Reviews in Lancashire

We have eaten at New Seasons several times in 2007, finishing the year in style with them on New Years Eve. The food has been exceptional on every visit and the service has been excellent. The dishes are all freshly cooked, but we have never had to wait an unreasonable amount of time before we could eat. We have recommended the restaurant to all our friends and will continue to do so.

As we are looking forward to our family holiday to Turkey later on this year,we decided to banish the winter blues with a reminder of holidays past at Tottos.I had read reviews on this site prior to making the booking,and was hopeful of finding an authentic corner of Turkey here in Lancashire. It was a very wet and windy Saturday evening when myself and the present Mrs.FoodFan where blown through the front door of Tottos and into the bright interior of this welcoming restaurant.We where met by friendly and attentive staff who were eager to please,but at no time became intrusive. After a quick look at the wine list,we chose a bottle of the house red at the little excessive price of £11.95.We then looked through a menu that covered all bases,whether familiar with Turkish food or the total novice,there appeared something to tempt all palates.What did seem excellent value at only £16.50,was the "special meze".For anyone unfamiliar with this Turkish trial by food,think of the worlds largest buffet menu(a bit of this,a bit of that...)all to yourself,then double it.Meze meals in Turkey have been known to last hours...and hours.With happy memories of meze's eaten in harbour side restaurants in Alanya and Bodrum,we went for the meze. We were not disappointed.The first round of starters consisted of dips of hummus,yoghurt with mint and garlic(basically an Indian ritta),tomatoes puried with mild chillies,along with dolmus(stuffed vine leaves)all accompanied by a basket of bread.After this my belt was let out a notch! Next up was the hot starters,slices of lightly fried haloumi cheese with adana kebap slices and what appeared to be spring roll type offerings with subtle flavoured rice inside,all delicious.Along with more bread and the ubiquitous salad this was becoming a form of unique torture! Just when you feel you couldn't manage another thing....more turns up!Next was the grilled meat selection.Turkey is rightly proud of its reputation of knowing its way around a charcoal grill,and on the strength of this,its reputation will remain intact.Pieces of grilled chicken and steak served on a bed of rice,all cooked to perfection.With the finish line in-sight,we where faced with the arduous task of eating a dessert of sliced strawberries,kiwi,banana,melon and grapes;all fresh,all tasty. Two coffee's later,we paid the very reasonable sum of £59.55 for two mezes,one cheesecake,two coffee's,two beers and a bottle of acceptable house red wine.All in all,a lovely meal in pleasent surroundings.If you've never tried Turkish food,or you're looking for something different,try Tottos I'm sure you'll love it.8/10

Went to Porcinis for New Years Eve - what a most fabulous evening, the food and service was outstanding and they had a tribute artist on has Errol Brown - just brilliant! fireworks at midnight with a glass of champagne.... gee what a fabulous evening had by all - this restaurant is in a league of its own! apparently I was told its been open since 1999 - only my second visit.... will be going back in 2008

I took some friends along to the Thyme during the Christmas period. They were visiting from overseas and expressed enormous pleasure at the quality of food, cleanliness, value for money [after translating Euros], friendliness and yet professionalism of the staff. It is an exceptional restaurant worthy of my comments. I would not hesitate in recommending this restaurant as amongst the top ones in Lancashire and suggest that no-one will be disappointed if they were to dine there.

The food has certainly gone down hill recently, i am not sure how a restaurant with such outstanding food can now be serving such dull offerings.I would never return

Here you will find first class modern British cooking, consisting of a standard menu of staple recipes combined with an inspired and imaginative specials menu. A minor criticism was the lack of atmosphere, but the place has only recently reopened and with the quality and price of the food it’s popularity will ensure success. Visit as soon as possible before prices rise and tables become scarce.

Generally, I'm not a big fan of sports bars/cafes, but while driving to Blackburn last month, I saw the signs for this place on the A666 - and decided to give it a whirl. I wasn't disappointed - and I will be returning in future. The menu has something for everyone. I had a huge, tasty burger (one of the best in Lancashire surely)... and much better than you'd get at the McDonalds over the road. I hope I'm driving from Bolton to Blackburn on the Blackburn on the A666 at lunchtime soon, as I'll surely be stopping by. Well worth a visit if you're a Rovers or even a football fan - but even if you're not...you'll get a decent meal here.

Well I’m speaking for a lot of people here. We have been eating here and the emporium for some years now and has been terrific. Everything we have eaten has been fabulous and now Mitton hall has come along to join the family. we went last Saturday and the place its amazing the food was great, staff were passionate when serving. what ever you buy next we will surely visit.

This is a personal message to Rachel for organising are (PERFECT) special day me and my hubby are grateful to you all. My guests Had a wonderful time some are interested in having there wedding here know. Well thanks again you've been great.xxx

My wife and I made our first booking over Christmas and thought we'd give seasons a go during its busiest period, the food was average and lacked presentation, I ordered the afghan lamb shank and my wife had the fusilli pasta we both noticed that the pasta was exactly the same as was on the day menu and was bland to say the least, no Parmesan was offered and the garlic bread that we had ordered turned up ten minutes late, as for my afghan lamb it was meant to be served with rice which again was served 5 minutes after the main meal. It seems seasons is trying a little too hard to be a quality bistro and sometimes ovelooks the golden rule.

decidedly average unimaginative Indian food in an uninspiring supposedly modern Indian venue. however the place was packed which probably says a lot about the locals of Bamber Bridge!

Excellent, excellent, excellent that’s all I can say you have put Mitton back on the map. The menus are just great and reasonably priced. I prefer Mitton hall than the three fishes it’s gone down hill. Congratulations!!!

went here for an evening meal as we had heard the day chef had franchised the building to operate as a restaurant in the evening, sorely disappointed, food was crap, cold and insipid, if the chef spent less time chasing the waitress and more time on the food !!! never to go here again EVER !!!!

*This is a copy of a letter which I sent to the General Manager on Thursday 3rd January 2008.* It is with regret that I write to inform you of the dining experience that I encountered at ‘Mitton Hall’ on Friday 28th December 2007. I have never written to complain about the service I have received in a restaurant and having been a waiter for over four years, feel that I am more lenient than most when it comes to serving standards. My mother, father and partner booked a table for 7.30pm in the restaurant part of ‘Mitton Hall’, our order was taken in the bar area and we were eventually shown to our table. The wine that we ordered was brought over to our table by a member of staff who thought it was appropriate to handle the bottles like juggling clubs by their necks. The starters arrived, I ordered the goats cheese which was extremely small and my father ordered the duck which was extremely large. The difference in price (to my memory) was only a couple of pounds. I was left rather hungry whilst my father was left with far too much on his plate. My father’s starter was also very dry and rather tasteless. My main course, the veal, was grey, tough and tasteless, the cassoulet was equally tasteless. My parent’s, who both ordered the steak, were equally as disappointed with their main courses, especially as the sliced steak seemed to have been a jumble, taken from two different pieces of meat. The main courses, without vegetables and side dishes, simply did not justify their price, even by London standards. We had no consistent waiter throughout the evening. When we asked a waitress to order a bottle of white wine, it never appeared until we asked our French waiter. He had the cheek to check that we were not just ‘confused’ and that the partially empty bottles were the ones that we had ordered. This same waiter was then extremely intrusive and rude when we ordered coffee. My father ordered a ‘white coffee’, to which this waiter replied “cappuccino?”, to which I clarified that all my father wanted was a simple black coffee with milk, put simply, “a café au lait”. The waiter then suggested that I clearly knew “more about coffee than him - a Frenchman”. This kind of ‘banter’, even if meant in a jovial way, is extremely unbecoming of an establishment which charges in excess of £15 per main course. When we asked for the bill, the side salad which we ordered (and never materialised) was still on the bill. I had to ask for it to be removed and another bill was printed. The final nail in the coffin came at the end of the meal when my father and I went to pay the bill near the front door. Our French waiter quite literally ‘ripped’ the handheld debit card terminal from the employee who was dealing with our bill. The only reason I can think of him doing this was to see whether or not we had a left a tip. We had not. This is the first time in my life that I have not tipped a waiter. I look forward to hearing your comments on this matter and have provided my email address below. Yours Sincerely,

I have been to Tino's on several occasions and have always had an excellent time. The restaurant itself is superb, the food is the best I have had in Preston and the service is flawless. In December however I went on a "Works Christmas Lunch" there and I was bitterly disappointed. I had Funghi Al Aglio to start, Roast Turkey with trimmings for a main, and Christmas Pudding for dessert. Sadly the portions were inadequate and the food was mediocre at best, far below the restaurant's usual standards. It seems that Tino's are capitalising on the Christmas season by taking as many bookings as possible, but failing to ensure the quality of the food. It's sad because they will surely lose potential customers, many people were eating there for the first time, and I know there were a lot of unimpressed customers among our party. So I would certainly recommend Tino's, it is clearly one of the best restaurants in Preston, just not for large parties at Christmas.

Myself and a friend tried the Railway for lunch as we heard it had changed hands and had a new menu. I had the steamed steak pudding with tarragon mash and carrots, and my friend had the fish and chips. Both meals were outstanding, tasty and beautifully presented we were both impressed. We especially liked how the menu states where the produce has come from, all local, brilliant! The pub has a cosy inviting atmosphere and the service matched the food, excellent. We will definitely be going back.

Visited again in December and had a much better experience than earlier in the year. The starters were fabulous and the mains equally as good. We fancied the cheese board but it seemed a bit expensive. Overall, a good experience although they still don't have any red wine glasses to hand.

Far and away the best restaurant in Preston..we love it!! The food is varied,delicious and beautifully presented. The service is first class and all the staff seem to have that special knack of making you feel like their favourite customer! If you are thinking of trying Moka for the first time then go! there is no way you'll be disappointed and you'll just want to keep going back for more.