whats the best restaurant in Bury. Trip advisor has Peas Porridge at No 1, but recent reviews not good. I had a fantastic meal at The Decanter on Saturday, fantastic food, good wine at very reasonable prices ( £25.00 each for 2 courses and a bottle of wine). What do you think?

By winebuff1921 at 21:51 on 31/01/11

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Pea Porridge usually scores pretty well. You can take a look at what people have said on this website here:

http://tinyurl.com/6x7oq9w

Decanter's changed hands recently hasn't it? Though it seems to be closed as often as it's open! Glad your meal was good.

By NickRichards at 09:30 on 01/02/11
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Hi Nick, I dont know where you get your information from but its way off the mark. I have just enjoyed a very nice lunch at The Decanter and had a chat with Karen, the owner. She tells me she bought the business mid Sept and immediately extended the opening hours to 6 days, 11.00-15.00 (closed Monday) and 5 nights a week, !7.00-22.00. After Xmas she closed for 2 weeks to carry out improvements as she had been to busy before then. She re-opened on the 15th Jan with the same opening hours. Whereas, i think you will find Peas Pottage only opens from 12.00- 14.00 5 days a week and 18.00 -21.30 5 nights a week, and they were also closed for holiday in September and January!!

Does a restaurants opening hours reflect how good a restaurant it is? If so Peas Pottage would be very low on peoples list and the chains at the top.

By winebuff1921 at 17:57 on 02/02/11
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I'm glad you had a good meal at The Decanter, I was reffering to the fact that the previous owner used to always close it when he was off on holiday all the time, word has it that The Decanter was more of a hobby than an actual business for him. I've only been to Pea Porridge (or Peas Pottage as you like to call it!) once and the food is really good, but more expensive. I guess the good thing about Bury is that it has plenty of resturants for everyone's taste, wallets and standards, as a Wine Buff, tell us what other ones you like!

By NickRichards at 10:25 on 03/02/11
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Wine Buff - you seemed intent on praising Decanter and finding fault in Pea Porridge regardless of what Nick Richards said. He does have a point, it was always closed last year, though still offered good food. The new owners seem to have embraced everything that a good restaurant should be in terms of lots of offers and good deals - I walked past last night and saw they had a 'Buy One, Get One Free' on offer which is great to see. Last year all the Decanter seemed to do well was the witty slogans on the blackboards (thank god they're gone)

By tg1953 at 10:56 on 03/02/11
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A very topical discusssion! Pea Porridge has just scooped two big awards:

http://tinyurl.com/6878jae

By NickRichards at 12:13 on 03/02/11
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Maison Bleau is the best in BStE IMO. The Angel is also pretty good. Peas Pottage is very average.

By W42PZ at 10:13 on 05/03/11
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Pea Porridge is definitely one of the best in Bury. I really really hope it stays.

Our town is full of ****** chains that have stiffled our restaurant scene and mediocre independents (with the exception of Maison Bleue). As for The Decanter? It is OK. They give you plenty to eat but I doubt they have made most of what they serve themselves and if they have then they ought to try harder!

I am a complete food snob though...

By scummy_mummy at 19:42 on 29/05/11
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I also suspect that bad reviews of PP on Trip advisor are more likely to be sabotage (or people who prefer to eat at places like The Linden Tree and don't know what real food is).

It is getting Michelin recognition now and is in The Good Food Guide - what more do you need to know?

And, no, I don't know the owners. I would just be gutted if they closed.

Does anyone remember 19 Angel Hill? That was great too but it didn't last.

By scummy_mummy at 19:48 on 29/05/11
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