HI Everyone

Its our 30th wedding anniversary and one of our first dates was at Carlos.

Haven't lived in the area for 30 years, just travel in on match days.

I thought it might be nice to revisit but not sure how it is now and where would be decent to stopover, was thinking Oaks?

Your feedback greatly appreciated.

It's not too late to get a divorce.

Is the Keirby still open?

A few good pubs with rooms now. Barley Mow or Craven Heifer in Kelbrook.

carlos colne is pretty average these days.new waggoners up Manchester road is very good and worth a visit.the oaks is very reasonable for money payed and has a leisure facility as well.

Carlo’s is ok these days.

What about the Alma Inn to stay? Nice rooms.

carlos colne is pretty average these days.new waggoners up Manchester road is very good and worth a visit.the oaks is very reasonable for money payed and has a leisure facility as well.

They have rooms at The Forest at Fence which is very nice and there's the brand new hotel at The Fencegate too.

Had a perfectly decent meal at Carlos last month. It’s a big restaurant and was full ( Sat night) so people must think its’s OK after all this time. I think the Emmott Arms at Laneshawbridge has one or two rooms and it’s a nice pub.

Alma Inn, Fence Gate, Forrest looks nice or a few cottages that rent in the area. Oaks may have a deal though.

The area below Carlos has improved massively in recent years for drinking, also the micro pubs further up the main road. Esquire Lounge near by for tapas/cocktails. Colne should be the blue print for many of the small towns in the area.

Criticising Carlos and trumpeting the Waggoners...

Another vote for The Forest. An excellent all rounder imo

Colne is excellent nowadays for the variety of independent bars (and places to eat for that matter)

Carlos is fine,although it can be a bit hit and miss depending on when you go and what you expect

The Waggoners is a great place for people who don't like food.

Waggoners wasnt great when I went...just ok....you could do a lot worse than go to the ivy palace in colne....very good cantonese and you are at the right end of town for decent drinking spots.

Rosehill House Burnley and Aldos in Burnley

nothing wrong at all with Carlos....its just the same as it has slways been.Always a nice atmosphere and the food is good for the price.

Carlos is still as good as ever. No pretensions, just a damn good restaurant, good food, good atmosphere and good service at a reasonable price.
In terms of where to stay, just depends on your budget and how close you want to be to the area. Oaks is still a good shout though

Crown Hotel in Colne is fine

Guess the breakfast will be good as well at the Crown, as they do good ‘pub food’.

I walk past Carlos restaurant every day when on my way to pick the kids up from school & every time I do all the staff are always stood @ the front door having a fag! Which I find disgusting & I usually think most of the time i see them do they wash their hands as they are preparing the food? I get people smoke, but why advertise it right on your doorstep when your making/touching food?

claretdj wrote:I walk past Carlos restaurant every day when on my way to pick the kids up from school & every time I do all the staff are always stood @ the front door having a fag! Which I find disgusting & I usually think most of the time i see them do they wash their hands as they are preparing the food? I get people smoke, but why advertise it right on your doorstep when your making/touching food?

I'm of the same opinion....there's a certain pub in colne... The chef? Is fagging it at the front door and then back to his cooking hands washed or not it's a no from me! The crowns food is good.

Been Colne a few times since I have moved local to it.Just wanted to give a mention to the Indian Jaipur I think it is? Went in to sit in one Saturday night,seemed too good to be true buy a starter and main meal and get one of each free! Went in there was no loopholes in the offer,me and a mate got a couple of beers each and extras for around £30! Great food and beer aswell.proper pubs in Colne aswell one of the best places around our area love it.

Chefs and kitchen staff smoking outside the premises seems to have reached epidemic proportions. In fact it is very rare to pass the back door of a pub or restaurant without seeing them having a quick drag. And it's not just your run of the mill places it happens. I was in the Lake District over New Year and saw a gaggle of staff outside the back of premises owned by a high profile "TV chef" all smoking their heads off. Like you say, it's to be hoped they give their mitts a good scrub before touching anyone's food. Being served by bar staff who smell like they need fumigating is also a pet hate of mind.

When he last went 30 years ago the chef would of been cooking with a fag in his gob.

The Oaks has a great offer on for Friday nights in winter. Family room for £48, worth it just for the spa.

Yep, you are right there. Not long since I saw the chef of a certain Burnley restaurant simultaneously smoking a fags and scratching his conkers !

Hendrickxz wrote:Yep, you are right there. Not long since I saw the chef of a certain Burnley restaurant simultaneously smoking a fags and scratching his conkers !

All adds to the flavour.

Sycamore Farm...just as long as you don't wear a baseball cap

Hendrickxz wrote:Chefs and kitchen staff smoking outside the premises seems to have reached epidemic proportions. In fact it is very rare to pass the back door of a pub or restaurant without seeing them having a quick drag. And it's not just your run of the mill places it happens. I was in the Lake District over New Year and saw a gaggle of staff outside the back of premises owned by a high profile "TV chef" all smoking their heads off. Like you say, it's to be hoped they give their mitts a good scrub before touching anyone's food. Being served by bar staff who smell like they need fumigating is also a pet hate of mind.

If they smoke so what? I'm a non smoker but as long as they wash their hands what's the problem? If they're smoking in the open air the smoke isn't very likely to taint their food. I'd be more worried at kitchen staff going to the toilet and not washing. If you saw a chef drinking in a pub would you get in a strop? I think you're best never eating out if you're that distressed about it because I'm pretty sure wherever you eat at least one of the kitchen/bar staff will be a smoker.
And the New Waggoners is average at best.

As others have pointed out above there is a really good night out to be had in Colne nowadays. I agree with the positive comments on the Jaipur Indian and my brother has only good things to say about the Ivy Palace Chinese restaurant also. The latter is down the bottom end of Albert Road which is now home to a number of bars, the most recent one opening being called Rileys and having a good feel to it. The 3 pop-up sale craft-ale bars at the top of Newmarket Street are a brilliant addition to the town....as an exiled Colner who is now spending more time back up in the area again it's been great to discover all this.
Oh...and also must mention the magnificent Admiral Lord Rodney pub which keeps the pub trade alive down in Colne's south valley. Great beer and a real character destination.

Clarinetclaret wrote:If they smoke so what? I'm a non smoker but as long as they wash their hands what's the problem? If they're smoking in the open air the smoke isn't very likely to taint their food. I'd be more worried at kitchen staff going to the toilet and not washing. If you saw a chef drinking in a pub would you get in a strop? I think you're best never eating out if you're that distressed about it because I'm pretty sure wherever you eat at least one of the kitchen/bar staff will be a smoker.
And the New Waggoners is average at best.

Its perception.

If staff don't care that prospective customers can see unhygienic habits, then i am sure they are even less considerate of hygiene that they can't see!

As for Carlos. Been once and it wasn't great. May have been a one off. The fish was proper fishy. Either that or the waitress had been having a scratch too...

Breakfasts at Barley Mow are very nice. Accommodations decent. Locations great. Evening meals OK enough. But would stay there again and would recommend to out of towners.

Stalbansclaret wrote:As others have pointed out above there is a really good night out to be had in Colne nowadays. I agree with the positive comments on the Jaipur Indian and my brother has only good things to say about the Ivy Palace Chinese restaurant also. The latter is down the bottom end of Albert Road which is now home to a number of bars, the most recent one opening being called Rileys and having a good feel to it. The 3 pop-up sale craft-ale bars at the top of Newmarket Street are a brilliant addition to the town....as an exiled Colner who is now spending more time back up in the area again it's been great to discover all this.
Oh...and also must mention the magnificent Admiral Lord Rodney pub which keeps the pub trade alive down in Colne's south valley. Great beer and a real character destination.

Heard good things about Lord Rodney. A pub I wouldnt have even looked twice at but have been told good things about it. Will have to try it.

Carlos isn't a serious restaurant. It's a gimmicky, tacky pastiche of a restaurant, which would be admissible if the food was any good. As it is, you'd struggle to find a more bog-standard Italian in a 50 mile radius.

The service is surly at best, the clientele are always groups of 12 making a real din because they're hammered off that crap wine with wicker round the bottle, and there's more authenticity to Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower than there is to a meal from Carlos.

steve1264b wrote:HI Everyone

Its our 30th wedding anniversary and one of our first dates was at Carlos.

Haven't lived in the area for 30 years, just travel in on match days.

I thought it might be nice to revisit but not sure how it is now and where would be decent to stopover, was thinking Oaks?

Your feedback greatly appreciated.

Hi Steve, Go to Carlos at it means something special, and it is okay and often quite a nice atmosphere.
I too live some distance from the town , but stay in Colne a lot to see family/footy. The Oaks was brilliant years ago, but it is now a bit tired...imo..I would also recommend The Alma Inn on the edge of Colne. The views are beautiful there too.

UpTheBeehole wrote:Carlos isn't a serious restaurant. It's a gimmicky, tacky pastiche of a restaurant, which would be admissible if the food was any good. As it is, you'd struggle to find a more bog-standard Italian in a 50 mile radius.

The service is surly at best, the clientele are always groups of 12 making a real din because they're hammered off that crap wine with wicker round the bottle, and there's more authenticity to Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower than there is to a meal from Carlos.

To be fair, I struggle to name any good italian restaurants around here at all. Within said 50 mile radius. Most struggle to even do pizza right!

Saying that even Italian in Italy can be hit and miss! If its good, its very good. If bad very bad. There is rarley an in between!

Cant beat Dixy Chicken on Market Street.

Al Vulcano in Colne on Windy Bank next to the Jovial Hatters seem to have a pretty good reputation being given a 4.5 rating [out of 5] on Tripadvisor

cricketfieldclarets wrote:Its perception.

If staff don't care that prospective customers can see unhygienic habits, then i am sure they are even less considerate of hygiene that they can't see!

As for Carlos. Been once and it wasn't great. May have been a one off. The fish was proper fishy. Either that or the waitress had been having a scratch too...

Not just talking about Carlos but where do you expect them to smoke if they don't have allocated areas away from the public? And smoking is about as unhygienic as touching a door handle. Never heard of anyone getting food poisoning from cigarettes.
Are you going to avoid hospitals because there's plenty of NHS staff who smoke or would you be worried about their hygiene! Yes it's supposedly banned from hospital grounds but it goes on.
You still stalking ClaretTony? I'd say that's more anti social

UpTheBeehole wrote:Carlos isn't a serious restaurant. It's a gimmicky, tacky pastiche of a restaurant, which would be admissible if the food was any good. As it is, you'd struggle to find a more bog-standard Italian in a 50 mile radius.

The service is surly at best, the clientele are always groups of 12 making a real din because they're hammered off that crap wine with wicker round the bottle, and there's more authenticity to Las Vegas' Eiffel Tower than there is to a meal from Carlos.

Well it's sounds like you've been often enough to know.

I moved just outside of Colne 18 months ago, and I really like the place. It's got a lot going for it.

The Alma and the Emmott are good, the Trawden Arms is good, the little Thai cafe is excellent, and drinking wise it's got something for everyone.

We haven't been to the new Italian, Al Vulcano, but we will do soon as we've heard good things about it. Carlos is what it is: a once in a few years trip for someone else's birthday. I wouldn't go out of choice.

Oh and the Crown is spectacular value for good honest pub grub. I used to go to the Glen View in Portsmouth, which has a great rep for similar food, and it's on par.

Clarinetclaret wrote:Not just talking about Carlos but where do you expect them to smoke if they don't have allocated areas away from the public? And smoking is about as unhygienic as touching a door handle. Never heard of anyone getting food poisoning from cigarettes.
Are you going to avoid hospitals because there's plenty of NHS staff who smoke or would you be worried about their hygiene! Yes it's supposedly banned from hospital grounds but it goes on.
You still stalking ClaretTony? I'd say that's more anti social

Its up to them where they smoke. If they smoke outside the place they are cooking and serving though I wouldn't go in. Simple as that really. As I said, its the perception.

Al Vulcarno was very average when we ate there...... I found it like being in a cafe, dont know about Carlo's not been in there for years. If you want a good Italian Mondellos Ristorante in Crawshawbooth is superb.

cricketfieldclarets wrote:Its up to them where they smoke. If they smoke outside the place they are cooking and serving though I wouldn't go in. Simple as that really. As I said, its the perception.

So basically you know some are bound to smoke but it's only if you see them smoke that you wouldn't go in? Was it not you who mentioned they got food from Po Sang? A food establishment with an hygiene score of 2. Oh the irony!
Oh and also stating Burnley Oriental is good but in the same sentence saying it stinks of cat ****! Yes mate you're well selective lol.