Ego at The Knowles Arms, Blackburn — Restaurant in England

Came across this restaurant whilst on Google. Menu looked different so though I would give it a try. Went for lunch on a Thursday arriving around 1.45pm. Very large car park and it looked busy. Disappointing to see only two designated disabled spaces at the front of the building. But there was a ramp with hand rails on both sides making access possible for those in a wheelchair or with mobility issues. But as the car park was so big we had no problem finding a space. 5 star hygiene sticker visible as we entered. Something I must check more often in future. Once inside we didn’t have to wait long to be greeted. We hadn’t booked. I had looked at pictures online beforehand and noticed they had the bench type seats on some tables. I asked if we could get one of those. Unfortunately none were available. Our greeter suggested we take a seat in the bar area and look at the menus, order some drinks and, if a suitable table became available, he would allocate it to us. I had already decided on what I was going to order from looking at the menus online. I ordered from the Prix Fixe menu with 3 courses costing £21.95. I ordered the Gambas Al Pil Pil for which there was a surcharge of £1.50. Followed by Salmon and Dill Fishcakes with Sicilian Lemon Tart for dessert. My brother picked from the A la Carte menu going for Pepperoni Piccantina pizza at £13.95 with a side order of fries at £3.45. I ordered a bottle of white Rioja at £22.95 and my brother a pint of Estrella at £5.85. It looks only a matter of time before it will be six quid a pint. I was annoyed to see the wine brought to the table uncorked. I told the bar person this. She did apologise but I do find this a more and more common practice and it needs addressing. If staff are not comfortable opening wine then maybe they should switch to screw top only on the wine list. It didn’t seem long before the gentleman who had greeted us came to tell us a suitable table was now available. I would like to thank him again for taking the time to sort that. I was much more comfortable on that type of seat. My king prawn starter arrived. Seven prawns in my serving so not a bad portion. Would have liked an extra piece of bread though. A nice kick to them from the chillis and lots of garlic flavour. I really enjoyed them. My fish cakes were ok. Nothing special but adequate with a decent amount of salmon in them. My brothers pizza looked a good size. When we ordered we asked what size the pizza was. They are not done on size but on the weight of the dough. Still no matter it was a good size, plenty of pepperoni on it and my brother enjoyed it. However, he wasn’t impressed with his fries. Mine were crisp and tasty. He said his were underdone. We swapped a few and had to agree. They were different in colour, taste and texture and a couple were definitely under cooked. We did mention this to one of the servers who said she would relay back to the kitchen. But it wasn’t a major issue but seemed strange how fries ordered at the same time could differ so much. My dessert was lovely but rather a small portion I thought. We also ordered coffees. Service was friendly and good humoured. However, we dealt with 5 different people during out visit if you include the bar person who served the wine. I prefer where you have the same waiter or waitress but again more places seem to be adopting the same approach that you are served by whoever is available. The venue itself was clean and well laid out. I saw no steps inside so wheelchair friendly. The music system also deserves a mention. Loud enough to hear clearly if you concentrated but not that loud that it interfered with your conversation. So overall not the cheapest of places and not the biggest of portions. At least for the set price menu in my opinion. However, I think most people would be satisfied as I do have a big appetite . And I would visit again. There is an extensive menu with a very diverse range of options. Plus having registered online with them I can claim 20% off food on my next visit there so hope to be popping back...

I booked online through a 25% off email for two. This is not the first time we’ve been but it Will be the last. We arrived on time. They had us booked as a table for 4 even though I had an acknowledgement for 2. Got seated then waited 15 mins for someone to come and get us drinks and take our order. The waiter who I think might have been the Manager was extremely nice. Not so when we left though. Our waitress was as miserable as sin. She looked like it was painful to be there. Maybe it was through the holidays but if it’s a customer facing job then she should at least smile or get another job if it’s that bad. We were seated near the door. Every time the door opened we got a cold breeze. It was freezing. The breeze also brought in the smoke right over our table which was horrid from those smoking in the doorway who should have been smoking further away but no one moved them. We got a face full of cigarette smoke arriving and departing. We asked to be moved which they did but the waitress didn’t seem happy and still had a miserable face. Food took ages to come and was mediocre to say the least. Lamb tagine had more olives in than lamb and was so spicy you couldn’t taste it. Pita bread was hard. We waited and waited for a dessert but no one came so we decided to leave. When we went to pay we assumed because we’d booked through the 25% off email that this would be knocked off when we paid. No, it wasn’t. We asked about it and the waiter who originally took our order who might have been the manager was rude. His manner was really quite off when we asked him about the discount. We will not be going back and suggest, if you’re looking for somewhere to eat...

We needed somewhere to host a wake after the funeral of my mother-in-law, and we could not have chosen a better venue. Easy to get to, plenty of parking. Tastefully decorated interior. The best buffet that I have ever had at any type of function, to be honest - none of your ‘beige’ type foods (think cold pork pies, sausage rolls, limp sandwiches etc) the table was filled with hot food: pork koftas and tzatziki, salmon fish cakes with tartare sauce, piri-piri chicken and chorizo kebabs with aioli, jewelled cous cous, crispy chips, herbed potatoes, freshly made stone baked pizzas, salad, various sandwiches (smoked salmon, cheese, chicken and advocado) haddock goujons with lemon, spiced falafel with hummus and, last but not least, the fabulous honey roasted chorizo pieces were to die for!!! The mini desserts came and consisted of slices of baked cheesecake, frangipane, sticky toffee pudding and brownies. Plenty of tea and coffee on hand, too. Food aside, the drinks weren’t cheap but weren’t THE most expensive we have had either - pint of Guinness for £6. Not sure how much my glass of wine was as someone bought it for me but probably the best part of £10 (based off the price for the Guinness.) The staff were amazing and need a big ‘shout-out!’ They were friendly and polite, efficient and attentive and did a really good job. I know the overall bill for an estimated 40 people was not cheap but it was absolutely well worth the money and we are glad we chose this venue for the wake. On another note, I have not been in The Knowles Arms for years and years and now would not hesitate to drink and dine there in the future. Thanks, all, for a...