The Clog and Billycock - Pleasington, Blackburn

We've been to The Clog and Billycock in Pleasington a few times since we upped sticks and moved out of the city to greener pastures. Our first few visits were amazing; a great pub in a lovely area with well sourced, well cooked food, making the most of the riches the North West has to offer.

The Clog and Billycock is one of Lancashire chef Nigel Howarth's chain of Ribble Valley Inns that are big on locally sourced food and advertising the producers behind what's served up. Decked out in eggshell blue, mismatched furniture, food served in kilner jars/on chopping boards and a roaring fire it's got the gastropub look down to a tee - though it can sometimes feel a little sterile as the building's had quite a modern fit out and the serving utensils are sometimes over thought.

Clog and Billycock interior - with thanks to CityLife.co.uk

The food's generally good, there's a lot of care and thought gone in to something that's basically being served in a pub. Some of the stars are the Lonk Lamb hotpot with homemade pickled cabbage and crispy potato topping, which is served with a spoon (more places should promote eating up the leftover sauces with spoons, this is the North - embrace it!); the burger, which is usually served pink is massive, soft and salty - plus it comes with chips cooked in dripping; they are what I think young people term 'fit.'

Burger - with thanks to Clog and Billycock

Every month there's a new specials menu, which disappointingly has gone from being a separate menu with pictures/descriptions of what the seasonal ingredient is; parsnips, asparagus, apples... to being a little stick on bit on the main menu - a victim of the economic downturn?

Puddings are reminiscent of school, lots of suet and custard going on (can you hear the boy emitting an audible yay from there?) and they're big on cleverly flavoured homemade ice cream (eccles cake is a recent addition); but I'm sad to say that the most amazing pudding; a chocolate mousse (mousse is too airy a word, it was almost a ganache) with milk foam and hot dark chocolate is no longer on the menu. It was ace, but you'll have to take my word for it as it's not there now.

The food is well sourced and this attitude also applies to the drinks. There's usually a good selection of casks, bottled ales, local ciders and interesting softies including Mawson's sarsaparilla.

So what's the bad point then? The thing is, as good a the Clog and Billycock is ever since we've been there the service has been getting worse. The first time we visited things were pretty much great, apart from a little slowness here and there. But each time since there's been more and more mistakes, ending with our last visits for the Mother's birthday. Firstly we asked three times for a glass of wine (from the same waitress), only to have to go to the bar and then be given one in a dirty glass, a dish was forgotten, we asked for more bread with the starter and it came out with the pudding, the food was cold/overcooked and it goes on - we weren't even there at a particularly busy time.

Clog and Billycock waiter

The Clog at Billycock can be a great pub, it's best in the winter with the fires roaring as it gives the place a little more soul. Food's generally of a high standard and it's commendable that ingredients are sourced with care from the local area. It's a shame that service has become poor, leaving you feeling exasperated and annoyed as the price you pay for locality and sustainability is pretty high, especially as you realise you need to order veg with some of the dishes (most dishes do come with sides, it's just they're generally veg free!). The management need to sort this out as I doubt we'll be back for some time now, and if we do go it'll just be the two of us, no more showing it off to visiting relatives.

Best time to pop in is an evening in the winter and asked to be sat in one of the booths (can seat about four or six smallies at a push) by the fire.

Ps - try the Morcambe Bay shrimps - they smother them with lovely mace blade butter and they're the nest I've had throughout the NW (bar from the trailer on the beach with wind whipping through your hair and sand in your trainers).

Pps - portions can be quite big so I usually only choose two courses, or have two starters and a pudding.

Pps - sorry for the lack of photos, technology gremlins

Starters £2.50-£13.50, mains £9-£25, puddings £5-£10.

Food - 7/10
Atmosphere - 6/10
Service - 5/10
Value for money - 7/10

Total - 25/40

The Clog and Billycock, Billinge End Road, Pleasington, Blackburn, Lancs, BB2 6QB - 01254 201163 enquires@theclogandbillycock.com

http://www.theclogandbillycock.com/real-pub.htm

@RVIpubs

The Oyster and Otter - Feniscowles, Blackburn

Located just off the M65, the The Oyster and Otter is the newest gastropub to spring up near us, so it seemed a good place to take Mother-in-law on her recent visit.

Rocking up to the Oyster and Otter we were initially taken aback by the modern, Scandinavian look of the building - usually reserved for new Brewyers Faryes and other such establishments, we hoped the food wouldn't be the usual chain food offerings of over-cooked steak and greasy finger food.

Oyster and Otter interior (with thanks to The Oyster and Otter)

Walking in we were confronted by a very busy bar decked out in usual gastropub guise of specials on blackboards, Farrow and Ball paint shades and mismatched furniture tied together with the use of the same fabric recovering their reclaimed chairs. The pub has been very well put together and has a modern, yet cosy feel - they haven't tried to recreate an old style pub as so many gastropubs do and is a welcome change.

Initial success came upon finding that the bar stocked Hendrick's; second success came when they offered cucumber without us having to ask (though we did have to wait whilst they popped to the kitchen to find some).

We were seated away from the bar but still in the main room (there's a back room too) and were impressed by the varied selection on the menu; unusually for a pub menu there's a lot of fish - this comes from the Otter's owners - a one family group with a background in catering, fishing and sourcing quality produce.

We started with  the platter to share, which was a fishy selection of crispy squid, scallop gratin, prawns and hot smoked salmon salad. The calamari was gorgeous, really crispy without being chewy and the prawns were massive, meaty, sweet and fresh. I'm not a fan of cheese and scallops, but the gratin was actually very well executed - a well seasoned and runny-ish sauce with plenty of perfectly cooked, tiny, sweet queenies to be found within.

Platter

For mains the boy and mother-in-law took advantage of the hearty pub food on offer (well, we were in a gastropub). Mother-in-law's steak was obviously a well-sourced piece of meat and cooked expertly. The boy's pie (actually called The Pie on the menu) was fully enclosed and hand shaped, hiding an entire cow's worth of oozy, beefy filling - as we all know about the boy's love of beefy pastry delights, you can guess how amazed at having this beauty on his plate.

The pie

I'd gone left-field with my choice and order the pollock and chorizo off the specials board. I was a little apprehensive at the inclusion of chorizo in a fish dish as a poor salami can overpower even a meaty piece of fish with a metallic paprika flavour. I had no need to be worried as the chorizo used was of very high quality and the meaty, porcine, slightly spicy flavours complimented the massive piece of pollock and highlighted the dish's other star ingredient of mussels. The whole dish married beautifully and each piece was cooked brilliantly (take note on mussel cooked Rigalettos).

Pollock with mussels and chorizo

Having stuffed ourselves silly with the generous portions provided we only had room for ice-cream, which I'm so glad we chose. I'm not too happy with the current trend of pubs charging nearly £5 a dish for three scoops of ice-creams, knowing full well that a whole tub of it only costs that much - rant over though, the ice-cream was deliciously creamy and the amaretto flavour rounded off the meal perfectly.

The Oyster and Otter isn't cheap for a pub, but the food is well sourced and is excellently put together by an obviously competent kitchen. The service we had was very attentive and friendly and it seems the whole team pull together well. The only downer on the whole night was the heat - we got so hot I had to take my shoes off!

Ps - for those local, you don't even have to pop in to the pub - they have a takeaway at the side of the building offering fish, chips and homemade pies.

Price for one sharing platter, three mains, one pudding, three gin and tonics and three pints - £79.50.

Food - 7/10
Atmosphere - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Value for money - 6/10

Total - 28/40

The Oyster and Otter, Livesey Branch Road, Feniscowles, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 5DQ -
01254 203200 - www.oysterandotter.co.uk/index.html