Shibden Mill Inn, Halifax

This is a stone's throw from the centre of Halifax but in terms of atmosphere and ethos it couldn't be further from the crowd of vertical drinking establishments that we passed en route.

It's a 17th century former corn mill hidden away at the bottom of a hollow in what feels like the middle of nowhere. There are plenty of signs and billboards to guide travellers off the busy A58, around a corner and down a steep hill.

The car park is ample and at 7pm on a Saturday evening it is two-thirds full. Unsurprisingly, none of the outside tables are occupied. This really isn't the season to be clustering under a patio heater, though I could well imagine whiling away a pleasant evening or two here in the summer.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We step over the threshold, narrowly avoiding contact with the low-hanging "mind your head" sign, and find ourselves between a large open fire and the bar. This really is every inch the English country inn. It is cosy and welcoming. "Like a comfy pair of slippers," my taller half contributes, lapsing into clichs, but I can't do any better.

There's a choice of two venues for a meal: downstairs in the bar area, which is divided into a series of small rooms, or upstairs in the "restaurant proper", where the ceiling is higher and the tables come dressed with a white linen cloth.

In the slightly more informal bar setting we had a well-positioned corner spot on a slightly raised dais, arguably the prime table-for-two in the house.

Our drinks order is taken promptly after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing by the waitress who disappears to double-check the guest beers and then to retrieve a wine list. There is a good selection of house wines that can be ordered by the glass, plus a separate list of another two dozen bottles.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The menu has undergone a minor overhaul since the arrival in November 2009 of head chef Darren Parkinson, previously of the Old Bore in nearby Rishworth. Ongoing culinary renovations are being aided by monthly "guinea pig" evenings where diners can offer feedback on the chef's choice of starter, main and dessert. At just 16 for three courses, it's a bargain for unfussy eaters and the evenings are often booked up well in advance.

The winter menu offers plenty of choice (11 starters, 15 mains) and a fair smattering of novelty. There were also two extra starters and three mains on the specials board the night we dined.

A steamed game pudding (6.95) is selected out of sheer curiosity. This is essentially a scaled-down steak-and-kidney pudding but with a different (gamey) filling, topped with a handful of baby onions and surrounded by deep red jus. Fabulous winter fare and while hearty, not overly stodgy.

Hot smoked salmon fishcake (6.95) sounds like a more conventional choice, though its presentation is anything but. As with the game pudding, the fishcake is served in a dish akin to an inverted, wide-brimmed hat, deep enough to hold a veritable lake of shrimp and chive sauce. I'm suspicious about the level of the liquid (no spoon? no bread to mop it up?) but the chef clearly knows what he is doing with the quantities. It all disappears amidst a running commentary of praise.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Neither main is quite what we had expected. Both are superb. Grilled sea bass (13.95) is plump and bone-free. It sits skin-side up on a bed of rocket atop what is best described as a flaky-pastry pizza. This is, according to the menu, a "mozzarella and tomato puff pastry tart". I beg to differ. Semantics aside, whatever this is it works brilliantly with the fish.

The appearance of the "twice cooked crispy Yorkshire lamb shoulder" (15.95) is a bigger surprise. The meat has been shredded and compressed, arriving on the plate in a small mound rather than the expected part-joint. Once again, any doubts about the dish disappear after the first forkful.

"Possibly the most intensely flavoured lamb I have ever tasted," is the verdict. The bed of goats cheese mash adds a dash of saltiness while the mint sauce, which is more like minty gravy, melds everything together.

For afters, there is a choice of two cheese platters and five sweets. A self-contained treacle tart is served warm with toffee ice cream and, unusually, a fan of red-wine-poached pear segments. It certainly makes a change from the ubiquitous raspberry jus. But why? Perhaps it doesn't matter. The two halves of this pudding are delightful in their own right. Warm Bramley apple frangipane and nutmeg ice cream is similarly served with a companion mini-pud, this time a tart apple crumble that has a wonderfully crunchy topping.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We order a couple of lattes to round off the meal. Sadly, this is the one part of the dining experience that's not right. The drinks are scalding hot and woefully weak. Time to invest in a new coffee machine. By the end of the evening most downstairs tables are occupied and looking at the car park, I'd guess that the upstairs restaurant had a busy night too. Yet it never felt overcrowded and we never felt rushed or forgotten. Staff know what they are doing and how to do it well. It is a thoroughly self-assured performance.

The Shibden Mill Inn has won awards and praise in the past for its ambience and culinary excellence.

With Darren Parkinson at the helm in the kitchen and with the present management team, I see no reason why it won't continue to do so.

The Shibden Mill Inn, Shibden Mill Fold, Shibden, Halifax, West Yorkshire, 01422 365840. Food served 12-2pm and 6-9.30pm Monday-Saturday; 12-7.30pm Sunday. "Guinea pig" nights held 7-9pm on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of every month.