The Shoulder Of Mutton - Ramsbottom

This was a special occasion, so we wanted somewhere to be a nice tasty bite, and we had heard many wonderful things about the shoulder of mutton in bury, so we decided to try it. the first thing they notice how they come through the pretty holcombe village is that the venue looks like a classic big pub. there's a good parking lot, but I think that's going to be busy. it also has picnic table directly at the parking lot, ideal for when it is a sunny day and it has a drink in the sunshine. when we entered, it was interesting to see that it was a doggy pub, i.e. dogs were allowed in the venue with their owners. some find this uneasy, but we personally found it great! it was nice to see dogs to relax, get plagued by the other customers. they told us that they sometimes have a limit on how many dogs are allowed, as it can sometimes get quite dog-busy when they 've come the walker after a long trek with rex and poppy! in the search for the restaur

The black pudding was beneath a thyme hash brown, and pancetta with a dippy egg. The combination of tastes was excellent: like a miniature world-class breakfast. The soufflé was smooth with a strong rich taste.

We were so impressed with the taster menu from chef Chris Yates at the Shoulder of Mutton in Ramsbottom that we returned. Also, I've been making a little sideline in selling photos occasionally. People seem to like them and they help to fund a pretty expensive hobby. In this case I swapped a set of pics for Chris's new taster menu, a very fair swap I'd say. I don't know how this will effect the ethics of this blog post. I'm sure someone else who has a better grasp of morality will let me know, but I do believe that transparency is always the best policy, then you can make your own minds up. In any case, I've already said that I think Chris Yates is one of the best chefs in the North West and this just confirmed what we already thought. He's not even thirty yet either. In my opinion this was Michelin star level food, it's as simple as that really. I can definitely see stars in their future, if they decide to go that way. They're happy at the moment serving great pub food too.

The Shoulder of Mutton had been on my 'to eat ' list for quite a while, even before I started this website. But with one thing and another, it had slipped from my mind. After a brief spell at Northcote , chef Chris Yates has returned and is now the full owner. I 'd heard very good things. Franco, owner of Solita reckons he 's one of the most talented chefs in the north west. So we were really excited to visit on Sunday. It was a beautiful spring day and we really did see Ramsbottom at its very best, embarrassingly I 've never even been there before, even though it 's only half an hour up the motorway. We were first in the group of people waiting for it to open. First impressions were excellent, a lovely warm welcome from FOH and a seat by the fire. Lots of dogs too, which I always judge a pub by.

Whilst browsing the main menu a dish caught my eye. Intrigued by ‘Slow Cooked Parsnip, Maple And Soy’ I ordered it as an extra starter. A wise decision, it was as fascinating as it sounds. In fact it’s one of the most interesting dishes i’ve eaten this year. The parsnips had a lovely texture having been slow cooked but it was all about the flavour, the sweetness of maple syrup comes through but was perfectly balanced by the umani rich soy. The seemingly odd accompaniment of savoury granola and pink grapefruit worked well, an unusual but successful flavour combination.