5 reasons why La Locanda deserved to win the title of best local restaurant in Britain
Published 15 July 2026

1. Authentic Italian food with no compromise

You could easily drive straight past La Locanda on the main road through Gisburn, in Lancashire’s beautiful Ribble Valley, without giving it a second glance. The solid stone building has been many things over the years – a chapel, garage and even a sweet shop – and there’s nothing flashy about it. No grand entrance, no oversized signs, no attempt to shout for attention.

What waits inside, though, is something rather special.

For more than twenty years, Cinzia and Maurizio Bocchi have quietly championed the kind of regional Italian cooking that’s become surprisingly rare. This isn’t a place for frozen lasagne, oversized garlic bread or Italian food adapted beyond recognition. It’s about traditional recipes, carefully sourced ingredients and food that’s true to where it comes from.

Maurizio’s cooking is confident without ever feeling showy. Rustic dishes are treated with respect rather than reinvented and every plate feels generous in both flavour and spirit. His trademark fresh pasta, made daily, is the obvious highlight. Our pork-filled spinach tortellini was outstanding, with beautifully silky pasta wrapped around a delicately spiced filling that tasted every bit as good as it looked.

The bread basket alone tells you plenty about the standards here. Tuscan unsalted bread, focaccia, Sicilian pane carasau and breadsticks arrive alongside excellent extra virgin olive oil and Trapani sea salt. There is balsamic too, although Cinzia smiles as she explains it’s only there because British diners expect it. In Italy, she assures us, you’d never serve it this way.

2. Seasonal menus that mean one visit simply isn’t enough

The menu changes with the seasons, while daily specials make every meal feel slightly different. Maurizio combines carefully imported Italian ingredients with exceptional British produce, much of it sourced locally and, in some cases, foraged himself during motorbike rides through the surrounding Forest of Bowland.

Summer might bring swordfish carpaccio, linguine alle vongole or red tuna with cannellini beans. By autumn you’ll find pumpkin and amaretti cappellacci, Goosnargh chicken livers with Vin Santo and caramelised pears, or roast goose with chestnuts and Tuscan sausage. Winter introduces wild roe deer from Gisburn Forest, while spring celebrates Bowland wild garlic folded into fresh ricotta-filled tortellini.

Our own July lunch showcased exactly why this approach works. Grilled sardines with sweet red peppers, spaghetti Trapanese enriched with almonds, tomato and Pecorino, wild sea bass with a vibrant salsa verde and an unusual marinated whitebait dish inspired by Italy’s lake regions all demonstrated the same commitment to authentic regional cooking.

It’s the sort of menu that genuinely makes you want to return every season to see what’s next.

3. Hospitality that makes you feel part of the family

La Locanda isn’t trying to impress with luxury. The décor is modest, comfortable and completely unpretentious.

Downstairs there’s only room for a handful of diners around the cosy bar, while upstairs wooden beams – remarkably salvaged from one of Nelson’s ships – overlook crisp linen-covered tables, shelves of collected treasures and softly playing Italian music.

The real warmth, though, comes from the people.

Cinzia welcomes guests with the sort of smile that immediately puts you at ease. Before long, you’re chatting, asking questions about the menu and feeling less like a customer and more like part of the famiglia. It captures everything a true Italian trattoria should be.

As one satisfied customer said: “I have never met such passionate owners who are the most welcoming people I have ever met running their own restaurant. There wasn’t a thing we could fault, even down to the music and hand soap.”

4. Every detail reflects genuine passion

It’s impossible not to notice just how much thought goes into everything here.

The all-Italian wine list is arranged by region, there’s an impressive selection of Italian beers, aperitifs and cocktails and the coffee menu deserves a visit in its own right, with around twenty different options ranging from a classic caffè corretto to Calimero espresso topped with egg liqueur, Italian brandy and cream.

Desserts are every bit as memorable. Proper ice cream sundaes, panforte served with Vin Santo and quite simply the best cannoli we’ve eaten outside L’Isola Bella. The secret, we’re told, is fresh ricotta brought directly from Sicily because nothing else tastes quite right.

Then come the little touches that many restaurants overlook. A refreshing raspberry sorbet appears between courses. Italian chocolates arrive with coffee. Even the smallest details feel considered rather than routine.

It’s this consistency that keeps regulars coming back. One diner described it perfectly:

“Very rarely can you find a restaurant that has award-winning, authentic world-class food, wonderfully attentive service and a fabulous ambience. Also worth mentioning the many extra special touches that make La Locanda so special – the ever-changing daily specials, palate-cleansing sorbet between courses and delicious Italian chocolate truffles served with the best coffee outside Italy.”

5. Values that matter as much as the food

What impressed us most is that La Locanda’s philosophy goes far beyond what’s served on the plate.

Maurizio has long supported the Slow Food movement and his background in farming, horticulture and chemistry has shaped the restaurant’s approach from day one. Sustainability, seasonality and traditional methods aren’t fashionable buzzwords here. They’re simply how things are done.

The restaurant works with producers who share the same principles, favouring natural farming methods, avoiding unnecessary chemicals and pesticides and insisting on high standards of animal welfare. Waste is kept to a minimum, conservation is taken seriously and every ingredient has earned its place.

It all adds up to a restaurant with genuine integrity – and a worthy winner of Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026.