Tag Archives: Bolton

I get the impression that Jon Jones, head chef of The Farmers Arms, doesn’t really like Christmas. That’s just from talking to him, thankfully it doesn’t show in his menus or cooking. I had a jolly festive feast there a couple of years ago so booked a table just before the Christmas madness started to get 2015’s festivities underway. The pub …

If only there were more days in the week, or at least a few more hours in the day. I’d almost certainly visit The Farmers Arms more often. It’s somewhere I never get bored of going back to but just don’t seem to find the time to go often enough. Although, time does appear to stand still in Darcy Lever where the …

If you asked 100 foodies to guess where MasterChef judge and well known lover of Asian food John Torode ate the ‘best Thai food outside of Thailand’, chances are precisely none of them would’ve said Bolton. “Hand on heart it was the best Thai food I have had outside of Thailand. Maybe it is Bolton’s hidden gem.” – John Torode That’s …

After running a successful food and beer pairing event at the newly opened Wigan Central, I brought my ‘Christmas Food, Beer & Festive Cheer’ to one of my favourite places two days later; Great Ale Year Round in Bolton Market’s Lifestyle Hall. Despite tickets being cheaper, the Bolton event proved to be even better than the original in Wigan. Mostly thanks …

It’s ever so slightly awkward being asked to visit somewhere you’ve previously been fairly negative about. It happened recently when I was invited to Momentum Restaurant & Lounge in Westhoughton. I’m assuming they hadn’t read my less than glowing review anyway. Still, it was over two years ago and my complaints were all service related. I was impressed by the food back then so thought it’d be …

After the success of my first event with Great Ale, Year Round in Bolton Market’s Lifestyle Hall (Beer & Cheese Pairing) we couldn’t wait to put on another. We’d had many requests to repeat the cheese event – something I’d love to do in the future – but I was keen to do something completely different first. This time I wanted …

As a lover of craft beer I was delighted when micro-bar Great Ale Year Round opened in Bolton Market’s new ‘Lifestyle Hall’ in January. Spending more time (and money) there than I probably should I got to know owners Dan and Gina quite well. When they found out about this blog and my passion for good food as well as beer they …

I’ve spent a lot of time at Bolton Market’s new Lifestyle Hall since it opened in January. Admittedly most of it has been at the brilliant micro-bar ‘Great Ale, Year Round‘. During almost every visit I’ve encountered the larger than life character that is Alain Job. Alain runs ‘Nkono’, a stall serving authentic African food and he’s not afraid to …

I hate reality TV; one of my proudest claims is the fact i’ve genuinely never seen a single episode of X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent or any of those bloody dancing shows. There is one exception though, i’m a sucker for food shows. I watch pretty much all of them; from traditional recipe shows to food documentaries and yes, even reality …

Although my favourite cuisine changes on a fairly regular basis (it’s probably Japanese at the moment), Mexican is never far from the top. It’s definitely the style of food I cook most often at home. So I couldn’t help get excited when I heard about the Mexican Fiesta Night at The Farmers Arms. Arriving on a typically cold Bolton night I …

I was one of the first customers at Great Ale, Year Round on the opening day of the new ‘Lifestyle Hall’ at Bolton Market a few weeks ago. I’ve been back several times since, although not as many as i’d like considering how much I love the place.  Owners Dan & Gina were amongst the first to open in the new …

Bolton doesn’t have much to shout about these days; it’s football team are hopeless, Peter Kay seems to have given up trying to be funny and its once excellent town centre now seems to only contain pound shops and banks. Even worse (from my point of view anyway) the latest edition of The Good Food Guide doesn’t feature a single …

I always loved Christmas as a child and it’s not changed much as i’ve grown up, although the reasons have. These days I prefer giving presents to receiving them but the bit I love the most is the food. I adore everything about Christmas food; turkey, pigs in blankets, Christmas spices, eggnog, chestnuts, cranberries etc and yes, even sprouts. So …

It’s no secret that i’m quite partial to a burger, well good ones anyway. I’ve eaten many this year but one of my favourites is the ‘Peri Peri Chicken Topped Cheeseburger’ from my last visit to The Farmers Arms in Bolton. Since then they’ve launched a full burger menu with some fine looking creations which i’d been looking forward to trying. …

Given how far I travel to eat I was genuinely excited when I realised the winner of ‘Food Pub Of The Year’ at the Manchester Food & Drink Festival awards is just 15 minutes down the road. The Shoulder Of Mutton is located in Holcombe, a tiny village just outside Ramsbottom. From the outside it looks like a good, old …