Northcote Wins 2014 BMW Square Meal Award for Best UK Restaurant

Northcote, the Lancashire hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant run by chef patron Nigel Haworth, has won the title for this year’s BMW Square Meal Award for Best UK Restaurant.  Northcote was voted number one in Square Meal’s annual out-of-London survey, with a total of 2,400 restaurants considered by 1,400 readers, bloggers and a nationwide team of reviewers. Incidentally, Northcote was the only property to have made the list in Lancashire and one of only two restaurants in the north-west. Having recently completed a year-long refurbishment, which saw the addition of four new rooms, an onsite cookery school, new-look restaurant and staff wing. Co-proprietor Craig Bancroft said: “Over the past 12 months our investors have had the faith to back our vision and now the public is backing the result. Everyone involved, from the ground up, deserves to be hugely proud and we sincerely thank those involved at Square Meal and BMW. This will spur us on to continue delivering great food, wine and hospitality.” Ben McCormack, editor of Square Meal, said: “In Northcote we have somewhere that exemplifies everything that British restaurants are doing so well. Nigel and head chef Lisa Allen turn the fantastic produce on their doorstep into stunningly presented, deeply satisfying cooking with a strong sense of locality. And it’s served with true professionalism by Craig Bancroft and his front-of-house team in an atmosphere of genuine hospitality. As Northcote prepares to celebrate its 30^th birthday in 2015, there is no resting on laurels or any sense of complacency. We wish the team our heartiest congratulations on this huge achievement, and toast another 30 years of success.” And at just over two hours from Euston to Preston, Northcote prides itself on being the ultimate gourmet getaway, and is a firm favourite with Londoners and locals alike. As written in the summer edition of Square Meal Lifestyle magazine, “Northcote is number one for so many reasons.”