Good Pub and Good Food accolades for The Assheton Arms

High quality food and drinks, excellent service and a stunning setting have led to happy customers and independent judges naming Downham’s Assheton Arms in two prestigious industry guides.

It was announced today (THURSDAY) that the gastro-pub, which is owned by the Seafood Pub Company, has been named the County Pub of the Year in the Good Pub Guide 2015. Judges called The Assheton Arms a “fine old inn with plenty of dining and drinking space, a friendly welcome, several real ales and creative food.”

The Good Food Guide, which is made up entirely of restaurants based on reader recommendations and anonymous inspections, has also listed The Assheton Arms in the Good Food Guide 2015.

The Seafood Pub Company was awarded the lease of the 18th century inn by Lord and Lady Clitheroe in 2012. Following a sensitive £400,000 refurbishment, The Assheton Arms became a stylish restaurant which still retains its strong identity as a community village inn – and has some stunning panoramic views across the valley to Pendle Hill.

The menu at The Assheton Arms combines world food dishes with Lancashire classics, all made using the finest quality local produce.

Seafood Pub Company managing director, Joycelyn Neve, said: “We think The Assheton is a fantastic pub but to know that leading figures in the hospitality sector and customers think the same is amazing news. It’s all down to the hard work of the team and there’s a real sense of shared pride in what we have achieved.”

Joycelyn and the Assheton team celebrated the accolades with a glass of champagne and plenty of ice!

About the Seafood Pub Company

Joycelyn Neve formed the Seafood Pub Company in 2011 with The Oyster & Otter in Blackburn. The following year Joycelyn took the lease of The Assheton Arms in the Pendle conservation village of Downham – which has become a multi-award-winning flagship pub.
Last year the company branched north to the Fenwick at Claughton, near Lancaster, on the edge of the Forest of Bowland, and west to open the Farmers Arms at Great Eccleston on the Fylde.

In 2014, The Derby Arms in Longridge, on the outskirts of the Forest of Bowland opened. In October 2014, the Barley Mow, four miles from the Assheton Arms, will become the first site to adopt slightly different characteristics as a country pub that does food, rather than a destination gastro pub; a new identity that will be developed within the future growth of the
Seafood Pub Company portfolio.