Chetham's Arms, Chapeltown, Reviewed

OCCASIONALLY you need to get out of the city. So on Sunday I did the modern thing and tweeted for country pub meal recommendations.

The suet was the key here, there is nothing more comforting and warming than a good suet pastry made from beef fat. 

One reply from a gent was a challenge, a gauntlet thrown down. It said something like, 'I'd recommend north of the city but you hate it up there in Confidential land so you wouldn't go'.

I'm from Rochdale so I don't hate 'north of the city'. I love the rolling Pennines, the stone villages, although it's true I'm apalled by the civic mismanagement in places such as Rochdale. As for Confidential we go northside for food whenever we hear of somewhere worth reviewing.

So rising to the challenge I went en famille to Chetham's Arms in Chapeltown in the Turton part of Bolton, my charming tweeter's choice. The village is gorgeous, perfect on a sharp winter's day, full of golden Pennine houses and long views to the hills.

It even has a Manchester link, as the pub name refers to the same Humphrey Chetham who gave his name to Chetham's School of Music and Library in the city centre. Chetham bought the estate in 1628 for £4000. 

The pub is a good-looker on the outside, three storeys proud, while inside its been given a bold edge with vivid reds and blues. The date stone outside reads 1745, an interesting year to be building given that the Scots had rebelled and were trying to get their king, Not-So-Bonnie Prince Alex Salmond - I'm sure that was his name - on the throne of Britain.

The menu is as good looking as the pub, excellent value and a bit of a revelation. 

The 12 hour braised, middle white belly pork, crispy pork scratchings, sage crushed potatoes, apple and chorizo (£12.95) is a good example of the quality and value - check that price - up here. 

Pork delight

A whole-hearted good looking meal with clever combinations in the apple and chorizo and the spuds plus good sturdy juicy pork too. Impressive.

The beef and ale suet pudding with root veg and gravy was another triumph and even better value at £10.50. The suet was the key here, there is nothing more comforting and warming than a good suet pastry made from beef fat. The shredded beef inside was extra treasure.

Suet heaven

The Chetham's burger, chips, home-made ketchup (£10.50) was another excellent composition, with really corking meat filling and chips. The boy Oliver adored the homemade ketchup when normally he's a stickler for Heinz ketchup. 

Burger and some proper, dead proper, chips

My Sunday roast was one of the best I've had in a pub for a long while. Mostly Sunday roasts in restaurants and pubs fail because of timing. They work better within a family atmosphere where the food is ready and eaten there and then without any of it lurking around grumpily, sinking into a slough of stodge.

Here the beef dripping Yorkshire pudding was a thing of artistry that cried out to be cut and soaked in the rich gravy and then coated with beautifully tender beef, the latter having been feisted up with mustard. Good beans and baby spinach added crunch. 

A pub roast dinner that actually works

A cheese board of trad Lancashires and Lancashire blues was a lovely end to the meal but not as appreciated as my elder son Jacob's sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce, crème anglaise, vanilla ice-cream for £4.50. The pudding was light, the caramel anything but, which meant the whole was excellent and we were all scrabbling for dining implements to steal some.

A pint or two of Flat Cap - a smooth, citrussy, 4% pale ale - from Bolton's Bank Top Brewery was the only possible accompaniment on such a cold day. 

I was impressed by the Chetham's Arms, the only criticism would be with the rather unsmiling main bloke in a white shirt, he should take a lead from some of his staff and be nicer.

It turns out that the Chetham's Arms is part of a mini-empire of four pubs up here including the Shoulder of Mutton in Holcombe and the Elephant and Castle in Rochdale, created by Chris Yates. I'll have to put them on my list of north of the city places to visit this year. 

So thanks Mr Tweeter for recommending the Chetham's Arms. Now, in turn, I pass your words of wisdom on to readers. 

You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter here @JonathSchofield

Chetham's Arms, Turton, 83 High Street, Chapeltown, Bolton, BL7 0EW. 01204 860467           

Rating 14.25/20

Food: 7.75/10
Service: 2.5/5
Ambience: 4/5