Restaurant in Aughton, United Kingdom
Three stars, one shot to book it.
Moor Hall holds 3 Michelin stars and a 96-point La Liste score in a Grade II-listed manor house north of Liverpool. The dinner tasting menu runs £265 per person; the four-course lunch is £145 and is the better entry point. Service is warm, knowledgeable, and free of pretension at this price level. Booking is near impossible — plan months ahead, not weeks.
Moor Hall is one of the most decoration-dense restaurants outside London, holding 3 Michelin stars, a 96-point La Liste score, and consistent top-50 placement in Opinionated About Dining's European rankings. For a special occasion within reach of Liverpool, it is the clear answer. The tasting menu at £265 per person is expensive by any measure, but the four-course lunch at £145 gives you the same kitchen, the same team, and a materially easier booking window. Book the lunch if price is a consideration; book the dinner if the full procession is the point.
The experience at Moor Hall starts before you sit down. Arriving at the Grade II-listed manor house — the structure dates to the 13th century, with 16th-century additions — guests move through the lounge for drinks and opening snacks, then follow a canapé trail through the kitchen garden, where the scent of herbs and kitchen-garden soil is deliberately part of the staging, before arriving in the kitchen itself, where Mark Birchall introduces the produce that will define the meal ahead. It is a considered sequence, and it works: by the time you reach the glazed dining room, with its clean lines and exposed rafters, you have already been oriented toward what makes this kitchen different.
That orientation matters because Moor Hall's service philosophy is what separates it from comparably priced rooms. Reviewers across multiple sources describe the front-of-house team as professional, knowledgeable, and approachable without condescension , a balance that is harder to achieve than it sounds at this price point. The word that comes up repeatedly is "not pretentious," which, at £265 per head in a restored medieval manor, is a meaningful achievement. For a special occasion, the calculus here is direct: you are paying for a room where the service will not make you feel auditioned, and where the team's knowledge of the menu and wine list is deep enough to be genuinely useful rather than performative.
The food operates in the same register. The menu changes with the season, and the current programme reflects winter's lean larder and the garden's preserved produce. Dishes have ranged from puffed black pudding with gooseberry purée to turbot with mussel and roe sauce, from Mull scallops with asparagus and truffle to Spoutbank Angus beef aged 60 days with BBQ celeriac and mustard. These are not arbitrary combinations: the kitchen's reputation rests on its precision with flavour relationships and on sourcing that ties specific dishes to specific producers. The cod roe, chicken and chervil course, accompanied by flower-pressed biscuits, is frequently cited as a technical reference point. Desserts lean into the regional , the Ormskirk gingerbread ice cream is a nod to a genuine Lancastrian tradition , without becoming folksy.
The wine programme has received some criticism in guest accounts, with the wine flights described as less imaginative than the food warrants, and service at the table occasionally less engaged than the food side of the operation. The core wine list itself is authoritative and extensive, recognised by Star Wine List every year from 2021 through 2026. If wine is central to your occasion, ask for recommendations from the list rather than defaulting to the flight.
Moor Hall also operates The Barn, a bistro on the same grounds serving the same kitchen's produce in a more casual format and at a lower price point. It is worth knowing about if you want to experience the estate without the full tasting menu commitment, or if you are looking for a second visit once you have done the main restaurant. The sister venue sō–lō is also linked to the same operation.
For broader context on dining and staying in the area, see our full Aughton restaurants guide, our Aughton hotels guide, our Aughton bars guide, our Aughton wineries guide, and our Aughton experiences guide.
Booking difficulty is near impossible. Three Michelin stars in a venue of this size means demand far outstrips supply. Lunch bookings (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 12:00–8:30 pm) are more accessible than dinner slots (Thursday–Saturday, 6:30–8:30 pm). The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday. Plan well in advance , weeks at minimum, months for preferred dates. The team contacts guests ahead of arrival to discuss dietary requirements, so book as early as possible and flag any restrictions at that point.
| Detail | Moor Hall | L'Enclume (Cartmel) | Waterside Inn (Bray) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars | 3 Michelin | 3 Michelin | 3 Michelin |
| Dinner price (approx.) | £265 tasting menu | £275+ tasting menu | £175+ tasting menu |
| Lunch option | Yes, £145 (4 courses) | Yes | Yes |
| Location | Aughton, nr Liverpool | Cartmel, Cumbria | Bray, Berkshire |
| Booking difficulty | Near impossible | Very difficult | Very difficult |
| On-site accommodation | Yes (garden rooms) | Yes | Yes |
Other three-star comparisons worth knowing: L'Enclume in Cartmel, Waterside Inn in Bray, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London. For strong two-star alternatives at a lower price point, consider Midsummer House in Cambridge, Opheem in Birmingham, or Gidleigh Park in Chagford. For a different style at the same price tier, Ynyshir Hall in Machynlleth operates with a more intense, high-tempo format. Hand and Flowers in Marlow and hide and fox in Saltwood offer strong alternatives at a lower price tier.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moor Hall | Modern British | ££££ | Near Impossible |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Unknown |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Unknown |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Unknown |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Unknown |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Unknown |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Dress formally or near-formally. Moor Hall holds 3 Michelin stars and charges from £265 per head for dinner — the clientele and setting (a restored 13th-century manor house) set the tone. A jacket for men is a safe call. The service is described as professional but approachable, so there is no need to overthink it, but trainers and casualwear would be conspicuous.
It works for solo diners, but the format is structured tasting menu rather than a bar counter experience, so you are committing to a full evening at a table rather than a more social perch. At £265 per person for dinner, the financial commitment is the same regardless of party size. If solo fine dining is your preference and you can secure a reservation, there is no structural reason it would not deliver.
Yes, and with meaningful preparation rather than ad hoc adjustments. Guests report that the reservation team contacts diners ahead of time to discuss requirements — one documented example is a fully plant-based tasting menu being prepared on request. That said, check the venue's official channels well in advance, as a kitchen operating at this level needs lead time to do the job properly.
The Barn at Moor Hall is the most direct alternative — it is the same kitchen team's second-format bistro on the same property, using the same local produce at a lower price point and with significantly easier bookings. For a 3-Michelin-star experience in a different northern setting, L'Enclume in Cumbria is the peer comparison most often cited. If you are willing to travel to London, CORE by Clare Smyth and The Ledbury operate at a comparable level.
Lunch is the sharper value proposition. The four-course lunch menu is priced at £145 per person against a dinner tasting menu from £265, and lunch runs Friday through Sunday, giving more booking windows. Dinner delivers the full tasting menu progression and the complete evening arc starting with drinks and snacks in the lounge. If budget is a factor, lunch gets you into the same kitchen at a materially lower cost — that is the practical case for most visitors.
At £265 per person for dinner, it is at the upper end of UK fine dining, and even regular admirers note the price increase since the third Michelin star arrived makes it a rare-occasion commitment rather than a frequent one. The counter-argument is the credential stack: 3 Michelin stars, 96 points on La Liste's 2026 ranking, and a consistent OAD top-50 European placing. If a structured multi-course tasting format is how you prefer to eat, the execution is reported as faultless across multiple independent sources. If you want flexibility or à la carte, this is not the format.
It is purpose-built for it. The experience is staged deliberately — drinks and snacks in the lounge, a kitchen visit, then the dining room — which gives a special occasion a clear arc rather than just a dinner. The Grade II-listed manor house setting, vegetable garden, and cheese room add texture that most special-occasion restaurants cannot match. Book as far ahead as possible; three Michelin stars in a small-capacity venue means availability is tight and last-minute options are rare.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
