Lancashire pub named in Good Food Guide’s top 50 UK restaurants
The Freemasons at Wiswell, Clitheroe, which came sixth in this year’s Top 50 Gastropubs, came 43rd in the Good Food Guide’s list, which was announced this week.
Chef-patron Steven Smith told The Morning Advertiser (MA): “That’s now three years… I think that just shows the level of consistency that we operate at. We’re so proud of this place."
Making the list
He added: “It’s pretty nice being from Blackburn and being from Lancashire and making the list. It’s great to represent where you’re from that way.”
Dishes on offer at the pub include wild salmon with Southport potted shrimp and samphire, ponzu and elderflower; charred sirloin steak with wild mushrooms, sauce of English truffle and duck fat chips; and butter poached native lobster tail with crispy claw wontons, coastal herbs and black pepper sauce.
Great British Pub Awards
The Freemasons is currently a national finalist for the Best Food Pub category in the Great British Pub Awards 2016.
It is the only pub to have a cooking score of 7/10 in the guide. Freemasons front-of-house (FOH) manager Agnieszka Tyczka was named FOH Manager of the Year at the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs back in January.
It also previously topped the Good Food Guide’s Top 50 Pubs list last year.
Speaking at the time, guide editor Elizabeth Carter said there was "no doubt" pubs were "one of the most significant culinary movements of the past decade".
The MA caught up with Steven Smith ahead of last year's Top 50 Gastropubs: watch the video