Restaurant of the Month

The Wheatsheaf

Home to an award-winning Chef, this idyllic country pub serves delicious hearty food, and fine ales.

Located within the quiet hamlet of Raby Mere, The Wheatsheaf dates back to 1611 and is Wirral’s oldest pub. Tremendously distinctive – thatched roof, black and white exterior, The Wheatsheaf offers olde worlde charm alongside great food.

Diners at The Wheatsheaf can enjoy their meals inside, beneath the wooden beams in cosy comfort, or in warmer weather enjoy the surroundings and eat al fresco in the garden or on the terrace. Adjacent to the pub, is the Cowshed Restaurant, recently refurbished and ideal for evening meals.

The Wheatsheaf is a genuine country pub, and Chef Emma Wombwell has kept the traditions of the countryside alive, as her menus emphasises meaty dishes, game and plenty of local vegetables. Using traditional big flavours, with definite degrees of innovation and bravery, Emma has won the local Chef Shine competition an unprecedented two times (in 2008 and 2009).

Lunches at The Wheatsheaf are less adventurous than Emma’s competition food – but no less delicious. Traditional pub lunches like rich steak pie, gourmet beef burger, sausage and mash, ploughman salads, and sandwiches and toasties as varied as cheddar cheese and onion, and black pudding, egg & bacon, are served alongside fantastic chips. It’s all traditional pub food, but prepared and served to a far greater quality.

During the evening, The Cowshed offers a set two-course menu which changes on a seasonal basis but features classic pub meals like starters of smooth chicken liver pate served with Cumberland sauce, Goat’s cheese and beetroot salad, and main courses like pork medallions with an apple brandy sauce, steamed sole with a pernod and fennel butter, or beef medallions with a mushroom and stilton sauce.

The a la carte menu is really special, and Chef Emma’s skill and inventiveness really comes through. The starters include smoked duck salad served with date, pine nut and crispy bacon dressing, mixed vegetable potato cakes topped with a poached egg, and the delicious fried Somerset brie and black forest ham fritters with a sweet plum cherry tomato and chilli chutney. Main courses start with a choice of steak – different cuts at different weights and served with a choice of delicious sauces. Other main courses feature baked salmon with a lemon herb crust, pan roasted mallard breast with a port and blackberry sauce, and slow braised lamb shank on a bed of creamy mash potato.

The food at The Wheatsheaf is traditional, delicious and is genuinely good value for money.

For more information see www.visitwirral.com/wheatsheaf