Review: The Ram Inn, Cliviger, Burnley

Phone number: 01282 418921

Lancashire Telegraph review by Kimberley Hall from December 11, 2010.

A family birthday took us to the Ram Inn for Sunday dinner after we’d heard some good reviews of it.

It was a good job we’d booked as, even at 4.30pm, there were few free tables.

We were seated at the far end of the restaurant, passing a roaring real fire to our table, which was unfortunately next to a window with a bit of a cold draught.

The menu has a varied choice of country pub classics, Sunday roasts, sharing platters and starters, as well as side orders and puddings.

I went for the fish pie (£9.45), my other half opted for gammon and eggs (£7.25), his sister chose the homemade beef burger (£8.50), his mum ordered the chicken, leek and ham pie (£7.95) and his gran, the birthday girl, had beer battered fish and chips (£7.50).

After a browse through the extensive list and a quick chat our food arrived.

It was nicely presented, some dishes on long, elegant plates, others on big round ones.

My fish pie was piping hot and it seemed the others around our table were enjoying their choices.

As it was a special occasion and we had skipped lunch in preparation, the puddings had to be tried.

My boyfriend and I shared a butterscotch and toffee steamed pudding (£4.25), his gran had profiteroles (£3.95) and his mum and sister shared a chocolate brownie (£3.95) and treacle tart (£4.25).

The steamed pudding and brownie were the biggest hits. The treacle tart was good but the brownie beat it.

The house wine was also pretty good and reasonably priced, which is often not the case in gastro pubs.

Mostly fantastic food; we'd definitely go back.

Lancashire Telegraph review by Gill Johnson from October 25, 2008.

I WAS so disappointed. Here we were at the Ram Inn at Cliviger supposedly to enjoy a Sunday roast and wishing we were back at home with, well, beans on toast would have been infinitely better!

It was one of those occasions after deciding to turn the oven off and treat ourselves to a meal out – we wished we’d never bothered.

Maybe it was too late in the day — we arrived to dine around 6pm — and the food had been hanging around too long, maybe the chef was jaded after too many hours in the kitchen or it was just what I consider to be an on off-day, but I have to say we were served a poor meal.

My dining companion and I both plumped for the roast turkey with all the trimmings.

You imagine the dinner you serve at home on Christmas Day, but it wasn’t like that at all.

I’ve dined before at The Ram and it was fine. But on this occasion our first complaint was that our food was barely warm when served to our table.

We sent it back, but I don’t think the staff whizzed it in the microwave long enough, as it wasn’t much better when it returned.

Our Sunday dinner consisted of two thin slices of turkey, with minimum taste, accompanied by a ‘pig on horseback’ sausage with bacon, the size of a matchstick and a pat of stuffing, which could only have been bought in in bulk, I guess, rather than made fresh.

The vegetable side dish was unappealing — three small roast potatoes, which seemed to be made of air when you bit inside, some sorry looking broccoli and frozen peas — which I happen to think is a no-no from a restaurant — even I can open a pack of Bird’s Eye!

Dessert for me was a warm brownie with ice cream, but it was a heavy cake, not a light sponge, while the three scoop ice-cream sundae, chosen by my companion, had only the barest swirl of chocolate sauce.

With a glass of wine and an orange juice, our Sunday dinner cost more than £28. I’m sorry, but next time I think I’ll stay at home.

Lancashire Telegraph review by John Anson from January 12, 2008.

IF you were asked to describe a traditional, English roadside inn, then the Ram would pretty much fit the bill.

With its thick walls, large garden and nestling in the valley bottom, it exudes a sense of tranquillity and invites the would-be diner to stop and sample its wares.

Inside, the dimmed lighting, old beams and real fires make you feel right at home. Tealights flickering on every table add to the charm.

There is a good selection of pub fare plus a couple of daily specials chalked up on boards around the walls.

As with any genuinely old building there are plenty of nooks and crannies to hide away in.

I opted for the gammon and egg at £6.95 from the main menu, while the better half went for a daily special of roasted cod loin served on mashed potato with a tomato sauce at £10.95.

There is a huge selection of drinks ranging from guest ales to a bulging wine list.

I'll have my usual gripe about the price of a large glass of white wine - I think £4.50 is too much.

But back to the food. The gammon was a lean, thick steak served with two eggs and a slice of pineapple, chips and a mound of garden peas.

The gammon was beautifully cooked and full of flavour.

The cod special looked superb, the scarlet sauce contrasting with its accompanying green beans.

And, good news, it tasted as good as it looked.

The fish was not overcooked and the mash was smooth and flavoursome.

At the side of our table was a small blackboard with a list of extremely tempting-sounding puddings but we couldn't find the room to fit them in.

The Ram has long been one of those pubs which people will make a point of travelling to for a meal, particularly on a Sunday.

Having sampled the fare, I can certainly see why.

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