The Shoulder of Mutton

Ramsbottom seems to be the place to be at the moment (well according to my wife and foodie pals) and with this in mind we decided to make a visit up here to a place we’d heard a lot about recently.
First off the food was pretty good although there was no X factor to make us think we must drive the 35 mins up here to go back again soon. We had a tasty black pudding potato cake to start which was nice but not blowing us away — followed by the Sunday beef roast. The Roast was really good — one of the best I’ve had but we also ordered the burger (meat from Frosty Butcher) and this was ok (we had half a main each) The sticky toffee pudding again was ok but nothing I could say wow about.
The venue in itself looks amazing from the outside but a bit tired indoors — the staff were super friendly and really up for a chat which was nice.
Overall it was a lovely day out and we had nothing to grumble about when it came to the quality of the food but for one starter, 2 mains, a dessert and a half of cider it cost £45 before tip making it not on the budget scale of Sunday lunch.
We’d go back again if in town but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back.

Another great place to eat in Ramsbottom… what is in the water there?
This is a lovely place with a focus on doing the traditional things well: cosy pub atmosphere, real fire, nice beer, great pub food. We skipped starters and shared a beef wellington special: really nice, coming with lovely ravioli, onion rings etc.
I didn’t fancy a pudding, so had the cheese board (generous, if not particularly exciting), but my other half’s STP looked spot on — and pretty huge.
The staff here were friendly and knowledgable (the guy knew all about the cheeses, for example), though service was a little slow towards the end — we ended up having to go pay at the bar.
I’d definitely prefer to sit in the (very popular) pub bit to the restaurant bit — they’re much the same, but the restaurant room looked a tiny bit isolated.

This was our anniversary, so we wanted somewhere that would be a nice treat, and we’d heard plenty of wonderful things about The Shoulder of Mutton in Bury, so we decided to give it a try.
The first thing you notice as you come through pretty Holcombe Village is that the venue looks like a classic large pub. There’s good parking, but I imagine that gets busy quickly. It also has picnic tables just off the car-​park area, ideal for if it’s a sunny day and you fancy a drink in the sunshine.
As we walked in, it was interesting to spot that this was a «doggy pub», ie dogs were allowed in the venue with their owners. Some might find this unsettling, but we personally found it great! It was nice to see dogs lounging around relaxing, getting petted by the other customers. We were told that they sometimes have to put a limit on how many dogs are allowed, as sometimes it can get quite dog-​busy if you’ve got the walkers coming in after a long trek with Rex and Poppy!
In looking for the restaurant, we first walked into a funny tiny little room off the bar called «The Sarcophagus Room», which was very rustic and cosy inside. I’d describe it as only being around 3 tables large, but perfect for a little privacy or quiet. Think the old school snugs you’d see in pubs and you have a similar idea.
We did find the restaurant, and were greeted by a friendly female staff member who we gave our reservation name to, and were then passed to an equally friendly male member of staff who took us into the dining area and offered us a couple of tables to choose from. There were only five tables in the entire restaurant, which gave it an intimate and pleasant feel. It’s also decorated a little more modern than the traditional quaint style of the pub, complete with its low beams and brass signage.
After browsing the really tempting sounding menu, we decided that we wanted to leave room for a dessert, and so chose to share a starter. We went for the black pudding dish with home made brown sauce, as we’d heard many good things about this particular dish, and I liked the sound of the thyme hash brown too! Before our starter came out, the waiter brought out two glasses of sparkling white wine (or was it champagne? I’m not cultured enough to know!) in celebration of our anniversary, as I’d mentioned it in passing when reserving. What a lovely touch!
As you can see in photos I’ve uploaded, the food does come out in a posh «arty» style, but don’t let that put you off if you’re more of a traditionalist, as the taste was utterly superb. The black pudding is definitely the best I’ve tasted, and the home made brown sauce was superbly done!
As we waited for our main course, we spoke some more with the staff member who had seated us. He was friendly, knowledgeable and professional. If he needed to speak to us, he would always apologise for interrupting. It turns out he is the brother of the pub’s chef, the renowned chef Chris Yates, and told us that as much as it pained him to admit it to his brother, he is blown away by his culinary excellence. He told us how chef Yates would make him and the family specific foods just for their tastes, and how he loves to cook for his parents too. He also offered us a taste of an intermediate course as it was a special occasion, and told us it was a fish dish.
I’m not always one for seafood, but what came out was delicious and perfectly prepared scallop with tasty accompaniments, including some truly tasty silverskin onions.
For our main course, I opted to go for the steak burger, and was asked if I wanted it cooked «pink or cooked through», which is always pleasant to be asked about a burger rather than just a steak! I naturally asked for it pink. My dining partner chose the suet pudding, which on the night was steak and kidney. We were told that the suet changes frequently depending on the day; you could get steak and kidney one night, and oxtail another. All the more reason to return if you ask me!
The suet was large, and sat in a pool of delicious gravy. It was served with a side of vegetables and some truly fulfilling cheesy mashed potatoes. The suet was soft, hot, bursting with flavour, and delicious.
The burger came out presented traditionally, with very fresh salad, a little basket of perfectly cooked fluffy chips, and a side of silverskin potatoes, and home-​made ketchup. The ketchup was delicious, and reminded me of hoisin sauce! The burger was cooked to absolute perfection, and unlike the starter dishes, it was a big bugger, and very filling! I would come here again just for that burger, as it was excellent. You could definitely taste a good steaky texture to it. Perfect.
The hard part was dessert. The entire dessert menu looked amazing, and I changed my mind a few times before settling on a classic… stic

Oh my lord. This place is just wow, it’s quickly become my fav pub! It has a relaxed feeling and is a place you can feel you can really take your time enjoying your meal.
It is not really cheap, it is a meduim price pub but the food is just pretty dang amazing! I have eaten here twice now, both times have been fantastic. The waiting staff are friendly and really there to help. Orders are taken quickly and advice given on the food if needed.
The cheese and onion pie is my idea of heaven, the best pie I have ever tasted, the bread sharer is also excellent as is the fish and chips and burger.
The food is of very high quality in my book, everything is given extra attention to flavour and detail. I would highly recommend this place to others and it’s a shame it hasn’t got more reviews. I will be coming back many times.