Mr Thomas’s Chop House

Thomas Studd and his wife Sarah established their Chop House in booming Cottonopolis in 1867, and it’s still going strong, serving up top-end pub grub in the famous tiled back room restaurant along with flagons and snifters in the bar and on the sunny St Ann’s Square terrace.

Meat makes up the backbone of the menu, along with hearty fayre the likes of fish pie and wild mushroom wellington. Traditional Lancashire hotpot, stew with dumplings, steak and kidney pudding, and corned beef hash are staples, along with various steaks plus meltingly sticky roast vegetables and lashings of gravy. Slow-cooked roast dinners include crispy belly pork, 28-day aged beef rump, salt-brined chicken and Pennine lamb. Lighter options include lemony fishcakes, but don’t forget the triple-cooked Chop House chips, and leave room for the date night-worthy desserts.

Mr Thomas’s Chop House is still a family concern, and to honour Tom’s wife Sarah, who officially took over in 1880 on his death, and their daughter, also Sarah, the pub was temporarily renamed Sarah’s Chop House to mark International Women’s Day 2019.

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