North Star, Higher Crompton, Shaw, Oldham

Once a year, somewhere between Oldham and Hebden Bridge, I meet up with some very dear friends and their extended and extending family. It is always a joy and one of the highlights of my year. I also got to use the new metro line to Shaw from Rochdale which was also exciting!

This year's venue was high on the hills above Shaw in the Crompton area. I hadn’t been to this pub in my many years in Oldham but the North Star looked a reasonable bet for a decent fish and chips.

I went for the Beer Battered Haddock with lemon & black pepper served with proper chips mushy or garden peas. Homemade tartare sauce. Bread & Butter 75p extra at £8.45. It was one of those pubs that maybe tried a little too hard with descriptions on the menu. I went for the mushy peas and didn’t have the bread and butter.

When it came it was a handsome feast.

The fish was OK without being exciting and lacked any real depth of flavour, but was well cooked and certainly much better than some I’ve tasted. The batter was a lovely crisp crunch of flavour that was a pleasure from start to finish.

The chips were just OK. They were OK in their taste but sadly hadn’t been crisped up like the batter and needed quite a bit of salt and vinegar to kick start them, but once they were improved I really enjoyed them.

The mushy peas were full in size and in flavour. Not in any posh way but just good, honest mushy peas with no airs or graces and the pea flavour did the talking. Lovely.

I am always suspicious when I read the words ’homemade tartare sauce’ and this time was no exception. The consistency and flavour of the tartare looked and tasted like it had come out of a catering jar. However, there was nothing too wrong about the taste and they seemed like honest folk running the place and I’ll therefore give them the benefit of the doubt and just say that it was a good tartare that just happened to look like it came from the wholesalers.

Big slice of lemon, but I’m still not sure where the black pepper was as it didn’t come across in the batter and wasn’t hiding anywhere, so it’ll have to remain a mystery.

The meal was washed down with ThwaitesWainwright which was on very good form.

The highlight of the meal was the company – wonderful friends and, although it’s only once a year we meet up, it may as well have been the day before. Maybe the smiles are a little broader for our year apart.