Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland

Review of the Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland

Transcript

00:00Today I want to talk to you about the Parker's Arms near Clitheroe. Actually it's in the

00:10forest of Boland in Newton in Boland and it's right up there as one of the most celebrated

00:16restaurants in the country and it's been named the best gastro pub in Lancashire. It's in

00:23the top 100 list for restaurants. Jay Rayner, the food critic, he's been, he's raved about

00:28it so I went with my husband and my son one weekend just recently and I want to talk to

00:35you about what we found. Well first of all I will mention that it is in the middle of

00:41nowhere which is part of the charm so give yourself plenty of time if you're going to

00:46travel there. It took us between 50 minutes and an hour to travel from the Preston area there.

00:53Windy roads, small bridges, that kind of thing and book well in advance if you go in.

01:05Okay so Jay Rayner said that this place hadn't been farrow and bald and I think what he means

01:12by that is that it's got an old world charm when you walk in and I like that. It was such a warm

01:19welcome when we got in there. He didn't introduce himself but I'm guessing it was the landlord.

01:24He made a big fuss over us, over my son, over the dog. He was sharing anecdotes. It was wonderful.

01:32I think it was his wife, I'm sorry if it wasn't, who came out to take our order. She was lovely too

01:38and do you know what? It was such a warm welcome and so inviting. It was like stepping into your

01:44neighbour's home just and having a big arm put around you.

01:55Okay so on to the food and drink. There's a very limited children's offering. My son could either

02:02have sausages and chips or he could have a grilled chicken. He obviously went for the sausages

02:08and for us a slightly bigger menu. It was a three-course menu but it was very much focused

02:16on local proper hearty ingredients. I had the scallops to start. My husband had the faggots

02:24and we both opted for the chicken and mushroom pie. Had a bit of bacon in as well for our main

02:31course and oh my days. Simple yes but incredibly well executed and absolutely delicious. For

02:41desserts, my son again only had a limited choice of desserts but it was amazing. It came with that

02:47cookie on the side that you can see and I had something I couldn't resist. It was rice pudding

02:54ice cream. Wow. I've never had it before. I would have it 10 times over. Look at that.

03:01It had the nutmeg flavour. It was comfort in a bowl. It was amazing. My husband had a chocolate

03:08dessert which was melted in the middle. It was superb. The drinks were, well I didn't have the

03:14beer. It was bowl and brewery. My husband really enjoyed that. I had a non-alcoholic mocktail which

03:21was superb. It was absolutely brilliant. It wasn't just like some rubbishy cordial that they throw

03:27out for people who are driving. The place, you wouldn't expect such fantastic food in the middle

03:35of nowhere in a little country pub but there we go. It is wonderful. It lives up to the hype.

03:41Well done the Parkers Arms.