The best Ribble Valley restaurants

The Assheton Arms is a classic country pub – perfect for a stop off after a walk in the Ribble Valley. Given that its wine selection is so good, perhaps you should take advantage of the accommodation – many of the bedrooms have views of Pendle Hill – and turn lunch into a weekend getaway.

Eight at Gazegill is the epitome of farm to fork dining. Dishes showcase the organic farming methods and the beautiful British pigs and cattle who roam the land. It’s a truly sustainable venture powered by 100% renewable energy and everything tastes wonderful.

Fell Bistro is the gastronomic endeavour of not one, but two MasterChef: The Professionals finalists. It stands to reason that the food should be very, very good. Foraging is a big part of the menu but it’s a pared down offering focusing on quality rather than fancy-pants cheffy twiddles. Serving the sort of food you really want to eat, Fell Bistro is big on flavour. Could this be the ultimate neighbourhood restaurant?

Cooking goes from strength to strength at the Freemasons at Wiswell in Lancashire’s Ribble Valley. Roaring fires, cast-iron fireplaces and pictures of fantastically proportioned livestock lend a cosy vibe to the renovated cottages which make up what’s been described as the original gastropub.

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.

Located in the heart of Clitheroe, Holmes Mill is a bountiful food, drink and entertainment venue as well as a lovely place to stay in Lancashire. Featuring its own beer hall, bar & grill, hotel, food hall, bowling alley, cinema and much more, this former textiles mill is the gift that keeps on giving.

It was the TV series The Trip starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon that made The Inn at Whitewell a celebrity in its own right. The setting, an area of outstanding natural beauty, is still as bucolic as it was in the show. And the food from long-serving head chef Jamie Cadman is still more than worth the car journey.

La Locanda in Gisburn just outside Clitheroe is a fantastic restaurant that transports you to Italy. The award-winning spot is a proponent of the slow food movement and dishes are rooted in traditional values. Expect exemplary seasonal cooking using a mix of local produce and Italian ingredients from dedicated small-scale producers.

Northcote is where chef-patron Nigel Haworth earned his stripes as an instigator of contemporary British fine dining. Today, Michelin star chef and one of BBC2’s Great British Menu winners, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, heads up the kitchen.

The Parker’s Arms is a homely pub, serving and baking extraordinary, modern European food.

The Rum Fox is a new dining destination with all the charm of an old one, housed in the former village pub. The tap room keeps the feel of the local alive with a good range of ales and the clean decor is that of a posh inn but the food is more ambitious than any pub grub.

The Three Fishes at Mitton is in the heart of the beautiful Ribble Valley in Lancashire. Expect an immaculate whitewashed listed building, a cross between an Inn and a country pub, a welcoming bar and an original slate floor all warmed by open log fires.

Yu Copster Green (formerly known as Yu and You) is an established, upscale Chinese restaurant serving British favourites and house inventions in the heart of the Ribble Valley.