Nestled amid the rolling hills of Saddleworth, this Oldham pub is ranked among the best places to eat in the entire UK. The Old Bell Inn in the picturesque village of Delph was one of only 14 restaurants in the whole of Greater Manchester to get a nod in the new AA Rosette Guide for the best places to dine.
It sits alongside the likes of Kala on King Street, Michelin-starred Mana in Ancoats, The French at the Midland Hotel in the city centre, and Stockport's acclaimed Where the Light Gets In on the list, and was markedly the only pub in Greater Manchester to feature.
So what makes it so special? Well it's certainly a better class of pub grub that you'll find here.
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There's a full a la carte menu as well as daily changing specials. And naturally it's rather famous for it's massive Sunday roasts - with options like slow roast pork, slow roast beef at £15.95, and slow roast leg of lamb at £17.95.
The restaurant prides itself on using local produce and is one of the few pubs in the region where you can get the Oldham old favourite steamed beef rag pudding served with chips for £14.95, and ice cream from Saddleworth's Grandpa Greene's.
The 18th century coaching house is "steeped in history" with quirky original features, wooden panels and beams as you enter the main pub space. It also boasts 18 bedrooms, which are AA and VisitEngland accredited. It sits on the main Huddersfield Road through Delph.
But it's also a pub with something quite out the ordinary. It has a record-breaking gin emporium which is nestled in a snug opposite the main bar.
The Old Bell Inn owner is Philip Whiteman, who created the Gin Emporium over ten years ago. It claimed the Guiness World Record in 2014 for the "most varieties of gin commercially available" with 404.
Now, it boasts a jaw-dropping array of 1559 gins that line every wall of the snug in a spectacular glassware display. Gins they stock include "the most expensive gin in the world" - the Morus LXIV gin.
Staff at the pub appear to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of their vast range - and can recommend one to suit the sort of flavours you usually like, including pairing it with the right tonic. On our visit we tried a refreshing gin from Oldham's Defiance distillery - brewed just down the road in Springhead.
"It’s incredible to think that I have produced something that is unique in the world," Philip says. "My team and I are so proud of this achievement and feel privileged to be part of an elite group of Guinness World Record holders.
"We have accomplished something great that our customers can enjoy."
Philip added the whole team are also proud to have made it into the 2023 edition of the AA's annual restaurant guide. It's now in its 29th edition, hailing itself as the "leading guide to the UK's top dining destinations".
London, of course, bagged the most number of restaurant entries in the guide, as it does every year, with 172. But this year Yorkshire bagged second place, with 68 restaurants listed, followed by Devon with 59 and Cumbria with 57.
For the 2023 edition, the 14 Manchester restaurants included are:
Adam Reid at The French, The Midland Hotel, Manchester
Mana, Ancoats
Where the Light Gets In, Stockport
Brasserie ABode, Manchester
HISPI, Didsbury
Honey at Hotel Gotham, Manchester
The Lowry Hotel, Salford
WOOD Manchester
Chez Mal Brasserie, Manchester
El Gato Negro Tapas, Manchester
George's Dining Room & Bar, Worsley
Kala Bistro, Manchester
Podium at the Hilton Hotel Deansgate, Manchester
The Old Bell Inn, Delph, Oldham
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