The Wellsprings Sabden review: Food to die for in the glorious setting of Pendle Hill

The restaurant I am referring to is The Wellsprings sitting atop Pendle Hill. This well established Spanish and Mexican eaterie has been run by Zak Marhraoui and his wife Catherine for over 25 years.

The setting is unrivalled and the views that stretch over the Ribble Valley and beyond are something to behold, even on the rain soaked evening we went.

We booked a table for 7pm thinking the restaurant would be quiet. Wrong. It was packed to the rafters and after our meal we could see why.

We were shown to our table right away by the maitre’de and presented with the menu of mouthwatering dishes to choose from. We had to ask for a couple of extra minutes as we found it hard to make a decision as everything looked so tempting.

In the end I opted for the nachos with mexican chill to start. The generous serving of tortilla chips served with salad, melted cheese and topped with chilli con carne was a taste sensation. The tanginess of the chilli, cheese and pineapple topping on the salad was just delicious and would easily have served two.

My partner Ian chose the cream cheese jalapenos which he said were tangy and tasty without being too hot to overpower the flavour.

For my main I opted for stuffed peppers and again, the generous serving included two peppers stuffed with Mexican rice, enchiladas sauce and sour cream, served with curly fries and salad. It was a delicious mix of flavours that really complemented each other.

Ian had the beef chimichanga. This was a flour tortilla with beef strips in bistec salsa, oven baked and topped with guacamole, cheese and sour cream. He said it was bursting with flavour and polished off the lot.

Both of us love a dessert so we opted for the tiramisu to share and I am glad we did as again, the generous portion served with ice cream, was more than enough for two. And it was absolutely delicious, sweet and tasty. I have to admit I scoffed most of it.

The staff were efficient, friendly and welcoming and we didn’t even notice that a power cut earlier that evening had put a bit of a spanner in the works as the till was down.

Zak and Catherine have evolved the restaurant over the years, changing and updating the decor and extending the outdoor terrace that is the perfect setting for a meal on a sunny day. You really feel as though you have been somewhere a little bit special and different at The Wellsprings which is also counting down to the opening of its luxury holiday accommodation.

And every year the kind and generous couple host a table on Christmas Day for people who may be spending it alone. I absolutely love that wonderful gesture and I will certainly be making a return visit in the future to try out more of the other dishes on the menu.