Adam Ain't Cooking

I've lived within walking distance of what was Bridge Inn here in Horwich for close to 15 years but never went in. From what I was aware, it was another generic boozer with Sky Sports banners strewn across the windows and a reputation for unpleasant clientele.

However, Bridge Inn closed and was boarded up for a long while, after which it reopened as The Bridge Hotel, boasting an entire refurbishment to restore the building to its former grandeur, and an increased focus on food and families, as well as some hotel rooms. This seemed like as good an occasion as any to walk down and give them a try.

During the refurbishment it's been clear just from the outside that a lot of money, time, and effort has been spent to bring The Bridge up to snuff, but only when you go inside do you see the fruits of their labour. The inside of this place is gigantic and spacious, with areas to sit and drink and several dining rooms connecting to the main bar area, meaning there's lots of places to sit and eat in comfort.

The decor has stripped back to the original wooden details and beautiful glazed tiles throughout, and the newer furnishings are simple and modern, with a muted natural country colour scheme in mustards, soft browns, and pale greens, and it looks very welcoming and very impressive.

Forgetting that this was still a pub and not a restaurant, I was expecting to need to be seated, but the friendly bar staff told us we could sit anywhere. We sat in a dining room in the front of the building, which was laid out for dinner, and had soft lighting highlighted by candles on the tables. After we went and got a couple of menus from the bar, we had a look at the offerings and to see what tickled out taste-buds. The menu is seemingly focused on good quality British style fare, but at a level above that of traditional "pub grub", and although the prices might be more than average for a pub in Horwich, they are far from expensive, especially given the setting and quality.

For our starters we opted for the chicken and liver parfait, and warm baked bread. As we waited, we noted that the tables around us and throughout seemed very happy and comfortable, the atmosphere was pleasant and friendly, and there was no feeling of eating in a local boozer, it was pleasant.

Our food arrived. The terrine was very tasty, served with a zingy little salad, and the freshly baked bread lived up to its name, coming out in a basket, and still hot. It was delicious, and served with little balls of butter. It comprised of a miniature baguette, a rustic dinner roll, and a jalapeno studded roll.

We were very impressed with our starters. This left us with no doubts that this was going to be better than generic pub food.

For our mains, we ordered The Bridge Classic Beef Burger and the chicken, ham and mushroom pie. When they arrived we were very pleased to see how nicely they were presented, and the size and quality just from looks alone!

The burger was a truly meaty steak style burger, stacked high with delicious fresh toppings and melty cheese on a sesame brioche bun. It was very well seasoned and very tasty indeed, but was so colossal that along with the crispy hot french fries, I couldn't finish it! It was served with fresh coleslaw and a delicious mustard mayonnaise.

The pie was a "proper" pie, not a ramekin with a pastry lid here, folks! At this point I noticed my partner prodding the gravy with his knife, then bringing it to his lips. Concerned, I asked if there was a problem, if it was cold or something? He looked up and smiled, "no no... it's just... this is PROPER gravy!" he said cheerfully. He said the pie was like old fashioned cooking but done very well. One of the best part was the big chunky hand-cut chips... I must admit I tried one and preferred those to my French fries... I might ask for those next time because they were epic!

At this point we were getting perilously close to full, especially given that I had to leave some of my burger, but we were determined to have dessert. It's not a pub dinner unless you have pudding, right?

My partner ordered the bread and butter pudding with custard. A true British classic. He said it was excellent, and had the perfect amount of old fashioned comfort food. Excellent. As I was still pretty full, I opted for ice cream; you can choose 3 scoops, so I chose 2 scoops of clotted cream, and one scoop of blood orange. The clotted cream was delicious, but the blood orange was sensational! As soon as it touched my tongue it was a real explosion of zingy flavour, like a cross between sherbet and sorbet, but creamy and sublime.

We left The Bridge Hotel thoroughly impressed, and vowing that we would definitely return, especially as it was just down the road. The restoration is wonderful, the food is truly excellent quality, and the staff are friendly and down to earth.

I will definitely be returning. There's too many other things on that menu I want to try! As a local business, I wish them every success! Well done, Bridge!

The Bridge Hotel
121 Church Street
Horwich
Bolton,
BL6 7BR
(01204) 427 273