Food and Drink > Where to Eat and Drink in Lancashire > Key to Quality Accreditations

Key to Quality Accreditations

All eating establishments listed on this website have received one or more of the below awards.

Please be aware ratings may change throughout the year.

Taste Lancashire Quality Assurance

Taste Lancashire is a quality award scheme for eating establishments developed by Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, Made in Lancashire and Quality in Tourism.

The award recognises the importance of the food and drink industry to Lancashire and acknowledges establishments who provide a consistently high quality eating experience. The award assessment is carried out annually and any type of eating establishment can apply. Businesses are marked against a quality criteria according to the type of eating establishment.



The Highest Quality Assured Award is given to eateries achieving over 80% in their assessment.

The Quality Assured Award is given to eateries achieving 60-80% in their assessment.

The Made in Lancashire Award is given to eateries meeting the requirement for the provision of local produce.

Only restaurants who meet these standards and are other award winners are featured on this website.

AA Rosettes

AA inspectors annually award Rosettes to restaurants for the quality of their food. Most Star-rated hotels have their own restaurants and we also inspect these. Not all receive an AA Rosette award, but they will generally serve enjoyable food of a reasonable standard.

Excellent restaurants that stand out in their local area. The food is prepared with care, understanding and skill, using good-quality ingredients.

The best local restaurants, offering higher standards and better consistency. Greater precision is apparent in the cooking, and there is obvious attention to the quality and selection of ingredients.

Three Rosettes are awarded to outstanding restaurants that demand recognition well beyond the local area. The highest quality ingredients receive sympathetic treatment, and there is consistent timing, seasoning, and judgement of flavour combinations. You can expect excellent and intelligent service, and a well-chosen wine list.

Four Rosettes highlight cooking that demands national recognition. Dishes demonstrate intense ambition, a passion for excellence, superb technical skills and remarkable consistency. An appreciation of culinary traditions is combined with a desire for exploration and improvement.

The food at a five-Rosette restaurant stands comparison with the best in the world. It is highly individual, benefits from breathtaking culinary skills, and sets the standards to which others aspire. There will also be a knowledgeable and distinctive wine list.

Michelin Stars

The Michelin Guide uses a system of symbols to identify the best hotels and restaurants within each comfort and price category.

For restaurants, Michelin stars are based on five criteria:

1. The quality of the products
2. The mastery of flavor and cooking
3. The "personality" of the cuisine
4. The value for the money
5. The consistency between visits

Michelin stars are awarded to restaurants offering the finest cooking, regardless of cuisine style. Stars represent only what is on the plate. They do not take into consideration interior decoration, service quality or table settings.

1 Star = A very good restaurant in its category
2 Stars = Excellent cooking and worth a detour
3 Stars = Exceptional cuisine and worth the journey

Michelin Bib Gourmand

The distinction is granted to establishments offering "good food at moderate prices".

Good Pub Food

Michelin also recognise many restaurants and Pubs without any stars or Bib Gourmands in their Good Pub Food Guide in which Lancashire has serval establishments.

CAMRA & The Good Beer Guide.

CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, is an independent, voluntary, consumer organisation which campaigns for real ale, real pubs and consumer rights.

Every pub in the Good Beer Guide has been inspected many times by CAMRA members during the course of a year. They visit them and check that beer quality has not declined. All CAMRA members can vote for the quality of beer using the National Beer Scoring Scheme.

The scheme uses a 0-5 scale for beer quality that can be submitted online to www.beerscoring.org.uk

For more information about the scheme, go to www.CAMRA.org.uk