Review: The Three Fishes, Mitton

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Lancashire Telegraph review by Anna Mansell from February 26. 2011.

IT’S not often a single dish inspires a whole review.

But when that dish combines some of my favourite things — and breaks every rule of the diet book in each little mouthful, then I’ll break with convention.

If you’re a fan of hot, classic British puds, just take in these words and imagine: Sticky Parkin.

Yes... It’s a variation on that naughtiest of afters ‘sticky toffee pudding’, but with a warm piece of gingery cake replacing the tea-soaked date sponge.

And a dark, thick, hot treacly sauce of loveliness served on the side.

Are you picking up how much I enjoyed this?

As the hot sauce soaked into the cake, the whole thing took on an unfeasibly gooey texture — which needed the vanilla-speckled ice cream to loosen it up.

As it cooled, it stuck to the sides of the dish — and was undoubtedly doing the same to my hips.

Eventually, having chewed my way through the sticky goodness, I realised there was sauce left in the little jug which I simply couldn’t leave and I was treated to a mouthful of treacle toffee-like yumminess.

The Three Fishes wasn’t an imaginative choice for a ‘romantic’ dinner, but the homely grub is a favourite of my fiance and we selected our ‘usuals: Sausages and ‘dips’ to start, followed by fish and chips and Lancashire hotpot.

All were to the consistently good standard we’ve come to expect, but there’s no question that the parkin pud from the seasonal specials’ menu was the star of the show.

I can still taste it now, several days later.

Sadly, with spring on its way it may be some time before I can next experience such sticky, sweetened goodness... I’m longing for September already.

The Bolton News review by Yasmin Hampson from March 12, 2008.

THE fine reputation of the Three Fishes pub restaurant in Mitton in the Ribble Valley has spread far and wide.

Famed for its great food and good ales, we had heard its praises sung by a number of people. Eventually curiosity got the better of us and we decided to visit one weekday lunchtime.

With expectations sky high we set out on the 22-mile trip from Bolton.

The Three Fishes excels at serving traditional, regional cooking, with the menu, developed by top chef Nigel Haworth, of Blackburn's Northcote Manor fame, taking diners on a culinary tour of Lancashire.

Local produce is used in all of the dishes with the suppliers the stars of the show, with their pedigree and pictures adorning the walls around the pub.

Starters include North Sea Cod Fishcake with curly leaf parsley sauce, Warm Morecambe Bay Shrimps with Blade Mace Butter and delicious sounding Treacle Baked free range Garstang Ribs with Devilled Black Peas.

There are also three platters - house cured meats, a local and Scottish seafood mix or lightly pickled Hesketh Bank vegetables - that can be shared as a starter or enjoyed individually as a main course.

I chose Andrew Ireland's Horseshoe Black Pudding, £4.75, which came sliced in half and served with a fantastic onion relish.

My partner chose the rather ordinary sounding, but nevertheless delicious, Shorrock's tasty Lancashire Cheese on Toast, £5.50. It came drizzled with Worcester Sauce and accompanied by a piece of crispy Cumbrian sweet cured bacon.

Main courses include classics such as Heather reared Bowland Lamb Lancashire Hot Pot and Leagram's organic Curd Cheese and Onion Pie along with a selection of grills featuring Ribble Valley Beef and Goosnargh Chicken.

I chose the Three Fishes Pie made from Fleetwood fish and seawater prawns, baked with mashed potatoes and finished with Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire cheese, £9.50.

While a bit light on the prawns, this was a substantial dish with chunks of fish in every mouthful.

My partner meanwhile had decided to tuck into Farmer Sharp's slow cooked Shoulder of Mutton, £12.90.

This came with butter mashed carrots, swede and parsnip and two absolutely delicious clouds of herby tasting barley dumplings. The mutton was meltingly tender.

We also ordered a portion of "real chips" cooked in beef dripping, £1.95, which were a disappointment being rock hard on the outside and a tad greasy. Could they have been frozen? surely not.

Then it was on to dessert. I chose a rich, yet light, buttery tasting Lancashire Curd Tart served with organic lemon cream £4.50, while my partner had Bramley seedling apple crumble served with cinnamon custard, £4.50, which he said was delicious, but could have had more crunch factor.

This food is definitely a notch above your run of mill pub restaurant food and therefore comes with a heftier tag, our bill being a total of £52, including two glasses of wine.

We headed for home, full and happy that we had made the effort to sample this local wonder.

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