Aven Restaurant — Restaurant in Preston

My wife and I are partial to nice restaurants that serve good food and that has friendly, attentive staff. 263 scored maximum points across the board. As a birthday treat, I wanted to take my wife somewhere special that was in reasonable travelling distance from where we live. After reading the reviews on here 263 was the obvious choice. The day after I confirmed booking online I received a telephone call enquiring if we had any food allergies! A restaurant has never done this before. From that point I knew we were going to be looked after. The restaurant itself is understated, in a quiet little back street off Winckley Square in Preston. The dining room is not huge and has a view into the kitchen. The ambiance was relaxing. We were given a warm welcome from the manager and her waiting-on team. We has the tasting menu with wine pairing with each course. I cannot stress enough how sublime the food was. Prior to the main event, we were give 3 "snack" courses. Each one was a joy. I have to mention that the third snack consisted of 4 slices of bread and a pot of butter! We both thought it rather odd, but when we tasted the beautifully freshly baked bread with the butter, it was like flavour-bombs had gone off in our mouths. it was glorious! The following 6 courses were exquisite. What kind of chef can make sweetcorn exciting? The butter pie is like no pie I've ever eaten before (and I've eaten a few of those over the years...). I'm not a big fish fan but the halibut was delicious. For me, the star of the meal was the venison loin which was served with black pudding, pickled cabbage, onions, pearl barley and a gloriously rich jus. It was complemented perfectly with a Uruguayan red wine. I don't eat malt loaf, but I will eat the one created at 263. I'm no fan of blue cheese, however the one prepared and served to us rounded off a truly fantastic experience. I cannot heap enough praise on this restaurant. Thank you for making my wife's birthday an extra-special one this year. We cannot...

This was my first fine dining experience & it was very nice indeed. The restaurant is in a quiet part of Preston near Avenham Park. In fact it's easy to miss if you don't know where it is. Very unassuming location.

Each course served was amazing & introduced me to some flavours I've never had before. I also had the butter pie as a supplement. Very much worth the money. Yeah, really good. My favourite course was the cod, artichoke & shrimp. Seafood isn't usually my favourite but this was outstanding with so much flavour. A nice surprise was the bread served made from reclaimed grains used for beer making. And I'm unlikely to ever have better butter than that which was served with it. Sublime. Each dish had a surprising flavour & I literally couldn't wait for each course to be brought out. All in all no complaints & only praise for the quality of the food served.

There is a very extensive wine list & a lot of other drinks to choose from, some sourced from the local area.

The staff were all really nice & described each dish as it was brought out. They all knew their stuff & were extremely polite. This restaurant is not cheap but is definitely worth the expense, especially if you'd like an introduction to this...

Been to a good number of top end restaurants for tasting menus and this is up there with the best, brilliant that it is so local to us. Tasting menu is swapped every 4 weeks, not sure we will be able to come back every month but will certainly return as a regular treat. Food sensational, staff absolutely brilliant, set up and feel is nice but relaxed and the pricing i think is very fair. We paid around £110 pp for the 12 courses and wine flight. Would comfortably be double that in Manchester. Last place i went to was wood in Manchester and this knocks spots off it.

Its not one of these over complicated places that adds ridiculous stuff just for the sake of it. They provide knockout food that the majority of people will enjoy but is different enough to still be an experience. It’s definitely a place for foodies, but also for people who are perhaps a bit nervous about going to these types of places. If you are then don’t be, so book in!

Also good portion sizes so you actually feel nicely full when you leave.

Knockout dish for me was the cured trout, my wifes was the butter pie.

Have already recommended to friends and family, some of whom have already booked! Hope...