Northcote Restaurant — Restaurant in Ribble Valley

Frankly disappointing. We’ve had the 5 course gourmet menu numerous times over the last few years and have always previously been impressed. Tonight was apparently a new menu, and we felt that the food was lacking in flavour and imagination. Scallops were slightly undercooked and lacked proper caramelisation, but were still very good and possibly the best course of the five. The slow cooked egg yolk was tasty but salty, and I felt the presentation in a tiny bowl with the egg yolk hidden beneath a mound of crisps was unappealing and lacked imagination. Monkfish was overcooked and woolly, but the accompaniments were very good, with intense flavours that saved the dish. The roasted celeriac “main course” was very acidic and lacking in depth of flavour, with no cohesion. Relying on a few blobs of powerfully flavoured gels to deliver some different flavours which clashed with each other. The chocolate mousse dessert was an interesting concept and sounded delicious, but turned out to be quite ordinary and failed to impress. The milk loaf bread was fantastic and very welcome due to the tiny portion sizes of the actual meal. On previous occasions the waiters would offer a variety of delicious and complimentary, home baked bread rolls between courses, but not anymore! Now it seems to be just the one, pre-chosen roll. We asked for some of their excellent cheese bread as well and they added £4 to the bill, despite already paying £155 each for five microscopic courses. Service was very attentive and they did seem genuinely concerned when we mentioned that we didn’t enjoy the main course, but no attempt was made to compensate us with a complimentary drink or even an extra bread roll! Which was disappointing and indicative of the change of emphasis from customer satisfaction to making more profit. It’s unlikely we will go back to Northcote in the...

I opted for the 5 course lunch gourmet menu with my own choice of wine. Northcote is at the beginning of a grand new venture having recently been taken over by new owners. Things are looking promising. The service was excellent, just the right side of over attentive. All the staff are knowledgeable, pleasant and professional. Magdalena, the head Sommelier is a delight: friendly. knowledgeable and personable. The setting is great. A terrace in warmer weather appeals and inside lounges are welcoming. The table setting is excellent with bespoke Crown Derby crockery and Villroy @ Boch cutlery. Now to the food. Overall, very good. My Gormet menu included two excellent canopies, followed by an excellent lobster starter. The usual sourdough bread and butter accompanied The Isle of Wight tomato was disappointing.The expected stunning flavour was missing and reduced the dish to average. The following "roast" quail was excellent; seasonal, perfectly cooked and with well judged accompiiments. The main course of wild turbot was disappointing in that the turbot was lacking in the expected flavour. Personally, I would have preferred halibut or even hake as a more flavoursome fish. I except this is down to personal taste. The English strawberries were, as expected, excellent. The coffee and sweet treat are a vey welcome inclusion. So, overall; well worth a visit. I will certainly visit yet again but may be more selective in my choice of food next time. One final comment: some well needed disabled parking bays have been removed to allow for electric charging bays! I hope this is not yet a further example of showing preference towards the...

Northcote, for me, was incredibly well thought out flavour and texture balancing. We went for our anniversary and did the 5 course taster. We had snacks which were surprising texturally but warming and hearty in flavour. Then we had musroom parfait which was served with a mushroom tea which for me stole the show. It felt healing and full of goodness. This was followed by squab pidgeon and that was served with a bacon mayonnaise and damson jam. The cod was a highlight served on a beurre blanc and hazelnuts which complemented the citrus flavour on top perfectly. Following this was venison, cooked perfectly, with a tortellino made with the offcuttings. The tortellino really packed a deep meaty punch. This was served with beetroot and a blackcurrent jelly. Perhaps this dish needed one less beetroot element (there was a roll and cubed) and something like a carrot which could add a little more texture and less sweetness to the plate. Finally Lisa's take on coffee was a masterclass in flavours and textures. The inclusion of sesame was playful and exciting. Staff were clearly knowledgeable, caring and warm. The atmosphere is what you would expect from a restaurant of this quality in the north. Relaxed, welcoming and beautiful. Would I go again? Yes but I'd probably pick from the a la carte menu save in the knowledge that I wouldn't be able to...