Some of the cooking here is exceptional, but the self-importance is hard to stomach
Moor Hall, Prescot Road, Aughton, Lancashire (01695 572511). Four-course tasting menu £70, eight courses £140, wines from £35
When booking to eat at Moor Hall in Lancashire, do pay attention to the terms and conditions. For example, while they minister to dietary requirements, they “cannot cater for dislikes”. As a restaurant critic I take this as a personal challenge: clearly, if I don’t like anything it will be my fault, not theirs. They ask that you arrive 30 minutes before the booking time “to experience the full Moor Hall journey”. You may have thought you were going for lunch, but no. In the age of X Factor we are all on a journey. A week before my booking, secured with a credit card, an email turns up repeating all of this and reminding me that if I cancel within seven days or fewer of that booking (a period which, given the date of the email, has already started), I will be charged £125 a head.
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