Shibden Mill Inn Review

Nestled a couple of miles outside the town of Halifax, the Shibden Mill Inn is an award winning country pub with rooms which can trace its origins back to 1890. Having held two AA rosettes for many years, and indeed a Michelin Guide listing since 2022, I was fully expectant of a high quality family meal as I made the trip for lunch with my wife and two young children, on a sunny May Saturday.

The restaurant wasn't too difficult to find (and is well sign posted), and after some fairly narrow roads on the way, it was great to see two large car parks on site with plenty of free space. The setting as a whole is very nice, the grounds are surrounded by trees and the car park sits directly next to a pleasant flowing stream which my daughter enjoyed having a look at.

On arrival, the outdoor area was bustling with people making the most of the sunshine for a drink (and why not, you can easily just pop in for a pint here and not eat), inside was a lot quieter with just a few tables dining, but that didn't bother me at all. The welcome from the staff on arrival was warm and friendly, and we were shown to our spacious table in one of the ground floor dining areas. Decor wise, I liked the feel of the place, it has a traditional but tidy high-end pub feel and was a perfectly comfortable space to enjoy a quality meal.

For lunch, the offering consists of a full carte menu (which we ate from), a smaller sandwich menu and a solid three course children's menu which is always appreciated. Drinks wise, there's a weighty wine list but we weren't offered any form of drinks list which would have been useful. I stuck my with usual Hendricks and tonics during the meal which were fine, whilst my wife and kids were perfectly happy with their lemonades and apple juices.

Lunch began for me with the scallop ceviche, served with a fennel pollen emulsion, rhubarb, jalapeno, and a ponzu sauce. I enjoyed this; it was a well thought out dish with interesting flavour combinations and the execution was without fault. My wife wasn't quite as impressed with her dish of chicken skin cream, fresh crab, peas, lemon and elderflower but it was still an enjoyable starter. My daughter enjoyed the garlic and herb dough balls from the children's menu, whilst my son was perfectly happy with just a side of skinny fries.

There was a little bit of a wait for the mains to arrive, but nothing too extreme. I opted for the hogget rump, served with a hogget cheek arancini and a warm caesar salad. This was another well executed dish, the cheek arancini was a touch dry but other than that, the plate ate well and was very tasty. My wife was impressed with a dish of halibut loin, caramelised cauliflower and a separate little serving of potted shrimp. The fish cooking was spot on and the accompanying elements were all nice enough. My daughter meanwhile also enjoyed her fish and chips from the children's menu with all the elements being well cooked.

After some decent savoury courses, would our desserts be as impressive? Well, in short, not quite. My 'Shiben Snickers', a play on the classic chocolate bar was OK but the flavours weren't as stellar as I was hoping, and the main delice slice was a pretty mean size for a carte dessert I thought also. My wife went for the blood orange, parkin, almond and burnt honey which was fine. The kids did enjoy their ice cream and sorbet though from the children's menu.

And so, after collecting our bill (complete with ten percent service charge) with no fuss, an enjoyable lunch came to an end. Overall, we were impressed by our visit here. The standard of cooking was good (although perhaps not worthy of the prices being charged) and service throughout was warm and child friendly also. The positive reputation is well deserved, and I'd certainly have no issue visiting again in future if in the area.