The Three Fishes (Richard Upton), Great Mitton

Tried the Three Fishes for the first time yesterday and found it to be a bit of a disappointment. The menu looked okay for starters and for desserts but the main meal section was lacking if you weren't after steak.

I plumped in the end for the duck salad and the Lancashire Hotpot ( knowing that they had won awards for one of the hotpots). The salad was okay..nothing special just the usual mix of leaves, meat, blackpudding and egg...not a lot in the way of dressing on it, which made it a tad dry for me.

The hot pot was foul. It consisted of meat, potatoe and stringy onions in an overly greasy ladle of dish water. A bit of an insult really considering that not too far down the road at Northcote folk would have been tucking into an award winning version. accompaniment to this meat potatoe and onion was a pickled cabbage which was overly sweet for me.

Not a great experience I am afraid.

This pub has its menu devised by Nigel Haworth, of Great British Menu fame. It's one of three pubs in a "chain" - along with the 3 Fishes is The Highwayman (at Nether Burrow in Lancashire/Cumbria border) and a new one called the Clog and Billycock at Pleasington near Blackburn. I haven't been to that one yet as it only opened 2 weeks ago (4 Sept 08) but have been to the Highwayman and whilst I don't love it as much as 3 Fishes, it's very good. Three Fishes is by far my favourite pub. (No bookings - chalkboard waiting list if full).