Owd Nells Canalside Tavern — Restaurant in Borough of Wyre

We have stayed here many times over the last 10 years and its seem to get worse over the last few years. We stayed on Friday 29.10.21 and it has been by far the worst experience here.

Upon arrival very pleasant introduction as always, the lady on reception nice, friendly and helpful. Once we got to our room (delux) things started going down hill. We had to clean the bath before using it as you could see the ring of dirt presumably from previous occupant. We put a towel down on the floor to step on when getting out which turned brown from the dirt on the tiled floor, the separate toilet had a dint in the door, dirt around the seat and yellow streaks at the bottom which i presume was urine again the floor tiles were filthy. Adamant to not let this spoil our evening we got ready for our meal in the italian restaurant. We were booked in at 20:30 so went for a drink in the little bar first, it got to just after 21:00 so i went to see if our table was ready as no one came to get us as we were told they would. We sat in the corner of what used to be a drinking area not in the restaurant which we was abit gutted about but understand as it was busy and probably covid distancing in place. The first waitress was very polite who took our order and served our drinks. When our starters came the mexican garlic bread wasnt cooked underneath and looked like the toppings had been thrown on from a distance. When i complained to the waiter he was extremly rude and stormed off with it, when he returned it was no different just scraped some toppings off. When the muscles arrived they looked amazing but was like the had been cooked in sand, everyone of them was crunching in my teeth and a couple were really cold. I asked a different waiter to try one as he refused and said "are you paying or leaving" so we left with empty stomachs. Breakfast service was great, all staff very polite and helpful but unfortunately the food was not. Again we were tucked into the same corner as the meal so never got to enjoy in the inside of the restaurant. I went to the desk to highlight the issues from our stay but now you just put your room key in a basket. Such a shame for this establishment to have gone really down hill as it once was our favourite place to stay and enjoy...

We had a really excellent meal in the restaurant upstairs. It was quiet but we never once got forgotten. The staff were available if we needed them and did check we had everything we needed but they were not continually hovering over us. There were 2 menus to choose from and you could mix and match from both. The wine list was very good and gave a good choice. Prices were reasonable for the wines. I had a large bowl of mussels to start and these were good quality and perfectly cooked. The steak was good and cooked exactly as we asked. They had some unusual ice creams...including Guinness flavour!! It sounded terrible (if you don't drink Guinness!!) but was actually good. We will eat here again. The menu tells a different story. The Cartford Inn, near Little Eccleston on the western side of Lancashire, knows exactly what it’s doing. It is firmly a part of the Gravy Moderne movement. You haven’t heard of the Gravy Moderne movement? That’s possibly because I’ve just invented it, but not before time. It describes a kitchen anchored in French classical technique, but one that puts all that knowledge and skill in the service of a recognisably British pub repertoire.

There’s an awful lot of this going on in Lancashire at the moment. It has a concentration of outstanding food pubs, working hard to serve pub food while not being hidebound by the tradition. There are the glorious pies and pasties cooked by Stosie Madi at the Parkers Arms, alongside her more obviously Mediterranean dishes. There’s the gutsy meat cookery of Tom Parker at the White Swan in Fence. There’s the way Nigel Haworth took the Lancashire hotpot and polished it up until it went from repository for cheap scraps to gleaming luxury item. It’s the biggest seller by far across the chain of pubs with which...

May I first say I have never moaned on a review before in my life but I feel I have to on this occasion. Me and my partner traveled 30 miles to visit the place hoping for a great Sunday morning breakfast experience. However it was terrible. The Farmers breakfast was the worst breakfast I've had for some time. The bacon was very hard. The toast was hard like a piece of Rivita and the tomato was tastless and burnt to a cinder. Sausage not much better. It seemed to have been cooked by an amateur. My partner very quickly took hers back and they came over with a refund. I trudged through mine but was extremely disappointed. The coffee was like treacle, way too strong. We ordered the £6.99 meal because on the web site it comes with OJ & coffee but she said it doesn't now. I had to point out it was still advertised on the web site. After speaking to her manager they gave it to us otherwise it would have been an extra £2 each. There was no further enquiry upon taking the food back, no apology or anything. They did bring the money back for the returned one but without any comment. They didnt seem to be that bothered. Perhaps they didn't like the fact I pointed out their pricing error at the beginning and it rubbed them up the wrong way? If your coming here expecting a quality breakfast you will be sorely disappointed. It made the £3 Wetherspoon breakfast look amazing. Sorry to say I will not...