Craig Bancroft and Nigel Haworth

Within just a few months of its opening in September 2004, the Three Fishes at Mitton in Lancashire was serving about 1,200-1,300 covers a week and had customers, peers and the press heaping praise on every aspect of the business, from the hospitable atmosphere and knowledgeable staff to the extensive use of speciality regional food on the menu.

The 400-year-old inn is the latest project of Nigel Haworth and Craig Bancroft who ploughed in the region of half a million pounds into its refurbishment. As if it wasn’t enough owning and running Lancashire’s Michelin-starred Northcote Manor and an outside catering company with a contract at Blackburn Rovers Football Club, the pair decided to delve into the pub trade and the Three Fishes is the result.

But it’s not just any old pub. It’s been described by Lancastrian Magazine as “the best thing to happen to the Lancastrian pub scene for years”. Essentially it aims to embrace the values of a traditional English pub with a 21st century feel. There are cask-conditioned ales, roaring log fires and cosy little nooks and crannies, plus a welcome absence of games machines and smoking.

But the real essence of the Three Fishes lies in the food. Forget any preconceptions about pub food, the food offer here is more akin to that served at Northcote but in a different setting, which the panel thought was amazing considering the numbers being catered for.

Dishes such as a crisp leg of Goosnargh duckling with pickled cabbage and a spicy dressing, and a corn-fed chicken breast with goats’ cheese, crackwheat, broad beans, garden peas and celeriac sauce vie for attention among regional favourites and comfort dishes such as Lancashire hotpot and fish pie.

Producers, suppliers and growers are at the heart of the menu and the walls are adorned with local food heroes.The menu is certainly transparent, telling diners that the sausages are made from Wallings Farm free-range Gloucester Old Spot pigs and that the sirloin of Ribble Valley beef has been matured for five weeks. One of our judges was so impressed with the menu he said he’d be quite willing to pay double, so head chef David Edward can expect to see an increase in his gross profit.

As it’s a family-friendly pub, children are welcome, but instead of burgers or chicken nuggets the “young person’s menu” is a scaled-down version of the main menu, for which it picked up an award from Camra during British Food Fortnight. Our judges felt that including such a food element for children showed that some serious thought had gone into tapping the family market rather than just “throwing a playground in the back”.

In summing up and awarding the title of Pub and Bar Operator of the Year, our panel felt that this was a very well thought-out business which offered a great package to customers and was a destination in its own right.

The Judges

• Philip Burgess, director/chef, the Dartmoor Inn at Lydford
• Jeremy Gordeno, managing director, Soho Clubs & Bars
• Denise Laing, editor, Pub Guide, The Automobile Association
• Andrew Pern, chef-owner, the Star Inn, Harome

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