Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms — Restaurant in West Lancashire

There’s been an manor house at Moor Hall since at least 1282, and probably before. The current main house dates from the 16th century.

The present operation includes luxury accommodation, the restaurant — with two stars and a green star from Michelin — and the Barns, a “neighbourhood” restaurant with its own Michelin star.

The food is driven by the genius of Mark Birchall, previously at L’Enclume, who has been the architect of Moor Hall’s success since it opened in 2014.

I joined two friends for lunch in the restaurant on a recent Saturday, and it was, without doubt, among the very best meals I’ve enjoyed this year.

First, there’s the venue. The early rounds are served in a soft, comfortable sitting room in the oldest part of the manor house. Our perch had a great view of the front garden and a massive, ancient fireplace that any Time Team fan could get excited about.

After getting our hands on a welcome glass of champagne, there were snacks.

These were next-level epic. The opener was charcuterie, made in house. Wonderfully fatty, brilliantly spiced.

Then there was “black pudding.” If I was to pick the single best thing I’ve eaten in 2024, it would be Moor Hall’s black pudding. A parcel so carefully constructed it was beyond belief, and it delivered soft, warm, perfect flavour.

Then finely grated crown prince squash with a cured egg yolk and homemade chorizo. Then an “english muffin” with buttered lobster, pancetta that was more like lardo, and lemon verbina, which was also in the top five of things I’ve eaten in 2024.

Then a round of caviar, obviously.

After caviar, we were led towards the dining room, pausing in the kitchen for our final snack — a bite of smoked eel served in a tart made from a single, long-strand of potato. It was camouflaged in a display of the day’s fresh ingredients.

From there, we walked through the wonderfully bright, long dining room, which I’m guessing was built as an extension off the main house.

Then, lunch began.

There was mackerel paired with an extraordinary ‘preserved’ raspberry, the fruit’s acidity balancing the oily character of the fish.

An oyster dish was finished table side, the chef joining our banter and making the whole experience a moment of light entertainment, followed by an exquisite bite of sweet, salty oyster with a hint of dill and creamy but acidic buttermilk.

There were courses focused on carrot then on turnip with crab. Next was an over-the-top take on beef tartare — beef aged for 80 days and served with celeriac, mustard, and shallots.

Then came scallop with cauliflower, grains, and truffle. and after that, turbot, so artistically presented we felt shame in eating it, though we ate it anyway.

Finally, a filet of sika deer from Dorset served with fruits of the forest, together with a sidecar of the deer’s liver topped with truffled honey.

Four epic, clever desserts followed that, mostly fruit-focused, all refreshing after so many delicious courses.

And then cheese. We were led to the cheese room and asked to select a few. I could have spent the rest of the day. After cheese, it was back to the sitting room for coffee and petit fours.

Throughout, all of the service was wonderful, especially considering that one of our group was nearly an hour late. But Moor Hall didn’t miss a beat, although I’m sure they had to move heaven and earth in the kitchen to rearrange the service plans which we had disrupted.

Wine service was stupendous, with expert hands guiding us through their extensive list.

Even accounting for the level of hospitality you expect in a place of this caliber, the Moor Hall team went far beyond. Everyone was friendly, even nice, glad to have a laugh, happy to chat. They felt (to me, at least) genuinely happy to see us.

We could not have been happier to see them.

If, in life, there are good days and bad days, this one rated excellent. I’ll remember for it a long time.

For more reviews like this, check out...

I recently visited Moor Hall with my wife, not for the first time. The evening started well, the taxi arrived on time, the entrance to the hall is magnificent and the decor of the grand pre/post dinner space is rather good.

It was downhill from there, almost immediately. One problem that kept on cropping up was the music. 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s subtly singalong melodies but sub par songs are not a great accompaniment to an evening and any restaurant that plays a less than average Manchester band such as James singing ‘Sit Down’ really needs to get a psychiatrist.

I don’t know why this keeps happening to me, recently travelling business class on Cathay Pacific I had the same problem, but on one of the pre-meal delights the salad had rotting leaves. Quality control was clearly lacking.

Next we went to the garden. It is rather wonderful, but I didn’t feel free to roam, as I had before, but instead we were guided. We were given a ‘pea’ delight which would have been delightful if it didn’t provide enough sodium chloride to last a week.

And so to the meal itself. It was mostly delicious. I particularly enjoyed the oyster. At this point I politely asked for the music to be turned off. It was distracting and created an ambience that was not conducive to enjoying the meal. I suppose somebody has to be sat underneath the speaker…. As far as I could tell my request was ignored.

We had a piece of lobster with cheese. I’d rather not have a strong tasting cheese covering my lobster so I asked for it to be placed on the side. A more sniffy response from the waiter I could not have hoped for. It did not help that the lobster was overcooked.

We later tried a dish that was so unpleasant I asked for some water with lemon to clear my palate. Then I asked again. And again. And again. It did arrive eventually but it rather seemed like a stark example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing. At these prices I expect better.

On the other hand the crab and broth combo was to die for. They could have taken away the crab and kept feeding me the broth and I would have died a happy man. “Oh, by the way can you do something about the music…”

A little later we were given a piece of turbot that could not have been cooked better. Superb.

We were then shown a gorgeous whole crown of duck. I’m sure the waiter had something to say but at that point a song by the Jam got it in the way. While I didn’t expect to be served the whole crown the two measly slices I did get were a vast disappointment. It is really bad psychology (retired Prof) to do this.

When one has to say that the cheese selection was the highlight of the meal one can only be disappointed.

Previously I would have recommended this restaurant to everyone. Not any more. Now I would recommend it to my friends who like to gamble and have bad...

This was our second stay at Moor Hall, already planning a third. This time we stayed in one of the newish Garden Rooms, ours was Borage. These garden rooms are situated a short distance away from the main house & are detached & self contained. There is a hot tub on the deck; and as you enter into your room, there is a small lounge with comfortable chairs, coffee table and a sofa and a TV. There is a separate bedroom area & finally the bathroom. All beautifully appointed as you would expect. A large cabinet in the sitting area contains various drinks , home made ginger bread biscuits, a fridge with fresh milk & complimentary water. The garden rooms also contain an ironing board and iron, a safe, hairdryer, hot and cold fan and bath robes. |We arrived about 2.15pm and had afternoon tea in the bar area, this is part of the package.|All of the staff are so warm & friendly, you feel instantly at home. We went to our room about 3.30 & immediately had to try out the hot tub. Not for the faint hearted getting in and out at my age but well worth it. Just lovely to be in a bubbling, warm, hot tub whilst looking out onto a rainy autumn garden. A great way to start our evening. We were booked in for dinner 7 for 7.30pm so we went to the main hotel for the amuse bouche / canapés which start the event, everything was delicious. We are pescatarians & our food throughout was perfectly prepared, seasoned & served. The final canapé was served by Chef Patron Mark himself in his kitchen, a lovely touch & we were delighted to chat to him. |We lost touch of how many courses we were served but every one was a winner. The food is accompanied & heightened by knowledgeable and interactive service staff with clear explanations of what we were about to eat & we were also given a sealed menu as a memento, another lovely touch. |The evening was perfect, the stay was perfect. We’re currently going through difficult times & this visit to MoorHall felt like an oasis to us, just what we needed. Breakfast for us was in The Barn as the main restaurant is closed on Mondays. Again, the 1 Michelin star Barn is a beautiful building. Breakfast in it was a treat, some of the best coffee we’ve ever drunk, a set pescatarian breakfast for us, beautifully seasoned & presented. What a great start to my special day. We are fortunate that Moor Hall is only a 45 minute drive from home but even if you have to travel further, it’s well worth it. The ambience, the food, the staff, the rooms - we don’t feel anything could be improved. Thanks to Mark, Ellie, Neil, Matt & all the rest of the team....