Hearth of the Ram

Heart of the Ram seems like a nice environment although it seems like it’s really more of a restaurant than a pub… I might have been missing where some more non-​eating tables were though.
I had a very nice gin & tonic and sauvignon blanc from a pleasant bartender who seemed knowledgeable about the ales on offer. Bf tried some sort of vanilla ale which he said was pretty good but his Timothy Taylor pint tasted sour.
The Christmas menu looked nice (quite expensive though) and I’d be interested to try the food here.

Lovely restaurant, interesting menu and great service. Had the sirloin steak which was fab. I like my steak well done and this can sometimes mean you get ‘charcoaled shoe leather’, but not the case here, it was cooked perfectly with no ‘pink bits’ and not a hint of charcoal! My ‘medium rare’ mates were equally pleased with the way their steaks were cooked. Definitely coming back.

The Heart of the Ram is a pub and restaurant on the outskirts of Ramsbottom; it has a sizeable car park to the side, enough for about 20 cars. Inside is spacious and modern, whilst still retaining the characteristic features of the building, wooden beams, stone walls, large fireplaces etc. Booking a table for 6.30 meant we had the choice of two menus, the slightly cheaper one containing dishes like Fish Pie, Corn Beef Hash, Steak and Ale Pie, and the menu containing more grandiose dishes, with slightly elevated prices. There were intriguing dishes like a twist on Ham, Egg and Chips as a starter, but at £9.95, we passed and went for olives (black and green), with fresh bread and olive oil/​balsamic to share, just the right size.
Mains wise, my wife had the Fish and Chips with minted mushy peas. A superb piece of fish, great triple cooked chips, but the minted mushy peas didn’t really work. I had the garlic potato dumplings with purple sprouting broccoli, in a light cheese sauce, a wonderful dish, the dumplings were crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy in the centre, very impressive.
Desserts included chocolate fondant and an impressive sounding cheeseboard, but we eventually plumped for two scoops of their homemade ice cream (chocolate and vanilla), a simple tasty dish and the sticky toffee pudding. After being served what I considered to be the best sticky toffee pudding I’ve ever eaten at the Bridge Bistro in Wadebridge, I’d actively avoided it as a pudding, knowing it could never be bettered. This was definitely on a par though, light and flavoursome, sitting in amply luxuriant sauce, with a portion of the homemade vanilla ice cream on the top, heavenly. We finished the meal with a small Americano apiece, £3.50 each, ouch! Great service though, very efficient, on the whole a great meal!

«Amazing food, shame the service was all a bit rushed» should be the headline on this occasion!
We did go on Mothers Day and pre-​booked with them doing 3 services but although everyone was friendly it did really seem like everyone was on a mission to get you in and out as fast as possible! In fact our main server probably would have given us the card machine with our dessert if he’d got the chance — I thought we did quite well to nail 3 courses in 90 mins!
But all this we’re putting down to Mothers Day and hope to go back soon because the food was amazing.
3 courses each — I enjoyed the monkfish and prawns to start, with amazingly cooked lamb to follow and a dessert of sticky toffee pud –all were so so good!
At £30 per head it was fairly well priced for a great meal and the drinks were pretty good with a pint of Elland Pale and a large glass of MOMO NZ Sauvignon Blanc polished off pretty quickly by yours truly!

A cold wintry December lunch time is the perfect time and place to visit Hearth of the Ram in my opinion, the combination of inclement weather outside, festive décor around a roaring fire in a cosy bar is my idea of a heavenly day off.
This is precisely when we decided to make our way out of Manchester to the rolling hills of Ramsbottom, only 25 minutes drive, or you could jump on the steam train from Bury if you fancy an old-​school day out. I’d read good things about Hearth of the Ram from friends and food fans on Twitter, but didn’t have many preconceptions of what to expect, other than a refined sort of pub food (or gastropub food as it used to be toe-​curlingly called).
Hearth of the Ram feels like the sort of place that was a very good small pub but has transformed itself with thoughtful cooking into a place people come out of their way to visit, as we did. A very smart, low lit bar with stone floors that looks like it’s recently been renovated. On our visit there was a glass extension to the ground floor under construction, which looks to nearly double the amount of covers, or maybe leave as predominantly a bar area (I didn’t ask, so this is pure speculation), either way it looks to be a good addition.
We were welcomed in by the friendly staff and shown three menus, which seemed excessive, but I guess that’s what happens when the festive season comes round. As we were only there for lunch and don’t have a glutton’s appetite we left the festive menu and looked over the options, split between their a la carte menu (dishes between £14 & £23) and light bites or smaller meals; sandwiches, pies or burgers (starters from £3ish, burgers around £11). As we’d made the effort to come out of town it seemed churlish to have a burger or pie, so plumped for something from the a la carte menu, I settled on the monkfish with chorizo gnocchi whilst my wife had the braised ox cheek with turbot. Both of us really enjoyed our dishes, my gnocchi were crispy and golden from the chorizo on the outside, fluffy in the middle, almost like a potato croquette, but more refined and not at all rubbery as I’ve found a lot of gnocchi to be.
The monkfish was perfectly cooked, meaty and moist, the sauce and mixture of pureed and fried vegetables made for a great balance of textures and flavours. I couldn’t fault it. Possibly even better was the ox cheek and turbot, the braised meat was so tender and full of flavour that I wanted to eat all of it, but resisted, despite being offered more. Portion sizes were generous too, often an a la carte dish leaves you requiring a substantial side dish, but the new potatoes we ordered between us weren’t required (they were, however, buttery and delicious).
Lunch for the two of us came to £50 with a glass of wine and rather nice local ale, which is more than we’d normally pay for a lunchtime meal, but felt like a totally appropriate amount to pay for the environment, quality of the dish, service and drinks.
Hearth of the Ram isn’t ever going to be my go-​to pub lunch, but it’s worth a little jaunt out of town for a special occasion.

That’s a very good spot indeed. Ramsbottom may not be the first place that comes to mind for a trip out of town for many but it worth venturing to for many reasons.
One of them is the Hearth of the Ram, just round the bend over the Irwell. It’s a cosy, warm and vibrant bar and restaurant. Walking through the entrance and bar on Saturday evening you can tell punters are getting excited and ready for a good time.
We’d booked for my dad-in-law’s birthday and were shown upstairs. At 7pm it was still pretty quiet with just another couple occupying the room. The stone and wooden beams décor is really effective.
Throughout the evening the service was second to none. Not intrusive but regularly inquisitive, well-​mannered. The food was very good, I had Ox Cheek and Turbot surf and turf and I savoured every bit of it. The lady thought her dessert was not as exciting as she was hoping it to be (can’t remember which it was, something with cherry sorbet in it).
My only gripe was to see once again that the wine is over priced. The list is good but £9.75 for a 175ml glass of rosé, the bottle of which retails at £13 is just not value for money for anyone and doesn’t help make wine more accessible and appreciated by the masses.
The beer selection was short but of high quality with a Marble Pint and Timothy Taylor Landlord, both well poured.
I would definitely go back again if I’m around the Ram exploring the sights and watering holes.

This place is in various food guides and Michelin recommended, but personally thought it’s pretty unexceptional and uninventive.
Ordered the steak, which was basically a piece of sirloin on top of a few green beans and bits of brocolli and carrot, with chips on the side. Could have cooked that at home.
Very pricey for what it is, average price £17−22 for a main. There’s a ‘simple’ menu which is more affordable but they stop serving that at 7pm.
Service pretty good, although the waiter we had was the quietest guy on earth so couldn’t hear him reading he specials.
Good atmosphere though, warm homely vibe with wooden furniture and chandeliers spread across 2 floors.

On one of those lazy days when it’s too close to lunchtime to have breakfast, a friend and I opted to try Hearth of the Ram for a spot o’ brunch as we’d heard good things about them.
Though there was some outdoor terrace seating available, we sat inside to take in what was a pretty stylish interior with antique furniture and leather benches, not to mention the open fireplace (this place would be great to visit on a dark winter’s eve when they burn a few logs).
They offer an a la carte menu all day from noon and also a ‘Simple’ menu until 7pm with snacks which we were more in the mood for. There’s also a large desserts menu and a Sunday menu so plenty of choice for the undecided.
We chose Lancashire Rarebit with soughdough soldiers (£3.50), Gloucester Old Spot Sausage Roll served with tomato relish (£3.95) and a bowl each of their Chunky Chips (£3.50). The mains from the Simple menu ranged from £7-£13 and looked very tempting.
The food arrived in good time and was well presented, not to mention delicious, the sausage roll was the highlight.
Service was very welcoming and efficient, a great place to eat and I’ll definitely return to try a bigger meal.
Tip: ask the server for the daily specials.
Tip: they’re in the 2014 Good Food Guide and with good reason.