News

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!!!

Our Head Chef Lloyd and his team of chefs introduce some lovely new dishes for our ‘summer in to autumn’ menu. Below are the highlights….

New starters include…

• Beetroot Cured Salmon, with sauce Gribiche, cucumber ribbons and rye bread £6.95
• Endive, Wirral Watercress and Apple Salad, creamy lemon and shallot dressing £5.25
• Crayfish and Crab Lemon Mayonnaise ‘Martini’ with spiced mango, avocado and gin purée £6.95
• Locally Shot Pigeon, pan fried with a potato rosti and ‘blood peach’ chutney £7.50

On the new seasonal main courses we have..

• Roast Breast of Chicken, tarragon stuffing, crushed herb potatoes with a white wine, cream sauce and Wirral watercress £14.95
• Cheshire Lamb Rump wrapped in Cumbrian cured ham, with Bury black pudding, creamed cabbage and a heritage tomato and oregano compote £16.95
• Roasted Aubergine and Globe Artichoke Tart, sautéed potatoes, dressed rocket leaves and sauce verte £11.95
• The Mobberley Nicoise! Grilled Salmon, fine beans, poached quail eggs, cherry tomato, pea shoots, black olives and apple balsamic dressing. £13.95

On the new ‘Tavern Favourite’ main courses we have..

• Lambs Liver sautéed with onions and bacon and served with creamy mashed potato and buttered greens £13.95
• The Church Inn’s Deep Dish Pie served with chips and Yorkshire peas £14.00
• 28 Day Salt aged Rose County Cote de Boeuf, chips, watercress salad and your choice of either Béarnaise butter or a green peppercorn sauce £24.95

and for new homemade puddings we have…….

• The Queen of Puddings £5.50
• Plum Crumble and vanilla ice cream £5.00

For the full menu click here.

For the Sunday menu Click here

For the full Light Lunch menu click here

Other things to enjoy at the Church Inn…..

Brunch on Sundays
From 10.30 am until 12.00 pm every Sunday
Relax, read the papers and enjoy brunch with friends before that gruelling pub walk!

Private Dining
We have two private dining rooms at the Church Inn. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for details

Wine Tasting?
We offer wine tasting evenings on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays.

Simon our landlord has been working behind the scenes to bring a new ale to the Church Inn from the Wincle Brewery for the summer months. The ale is a hoppy amber to blonde ale with a refreshing aftertaste. Our Reverend Ian Blay has ‘blessed’ the ale and it features him on the badge.

A Rambling Rector is of course a wild rose climbing plant but the words are very much suited to our rector as he too likes to ramble across the fields of Mobberley and is often to be found in a flowery shirt as the badge reflects!!

Ian is known as our ‘man of the froth’ because of his undying love for cask ale. He has been known to ‘ramble’ after a pint or two in the speaking sense too!! Big thanks to Ian for his support of what promises to become a favourite ale of many.

Four new sherries have arrived here at the Church Inn to help celebrate our ‘Grape’ range. With over 50 wines, 14 Ports, 10 Brandies and now 10 sherries the grape is truly celebrated here. Sherry is back in vogue and can be enjoyed with ice as an aperitif or even at different stages of a meal or you can enjoy sherry in your Bloody Mary instead of Vodka for a far more classic taste.

The first of our new sherries is Pedro’s Fino which is bone dry, the Intense floral character is complemented by almond and fresh apple notes giving a fresh finish. An excellent match for our whitebait nibble or Crayfish Cocktail.

Then we have the Oloroso which is warm and rounded in style. Full-bodied, with a nutty complexity; expansive on the palate. Excellent with rich foods such as our Shepherd’s Pie or our Pot Roast shoulder of lamb.

The third sherry is an Amontillado, the subtle and delicate bouquet, suggests notes of hazelnut on the nose, yet with light reminders of yeast but smooth on the palate giving a fresh finish. This is a dry to medium sherry and would work with our Pork Belly dish or indeed a cheeseboard.

Finally we have a Palo Cortado, a dry sherry from the Palomino grape. This wine combines the richness on the palate of the Oloroso with the delicacy on nose of the Amontillado. From the cellar of Cayetano del Pino, this is a truly magnificent example of the style and would work wonderfully with our Duck main course.

All these sherries from Jerez have wonderful labels that are full of colour and atmosphere. So maybe as the weather gets warmer you can enjoy a cool Fino on the terrace here at The Church Inn!!