The Longridge Restaurant, Longridge

Phone number: 01772 784969

Bolton News review by James Higgins from March 7, 2008.

SINCE it first opened its doors, Paul Heathcote's Longridge Restaurant has been regarded as a bastion of good food in the North-west.

It's no surprise. His passion for local produce manifests itself in a menu of delightful dishes, which since 1991 has earned the eaterie a coveted Michelin Star.

That flirtation with the holy grail of food world accolades ended with a sharp bump this year when the Bolton-born chef was left "flabbergasted" at a decision by Michelin to withdraw it.

But rather than allow, what is undoubtedly a massive set back, to dampen enthusiasm, the celebrity chef has upped his game - with a revamp of the restaurant's decor and the installation of a new chef.

James Holah, formerly a sous-chef at Gordon Ramsey's Claridges restaurant in London, joined the team at The Longridge Restaurant in January.

He has a simple mantra; to provide the customer with great food and great service - and he succeeds in his aims.

We ate at the restaurant on a Friday evening. It was surprisingly quiet - a sign perhaps that the public's long-term love affair with Heathcote's flagship restaurant is faltering.

That shouldn't be the case. Our eating experience exceeded anything we have experienced in the last few years.

The presentation of our dishes was immaculate; creative without being overly extravagant. My wife started with a mushroom ravioli with creamed leeks, red wine reduction and Parmesan foam, while I plumped for the terrine of chicken with black pudding, ham hock and truffle mayonnaise, both £8.50.

Both starters were ample in size and tantalizingly good - but you'd expect nothing less.

Our main courses, £20 each, arrived, both looking a little bit on the small side in terms of portion size.

But, appearances can be deceptive and there was plenty of meat on my saddle of lamb, which came with a tasty herb crust and was served with baby onions, beetroot and spinach. My wife's fish pie was deceptively deep filled with chunks of salmon and haddock and topped with a creamy fondant potato.

Chef Holah certainly knows his way around the kitchen.

I'm not a man with a sweet tooth, but the raspberry soufflé I selected for dessert was light and incredibly tasty; my wife's rhubarb dessert, served with homemade shortbread and raspberries was similarly sublime. Both were £6.50.

In just a short space of time Holah has managed to carve out a reputation as a chef who cares; who wants people to enjoy their dining experience and who holds a genuine regard for comments, good or otherwise, that customers might want to make.

The Longridge Restaurant must surely be well on the way to reclaiming its lost Michelin Star and is a worth a visit, despite the drive.

It takes less than an hour to reach from Bolton, and the quality is worth the travel time.

Price wise, it is not the cheapest of places to eat - our bill including a half bottle of 2003 Burgundy Chablis came to £78.50, but I have always been a firm believer in the saying you get what you pay for.

The one criticism I would make of the restaurant is the lack of subtle background music. A library-esque silence fills the air, with only the murmur of voices and clinking of cutlery to cut through it.

By no means a reason to avoid the Longridge Restaurant, but a point of order for its management to consider.

Bolton News review by Lisa Hackett from October 11, 2006.

WE have been fans of Paul Heathcote for a long time, in fact I think you could call us two of his greatest devotees.

Well we did go for our first meal as a "courting couple" to his Winckley Square restaurant (now called The Chophouse), and then ended up having our wedding reception there too.

In between, we visited his flagship restaurant in Longridge, conveniently known as The Longridge Restaurant. And this is where we found ourselves on this particular Sunday.

You may think it is a long way to travel just for a meal, but it is well worth a trip and can be combined with a day out in the countryside as Longridge Fell is right on the doorstep.

The Longridge Restaurant received a Michelin Star in 1991 which it still retains and among many other awards the former Egon Ronay Chef of the Year restaurant has been described as "one of the best in the world". You don't come across many restaurants in Lancashire with Michelin stars to their name.

However, when you hear the words "Michelin starred restaurant" you could be forgiven for thinking "an expensive special occasion restaurant" where only the rich and childless go.

But not so. At The Longridge Restaurant they are trying to move away from this image and head more towards an everyday, relaxed and everyone welcome restaurant.

And so to the food.

We had a three course Sunday lunch which changes every week so you can never have the same dish twice, which is a shame if you really like something, but on the up side it means you try different dishes and it keeps the menu interesting.

On the menu when we visited were, for starters: chicken liver parfait with toasted brioche and shallot marmalade; Lancashire cheese fritters with cauliflower puree and shizo cress; Gravadlax of salmon with pickled cucumber and horseradish creme fraiche and deep fried fish cake with herb salad and lemon dressing.

My husband chose ballontine of ham hock and parsley with apple chutney and hot toast.

I had butternut squash soup with herb crme fraiche, which tasted very buttery and smooth.

For main course, there was seared fillet of salmon with crushed jersey royals, spinach and hollandaise sauce; pan fried fillet of line-caught mackerel with creamed polenta and semi-dried tomatoes and basil oil; linguini of summer vegetables and confit pork belly with sage dauphinoise and Dunkerton's organic cider cream.

I chose roast sirloin of Bowland beef served with creamed and roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and roasting juices. This was a fantastic portion and tasted divine. I did leave some of the potatoes and only tasted the Yorkshire pudding, as I wouldn't have had any room left for dessert.

My husband chose slow-cooked shoulder of lamb with hot-pot potatoes, fine beans and rosemary jus.

He said it was delicious and was struggling to finish (he had eaten a lot of bread during our starter course!), but managed it in the end.

On to dessert - there was spearmint panna-cotta with chocolate sauce and tuile biscuit; chocolate and apricot tart with creme fraiche, lemon creme with fresh berries.

Very predictably, my husband chose Heathcotes bread and butter pudding with apricots and clotted cream.

He loves this dish; in fact we had it on our wedding reception menu. It was, as usual, very light, fluffy and creamy, not heavy as you might imagine. He polished it off faster than you could say "Heathcotes Bread and Butter pudding".

I chose vanilla parfait with strawberry compote which was deliciously sweet and combined well with the creamy parfait which had the taste of the vanilla pod coming through with every mouthful. It was also very light.

To accompany our meal we had a large glass of Italian rose each and a bottle of still water on the table to share.

The price of two courses is £16.50 with desserts £3.50. We finished with two cappuccinos and the total bill was £57.

As we have found, once you have tried one of Paul Heathcote's restaurants, you have to try them all.

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