Lockdown is lifted and many restaurants have opened their doors again. Unfortunately, some of them have not been able to do that.

Smaller venues are struggling due to viability and bigger eateries are likely to find things difficult for the foreseeable as footfall in town centres and elsewhere drops.

But we love eating out in Lancashire, and if you're in a position to feel as safe and as comfortable as possible heading out - then you'll want to be helping to support Lancashire's favourite independent restaurants.

So to help solve our own problem, and hopefully be useful to you too, we've put together 50 restaurants in Lancashire that need to be tried. They include as many areas, price points and cuisines as possible and you can ignore the nonsense that goes on with TripAdvisor or in your local Facebook reviews group.

They are not ordered in any particular way - we actually put them through a random generator, and this is to encourage people to look beyond their own borders.

We've spent today calling around and checking that all of the restaurants are open and serving, and some of these are not open yet. We have noted where that is the case. Feel free to get in touch on lancslive@reachplc.com to let us know what we've missed.

Freemasons, Wiswell

An award-winning gastropub with rooms set in the Ribble Valley. There's a reason that the district has a reputation for exactly this style of food. Freemasons is regularly voted among the best in the country, has numerous awards, and provides a contemporary twist on classic dishes. Has the option of a tasting menu for £80 or mains start at £24 on the standard menu.

Three courses for £25 on the lunch menu provides value for the sceptics.

Freemasons

Moor Hall, Aughton

Lancashire's only restaurant with two Michelin stars, and one where to be honest, the amount you can spend doesn't really have a cap. This is fine-dining at its most fine, with little thought put into anything other than providing you with a high end experience. It is the best cooking in Lancashire, maybe even the country, and it's worth trying - even if just once.

An eight course menu is going to cost you £155 (and comes out at more in terms of courses). Go for the lunch menu at £70 for your first visit. Not one for the 'where's the rest' crew.

Oyster, cured ham, dill, buttermilk
Oyster, cured ham, dill, buttermilk

Pendle Street Chippy, Padiham

There's only so much we can put next to a chippy. Pendle Street Chippy is the best in Padiham. It might even be the best in East Lancashire. People don't always travel for fish and chips (Blackpool etc notwithstanding) but this one might well be worth the time.

Pendle Street Chippy

Coco's Soul Food, Preston

There are people that will sit and tell you that Coco's is the best food in Preston. We wouldn't waste our breath arguing. Get the chicken burrito, don't expect people to fall over making a fuss for you, and enjoy what is now a proper Preston cornerstone.

It's not the last restaurant to be included on Friargate, either. We could literally spend the day eating our way up and down there and be happy with our efforts.

Food at Coco's Soul Food

Hipping Hall, Carnforth

Another restaurant with rooms, but this time right at the top of Lancashire instead of in the Ribble Valley or West Lancs. Hipping Hall is pretty much dripping with accolades. Dinner menu is £80 per person but you can get the lunch menu for £29.50. That lunch menu has a butter pie on it as part of five courses, which really needs a go.

Beef Ribs, Hipping Hall

Butcher and Tonic, Lancaster

Butcher and Tonic came recommended by one of our staff who spends a lot of time eating in Lancaster. As you may have guessed from a quick glance at the name there, it specialises in steak and gin (with tonic, see). There are over 100 gins, and lots of beer, wines and ciders besides that. Thursday night is steak night with a £20 offer. They launched a new menu at the end of last year so even if you've been before, it looks worth your time.

Steak. It's good.

Taylors, Blackpool

Our second and final chippy on the list - and this one is in the iconic place in Lancashire to sit and eat them. We do not want to hear about how we've overlooked your favourite - but if you've not eaten here then you definitely need to go. One of the other news providers in Blackpool reckons it's ace too. You can eat your chips in the restaurant if the waves are coming over and you can take your dog in. It's fish and chips, it's dead good.

Fish and Chips, Taylors

Clog and Billycock, Pleasington

A favourite between Preston and Blackburn. We actually had our first ever team lunch here. The menu changes quite a lot and they offer drinks on arrival. The food here is very traditional so, while it is great food, it might be a safe choice for those who don't have the most adventurous tastes. It's been there for over 150 years and is named after the bloke who used to wear said items behind the bar.

Sunday roast, Clog and Billycock

The Trafalgar, Fleetwood

Look, we'll level with you. Considering where we are in the world, exceptional seafood is quite hard to find in Lancashire. We're ace at the basics, but something a bit more special is rare. That's why a trip to The Trafalgar in Fleetwood should be high on your list of things to do. It has provided the best seafood in the county for over 40 years, has daily specials, and is generally worth your time and hard-earned.

Seafood Paella at The Trafalgar

Mag's Japanese Café, Chorley

On the surface of it, it may come as a surprise to hear that Chorley is home to some of the very best Japanese cuisine about.

Margaret Greenhalgh was previously owner of The Sushi Salad Noodle Bar in Preston city centre but retired after closing the Guildhall Street eatery. It was, and is, a surprise that things didn't go better considering the lack of sushi options pretty much anywhere that isn't part of a drab supermarket meal deal.

Sushi needs to be preordered - but the food we had on our visit - gyoza and noodles, was top notch. One of the most exciting things about Chorley.

Teriyaki noodles, Mags

Titash Tandoori, Bamber Bridge

It is simply the best Indian takeaway for flavour and value out there. On the occasions this writer has lived away from Bamber Bridge, every Indian takeaway has only provided disappointment when compared. Mango Tree in Preston gets an honourable mention, but the quality of the chilli chicken starter and the pepsillia (chicken, with mincemeat) curry, wins out here. The tandoori chicken is the best around at the moment. Try it, thank us later.

Chilli chicken starter - half eaten

Higher Buck, Waddington

Another pub, in the Ribble Valley, which does exceptional food. Michael Heathcote owns and runs this place, as well as The Bonny Inn at Salesbury near Blackburn. It was a Thwaites pub, but now it's good. Simply put, pub food done with real sophistication and a great place to visit close to Clitheroe. And yes, they have rooms.

Beef Wellington, Higher Buck

Ripasso, Darwen

In the words of Katie, who did food reviews for us before she got too famous.

If I could choose one word to describe Ripasso, the Italian restaurant that opened up on The Green in Darwen in late 2018, it would be “inconceivable”. But then, I have rewatched The Princess Bride recently.

On the surface it is totally normal – it’s a friendly Italian restaurant in the centre of town that serves good, well-made food with a decent wine list and Italian lagers behind the bar (Birra Moretti and Peroni, since you’re asking.)

The part that’s astonishing is the price of their set “everyday” menu. It’s £10 for three courses.

So yeah, decent.

Editor Note: Ripasso is not expected to open until the end of August.

Pizza calabrese - the daydream interrupter
Pizza calabrese - the daydream interrupter

Thira, Blackburn

And another one, for good measure.

The main menu is split very cutely into sections called “From the Farmer”, “From the Butcher”, and “From the Fisherman”. Call us simple but that really appealed somehow. DP didn’t hesitate – his vendakkaya masala (£5.50) or okra masala with a side of lemon rice (£2.75) was totally moreish. Who knows why he knew straight away to pick such a leftfield choice, but fair play to him, it was incred.

We're trying this ourselves next week.

Food at Thira, Blackburn

263, Preston

Mark O'Rourke (Finos, Otter's Pocket and formerly We Don't Give A Fork), that bloke who went off on one about Nando's that time, is the man behind the new restaurant opened in the Winckley Square Hotel. He poached a chef from the White Swan at Fence, and wants 263 to be picking up the sort of accolades that tend to elude Preston.

The 'where's the rest?' brigade did pipe up immediately before returning to their third beans on toast of the week, but it's like nothing else in the city. The lamb dish they opened with was obscene and the Sunday roast is worth having just for the cauliflower cheese. I don't even bloody like cauliflower.

Since lockdown, the restaurant has a new chef and a new menu and is well worth discovering all over again.

Lamb loin, sweetbread, lamb fat potato terrine and celeriac

The Stone Grill, Blackpool

There is actually one of these in Manchester too, but you know, Blackpool is part of Lancashire. It's at the north end of the promenade and offers some of the best views in the entire resort. Meat is cooked on a stone and is much more reasonable than your usual specialised steak gaff. Chateaubriand for two on the menu looks well worth trying for those pushing the boat out. If not, steaks start at £13.99. The part where you cook your own steak, though, can be a novelty too far for some.

Ready to sizzle at the Stone Grill

Northcote, Langho

A restaurant with loads of awards that's in the Ribble Valley. And you can stay over. Seeing a pattern? Well, for a long time Northcote has been the standard bearer for food in Lancashire. Recent years have seen others pick up their game but it remains one of the very finest places to eat. Six courses is £90 or the mains are £20 on the lunch menu.

24 years of Michelin Star

The Mad Hunter, Lancaster/St Michael's

The Mad Hunter serves fusion cuisine in two different locations but you absolutely musn't let the word fusion put you off here. The deconstructed bunny chow, and the rest of the bigger plates in general, are well worth your time and calories. Inspired primarily by South Africa - but not at all like Nando's - the influences here are clear from around the globe. Extra points if your party has loads of different tastes - as long as dull ain't one of them.

Mozambican Chicken & Prawn Curry - The Mad Hunter

Nila, Rawtenstall

The sort of Indian restaurant that would never open in 2020 - but in the same breath should never close. The sort of place where you'd see a bit of food on the menu and see it as an endearing feature - because it's just how it was 20 years ago when you used to go. The food kicks you in face and leaves you all the happier for it. And the service is some of the friendliest you'll come across.

And you still get a little booth to eat in.

Tap Select, Oswaldtwistle

There isn't anywhere in Ossy where you can come in, sit down, relax and enjoy a unique IPA whilst playing retro 80s video games like Donkey Kong or Pacman.

Except Tap Select. The beer choice really is excellent.

The food is more street food and snacky than anything - though I did leave stuffed on my visit there. He knows his food though, does Dom, his parents own the Italian Francos just nearby.

Decent scran - Tap Select

Cartford Inn, Little Eccleston

A multi-award winning pub, restaurant and hotel - the selling point here is that there's a real French influence. Probably a good one too, not like from Bistrot Pierre. Despite that real pedigree of experience, the pub food is super reasonable and you'd struggle to spend more than £30 per head on your food. Lunch options are less than a tenner. Very solid cooking, very solid prices.

Braised beef shin

The Millstone, Mellor

Food. Rooms. It's traditional, but it also does a tandoori chicken breast as a signature dish that is worth the drive from any part of Lancashire. There are burgers and sharing platters too, but stick to the signatures and the classics, have a beer, go on a walk. It'll be great.

Tandoori Chicken, Millstone

Jaffa, Preston

I was chatting to one of my least favourite friends who is taking me to drink whiskey in February. He suggested we need a proper plateful beforehand in Preston. Jaffa was my first option. Cajun blackened chicken, loads of rice, some of whatever the sauce is - set for the night. If you don't believe me, just poke your head in. It is always busy. It might be the busiest place in the city. It's not pretty but it absolutely does the job. A must for any drinking session.

Cajun blackened chicken at Jaffa

Fino Tapas, Preston

The other busiest place in Preston. Fino Tapas, having the huge menu that comes with such a place, is where you'd send someone you didn't really know - safe in the knowledge they'd be well-fed and have a good time. It's rammed round the week but they can usually seat you and a lot of effort has gone into making you that menu. The fillet steak is recommended (by me).

Editor Note: Fino Tapas reopens on Guildhall Street temporarily from the beginning of August.

Fillet steak, Finos

Breda Murphy Restaurant, Whalley

The restaurant has been going since 2006 and underwent quite the refurb in 2017. It regularly wins awards but isn't going to set you back very far at all. Mains, such as salt-aged duck and gnocchi, start at around £13. They do breakfast, too, if that's the time of day that you're heading over there.

Lunch

Plau, Preston

Known primarily for taking around 60 years to open, and then after that for having a well and generally looking ace, the breakfast is what Plau needs to be known for in 2020. The kegeree dish they do has become something of a legend and is one of the very best things you can eat in the city. The other options are great too, and provide plenty of options inspired from many different types of cuisine.

Smoked salmon and spiced scrambled eggs

Enzo's, Burnley

Yep, a pizza takeaway. One of only two takeaways in general to make the list. But Enzo's is a proper Italian takeaway and isn't concerned about serving you pizza where the cheese turns brown after a certain time. It's been there for decades and the same people run it. A Burnley institution to be proud of. Sicilian meatballs recommended.

Meatballs - Enzo's

Encore, Chorley

The second Chorley restaurant to make the list is, rather fittingly, Encore. It's contemporary British dining provided in a chilled out setting. There are plenty of oriental influences across the menu and the pricing is such that you could really make this your neighbourhood restaurant if you want to. Live in Chorley and not been? Get down there now.

Tempura pigs in blanket

Full House Noodle Bar, Lancaster

Cheap eats in the centre of Lancaster. I don't know if the students pile in here but they should and if they don't then maybe higher education isn't for them after all. There is much more on the menu than just noodles, with ribs, gyoza, and the usual suspects all appearing too. Authentic, tasty and one of the best ways to spend a tenner.

Crispy beef at Full House

Pastels, Blackpool

We've not gone mad with burger restaurants in here. The reason for this is, frankly, while we kick arse at a lot of things we've talked about on here, we're so, so far behind the rest of the country when it comes to meat between bread. Bottom line is this - it needs to be about the burger and not how good it's going to look on Instagram - otherwise you ain't lasting long (Solita, how are you?). Anyway, Pastels is the best of the bunch at the moment, with honourable mention to We Don't Give a Fork in Preston.

The Jose burger in all its glory.

Turquaz Turkish BBQ Restaurant, Ormskirk

If you're going to go somewhere for meat, a Turkish restaurant is almost certainly going to do a good job with it. This gaff is relaxing, social, fresh and the sort of place for a bellyful but not a walletful. One of the charcoal specials is definitely a good place to start and then you can go nuts with the starters and see what happens.

Turkish food - a bit of you

Brizola, Clitheroe

No - not another bloody pub in the Ribble Valley. But it is one for Katie to weigh in on once again.

When I’m looking for a meal, delicious food, great service and friendly smiles are what I want. A quick chat with the proprietor about deep-fried feta is generally considered a bonus. This was all of that plus an extra serving of olives.

The gyros is obviously ace at this Greek gem which often gets overlooked when discussing that area of Lancashire.

The main - souvlaki
The main - souvlaki

Wok Inn, Blackpool

One of the very few places in Lancashire that Guardian have bothered to review in the last decade - Wok Inn. It's incredibly bright, and we're not just talking about the sauce that the ribs is served in. It's bright, friendly and the sort of place you would just love to take people and say "look what I've found here". It's also worth the journey to Blackpool on its own.

Wok Inn, Blackpool

Quite Simply French, Lancaster

Quite Simply French claim to be Lancaster's very best restaurant. Now we know a noodle bar that might have something to say about that, but they certainly have the right to make that statement. They do breakfast in a straightforward manner, you can have snails as a starter, you can stay over and go for cocktails somewhere after your food.

Scottish mussels at QSF

The Moorbrook, Preston

Took my partner here, who said it was the best pizza she's ever had. We'd both had a beer but that doesn't mean she wasn't correct. The topping combinations are plentiful and it's wonderfully random that such a traditional boozer has a proper pizza oven. One of the best nights out you could have.

Pizza at the Moorbrook

Mi Casa Su Casa, Blackpool

The only tapas in Lancashire that can rival Fino in Preston - Mi Casa Su Casa is included in the Good Food Guide with very good reason. It may even be the best place to eat in Blackpool. A great social environment to eat food in.

Food at Mi Casa Su Casa

White Swan, Fence

Lancashire really does punch above its weight when it comes to recognition in the Michelin Guide. The White Swan is our last stop in that regard. Tom Parker has put it on the map very quickly. £30 for two courses is decent value while a tasting menu is going to cost you £65 per head but generally be the best way to experience it.

Food at The White Swan

Bukhara, Samlesbury

Bukhara brought upmarket Indian food to Lancashire before most even knew it was a thing. This style of food swiftly put old school curry houses in the shade in terms of broad appeal, even if the latter still has its place. It's alcohol free and you'll probably end up ordering something new to you - but that's the whole idea. In terms of the 'posher' curry in the county, this place wins.

Posh curry? Bukhara is the best

King Street Kitchen, Whalley

The focus here is to be very, very good at a few things. And that's what they do - where some many go wrong with huge menus with three good dishes. A homely atmosphere only helps. The Ribble Valley is occasionally in danger of being somewhat stale so a new opening goes a long way.

Sunday roast, King Street Kitchen

Calypso Caribbean Kitchen, Blackburn

Right, imagine if you can, that Turtle Bay was actually good. That's a bit harsh - but Calypso is truly in a league of its own when it comes to Caribbean food. A place that feels like its been there forever and probably should be. Curried goat is the signature dish and who are we to argue with that?

With rice and peas. Obv.

Stefani's, Blackpool

Pizzas - done in one of those proper wood fired ovens - start at £8 and are easily some of the best you'll come across. Stefani's is loud, the sort of place you want to go with your family and laugh, or your mates before a drink. You can create your own, or do a calzone, too.

Gwan, Stefani's

Wagon and Horses, Lancaster

Wagon and Horses describes itself as your local. That's ace, but what's even better is a winter menu that draws heavily on North American influences - which isn't a cuisine we've visited yet in this article.

Lots of Texan and Mexican influences litter the menu, with empanadas, chowder, chicken wings and more on there. That might all change soon so worth getting your face into it while you can.

Clam chowder

Spread Eagle, Mellor

Our penultimate visit to the Ribble Valley now. A menu that stands out thanks to additions such as black pudding and cheese hash browns, salt and pepper chicken wings and chicken katsu (but not the dull as dishwater stuff you'll get in a more recognisable gaff). Traditional place with just enough new about it to make it feel like an adventurous.

Crab and crayfish risotto

Aroma, Burnley

Contemporary Asian food in Burnley and the sort of place where families gather for events. It feels modern - but offers an affordable access point into some comfortable tasty dining. It's a little safe, but it pips the likes of East Z East in terms of quality. An extensive menu means that its worth sticking to the signature dishes on the list.

A place to take the family

Twelve, Thornton

Twelve stands out as one of the finest offerings in its own part of Lancashire. It's run by husband and wife team Paul Moss and Caroline Upton and provides a traditional British menu. They do it really well and if you ever find yourself in this particular part of our county then a visit should be a no-brainer.

Black pudding scotch egg, Twelve

La Locanda, Gisburn

And here, to some Italian food that isn't slinging out ace pizza. Italian food is mega popular, which means it's super easy to chuck out average fare and have people pay for it. This is why Ask Italian, Zizzi, Prezzo and such all exist while doing nothing different from eachother. La Locanda is the best Italian restaurant in the county. It's that easy.

La Locanda

Angels, Ribchester

Last, and by no means least, comes another restaurant featuring the tagline 'in the heart of the Ribble Valley'. Honestly, if the main thing this article achieves is that it encourages people to eat somewhere else then it'll all be worth it. These use as much local produce as possible and much of it comes from within that lauded Ribble Valley. A straightforward menu gives way to some real talent in the kitchen and, if you want, you can take on the tasting menu.

The goods at Angels