The Stan Laurel Inn

A real gem of Ulverston. It might not be high dining or even the nicest pub in the world, but it’s got tonnes of character and an atmosphere that makes you want to hunker down and stay all night.
Surrounded by Stan Laurel memorabilia, we poured over the menus before making our final decisions. There’s a lot of choice — many with ‘Stan’s favourite’ tagged to the beginning of the title — and we were there on a special Fish Friday, with fish & chips on offer for a measly fiver.
I shared the deep fried brie wedges to start, which were simply delicious. Whoever thought of melted cheese, especially deep fried melted cheese, deserves to be knighted. The red onion chutney served alongside was equally good, though there was a slightly pointless salad. The sign of a pub meal?
Deciding against the fish & chips, I went for the steak and ale pie for my main. It was super filling, with a pastry top and huge chunks of beef in a super rich gravy. Served with mega-​chunky chips and more carrots than I have ever seen on a late before, it was a perfect pre-​drinking meal.
Worth the slight walk outside of Ulverston centre.

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been three years since the last review of this place. Hopefully that means it’s being kept a secret… in which case I’m going to be found majorly guilty of breaking the silence.
On the recommendation of a friend who lives about half an hour from Ulverston, we reserved a table for four here and wandered down from Virginia House Hotel (
) where we were staying.
From the outside it looks just like your typical whitewashed country pub. Though I’d hardly call Ulverston town centre bonefide ‘countryside’, the place still had an immediate charming effect on us as we approached.
Once inside you’re met with a pub-​sized ‘shrine’ to the town’s most famous son. Photos, screen shots, figures and memorabilia from Laurel & Hardy’s history on the screen are everywhere. It gets the set-​up just right — managing not to look like an obsessive fan’s homage to Stan, but just enough to pay tribute to his fame.
The sizeable bar has at least six handpulls on at any time. Most are from the local area but their range stretches further afield aswell. What was great was having the option of getting a tray of three thirds in case you couldn’t choose between them.
The menu is pretty comprehensive and we saw the portion sizes were, well, sizeable, so opted for mains and desserts. I had the 10oz sirloin steak cooked medium rare and it was incredibly juicy. The stars on the plate were the onion rings though, beer-​batter crispiness — sheer heaven. Lots of chunky chips and coleslaw with salad (you could opt for potatoes and veg instead) and then it was on to the puddings.
Ice cream flavours that we’d never heard of before. Coupled with sticky toffee pudding I had ‘Thunder and Lightning’ flavour. I’ll keep what it was like a secret so you have to try it yourself ;)
Lovely, friendly staff, great ales and immense food. It certainly wasn’t ‘Another Fine Mess.’

I have never, ever had a bad ale here. I’ve known many very good real ale pubs and it’s inevitable that sometimes you get a bad one yet it’s never happened to me so far. Brilliant. There tends to be a selection of at least 8, with types to suit every ale drinker.
The food is also absolutely excellent. Do bear in mind though that it’s a very popular place for food so if you’re just out for an ale around tea time it will be packed out with foodies so I’d recommend the Devonshire or Swan. If you do want food though it’s good filling, rustic yet great quality, good value stuff and comes recommended.
4 stars for not opening earlier! (around 6.30 from memory but do check).

The Stan Laurel Inn is a good all-​round local pub. Paul and Trudi have had it for two years.
The food is scrumptious. On Friday I had a big piece of fish in crispy beer-​batter, with chips which I could tell were home cut, and extremely tasty mushey peas. That was the special for a fiver. They get their ingredients from the best greengrocer and butcher in town.
Given the name there is a fair bit of Laurel and Hardy memorabilia in the bars. The pub is Thwaite’s, but always has six real ales including from the nearby Ulverston Brewery. They also do bed and breakfast for £30 p.p. per night.