I’ve heard the interesting-sounding name Last Drop Village mentioned quite frequently over the years, often to do with people going to weddings there, but I’d never actually been. It’s not officially a village in the way a local authority might classify a village and it’s pretty hidden away, tucked behind a housing estate.
But this is where a collection of old farmhouses and farm buildings were restored in the 1960s and transformed into what is now a pub, restaurant, bistro, craft shops, hotel and conference centre in Bromley Cross on the northern fringes of Greater Manchester. The pub is called the Drop Inn and I decided to call in on a dark Wednesday evening. Stepping inside the village felt like entering another world.
Turning into The Market Place we were met with a rather old fashioned town square with a large central stone water fountain in the middle, surrounded by a gallery and toy shop on one side and a tea shop and pub on the other. Further along there was a range of shops with everything from a hair salon and bridal boutique to a place to paint pottery.
As well as the pub and Village Tea Shop, where there’s plenty of outdoor seating, the village has a separate Courtyard Restaurant and Bar, MEN reports.
While some visitors call here just for the day, there’s plenty of room to stay over, with a range of accommodation types inside the hotel and a Village Spa offering treatments and spa days.
The Drop Inn was pretty quiet when we first arrived, but soon began to fill up, with a few groups gathering at tables to watch the live football.
It’s far from a rowdy football pub though and the kids loved having a pool table, darts and table football on hand to keep them entertained while we waited for food.
At £17.95 for fish and chips and around the same for the Roast of the Day, it’s not cheap, but it’s pretty much what you’d pay at any touristy location like this.
I have to admit we weren’t overjoyed with the quality of it though. It was good enough to eat, but the fish was remarkably thin – just a mouthful of batter in parts – and some of the chips were undercooked.
The overnight slow-cooked roasted belly pork was also a little underwhelming. I know pork is fattier meat anyway, but this seemed incredibly so. The veg, including carrots, parsnips and sprouts were OK, but the tough exterior of the roast potatoes suggested they’d been reheated before being served up.
We only ordered one dessert, a sticky toffee pudding sundae at £6.95, and the wait for it was a long one, 35 minutes from ordering it at the bar to its arrival at the table.
For what was a rather average dessert, it wasn’t particularly worth the wait.
That said, we weren’t in any rush and the casual vibe of this place, with the games for families to play while there here – there are board games available too – meant we were in no hurry to leave.
It’s a great location and the pub itself is perfect for families looking for a new place to eat. The staff were welcoming and polite and apologised for the delay with the dessert.
Our bill of £97 – for four mains, a drink each and just one dessert – would have been a bit easier to stomach if the food had been up to scratch.
