tried. Found out in my next to last evening in England that Heineken controls the draft scene. I was searching for local, traditional British beer. Only one place in Oxford! I'll keep trying!! Delightful and charming brewpub or pub (again, American). Very homey feel to the restaurant/pub. The service was something. Fine but I enjoyed my experience thoroughly!

After walking for 8.5 miles we ended up back here where we had booked a table for dinner…read more Walking in we were led to a table right in front which was in a middle of a 3 way much to our dismay as people kept constantly walking past us. What I did see of the decor was nice. The majority of the waitresses were young and what I felt inexperienced . Asking us immediately what we wanted to drink without providing a menu and us having to enquire what the soup and pie of the day was. Drinks ordered I browsed the menu. It was just a lot of generic pub grub with not a lot of fish dishes. Saying that I did see some fish and chips get served that looked fab. I did find the menu a bit uninspiring but luckily I clocked the special board and saw the Strawberry Duck with bubble and squeak with garlic mash. Himself had the minted lamb pie and we shared chipolatas with mustard mayo. The starter was nice but forgettable...the mains were the star of the show. My duck was cooked to perfection and everything tasted fresh. The sauce was of perfect consistency and not too sweet. The mash could have done with more garlic but it was a fine dish especially while sipping yummy gooseberry gin. The minted lamb pie was rich and full of flavour with thick chips that were a little undercooked in the middle. To finish we had coffee as we were full. Overall I felt the service let it down a little, Asking if we want sauce when the starter was served with it, not asking how are food was in the beginning , not informing us about the specials etc and in the end we had to order Drinks at the bar as felt a bit neglected. It was nice to have a swift recommendation of what to have with the gin though and the bill was reasonable . Yes I would come back if I went for a walk in the area.

Nice big bar that shows live sport. The staff are friendly, the prices are good and they do good…read morefood too!!! its a little bit out of the way as its not really near town but its good if you want something out of the way for a couple of drinks

I used to work there as cook, as well as bar person always been a good pub and good ale.read more

The Old Three Crowns (or, in local parlance - "Ol' Three") is a great old pub that is slap bang in…read morethe middle of Bolton town centre. The pub used to be pleasingly grotty and very old-school but in recent years, it has undergone something of a facelift inside, now looking more clean and spacious. Sadly, some of the character has left in this make-over, but certainly not enough to warrant avoiding it. The range of beers isn't what it once was, but there is enough real ale to keep the more discerning drinker in burps. Alas, the Ol' Three needs to work on what it wants to be as there are other pubs within spitting distance which do a very similar thing, but better.

Good friendly staff that are very polite and would go again we need more like this so will…read moredefinitely be there again :-)

One of the oldest Inns / Pubs in the world, originally established in 1251 and rebuilt in 1636…read more Being exiled from Manchester at the moment & now living in Scotland, I was travelling back last week on a beautiful sunny, spring evening and decided to make a stop at a local hostelry. Having a penchant for older pubs, I searched for the oldest in Lancashire and came up with one of the oldest in the world. As you can see from the pictures on the listing, it is a beautiful pub. I met a very friendly local outside who told me that the Inn had a long association with cider and recommended I tried the Thatchers Cloudy on draught. I'm not a cider drinker, but I do value tradition and ordered myself a pint. It was actually very tasty and I felt more of a part of the history of the place knowing that hundreds, maybe thousands of others had drunk a similar brew before me. Being a mere stop on my journey onward, my time here was limited and I really felt so comfortable I could've stayed much longer. If you happen to be in this part of the world, I highly recommend that you pay a visit!

Great local spot, very cozy with plenty of seating for the pub area and the dinning area. Plus…read moretasty food and festive drinks.

Little friendly pub, everybody seems to know everybody and there's a big crowd for Sunday lunch…read more We've just popped in for a pre-lunch drink after doing for a walk round the river. There's a wide variety of ales and which are not too badly priced. There's a beer garden to the rear and the River Irwell runs past bathe front door. Very quaint!

Hot, delicious and to table ultra quick. Lovely staff, beautiful location and just a great…read moreatmosphere. Will be back.

Good beer, staff and atmosphere, excellent decor, plenty of parking. Food TBA, as never eaten…read morethere.

Would highly recommend cotton kier the service from staff was brilliant and very friendly food was…read moreexcellent would highly recommend will definitely come back .

Sometimes you don't want to drive long distances to find a meal... that's when you walk nearby to…read morefind something cheap and cheerful. The Cotton Kier is one of three restaurants located in The Valley Leisure Park. From the large sign to the entrance of the area, it looks like they were expecting more businesses to move into this area, but as of right now, it is three restaurants, Virgin gym, and CineWorld. The Cotton Kier is a Fayre & Square restaurant so a chain where you know what is on the menu. We have been a couple of times for a quick lunch on the way to shopping or for a brunch. For a Fayre & Square, I actually think it is quite good. The service is always great and they always make it a point to mention that if anything is wrong with your meal, that you should let them know and they will sort it right away. The restaurant always has a number of customers in, but I wouldn't say that I have ever seen it packed full. Seems to be popular with families (children seem to enjoy the toy machine near the loos) and with those that might be going to a movie or just coming out of the cinema. They do have deals like 2 for £10 which makes for an affordable meal out if you are on a tight budget. They recently changed their menu... changed might be a big word considering they just removed a few items and added a couple of new items. Although most of the pub regulars are still on the menu. They did remove the Chili Con Carne, which I think was probably a good move since it was just a bit mediocre. On the most recent visit, Mr. Snarky's XL Burger had to be eaten by knife and fork when the stale bun started to disintegrate. Some of you may be ok with that, but we firmly believe that burgers are meant to be picked up and eaten. Along with the usual list of desserts, you can also purchase a cake to take home. They advertise from £3.99, but if you've seen the cakes in the display, they are quite large so I imagine they would go for a bit more than that. However, it is nice to know if you need a cake (need? want a cake) for an occasion... or maybe no occasion.

This is our local! We love it in here! It is a traditional pub.It is so welcoming and friendly. It…read moreis split into 2 rooms,the lounge and the vault. It is only a small pub but can pack plenty in,especially at weekends.There is seating outside,which is fantastic in the summer! They just started a beer festival this year which was a great success! With plenty of real ales as well as the usual,it attracts a varied crowdfab!!

A thriving traditional pub, selling a large variety of beers and drinks, bar snacks are on offer…read moretoo.. Staff are friendly and the atmosphere in here is good welcoming There is a small seating area outside the front of the pub which does get busy at the weekends and summer nights.. Parking is not available here but taxis are

I only ever drove past The Blundell Arms. It's very near where I live, so I drive past it a lot! It…read morejust looked like another pub, and not very popular, as I never saw anyone parked outside. But in recent times I noticed A-boards outside mentioning food, so after a long time of realising this, I decided to look online, and lo and behold, it's not just a pub that has "food available", but a full on food-centric pub! Hoorah! When I drove there, I realised that the reason it looked so quiet and lacking in cars is because there's actually a sizeable car park BEHIND it, and that in turn is the entrance people tend to use to access it. When I walked in, I was very pleasantly surprised, this pub was not only very expansive in side (perhaps not in terms of headroom in some of the older parts!) but was wonderfully traditional, with beautiful rustic beams running throughout, and many nods to its past as a court house, showing the old stone placard, and a window showing the traditional wattle and daub construction. The other thing I noticed is that this was a very bright space. The winter sunshine truly cascades through the windows, giving a wonderfully comfortable feeling. This place had a 'good' feeling as soon as I entered. I was greeted by a friendly staff member who took me to a table nestled amongst the rustic beams, where I was given the menus, and had chance to also peruse the lunch menu. The lunch menu was really good value, and I'd happily order from it, but in this instance I noticed on the main menu, amongst all the delicious traditional and classic pub food offerings, and "chef's inspired dishes" was a gourmet burger. So I opted for that! I took the time waiting to have a look round at the rest of the place, which is where Ashleigh, the staff member, told me about the building's previous uses, and how pleasant the place looks at night with all the lights lighting up the corners of this old building. When my burger arrived, I was quite pleased. The presentation was simple but that's all it needed to be, as it was a big burger, and a pot of triple-cooked chips. The chips were great, crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. The burger was tasty, but I wouldn't call it 'gourmet', as it was quite a standard burger, but grilled fully through rather than pink (due to health and safety demands usually), so it wasn't juicy, but was still tasty, regardless. The bacon on the burger was a bit fatty though, I had to pull strands of it off, but that's merely my personal preference. For the price, it was a good burger, and a tasty lunch. I'd certainly order it again. All in all, I was pleased I came to The Blundell Arms! I didn't realise it was such a lovely building, and didn't realise they had such a large offering to eat, so I'll definitely be back to try some more of the menu, especially the dessert menu... there were a few things on there I very much liked the look of, but as the burger was so filling, I didn't quite have the room. Maybe next time I'll go for the lunch menu instead of my eyes being bigger than my belly! Next time, Blundell.... NEXT TIME!!!

A really nice pub/restaurant that dates back to when the world was black and white and everybody…read morehad a horse and cart. Food is good but can take a while to get to you as the service is a little slow. A liitle on the pricy side for nothing that is out of this world. Huge range of wines and beers all this in fantastic ye olde worldy settings.

I used to go here as it was cheap, but it has gone down hill! I know prices of living have gone up…read morebut they have put the price up but put the food quality down and make the meals smaller, it's really quite and never busy really... the manger is really rude but other then that the staff seem really lovely. I just wish they kept the food the same I was not bothered about how much I payed. Also not to mention they never put the heating on, food comes quick tho

This is a lovely pub / restaurant set in the Belmont hills just outside Bolton and the views from…read morehere are very pretty. The Wilton Arms has been located here for as long as I can remember. I do remember coming here once as a small child but it wasn't a pleasant experience as I had fallen off the top of the slide on the kids playground and whacked my head. As an adult, the experience was obviously quite different. The inside of the pub is welcoming, and the staff were friendly. The menu is large and has all your standard pub fare, as well as a few nice specials. I expected really good food here, but it was just OK. Nothing wow'd be about the food, but it was pleasant. My niece can vouch for the Sticky Toffee Pudding (I had mega food envy after she ordered this, and she wouldn't share! *Contemplates pushing her off the slide*) The black pudding starter i ordered was OK and the mushroom and brandy strudle was nice, although the puff pastry didn't stay as flaky as i'd hoped, and it went soggy rather quickly. Overall it was a nice Saturday pub lunch here. I did notice on the way out, that there isn't actually a children's playground here anymore - Tilly is safe. For now.