Clitheroe: The Emporium

2:24pm Saturday 23rd February 2008

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UNIQUE is a much overused word, but in terms of a dining experience I think it's applicable to the Emporium.

For the uninitiated, this large converted church in the centre of Clitheroe offers everything from tea and cakes to full blown meals. It is set on three floors amid surroundings that are part colonial club and part your Auntie Nelly's spare room.

Virtually everything you sit on and eat off is for sale and the style of décor includes ornate carved screens, stone pillars and battered leather armchairs and it all comes together to create a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere.

A large stack of newspapers and magazines is available for you to read and you could easily lose half a day watching the world go by.

The good news is that the standard of food matches the ambience.

The better half and I went for what I suspect is the Emporium's signature dish, the cheese and pate board to share. Basically you get to choose from half a dozen cheeses and pates. With the standard platter (£6.95) you get one cheese - blue stilton for us - and a pate (our choice was Ardennes) but we added another cheese, the Snowdonia truckle, for a further £2.50 and a selection of chutneys and pickles for a further £1.20.

A veggie brother-in-law went for tuna salad at £7.50.

Make sure you're hungry when ordering the platter because on top of your cheese and pate you get several rounds of toast, fresh bread, grapes and salad - marvellous.

The tuna salad was infused with chilli and was a major plateful.

That didn't stop us from indulging in sticky toffee pudding with ice cream and vanilla panacotta for afters.

With various drinks the total bill for a very full trio of diners came to £41.

The great thing about the Emporium is that you can have as little or as much as you want, but the standard remains the same.

The verdict

Club-like surroundings offer dining out with a difference.