The Royal Arms in Blackburn with Darwen - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

The only positive about this pub is the location! The last time I visited was Father’s Day and the food was very disappointing. Today, I just called in for a drink while out walking, never again. The landlady was rude, grumpy and ignorant, the rest of the staff could do with a bomb up their backsides. Seriously gone down hill since it’s been taken over, the only thing that’s gone up is the prices. Steer clear.

Nice seating area outside for drinks after a long ISH walk round Darwen tower 🗼 Good beers and ciders on offer 🫴 with friendly staff who are helpful. Food was great and filling. It was a nice burger 🍔 🤤 A well kept place with old and new mixed together.

First time trying this place yesterday, had to give it a go as I'd heard alot of good from here , blimey they wasn't wrong. Absolutely gorgeous food , lovely produce and il be back very soon for sure , thanks again

Great after doggy walk in the area x

Nice country pub in Tockholes. Lots of seating outside for sunny day's. Logs fires inside for cold day's.

Fantastic service and friendly atmosphere

Lovely place for coffee and really good cake after a long walk. The Jaffa cake was fabulous!

Not up to it's usual high quality. Don't usually mind paying that bit extra for a good quality breakfast but it wasn't worth it today. Have you changed chef ?

Lovely location, nice beer garden with good views and ideal for a drink when out walking. Food has gone downhill since it’s been taken over, however the prices have gone up, re-heated chips that look grey. The place would normally have been busy in the past, especially on a Sunday when the sun is out but it wasn’t which speaks volumes. Shame as it use to be good pub grub at a reasonable price.

Ok, honest review...I know this pub well and been an infrequent visitor for years. We called in today for lunch after a walk. The Royal beer isn't great; just tasted, well, watery. The bar was covered in liquid/spilt beer...the tall girl behind the bar kept putting drinks in it, to which we pointed out the bar was soaking, the replying being, 'oh, its alright..'. Ok, then. How about you mop it up? Food came...burger ok, chips soggy and bland. The young girl serving food was great. I think you just need to try a bit harder to be better!

Great food drinks and lovely staff.

Nice dog friendly traditional pub. Good food, friendly staff. Lots of walking routes around and a nice pint/lunch afterwards.

Absolutely the worst 2 meals we have had in a long time the fish and chips were terrible had better at Wetherspoons the fish batter was soggy and the chips were greasy and overcooked just looking at the chips when we got our meals I could tell they were going to be horrible

It was Closed a friend said it's very good Quality meals, & not to expensive.

Staff are very friendly and always polite. The pub has a lovely feel to it. The food is very good and on Fridays 2 for 20 on meals its a bargain well worth a visit. Great ales and an ice cream parlour complement the establishment. Great place to finish off a walk.

Went for 2 for £20 pie night food was great

Best breakfast I have had in along time the owner was so lovely will definitely recommend and will definitely be going back

Lovely styling of the pub with amazing food especially the chips and the staff

Had a meal here for mothers day and woooow can't fault a single thing. The food was great-service was amazing (not in your face but there when u need them) the staff wer great! Will 100% be returning thank you!!!!

Staff very good. Starter of Garlic Mushrooms was amazing. Cheese & Onion Pie was horrible. Rock Hard, could hardly cut it. Chips over cooked. Was offered free dessert to compensate bad main, but I don’t eat desserts. Won’t visit again

The roast beef was nice but I suspect with frozen veg.The pastry on the cheese pie was like concrete.I was so disapointed,maybe it was a one off.I took my friend for a treat she was disapointed what a shame

Cosy pub with excellent real ales and a fine selection of lagers and ciders. Still cosy but with so much more now. Excellent food, superb beers. What more do you need? Get yourself down there!

Great place to visit after a long walk.

Booked for lunch and was not disappointed. Customer service was excellent. Great choice of menu including a chose of Sunday lunch. Drinks well priced. Will definitely be back.

Kall, torrstektfisk. Överkokta ärtor och potatis med skinn på. Ingen bordsservering, fick hämta på disken. Bland det värsta jag blivit serverad.

The three of us completed a hike around the Jubilee tower and arrived here quite tired. Initially, we were told there was no seating, but there was an empty table booked for later in the afternoon. The waitresses conferred with each other, and allowed us to take that table. We had chicken and fish burgers. The food was delicious.

Great place to visit after a long (or short) walk. Reasonably priced, good wholesome local food and genuinely nice owners and staff.

Great place to start or finish a walk across the moors or upto the tower. Has both a pub and cafe ,but gets understandablt busy so best to book. Didn't try the food as there was a1 hour wait.

Nice friendly pub that allows dogs in

Place stank of dog as soon as we walked in. Should have walked out then, but went in the back room. Was served by a lovely girl, which is why it’s getting a 2 star instead of a 1! Ordered off the specials board. Steak and ale pie…not available, ok, that’s fine, my friend ordered the chicken and leek instead. I ordered the pulled pork loaded fries. The food came…..I don’t think the ‘chef’ knows what a fry is. The most horrible Chucky chips…a cross between a wedge and a roast potato but dry and tasteless. Hardly any bbq sauce with the pulled pork, and as for fully loaded, it was plastic cheese sauce and topped with a fried egg????? Never seen that before and don’t want to again. My friends pie. Well the filling was dry, there was a gravy famine, bullet peas and soggy pastry. Served with those god awful chips, not even crispy. Had to wait 15 mins at the bar for our bill, we were being ignored because the card machine was down, and no one even acknowledged we were there! I didn’t want to make a fuss because my friend paid for the lunch for my birthday. I would have certainly said something if I were with someone else!! Hence the bad review. Won’t be going again.

Called in for breakfast after a walk. Food was very good, freshly cooked, and value for money. The staff were extremely busy, however friendly and efficient. We will go back and recommend breakfast here.

Had the two courses the garlic mushrooms had very generous portion sizes however the nachos were bland and after being asked if we wanted a minute between courses they just brought it straight out. It’s a shame because breakfasts are amazing and normally very nice. Family enjoyed the roast dinner for their mains

Excellent cup of coffee and very tasty cakes. It was great to see a range of cakes so different to the homogeneous ranges at all the major coffee shops. And very friendly service to boot!

Leuk restaurant met lekker eten. Helaas waren er een aantal items van de menukaart niet beschikbaar.

Great breakfast, and the bonus was the plates were hot

Lovely friendly staff and the food is top quality. Will definitely come again. Highly recommend the roast dinner and ice creams.

Fantastic quality at a good price, staff are pleasant and attentive, also a great pint after a nice country walk, will definitely be back,

We go walking around here a lot, but this is the first time we've eaten here. It's quite literally across the road from one of the entrances to Tockholes & Roddlesworth Woods and one of the start/finish points for walking up to Darwen (Jubilee) Tower. Dogs *ARE* allowed inside which is good as its such a popular dog walking area. Parking is plentiful for the pub and separate parking adjacent for walkers. Inside the pub is clean, cozy and the staff are lovely and helpful. Our food came quickly and was lovely! A very pleasant surprise that the chips were 'real' parboiled, fried chips and not frozen chips 😁 Partner had Gammon, which came with chips, peas and fried egg, I had scampi which came with chips, peas and a lovely tartar sauce. Portion sizes were good (but not over the top), we also had 1 tea & 1 latte and the bill was just over £30 which I thought was good value.

Brilliant Sunday Carvery, and the staff were very helpful and friendly. Will definitely be back 👍🏻

Always go here for breakfast after a walk - great food at a great price and the best flat white coffee we have ever had. The staff are always very friendly too. What's not to love.

Had breakfast here.. I could do that everyday! Such good quality .. and reasonably priced . Though would like a pot of tea or coffee rather than cup of !

Our first visit as a family and we really enjoyed. Very friendly pub with pleasant staff. Our food was superb,I had salmon,my daughter had homemade steak and ale pie and son in law had amazing nachos with chilli and black pudding. We also shared dirty fries with pulled pork. Everything was nicely cooked, piping hot and super tasty. Well worth a visit and we will return

The Royal Arms at Tockholes… Decided on breakfast out this morning before we went to watch football… and I can easily say one of the nicest breakfast I’ve had for a long time! I got sausage, bacon and runny egg butty and the other half got a large breakfast.. all the produce is locally sourced and farm fresh. I haven’t got one single criticism, and best of all is the price… the butty, the breakfast, 2 cappuccinos and 2 glasses of coke came to £26! 10/10 and well worth a visit if you drive as the location is beautiful too! Big thanks to the new owners, we will be back! ⭐️😍 — with Tony Andrew.

Just had breakfast at the pub for the first time since the pub was sold. Genuinely fantastic.. I got a large English and it was superb. Cooked perfectly, hugh..... and arrived quickly! Staff were lovely, even give a treat to my dog. To be fair the food at the Royal has always been great and it looks like they are continuing this legacy especially with brekki! I will be back.

Late Friday morning for breakfast in half term school holidays, quiet in the older rooms where we were sat.

Ordered a Cajun chicken sandwich, it took 40 minutes to arrive which was understandable as it was relatively busy due to half term and walkers around the moors. The Sandwich arrived on bloomer bread with a lettuce leaf full of coleslaw and 8 chips. I took my first bite into the sandwich and thought I’d chewed and swallowed some sand, there was no butter on the bread and the Cajun chicken was bland with zero flavour. I dont think it was possible to have Other visitors around also had issues with meals, a lady ordered one sticky toffee pudding and they brought two out ( WINNER) but other customers like myself had a long wait for basic sandwiches. It seemed more like a school playground than a beer garden to eat and drink in with a sign with reminders on how to behave such as “ NO HEAVY PETTING & “NO SWEARING” There was also a nice reminder that “MIGHT AS WELL BRING YOUR GLASSES IN IF YOURE GOING”. Perhaps employ a glass collector to collect glasses rather than make elderly people walk up and down the stairs to bar area to return their glasses to the bar. Seems they are more bothered about how customers should behave rather than standards of service and quality of food. Very poor will not be returning will try The Rock or Café opposite next time.

Lovely food, new chef can definitely work his magic. The home made pizza was to die for. All the staff are lovely, very friendly and welcoming. Definitely be back.

We went on a Saturday afternoon. Had the mushrooms wnd chicken starter, followed by the sausage and mash and fifth off the specials menu. Good was fantastic. Service was great and very reasonably priced! Can’t wait to visit again. Very friendly staff

Looking forward to meal however disappointed. The chicken starter came with the mains and was cold sent back came back slightly warmer. Main of stroganoff was bland,. Waste of £45 won't be back.

Amazing food for a decent price, good range of food, such a nice little pub would definitely recommend 👌

I love this pub!!!! It just has such a homey feeling 😊 The food is absolutely delicious and clearly cooked fresh. I’ve never had a bad experience here.

Such a lovely pub. Food is bang on, always have specials on

Beautiful little pub, friendly staff and well kept. Fantastic service and friendly atmosphere. Food was superb. Will definitely be visiting again.

Not that good long wait for food even though very few people in..hot food served on cold plates. Won't make a special journey to go again

We've been going to this pub for decades so we've seen a few changes. There's been a recent change of ownership and it seems to have lost the personal touch. The previous owners always greeted us and took the time to chat and thank us for our custom, I'm not sure if its being run by a manager now, thats how it feels because they don't show the same interest in their customers.

This morning I nipped in for breakfast. Lovely friendly attentive staff. Clean and welcoming dining area. Couldn’t fault the food- came out fast, hot and tasty. Portion sizes huge! Couldn’t have made it cheaper at home! Really great local pub- I will definitely be back!...

Stopped at this pub by chance at the weekend on a country walk. What a great find! Tea was amazing! Staff were friendly and nothing too much trouble! Will return again soon! Thanks so much!

First visit to this establishment for food and pleasantly surprised by the good quality of the food. Home cooked chips and mushy peas a delight. We enjoyed the steak pudding in the rag and chefs special cheese and onion pie. Will certainly be visiting again.

What a shame, this was a great local pub, our go to for a tasty meal. The new owners have ruined it with staff who are disinterested and untrained and the addition of a tv in the bar area which meant that we had to...

Beautiful food and brilliant service. Highly recommended

Great for a beer and some food in the sunshine. Plenty on the menu to go at and at a reasonable price. Great range of beers and wines for all tastes.

Sat outside on a hot summer's day, with a cool drink, and food. Dog friendly. Will visit again when passing

What a lovely little find ……. After a nice afternoon drive we stumbled on this little treasure what a lovely little place this is as you walk down in from the car park looks so pretty & stylish little coffee bar with a beautiful lit...

The Eggs Benedict was awful and £7.95 for two poached eggs on toast also only two fatty rasher of bacon on a muffin. Have crossed this place off from our breakfast list.

Waited 50 minutes for a bacon butty, okay if you are not in a hurry 😋

New owners. Chain pub. Manager goes through the motions.

Great service and loved the food, dog friendly also.

Good food good service will visit again

A great pub with excellent food and beer. Very friendly staff. It's a nice place to go walking.

Superb outside area, dog friendly pub opposite the Woods and Reservoir for superb walks

Just popped in ter wet the whistle, been walking, scorcher of a day, the pint went down well.

Very friendly staff and great food and the coffee is excellent, still the best coffee in Blackburn , gone down hill with the New owners but still worth a visit 3.5 stars now

Called at the royal for lunch the other day. Menu very limited, we won't rush back shame as we are local but the food was just average.

After a long walk through the woods we were in need of refreshments. We called in for something to eat and drink. Some things on the menu were not available, but not being meat eaters we opted for a haddock burger with Hash Browns, mozzarella,...

Fantastic brunch/breakfast and very reasonably priced. Gorgeous setting. Dog friendly.

Didn't have any food but nice place

We call for breakfast the service was very slow, food good ,but no hot drinks

Visit regular. Great pub food great prices proper chips home cooked food normally. Went on fathers day but it had changed. I could by appearance as food arrived, that it wasn't the same. Frozen chips etc. Presumably down to cut backs in these difficult times

My wife and myself have recently moved into Leyland. After unpacking endless boxes we needed a break. Not knowing the area at all we noticed there was a nature trail at Roddlesworth. After having a walk we saw the Royal Arms and decided to pay...

Looked very nice although I didn't visit nice view's I delivered Ashpalt to the road outside

A tasty meal, efficiently handled in convivial atmosphere and very pleasant rural surrounds, reasonably priced.

Lovely little sun trap where the dogs can relax too. Tuna baguette was a bit too dry for my liking but still nice enough. A Mrs Dowsons ice cream stand will never go amiss either.

I'm fairly sure mushrooms weren't listed as an ingredient in the chilli on the menu because I detest them and would have noticed. They are one of those foods that if you don't like them, you really despise them! 😄 It listed all the other ingredients so you'd expect it to mention one of the most divisive foods. So I was pretty gutted when it came with the evil mushrooms. They were quite big so I was easily able to pick them out but i spent a fair while afterwards making sure I had got them all. Even after that, I did have to eat it kind of like a duck, straight down the gullet, minimum chewing and no tasting or savouring. If it did list the dreaded fungi on the menu and I am a total buffoon for leaving this long winded review, I am happy to be proven wrong and I will retract this for a glowing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review as everything else was bang on!

Great little pub with great staff and great food. In the middle of nowhere you would expect high prices, definitely not the case. They have a large beer garden for summer months and the waitresses do table service. And they accept dogs, absolutely amazing place

Went here for lunch after a walk in Tockholes. Even though the pub was absolutely rammed, the staff were still lovely and very attentive. Food was delicious and served timely. I'd definitely go here again. Would recommend to anyone in the area

Appalling attitude, went in to order drinks and was told it's table service only outside. When asking to be served by the staff outside got tutted at because we interrupted her taking selfies. Good is good and experience otherwise was good but being ignored by...

Love the new cafe bar, drinks, food. Good breakfast. Highly recommended.

Lovely walk in bluebell woods followed by a delicious meal!

I had the gammon steak and it was excellent quality meat and perfectly cooked, and really good chips too. The staff were very friendly and made our meal very enjoyable. We enjoyed watching the morris dancers after the meal, good entertainment for a Thursday evening.

Love this pub....always great beer & great food

Great country pub. Nice decor and comfortable layout. Origional pub and recent extension with large windows providing scenic views of the Pennies. Serves a good pint of ale or lager along with wine and spirits. Didn't eat but food looked very good. Also dog friendly. 🐕

Amazing staff beds are red hot over all great olace great staff very freindly n polite

Great food and lovely service ❤️

Lovely little pub, I had a Sunday roast while here, don't be deceived by how it looks. It looks like there isn't much on the plate when you first get it, but boy does it fill you up and hit the spot, it tastes as delicious as it looks. The staff were polite, and there is plenty of them, your never short on finding one of them to help you in whatever it is you need help with. The only downside for me was the choice in lager, I'm a fosters or carling girl, but as the saying goes "you can't please all of the people, all of the time" lol I would highly recommend this pub for something to eat after you've done a walk round the reservoir or on one of the other country paths.

Fantastic service and food, highly recommend. They catered our walking group of 13 (which was booked), the food was enjoyed by everyone and everyone had a wonderful experience at the royal arms :) highly recommend.

What a spectacular place!!. Beautifully renovated whist keeping a warm and friendly feel to the place, Bring your dog, dogs ,horse, horses, Elephants , great outdoor seating area for all the family and family pets. Great staff who value a warm welcome and customer service....

Great place to go, pets allowed

Nice coffee and hand made cookies 🍪

Best Burger I've ever had! Wow 🍔

Great full breakfast, very reasonable and friendly staff 😊