Dining Out: The Moors Inn, Appleton-le-Moors

The Moors Inn,
The Moors Inn, Appleton-le-Moors.The Moors Inn, Appleton-le-Moors.
The Moors Inn, Appleton-le-Moors.

Appleton-le-Moors

Never mind New Year’s resolutions - eat, drink and be merry is my motto of the moment, and that’s exactly what we did when we visited The Moors Inn situated in the lovely village of Appleton-le-Moors.

This charming 17th century inn has a warm and cosy atmosphere, an open fire crackled away in the front bar, and laughter and chatter came from a family enjoying a meal.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We arrived a little earlier than we anticipated, but that wasn’t a problem, a pleasant member of staff showed us to our table, and our drinks order arrived promptly after.

The restaurant is a comfortable, relaxed space, and gentle music played softly in the background.

There was an extensive menu with plenty of tempting dishes, but eyeing the specials board I finally plumped for pheasant breast filled with haggis, wrapped in bacon and accompanied by a whiskey and grain mustard sauce. This came with a dish of seasonal vegetables and potato game chips. It was well-presented with slivers of home-made parsnip crisps as a garnish. The rich, dark meat of the pheasant had a nice strong flavour and went well with the creamy mustard sauce, of which there was plenty, and there was just enough haggis to add another level of flavour and texture to the dish. The layer of bacon wrapped around the breast was a subtle addition and didn’t detract from the flavour of the pheasant. The chunky chips were amazing and sprinkled with coarse sea salt.

My partner ordered the 10 oz sirloin steak cooked medium, it came with a generous stack of large onion rings, a portobello mushroom, grilled tomato, chunky chips and seasonal vegetables. He opted for the peppercorn sauce as an extra. The steak was a juicy piece of meat, full of flavour and cooked well, and the onion rings were light and crisp and looked impressive stood to attention on the plate. The peppercorn sauce had a creamy texture and a fiery taste.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Looking forward to dessert, my partner ordered Winter Berry Eton Mess, and after studying the ample menu I decided that instead of dessert I would have a liqueur coffee - loaded with cream and a shot of whiskey.

The Eton Mess portion was huge, it was served in a deep glass dish so you could see the swirls of fresh cream, berries and meringue. I got to have a taste and it was sublime with crushed pieces of chewy home-made meringue, whipped cream, lots of deep pink berries and topped with a strawberry garnish. I had food envy.

My coffee came in a tall latte glass. Made with cream, it was like a dessert in itself, and the heat from the whiskey was a welcome winter warmer. I added a couple of brown sugar cubes to it as I like my liqueur coffees sweet. It also came with a miniature mince pie – the last one of the festive season!

The Moors Inn came highly recommended and offers a warm welcome with a great menu to boot. It’s definitely worth another visit.