The Aspinall Arms is a lovely gastro-pub in the heart of the Ribble Valley. The old stone building houses a warm and welcoming pub with a delightful and tasty menu. The food is traditional English fare, combined with more exotic tastes from around the world.
The Ribble Valley is, of course, well known for its walking routes, and the Aspinall Arms is no stranger to visits from hikers and dog walkers. It welcomes both with open arms, with designated areas for dogs and food provided, and an area to clean muddy boots (and also the dogs!).
We visited late on a Thursday evening and the place was relatively quiet, although we were told that it was very busy earlier in the evening. We booked online via their website, which was very easy to do. The waitress was friendly and welcoming, and was able to advise us on the menu.
We had the pan-fried scallops and the garlic and chilli king prawns for starters. Both were amazing, but the prawns in particular were especially tasty in the sauce.
For the main course we had the pork and onion marmalade sausages with mash and gravy, and the steak burger with grilled pancetta and Monteray Jack sauce. The sausages were fantastically juicy and full of flavour, while the mash was smooth and buttery with a divine taste. The steak burger was thick and juicy, with a hint of red in the middle, and the sauce and bacon complemented it perfectly. We chose to have chunky chips instead of fries, and were definitely not disappointed.
for dessert we sampled the bread and butter pudding, with clotted cream and apricot sauce. This was piping hot and tasted scrumptious! We polished off every morsel before heading off to sit by the fire in the bar area and finish our drinks.
We really enjoyed our evening at the Aspinall Arms in Clitheroe, and we will definitely be back again. Take a look at their website for menus and more info.