The Black Bull Inn & Restaurant — Restaurant in Ribble Valley

My good lady and I had an afternoon without the boys and decided to nip over as we had heard some good reports about the place. We booked a table for the two of us and arrived to find the car park full and so parked on the road. On arrival shown to our table albeit being 15 mins early passing a bar that looked like a great place to have a couple of pints with friends and would definetly make a good local. Taking our time to browse the menu we ordered our drinks, my wife ordered a bottle of wine and me a pint of Wainwrights which was exceptional. However the wine was not as ordered and there was no explanation from the waitress. I questioned this with I think the manageress or owner and was told the wine list was being changed and the wine we had on the table was going to be more expensive so we had a good deal. My wife tasted the wine and said it was good and we would keep that and not change it (although she was torn between the Savignon and the white Rioja). This did not sit to well with me and on checking the wine offered is substantially cheaper than the one we ordered but only checked having left so if they are changing the wine menu and the one we had is more expensive maybe look at changing the wine merchant they use ! Now the above is the only minor gripe I had the service is not great it is exceptional and the food measures upto that. We were only asked once if our starter, mains and desert were ok not everytime someone passsed the table. I had the scallops starter and my wife had the fish goujons and they were both a credit to the chef. The pot pie my wife had was full of the most tender beef I had a special which was short rib which I enjoyed it as something different. Although full we just had to try the dessert menu with my good lady having a Sticky toffee pud (so light and full of flavour and the honeycomb piece with it was so good they could do with selling that behind the bar) I had a pear and berry crumble which was just soooooo yummy I was tempted to have mine with custard but kept with the ice cream and was more than happy with it. All in all a good experience with the food, although not the cheapest because of the quality, service and presentation well worth a visit. It will be interesting to see if the wine list changes as £31 for a bottle of Sav .... touch heavy...

We had a lovely meal at The Black Bull Inn to celebrate my partner’s 40th birthday at the start of July. It was a surprise gathering with over 30 guests, and Rebecca, the owner, was incredibly accommodating—helping us organise and pre-book the food in advance.

The food was excellent, with generous portion sizes. The staff were friendly and the service throughout the afternoon was great.

Unfortunately, the experience was let down when it came to settling the bill. We had planned for each guest to pay individually for their food and drinks. While two members of our party were able to do this at the bar, we were then told it wouldn’t be possible for the rest of the group. I ended up having to cover the remaining balance myself—over £700—and then request repayments from everyone afterward.

The final receipt was also unclear and difficult to reconcile. It still included items that had already been paid for, and while I was told those had been deducted, there was no visible breakdown showing the adjustments. What made things even more frustrating was that it took two more weeks of emails with Rebecca to try and resolve the issue. I still feel I was overcharged, and it appears one of the meals paid for separately remains on the final bill.

It would have been much easier—and saved a lot of time and stress—if individual payments had been allowed for everyone. I also felt we were rushed out of the room a bit towards the end of the meal, as the staff were preparing for another group. I suspect this was part of the reason one consolidated bill was brought out—to speed things up.

It's a shame, it spoilt a lovey meal and time for everyone.

If you are booking for a large party, check your final...

Booked a table after reading rave reviews. We were met by the waitress who greeted us with a smile and asked if we would like to have a drink in the bar, which we accepted as we were early.

Lovely interior, done really nice.

My wife sat down, and I went to the bar, which was busy, the barmaid, who most likely exceeded her chosen career path, looked straight through me, and served later arrivals first.

At first I thought, this isn't meant to be rude, she had early signs of some form of memory loss, and I was a little concerned that someone in her early sixties had to keep asking "whose next" whenever she had finished serving someone.

I then realised she was just rude, and once again, she asked "who's next," so I politely requested a pint of Timothy Taylor and an Aperol spritz.

This is no joke when I say my wife creates the best spritz and has done for over 20 years before anyone had even heard of it in the UK!!

The only thing I can say is not enough aperol, too much soda, disappointing, to say the least.

We sat until our booking time then went to the restaurant and waited to be greeted which was none existent, eventually a waitress walked towards us, totally ignored us and led a couple who arrived after us, who hadn't booked, to a table.

It totally baffles me in this day and age of the Internet that customer service can be so shocking.

We drove back to our home in Knott End and had a fabulous meal at the Bull, where we were greeted like royalty.

I do hope the mature barmaid gets some sort of treatment to reverse the signs...