Arriving at a Bolton restaurant billed as modern British cuisine with global influences, I expected a familiar menu with the classic crowd-pleasers, clichéd northern comforts, with a few slightly more adventurous dishes thrown in. 

I was ready to demolish a good steak pie, a locally-sourced sausage and mash, and maybe a gourmet burger too big for my face, but the menu was refreshingly varied: sophisticated yet satisfying, rustic rural staples given a modern, mouth-watering reboot.

The menu features all the traditional British countryside fare, served with deliciously well put together flavours, from a wild boar ragu to the crispy pork belly with baked apple and celeriac remoulade, and their signature shepherd’s pie with purple and golden beetroot, green pesto and blackcurrants.

Executive Chef Maros Surovka and his team know how to do meat, and do it well.

The beef wellington and the pork belly were so popular in their opening week that they were snapped up before we arrived, but it hardly mattered as there were so many other stand-out stars on the menu to try instead. 

My new year’s resolution may well be to graze through their entire menu, but for now we went with the Gressingham duck breast, and the herb-crusted lamb rack.

The duck breast came with braised chicory, wilted baby spinach and a black cherry jus, beautifully presented, and a hearty portion.

The lamb was equally spectacular to look at, served with grilled courgettes, black olives, shallot purée, poached cherry tomatoes, sorrel & anchovy pesto. 

Obviously, as the reviewer I needed to try both but my partner was suddenly ungentlemanly and deeply reluctant to share, and when I finally tried his lamb I could understand why.

Both the lamb and the duck were incredible - perfectly cooked, tender and succulent, and the flavours were exquisite.

The black cherry jus really ignited the richness of the duck, and the combination of black olives and the sorrel and anchovy pesto, contrasted delicately with the tart cherry tomatoes to create a uniquely aromatic compliment to the lamb.

But Ewe is not just a haven for fans of hearty, meaty comfort - there are also numerous vegetarian and vegan options, and not just your token nut roast.

For starter I had the aubergine and goats cheese mille-feuille (v).

I was expecting a kind of filo pastry-pie situation, but Ewe’s version was infinitely better - a stack of light and crisp tempura battered aubergine, drizzled with tomato passata and basil, which gave a great depth to the goat’s cheese.

We also tried the king prawn cocktail, with “Bloody Mary mayo” and crushed avocado, and here again the quality of the locally sourced king prawns made a huge difference to the dish. 

The restaurant had a lively atmosphere and a stylish but cosy vibe, great for a special night out but not too posh to bring the kids, and the staff were warm and attentive despite being a little down in number the night we went.

Read more: Bolton: Ewe Bar & Restaurant to open in Westhoughton

Read more: Bolton: Ewe Restaurant & Bar opens to the public

Thanks to Ewe, Westhoughton now has a great new venue for a more up-market but reasonably priced drinks night too.

The large open-plan bar area has a baby grand piano and plenty of low sofas to unwind on, and serves a variety of cocktails with quirky names including Smoking Tractor, Wheelbarrow, In the Meadows, and the Pink Ewe, which comes with a big chunk of candyfloss you can either devour or dissolve in your drink.

All in all, we were genuinely very impressed with everything at Ewe Restaurant, it’s a stand-out addition to the area proudly showcasing the best of the British countryside, and we can’t wait to go back for that Beef Wellington.