North West and Wales

21 HARE AND HOUNDS, ABERTHIN

HEAD chef and proprietor Tom Watts-Jones grew up playing in the garden of the Hare & Hounds, then moved to London to train in some of its finest kitchens. Which means no-nonsense modern British cooking, with the usual emphasis on good local suppliers, and cooking in harmony with the seasons. Sunday lunch includes confit pork belly, roast Aberdeen Angus beef, lamb (roast and braised) and interesting veggie options. Maendy Rd, Aberthin, Cowbridge CF71 7LG, 01446 774892, hareandhoundsaberthin.com ££

22 PLOUGH AND HARROW, MURTON

THE Plough And Harrow comes garlanded with prizes, including Best Gastropub in Wales 2018 and an AA rosette. They try to keep their suppliers as local as possible. Their slow-roasted rump of beef is aged for 42 days, while pork belly is cooked overnight. Roasts come with duck-fat potatoes, and vegetarians are looked after with equal aplomb – jackfruit and feta quesadilla, for example, with pico de gallo and pink onion slaw. 88 Oldway, Murton, Gower, Swansea, SA3 3DJ, 01792 234459, ploughandharrow.eu £

23 BUNCH OF GRAPES, PONTYPRIDD

THE Bunch has won all manner of awards, including CAMRA’s Best Pub in Wales – hardly surprising as they have eight cask ales, two ciders, five craft kegs and an open fire. All meats are sourced from within a 50-mile radius, many of the herbs and vegetables are grown in their own garden, while bread is baked fresh each day. On Sunday they have three kinds of roast beef – slow-braised brisket, along with roasted silverside and rump – plus roast Breconshire lamb leg and shoulder, and a pretty fine mushroom pie. Iechyd da to that! Ynysangharad Rd, Pontypridd, CF37 4DA, 01443 402 934, bunchofgrapes.org.uk £

24 THE THREE FISHES, MITTON

PART of chef Nigel Howarth’s small but perfectly formed pub group. Local suppliers are the stars here – you’ll find Goosnargh chicken and duck, as well as Bury black pudding and lots of different Lancashire cheese. On Sunday they keep it simple – just an excellent 21-day aged roast rump of beef, surrounded by all the usual suspects. Mitton Road, Mitton, Nr Whalley, Lancashire BB7 9PQ, 01254 826888, thethreefishes.com £

27 THE HARDWICK, ABERGAVENNY

STEPHEN Terry is one hell of a chef, having trained under Marco Pierre White, Michel Roux Jr and Alain Passard. So the cooking at The Hardwick is serious, but never swanky. On Sundays you can start with a Provençal fish soup, say, or haddock risotto cake, before moving on to a roast sirloin of Johnny Morris’s Herefordshire beef (cooked pink, of course), slow-roasted local pork shoulder or deep-fried Jerusalem artichoke with grilled purple sprouting broccoli, mayonnaise and Old Winchester cheese. Grown-up cooking in the most laid back of country pubs. Old Raglan Road, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, NP7 9AA, 01873 854220, thehardwick.co.uk ££

28 NUTTERS, ROCHDALE

SET in six acres on the outskirts of Norden, Nutters is a local institution. There’s a French accent to the cooking, even on Sunday – starters include onion soup and chicken liver parfait. But with the main courses it’s very much back to Blighty, with roast rib eye of beef, a trio of pork and (the slightly more Gallic) wild mushroom and leek tart. Edenfield Road, Norden, Rochdale, OL12 7TT, 01706 650167, nuttersrestaurant.co.uk ££

29 EAGLE AND CHILD, RAMSBOTTOM

THIS pub serves up good ale and cracking food – it won the British Pub Awards Pub of the Year in 2017. Its Sunday lunches are more than decent, offering roast Bowland sirloin, for example, or roast loin of Gloucester Old Spot pork with smoked belly, and duck fat potatoes. Vegetarian options are ever-appealing. 3 Whalley Road, Ramsbottom, Lancashire, BL0 0DL, 01706 557181, eagle-and-child.com ££

30 GEORGE AND DRAGON, CLIFTON

SET deep in Cumbria, in the Lowther Estate, The George And Dragon uses estate produce and that of its tenant farmers. So when they say local, they mean it, and the result is well brought-up meat, puffy Yorkshire pudding, lashings of gravy and fine roast potatoes. Clifton, Nr Penrith, Cumbria, CA10 2ER, 01768 865381, askhamhall.co.uk ££