Having been regulars under the previous management, we are very disappointed that the new LandLady…read moreis afraid of dogs and it is no longer a dog friendly pub. We have 2 Alsation dogs, who the LandLady admitted were well behaved, but she asked us not to bring them with us again. This venue must not be advertised as being "Dog Friendly" anymore. The LandLady claimed our dogs were scaring children. We were sitting outside in the beer garden and one of the two children in the beer garden came over to stroke our dogs. The little boy was only a toddler and he loved them! Our dogs enjoyed him petting them, the only other child in the beer garden was a young girl approx 13 years old, she didn't have any interaction either good or otherwise with our dogs. When asked about which child was scared of them, she said it was herself! We had eaten meals and had 2 rounds of drinks prior to being asked not to bring the dogs ever again. They had done nothing wrong, to warrant being barred other than being big dogs. My partner and I were deeply offended and will never return with or without the dogs.

This place is amazing. Tucked away in a residential area, you need to know about it to find it…read more From the outside it's pretty unassuming - just a typical pub, but once inside it's a different story. The bar area is small and cosy, and in the back there's a small restaurant. But the real star here is the food... oh my, it's simply wonderful. Home made, beautifully presented and full of flavour which makes everything else look bland. It can get busy at weekends, so book a table in the restaurant to be sure of a seat. Nice crowd of mixed ages.

Another fabulous experience at the Shoulder again! Lovely lunch and the wait staff are just the…read moresweetest. Always checking in with you making sure you're happy. Great prices too. Food was delicious as usual.

I used to love it, over lockdown it was great too doing takeaways. However tonight and the last…read moretime about a month ago was really awful. Tonight they messed up the order. They never checked whose food was who's, then my sons dinner never arrived. Nobody came back to check. I had to go into the pub to chase them. About 10 mins after me complaining they arrived. They really didn't care. The previous month they had a ridiculous system implemented which seems to have gone, where they force you to order food from the table and not the bar. So you would have to order your drinks separately. They said this was to prevent people leaving without paying. They made a mess of this as well. Regardless I offered to pay it all up front at the till to ease their minds. They said that was not possible. It's all gone a bit wrong up there.

Brilliant boozer! Does all the stuff I like to drink, very local to me being around the corner…read more Staff always very friendly and food is very nice too. Keep it up guys!

This is a great great local - and I should really stop here and finish my review…read more And that is where I left the draft of my review about 8 months ago when it become my new 'local'. And the main reason is I really wanted to ensure that it was a suitable pub to get five stars. It jolly well does, from a good selection of drinks and nibbles including a good jukebox, the pub is comfy and has two poochs that make them selves at home. My personal choice is pint of starapramen for a relatively small £3 :-D The gents toilets are standard pub toilets cold but clean - I cannot comment on the female ones. There is a pool table that is well lit and played on a lot so that means it's serviced so a nice table to play on ! Go on have a visit and delight yourself in what a pub should be like !

I had dinner here with my wife and parents. The food choice was excellent and the service was…read moreattentive and friendly. The overall atmosphere is very lively but not so noisy that we couldn't easily chat over our meal. The actual food tasted fresh with lots of flavor. The portions were generous. The appetizer selection is one of the most varied I have ever been presented with. I chose Cuban Money Parcels. Delicious. I was surprised and delighted with the food and the service. Parking was also easy with wide spaces.

We had a few pints here before the FA Cup match for Cambridge @ Bury. The service was good enough…read moreand the atmosphere welcoming. Didn't try the food so can't comment on that.

Probably the best carvery in bolton. Lots of variety of vegetables and potatoes and 4 kinds of meat…read moretoo! They also do an all you can eat breakfast during the week which is a challenge. But for 4 quid it's really good value and the quality of sausage is very high! I am a regular here and would recommend it to everyone!

I love a good carvery, and who doesn't? The Toby Carvery in Ainsworth is a pleasure to visit. The…read morestaff are polite and attentive and the atmosphere is nice. But who cares about all that? It's a carvery, you've come for the food! And you will not be disappointed. Good sized portions from the 'chef' even on a busy Sunday and plenty of nice veg to choose from. If I had a larger stomach I'd have gone back for more veg it was that nice! But I was good and saved room for dessert. The sundaes are fabulous and I think whichever you choose you'll be delighted with the size (it's a carvery, it's all about size!) and more importantly the taste! So if you're in the area and feeling hungry I highly recommend it. If you're not in the area and are thinking of popping into your local carvery, STOP! Get in your car and give this place a try. You will be pleased you did!

come here often, great pub, excellent band night on Thursday and weekends are busy…read more spotless rear beer garden planted up lovely over last couple months

A good pub owned by Holts Brewery on the Prestwich Whitefield border.Only holts beers sold here but…read morethey were in great condition. The pub has live bands on a wennesday night, and the standard is high.

It's good, it's not great, that's probably the most accurate way of reviewing the Sparkling Clog…read more Part of me feels a little shady for giving them 3 stars as they probably merit a little more however to hit a 4 star for a pub these days I think you need to hit 3 key criteria: 1. Good beer/alcohol - here it's fairly bog standard and limited with only a couple of craft beers available. 2. Good hearty food - it's a pub, you're not looking for Michelin star food quality however you want a little more than Microwaved meals - here it's a little above that but it still just felt a little average. 3. Good value for money - this they nail, the place is so cheap! Number 3 makes me think they deserve 4 as the food was decent and drink nice enough and it all came in for less than £7, pretty un heard of. However, one thing that Bolton is good for is gastro/food pubs and it wouldn't be fair to award 4 here due to that. No doubt I'll revisit soon and try something else from the menu (which was pretty expansive) and see if that pushes them up!

Large food pub refurbished to what can only be described as design mix and match. Pictures of old…read morethings adorn the wall and then it has booths with TVs at the end of the table. The bar is quite long and one end does food orders. Varied selection of uninspiring drinks but some of the wine can be reasonable. There is an outside seating area which is nice in the summer sun but some of the tables are close together. Friday evening is very busy and there doesn't seem to be enough staff serving. Due to the outside seating sunny evenings also tend to be busy. Food is standard pub chain and features easy to cook/ fry. Gluten free options are limited. Overall it is an ok place to go for a drink but better food is found elsewhere.

Ah, the Friendship how I love thee, let me count the ways:…read more 1. Just look at you, your imposing facade set back from the road puts other pubs to positive shame 2. You are a cheap enough pub to let us get merry without breaking the bank ... much, but thats my fault 3.Your barmaids are lovely and young, and went to my high school and I know that you treat them well 4. You remind me of a cross between a travellers' half way house and where Elrond from Lord of the Rings might live 5. Your magic extends to the skies as on a sunny day it is lovely to sit on those well placed benches of yours out front FIN

Turned up here tonight at 8.30 the staff were very welcoming and friendly the food was really fresh…read moreand generously portioned with extremely reasonable prices I have been looking for an alernative to the beefeater which used to be my chosen place to eat the last two Times I have been There the food has been dire the manageress served me a plate of bloody steak when I asked well done that can be excused as a mistake but the hair on the plate as she brought it was the final nail!!The friendship inn is as we all know a part of the Joseph holts chain the standard of care in the food is top resteraunt quality the staff are helpful and friendly you are not rushed or pushed in any way the waitresses are always close to hand if needed but don't hover around while you are eating as has been The case many times in many other places I definately recommend this place to anyone wanting a lovely meal in a relaxed friendly environment and shall be recommending this place to all my family and friends keep up the good work and congratulations to the manageress and the team who run this pub

Great night here for bf's birthday…read more We started in the downstairs pub area and bf tried some of the ale brewed in the basement, which he said was very good. The bar staff and manager were really friendly and also nice to each other, which gave an overall very positive impression of how the Clarence is run. Upstairs in the attractive restaurant area we were seated by the window and were quickly approached for our drinks order by the server who was brilliant throughout the meal. She was very pleasant and efficient and gave me helpful advice on what to order. We started with the generous-sized black pudding and leek croquettes with a pear and porter sauce which bf loved. Next up I had the roe deer and bf had strip steak. Bf extremely happy with the steak and also commented that the chips were "American standard." I ate most of his perfectly cooked greens. My own dish was really interesting - it was cooked perfectly and also featured a little pie which I was not expecting! The menu has many good points. It's varied both in type of dish and price, so you can come for a special occasion or weekday dinner. It features local elements like the Bury black pudding. It has a good range of steaks. And it has more unusual dishes like the roe deer, venison in my experience being comparatively rare on Manchester menus. Drinks-wise, we enjoyed the light Sauvignon Blanc rose and some kind of delicious port-like dessert wine which was basically like drinking raisins without the plastic aftertaste. Unfortunately we did not get to sample the cocktail bar as it is only open Fridays and Saturdays but bf says it is v nice and if you dine you can normally get in for drinks, even though it's otherwise members only (£250 a year). Will have to return for that, and also for the great-sounding Sunday lunch! Overall well worth a little excursion to Bury and a no-brainer if you're in the area. Only word of caution is that there may not be a lot of choice for vegetarians, so check menu on website before you go.

The best Sunday Roast in North Manchester!!…read more Such a lovely pub, it's hard to believe that i've lived a few miles from here all my life and have never tried it. Downstairs is a traditional pub and a few tables. I can imagine it gets very busy at the weekend. The restaurant, upstairs, is lovely and very large. After looking at the menu, it was clear that the sunday roast was going to be the winner, so i opted for the beef Sunday roast with yorkshire pudding and all the veg! We also ordered cauliflower cheese on the side as an extra. Overall i couldn't fault the meal. It was excellent and the service was impeccable too!