Last weekend, I was mostly eating, drinking and celebrating at The Moorbrook as landlord Richard Fisher-Godwin celebrated ten years of having his name above the door. Is his name actually above the door? I’ve no idea.

The celebrations started on Thursday with a beer launch and meet the brewer event. I teamed up with ‘abeerinpreston’ because he likes beer, and I don’t. On the bar were ales Rich had brewed with Blackjack Brewery and the very local Chain House Brewing Co at their respective Manchester and Friargate sites.

abeerinpreston said: “The Blackjack x Moorbrook ’10th Anniversary Beer’ clip sat proudly on its handpump. It was my first choice and my word, it was good. A light, easy drinking 3.7% cask beer, full of flavour that invited me to have a second straight away which highlighted why, just like The Moorbrook, Blackjack are still going strong after ten years despite all that has been thrown at the brewing trade.

“My second pint dispatched, a rare cask offering from Bristol brewery ‘Left Handed Giant’ was sampled before the appearance of Chain House head brewer, Ryan Hayes, meant I moved to the left of the bar to discuss the latest goings-on in their Market Street West taproom in front of the tap hosting his birthday collab ‘Ten Years of Blood, Sweat & Beers’.

This was an altogether different beast to the Blackjack number being a stronger 5.5% dispensed on keg with Citra, Columbus, Simcoe and Mosaic hops all featuring in the brew to produce a thick, unfined hazy and thoroughly delicious beer and again, a second helping was taken. Like The Moorbrook, Chain House have been a Preston beery success story going from a small setup in a New Longton shed to a full brewery site and taproom in the city centre so a collab between the two had to be done.”

More of abeerinpreston’s weekend drinks and eats over on Instagram.

Saturday was girls’ night out, so I was let loose with a couple of friends, Kate and gluten free Jess. We arrived to the fantastic funk and soul sounds of Kim and Alec (of The Templebys) and took a seat in the outdoor area, colourfully decorated with bunting and balloons.

With party vibes all round, we got the first round in. The Moorbrook has a good range of gin with a few Whitley Neil favourites, Stable Yard and Garstang gins to name a few so I was happy. Jess and Kate went back in time to the 80s with a Cider and Black, and a Bitter Shandy.

Perhaps the only people to ask for these drinks in The Moorbrook in the last 10 years. However, it was then soft drinks for Jess who was driving and onto the rum and cokes for Kate. There are definitely drinks for everyone at the Moorbrook.

After a couple, we grabbed a menu from the bar area as Charlene Allen took to the stage with another brilliant funk and soul set.

I decided I’d save the pizza for my Sunday return, and went for some Salt and Pepper Loaded Tots (£5.95), Maple and Sesame Belly Pork Bites (£6.95) and some Bang Bang Broccoli (£5.95) as I thought I’d get one of my five a day at least. The loaded tots were a crispy, cheesy, sweet, salty and spicy mouth-watering explosion in my mouth. The belly pork was more meat than fat with a crispy crackling, perfect. Plus, the sauce makes a great dip for your pizza crusts.

And The Moorbrook certainly puts the Bang in the Bang Bang Broccoli. It’s the only way I want to eat broccoli going forward. I pinched a slice of Kate’s Spaniard Pizza (£11) to try which wouldn’t be my first choice, but I do love a pizza with potato on. Kate thoroughly enjoyed it. We always have fun with gluten free Jess when we’re out eating because a million questions are asked about sauces and batters, however gluten free Jess was also currently reducing her carbs so good luck to the staff with this one.

The Moorbrook do a gluten free pizza base, but Jess went for half rack of BBQ ribs (£6.50) and asked for some brie and goats’ cheese on the side (this is the girl who had mushroom soup for dessert when we went out for a meal at Christmas). Again, most definitely the only person to ask for ribs and cheese in the last 10 years at The Moorbrook. The ribs were how they’re supposed to be, tender, full of flavour and the meat fell off the bone.

If you’ve not eaten at The Moorbrook, I suggest you go and give it a try. Excellent prices and superb food. There are weekly specials and when you think they can’t get any better, they bring out another drool-worthy pizza spesh. The service was great and despite being a busy anniversary event weekend, the food arrived quickly. Takeaway is also available.

Jess headed off early leaving Kate and I drinking. After quite a few gins and rums, chatting and seat dancing, it was time to grab an Uber. We wondered why we hadn’t actually got up to dance to the funky sounds of DJ Paul Cottam. Once home, I had three pints of water in preparation for round two.

On Sunday, with a babysitter sorted, my husband Simon (full disclosure, also abeerinpreston) and I headed to the Moorbrook around 3pm and met friends Lois and David who’d arrived on a bus all the way from Wilpshire. We initially sat outside but as I’d had a couple of gins too many on Sunday, I wasn’t a fan of the pumping bass beats from Johnny Rocker’s Sound System but coinciding with Preston’s Caribbean Carnival, a lot of people came straight from the parade to dance to the Roots Reggae Dub set.

Needless to say, I started with some soft drinks before hitting the gin again. We could still hear the banging bass from outside, but we were able to chat by the pretty William Morris wallpaper and Tiffany lamps in this traditional public house. Simon, Lois and David were all on the beer, so they had plenty of choice with the large range of cask and keg beers on offer.

Pizza time. Whilst the traditional Margherita and Pepperoni numbers head the menu, a quick glance further down reveals a plethora of different combinations such the Cool Running’s pizza topped with Jerk Chicken, the Hallouminator, Don’t Brie A Chicken and the now legendary ‘Northerner’ complete with black pudding and Lancashire cheese.

It was the Northerner (£10.50) for me as it’s my absolute favourite and one I will never get bored of. Simon picked the Garlic, Lemon and Herb Chicken Wings (£1 per wing) which were tender, tasty with a sharp lemon kick and the chicken sliding off the bone. We also ordered some deep-fried Mac n Cheese Balls (£7) which I could literally live on. Lois chose the Beef Chilli Loaded Chips and got full but couldn’t stop eating them and David stuck to beer.

Thirteen hours at The Moorbrook done and a weekend well spent. Happy Anniversary to Rich and the guys at the Moorbrook, here’s to another ten. Cheers!

Tried the food at The Moorbook? Does potato belong on a pizza? Let us know in the comments.

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