If there's one thing Cheshire has in abundance it's picturesque rural pubs that serve exceptional food. When I heard that Nigel Haworth and Craig Bancroft's Ribble Valley Inns were moving south and taking over The Nags Head at Haughton I was intrigued to see what they would do with it to stand out from the crowd.
For those that don't know Ribble Valley Inns are a Lancashire-based pub/restaurant group that specialise in setting up establishments that serve excellent food, using seasonal produce from local suppliers.
People say first impressions are everything, something that Nigel and Craig are obviously aware of. The exterior and interior of the building have been immaculately and tastefully restored (I imagine at significant expense). The Nags Head is a handsome Grade II listed building but they have managed to modernise it without detracting from it's historical charm.
On a Sunday there was no a la carte menu, however the fixed price menu was extensive enough to offer a good choice, and at £17.50 for 2 courses, or £21 for 3 courses the value was excellent. Fingers crossed the quality of the food would match that of the restoration...
To start I opted for the crispy east coast squid, lime and chilli caramel. Wow...the squid was cooked expertly, the batter light and flavoursome; and the lime and chilli caramel offered a tang and heat that complimented the fresh seafood perfectly.
I also have to mention the salmon and prawn ravioli, shellfish sauce and smoked salmon cracker that my sister-in-law had to start. The presentation of this dish was beautiful and apparently it tasted fantastic.
For the main course I opted for a roast (it was Sunday lunch time after all). I chose the crispy Gloucester old spot pork belly, sage fritters, spiced cabbage, tender stem broccoli, potato fondant and ginger jus. It was a lovely plate of food. The crispy pork belly was salty, chewy and tender in all the right places. The skin was slightly overdone but this I how I like it so there were no complaints. The accompaniments were also very good, particularly the ginger jus. Containing the just right amount of ginger to heat the mouth.
Overall, this was a massive improvement over my previous visit to The Nags Head. The food (with the exception of the soup) was very good, matching both the setting and beautifully restored pub. Fortunately this time the service was also excellent, in particular the manager Rob who chatted to our table for for a while talking about his experiences with Ribble Valley.
I feel that now they have found their feet The Nags Head is a great addition to the Cheshire pub scene, and represents perfectly the offerings that Ribble Valley specialise in.
I can see a few trips further afield to Lancashire in the near future! read more