Trad Lancashire pub tiny doily coasters for your beer, lots of trinkets on shelves, a formal dining room etc. And a clientele to go with lots of grannies done up in their best dresses. And largely excellent food to go with.
OK, so the plus points: if you want hearty trad food, then this place is excellent good portions, big, bold flavours and a reasonable range of stuff (if you don't mind it leaning towards the cheesy/stodgy) for veggies like me. Plus lovely staff. (And it's not far from the motorway if you're passing through.)
The minus points?
First, a fairly unwelcoming attitude among other patrons (most likely the regulars or people staying in the nearby caravan park). Not only did I hear us being called foreigners (yup, us Londoners had dared to stop off here rather than go to a service station on way back down motorway), but the overall effect leans heavily towards the starchy while serving staff were very friendly towards our young kids, we ended up in the garden, as it seemed easier to handle the kids there and there were far fewer pursed lips from the other patrons at our kids daring to be boisterous (and well-behaved I might add).
Second, the food is really resolutely trad while battered cauliflower florets with chilli mayonnaise was awesome, as was the cheese pie and mushroom and leek crumble, the main courses came with a metal serving dish of old-school unadorned steamed veg (carrots, peas, mashed and roast potatoes). So, a) meat eaters will do far better than vegetarians in general (although we did fine), b) it's not a place for fancy modern food, but big flavoured pub grub.
If you don't mind those warnings, and want a big full belly of flavour, Ye Horns will sort you out. read more