The Higher Buck

Reliably good dinners are served at The Higher Buck, a pub meets gastro eatery where respected local chef Michael Heathcote’s menu is a Ribble Valley favourite. It’s also a regular in Good Food Guides and was named in the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs in the UK list in 2021.

Bring the family or book a seat in the window for a more intimate dinner date. Take in the stripped wood, tweed and a log-burning stove and you know that you’re in the countryside – the quirky lampshades are even made from colanders.

The specials board is always a good place to start, however plenty of perennially good mainstay dishes are worth travelling back for. For instance the crispy duck and chorizo salad: baby lettuce and spinach topped with smoked bacon, pickled cucumber, spring onion and roasted shredded duck, all drizzled in rich hoisin dressing. Higher Buck’s fish pie is creamy with plenty of chunks of fish and mighty fine prawns served with steamed Lancashire vegetables.

Black pudding scotch egg with mustard mayo puts the pub firmly on the Lancashire foodie map and the cheddar souffle with apple chutney cooked in a skillet, served piping hot from the oven, is worth waiting a moment to devour. Chef loves a variation on long-standing menu classics, so this signature dish may occasionally feature blue cheese.

A foray into Middle Eastern plant-based dishes has the warmth to cheer up any rainy day. Dishes like chickpea and red lentil dhal with basmati rice and flat bread are also a tasty vegan friendly and gluten-free option.

For dessert sticky toffee is always good but venture on for vanilla panna cotta with rhubarb jelly and compote and buttery shortbread, or Courtyard Dairy cheeses with biscuits and apple chutney for a good savoury alternative.

The village post office is found opposite and The Waddington Arms is just down the road along the river, so it’s a great spot for people-watching. Tables out front for a pre-dinner drink should be snagged early if you want to watch the world go by in Waddington with a pint of Wainwright.