Lancashire Pub of the Year: I visited the Britannia Tap & Grill in Oswaldtwistle and I can see why it won!
This pub has recently been named the best in Lancashire so I went to see if it lived up to its name!
The family-run business, located on Haslingden Old Road in Oswaldtwistle, won the award at the National Pub and Bar Awards 2024.
This win comes just a year after its sister establishment The White Bull, also in Oswaldtwistle, claimed the same victory.
As soon as I stepped into the Britannia Tap & Grill I was immediately drawn to the warm and cosy atmosphere that the best local boozers give off.
Yet despite having your traditional pub features like a pool table and beer garden, the Britannia also had a beautiful dining area with classy, elegant decor.
These two parts of the pub didn’t feel divided and instead blended well to show this business really was deserving of its award.
This dining area also highlighted to me that the food offered at the pub would be elevated with their own culinary twist on it.
I managed to speak with the Food and Beverage Manager, Callam Hartley about his reaction to winning the award.
He said: “It was a bit of a shock really especially after our other pub won it last year, we thought they would’ve looked elsewhere.
“When we got told we had picked up the award at our new pub, it was definitely something special.”
Whilst at the pub, I also managed to try some of their food which has been highly coveted and was one of the main factors behind their award win.
For starters I went for the steamed mussels with nduja, garlic and shallot cream and some sourdough bread.
As you can imagine this was no ordinary pub munch as it was a dish of complex yet delicious flavours and transported me to a fine-dining restaurant rather than an Oswaldtwistle local.
Britannia Tap & Grill has branded itself as a steakhouse so I thought it would be rude to not order a steak to follow up.
And I was not disappointed, the steak was cooked to perfection and paired with their peppercorn sauce made for a fantastic meal.
These two dishes were yet again another symbol of the pub perfectly blending your traditional pub setting and food with a higher class menu and background.
The outside area was also appealing and I could tell that, on a sunny day, business would be booming with thirsty customers.
Speaking on future plans for the pub, Callam said: “Next year we are looking on upgrading the outside area with an outdoor bar.
“We want a lot more seats out there as the back of the pub is very much a sun trap so in the summer its really good vibes out there!”
Overall, I’d recommend, not just Ossy locals but, people from across Lancashire, to visit the Britannia Tap & Grill as I can definitely see why it was named Lancashire Pub of the Year.
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