Cheshire Cats Pubs & Bars, who own and operate The Cholmondeley Arms on the Cholmondeley estate, The Bulls Head and Church Inn in Mobberley, the Three Greyhounds Inn in Allostock, the Fitzherbert Arms in Swynnerton and the Red Lion in Weymouth, Dorset, has been voted the company with the Best Drinks Act in the UK at the prestigious Publican Awards ceremony in London.

Cheshire Cats Pubs & Bars beat a number of national chains to the title, drawing high praise from the judges for supporting cask ales from local brewers. The company was also awarded a ‘Highly Commended’ title in the Best Food Offer category.

Each pub within the collection specializes in a particular drink with The Cholmondeley Arms boasting more than 300 gins, the Red Lion offering more than 80 rums and the Fitzherbert Arms offering over 30 Ports by the bottle. Whiel the Bulls Head, Three Greyhounds Inn and the Church have enviable collections of Whisky, Brandy and wine respectfully.

Tim Bird, owner of the unique collection of village pubs and country inns, comments: “These awards are equivalent to the drinks industry’s ‘Oscars’ and it is fantastic that our pubs and our teams has been recognized in this way. The award recognises the hard work that the team puts in and how we work with local breweries, suppliers and food producers to bring a memorable and unique experience to our customers everyday.”

Ed Bebbington, of the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, comments: “This is a company that puts a lot of time and thought into getting its drink offer right, from its superb focus on local, great beers, through to an impressive offer of wines and spirits.”

Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin, owners of Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars, have already won numerous awards for restoring pubs of great heritage and character and are now focused on the Roebuck Inn, also in Mobberley which after three years of closure is set to open in April.

For further information on Cheshire Cat Pubs and its collection of pubs, please visit www.cheshirecatpubsandbars.co.uk.

Barry from the Bulls Head gives it the big thumbs up

Tim is stunned and so proud of the team

Tim and Mary ...wow what a win!!

The Team celebrate the huge win after the awards presentation

The Big screens reveal the nominations

The best Drinks Act win hits the big screen

Simon from the Church Inn seems very happy....

Mary with the trophy and comedian Michael Mcintyre, Tim and Simon from Coca Cola the sponsors of the award

Mary is delighted and proud indeed for all the teams

Leanne from our new pub the Fitzherbert Arms cannot believe our success at the first time of asking

Jess from the Cholmondeley Arms is very proud to hold the trophy

James from the Three Greyhounds Inn celebrates with a kiss

Cheshire Cat win the UK's Best Drinks Act for 2016

Brian of the Red Lion holds the trophy aloft our little 'Oscar'

Barry, Simon, Mary and James are delighted with the win

A MOBBERLEY pub is celebrating after receiving a trio of awards in one week.

The Church Inn, on Church Lane, found out it has been listed in the Michelin’s pub guide on the same day as winning the ‘most stylish dining experience’ at the Hilden Awards and being crowned the winner of the Mobberley Scarecrow competition. Read full article…

Michelin recognition and Village recognition!

What a weekend at the Church Inn….as fireworks went off around the pub for Guy Fawkes we were enjoying a few crackers ourselves! We received confirmation that after only two years the Church Inn has been included in the Michelin Pub Guide 2015/16 listing 590 of the best Dining pubs in the UK. This is credit to the efforts of all the Chefs who have worked at the Church Inn with us over the last two years since we re-opened after the restoration of our lovely little pub. The Church Inn joins our Cholmondeley Arms who was included in the guide for the fourth year running since being taken over by Tim and Mary.

Just as the certificate arrived to confirm the inclusion with Michelin so too did our certificate and trophy for the Hilden Style Awards to recognise our winning of the Stylish Dining….and overall awards categories.

Just when we thought we had better get back to work….in came Julie to confirm that the Church Inn had won the annual Mobberley Scarecrow competition with our ‘Bride and Groom’ scarecrows brilliantly put together by team member Sophie. In the realms of things this award meant the most as it ensured the Church Inn beat their ‘brother’ pub down the lane…the Bulls Head…who actually did manage third place for their Matador and little Bull scarecrow put together by Lucy and Brier.

So it felt like winning the treble!!. Big thanks to all the team for their hard work and our customers for supporting us.

Now it’s back to work…..

We are so proud to announce that our pub the Church Inn, in Mobberley, has won the Most Stylish Dining Experience at the Hilden Awards. The award judging took place on Monday at The Fable in London recognizing stylish independent hospitality establishments across the UK.

The Church Inn scooped this year’s Most Stylish Dining Experience after judges visited the pub and fell in love with the pub and particularly the private dining rooms. The larger room pays homage to George Mallory the famous mountaineer who died on Everest in 1924. Mallory was a local villager and son of the reverend of St. Wilfrid’s Church opposite the pub.

The room is truly elegant and can accommodate private dining for up to 24 (seated) and is used for sociable wine tasting evenings too. The room has a roaring fire and is candlelit, giving a comforting ambience ensuring guests can imagine how it would feel back in 1715. To add to the uniqueness of the room the owners, Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin, discovered the original horse hair and lime plaster half way through the restoration and decided to keep it for its historic value.

Mary McLaughlin, owner of Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars, comments; “We’re delighted to have won this award. When we took over the pub two years ago we all put a lot of thought in to how it should feel. We’re very proud of the Church Inn and it’s really fantastic it has been recognized for its restoration and stylish character.”

Following the announcement, the award judges also commented: “The attention to detail is on another level, no corner is left uncovered and they have captured the essence of a historic venue perfectly. The sheer effort that has gone into creating a unique, country-dining experience is fantastic.”

Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin opened the pub in 2013 after acquiring it in a near derelict state. Now fully restored and refurbished the pub offers great food and wine in an old country tavern environment.

Paul and his cycling partner arrived in sunshine at the Roebuck Inn having completed the ‘Cheshire Cat Six’. The Cheshire Cat Six is a journey around the six pubs owned by us here at Cheshire Cat Pubs and Inns. Paul had already partnered Clare to achieve the Cheshire Cat Quad a few years ago when we had four pubs but with the addition of the Fitzherbert Arms and the Roebuck Inn, Paul was ready to conquer the new challenge! As you will see Paul started his journey from our Fitzherbert Pub on Lord Stafford’s estate in Swynnerton, Staffordshire. He headed then to another Lord’s estate and our Cholmondeley Arms pub before weaving his way, supported by his co-pilot Steve, to our Three Greyhounds Inn pub in Allostock. They then headed for Mobberley..the easy part! Up the hill to the Church Inn before circling down to the Bulls Head and the Roebuck Inn bot in Mill Lane. 76 miles was recorded and then Tim own owner made sure they we fed and watered and given their bottles of fizz to celebrate their achievement.

Then it was back on the saddle for the return trip to Swynnerton! Well done lads a great effort. Who else wants to take up the Cheshire Cat Challenge??

Light lunches

• Creamy smoked haddock and Winchester cheese tart served with petit pois à la Française £8.50
• Cheddar and sage scones with honey roast ham, hollandaise sauce and a summer salad £8.95
• Watercress and red pepper savoury “cheesecake” with heritage tomato salad £7.95
• Grilled halloumi and beetroot salad with pomegranate, radish and watercress salad and lemon dressing £7.95
• Hot smoked salmon with chargrilled baby gem, tomato and avocado salsa and lemon dressing £7.95
• Layered sweet potato with chestnut mushrooms, wilted spinach and a spiced pearl barley broth £7.95

Soup and a Sandwich

• The Church Inn Club: chicken, bacon, lettuce, and roast tomato sandwich £9.50
• Heirloom beetroot and black treacle burger topped with anglsey feta served on toasted flatbread with tomato and caramilised onion chutney £8.95
• Grilled tuna, fennel and granny smith apple sandwich with corriander and mayonnaise £9.50
• All of the above sandwiches are served with our soup of the day

Summer side salads

• Grilled aubergine, pine nut, mint and raisin salad with yoghurt and honey dressing £3.95
• Heritage tomato salad with herb and shallot vinagrette £3.50
• Fennel, fine bean, roasted garlic and mint salad £3.50

Served 12-midday until 5:30pm Monday to Friday

SEVEN DEADLY GINS AT THE CHURCH INN

One shouldn’t really be advertising sinning in the same sentence as the Church so we have changed it to ‘Ginning’ and we have seven of them! Charlie our Asst. Manager has embraced all things Gin following a ‘Gin Tasting Class’ held by the Gin Experts from our sister pub the Cholmondeley Arms who boast nearly 250 different gins on the back bar…

Charlie has put together 7 great recipes with different Gins and garnishes for the summer ahead. So when the weekend sunshine arrives come and enjoy a well-made G&T…….. quintessentially English and all that!!

No confessions needed! See you soon….

MARY AND TIM WITH THE AWARD

We are delighted to announce that our Church Inn pub has won the ‘Chairman’s choice’ Best Dining Pub Award for South Manchester and pipped our very own Bulls Head pub (also in Mobberley)!!

The ‘Eat, Drink, Sleep’ Awards 2015 took place at the Manchester Mercure Piccadilly Hotel and our Bulls Head and Church Inn pubs were up against each other in the same category! Barry our landlord at the Bulls Head was the first to congratulate Simon (our Church Inn landlord) and the team saying “They’ve done a cracking job and I am delighted at least one of us won it!! This will make the Bully team even more determined to beat our ‘little sister pub’ the Church Inn next time round!!”

Simon said “I am really chuffed for the Church team and the customers…it’s been a solid start since opening a year and a half ago…I am very proud and feel a little sorry for Barry but not really!!”

Owners Tim and Mary were there to cheer both their pubs on and what a night for the village of Mobberley with two pubs from the same village up for the award! Tim said “it is always so exciting to be nominated for an award without entering anything and for both our Mobberley pubs to be nominated was a great achievement for all our fantastic people from our pub teams to our loyal and supportive customers and suppliers”

Mary added “we have been in Mobberley now for just over five years with the Bulls Head and have so enjoyed it becoming a proud pub in the village. We took on the Church Inn two years ago when it had closed down and we knew it was going to be hard to create a second special pub in the village… but we are on our way. The teams at both pubs have made this possible with the help of course from our customers. This award is for everyone to celebrate”

We are delighted to announce that our lovely Church Inn in Mobberley has been recognised as the UK’s ‘New Pub of the Year 2014-15’ by the Good Pub Guide!

We re-opened the Church Inn just over a year ago following major restoration and refurbishment works. The Church Inn dates back to at least 1753 and we are proud of its standing in the village of Mobberley. There is plenty of history associated with the pub and this award recognises the efforts of many people.

We have to mention our landlord Simon, Head Chef Lloyd and the team who have endless enthusiasm and passion for the business and try their best at all times. Our customers who have supported the pub so well in its first year since re-opening. Our owners Tim and Mary who, despite owning the Bulls Head also in Mobberley, had the vision and courage to see the opportunity for a differentiated pub style so close to their already award winning Bulls Head and last but by no means least all our wonderful suppliers who have helped us achieve this award.

The award is for all the people associated with the Church Inn to celebrate, enjoy and raise a glass to.

Well done everyone!!!