On a sunny day over an exceptionally busy Easter and ‘Wedding’ holiday period a funny thing happened here at the Bulls Head……….Nuala the Irish terrier (pictured) arrived at the door of our pub!!!

She firstly took a drink from our dog bowl at the front door then ventured into our ‘Whisky’ Snug (where dogs are welcome) and gave a soft ‘woof’ to Shane and Nick our bartenders on duty.

Shane offered Nuala a dog biscuit (Bonio no less) from the Jar on the bar!! Noola gladly accepted the biscuit with a grunt and hit the sunshine to enjoy her ‘free’ snack.

She then took another slurp of water and re-entered the pub and woofed again…………a further snack was dispensed by our generous team!!

Nuala was ‘away from home alone’ having ‘escaped’ from her nearby residence. Jenny our landlady decided to phone the number on the collar and Nuala was re-united with her owner.

It would appear to me that Nuala and many dogs locally know a good pub when they see one!!!  The only free meals here are in the shape of a bonio!!

Cheers Tim

Mothering Sunday turned out to be a lovely day here at the pub. Despite indifferent weather, a great day was had by all in the usual relaxed atmosphere that is the Bulls Head!!

As the picture shows ‘Cup Cakes’ were all the rage as each mum (and a few children and Gentlemen too!!) were presented with the most delicious Cup Cakes (or as my mum called them…..butter iced buns!!).

I have to say my mum, god rest her soul, would have been exceptionally proud of these Cup Cakes!!! They were supplied by the wonderfully named “And the dish ran away with the Spoon” situated in West Didsbury.

Do visit www.dishandspoonfood.co.uk  to find out more…a great start up business that will feature greatly in future events here at the Bulls Head!!

Thank you to everyone for coming to the pub on Mothering Sunday we all enjoyed it immensely!!

Here at the Bulls Head we try our very best at all times to ensure we give our customers a great experience, if, on the very rare occasion, we don’t get it right, we make sure we do something about it and learn from your comments.

That’s why we are honoured to have been included in the book ‘ The Hidden Places of Lancashire and Cheshire’ on the back of recommendations from you, our customers!!

We know the Bulls Head is a ‘little gem’ and we are very proud of our team and the lovely village pub we have created.

The book is on our book shelf in the pub so by all means have a quick read next time you are in.

Thanks once again.

We are delighted to announce that The Storm Brewery of Macclesfield have won the right to brew ‘The Blonde Bull’ Ale for the Bulls Head this summer!!

The competition began last Monday 28th and ran until Thursday when the first Ale sold out!!

Storm won by a country mile with 57 votes in total. Tatton Brewery were again second (they were second for the 1812 Overture Ale competition too) and the Frodsham Brewery were third.

We would like to thank all the customers who took part and the Brewers for presenting their ‘blondes’ so well.

The Blonde Bull Ale will be sitting on the bar soon!!! So if you fancy a blonde moment then you know where we are!!

Well done James who wins £50 to spend at the Bulls Head!!! Thanks to everyone who sent their sketches in and to the team for voting for the winner!! The sketches will remain on our website as a reminder of good times in Pubs not that we need reminding so keep sending them in too!!

WOW!! It has been a long time coming!! But light evenings and spring flowers are on their way!!! To celebrate this we are once again collecting for our local church as we pay our penance for our now legendary ‘sinful’ aphrodisiac bitter ‘Mobberley Wobbly Ale’!! Enjoy a half or indeed a pint on your next visit!!

We have thought carefully about lunchtimes and afternoons so have introduced a host of ‘half litre wine carafes’ (see below) as you will see from the ‘board’ there is something for everyone and these are available from 12 mid-day ’til 5pm Monday to Friday as a more economical way of enjoying wine through the week.

Summer Pimms is back as ‘winter Pimms’ and the rest of our winter drinks say farewell!! Can we beat our record of serving 25 jugs of pimms in one day!!!?? The strawberries are ripe, the cucumber is firm, the mint is fresh and the orange is juicy!!! The Bulls Head does Pimms well, we are famous for it and we do four different types and a jug serves 4. (see below)

Finally we have our summer drinks starting too and I want to draw your attention to our ‘posh ciders’. Through the winter months we were visited by Ben and his partner who operate Ty Gwyn Cider they are customers at the Bulls Head and approached us to try their cider…..we loved it!! Now it has arrived, it is in the cellar and on 28th March the dry and medium dry cider will be served. These ciders aren’t overly fizzy, there is depth to their flavour and they are natural. While the usual suspects of the cider world will be available Ty Gwyn cider is the cider of choice!! (see below)

Obviously Hendricks Gin and Tonic is our choice gin and tonic this summer whether you have it with cucumber or lime or lemon. We do have Brockmans gin too which is infused with berries it really will be a rival to any gin this summer.

So from 28th March we celebrate summer being on its way and please do not forget the Blonde Bull beer competition to choose our Blonde beer of the summer!!! Starting on Monday 28th you will choose the winner!! Three ales from three different Cheshire micro-breweries go head to head to win the title of Blonde Bull!!!

Many reasons to visit see you soon with a spring in your step!!

We have seen, over the last few weeks, a real resurgence in the popularity of ‘Virgin Marys and Bloody Marys’ particularly on a Sunday.

Here at the Bulls Head we are definitely becoming famous for them as we mix the vodka of your choice with ‘big Tom’ tomato juice, a touch of lemon and celery a slight splash of sherry and a secret ingredient or two and then it is over to you to hit the Tabasco!!

Tim and Shane worked on the recipe while the pub was being refurbished and re-born 10 months ago!!

At £4.25 a glass for the ‘Bloody’ version it has to be done!!!

So enjoy a Bulls Bloody Mary, perfect to drink while eating our bubble and squeak hash with a poached hens egg, crispy bacon and mustard sauce!! Or just with a bag of kettle chips!!

Bloody good!!

Thank you again to all our customers for supporting ‘National Pie week’ and particularly our very own, much loved, Bulls Head ‘Pie and Ale week’.

I have to say this is our second ‘Pie and Ale’ Week in six months and they really are becoming an institution!!

The winning Pie of the week was the unique Tim’s ‘Chunky Lamb Shepherd’s Pie’ which sold well over 50 in the week. The Wobbly Ale Pie remains the overall favourite but we feel the Shepherd’s Pie will make the menu in the autumn!!

Top of the ‘Sweetie Pies’ was our Dave’s famous Apple, pear and blueberry pie. In fact one Lady said she was a pie expert and that this pie was one of the best she had ever had!! Credit indeed for Dave our Chef of patisserie !!!

The best ale of the week was ‘Nimrod’ brewed at Wincle Beer Company which is the fastest moving ‘guest’ beer since we opened!! Well done Wincle!!!

Please have a look at our events page to see what is coming up in the next two or three months!!!

The Bulls Head menu changes on 24th March 2011 for the Spring with our famous Game dishes disappearing ‘til the Autumn. We have some interesting replacements with a Free range Packington 12 oz Pork Chop arriving which is grilled and finished with melted mature cheddar and an apple and cider sauce. We also have a new Vegetarian dish of homemade Cauliflower cheese but with a smoked cheese sauce and then broad beans and cherry tomatoes with the local cauliflower. A Lloyd speciality!!

We then have a warm flaked poached salmon salad with a red wine vinegar dressing and finally a real special of slow cooked ‘Ox casserole’ in a rich caramelised port wine sauce with celery, carrot, celeriac and shallots over creamy mash.

Regulars will be pleased to see the return of the pints of prawns as well as half pints too. We also have ‘potted shrimp’ with nutty bread both these are in the ‘nibble and natter’ section of the menu, and in the starters we are making a coarse chicken liver pate, we are cooking portobello mushrooms with cheese and a herb crumb, the pan fried chicken livers are taking on a spring like finish of brandy, cream and leeks. While the ‘hash’ becomes a bubble and squeak hash with hens egg, bacon and a light mustard sauce.

On desserts we have moved the bread and butter to spring with it becoming an orange and white chocolate bread and butter pudding and we are doing a ‘not so traditional’ banana banoffi.

I have also taken £3 off the 1961 vintage port which now sells at £9 a glass to celebrate the year of my birth!! It really is a treat with the cheese board to share!!

At lunch time we have some lighter lunches which is in response to some of our customers with smaller appetites and we have some Cheshire smokehouse baps and some new traditional toasted sandwiches for you to enjoy also for a full look at everything click on ‘food’ and then the relevant menus. Even better pop in and try the new dishes too. As always we look forward to seeing you!!

As many visitors to the Bulls Head know, the team are fans of Mallorcan wine and one wine ‘Macia Batle Anada’ has featured as a ‘ship in’ wine for some time by popular demand.

For new readers the Bulls Head features different wines that do not feature on our list and these we call our ‘shipped in’ wines. Do ask what we have available when you next visit.

Tim travelled once again to Mallorca to try wines at several Mallorcan Bodegas, that, if good enough, could feature on our list or as a ‘shipped in’ wine for the summer or the Autumn.

I have to say the trip to Macia Batle was fantastic. We arrived completely unannounced and the service was excellent. The export assistant Olga Smertina was passionate about the wines and took us through the Macia Batle Blanc de Blanc, a fantastic Rosado and then the reds from the Anada to the Crianza to the Reserva. We enjoyed the wines very much and I have to say this is a trip anyone visiting Mallorca, who loves wine, must do!!

We did a tour of the Bodega which is open to anyone from 4.30pm when the Bodega re-opens. All the details are on their website www.maciabatle.com

We have spoken to our wine importer Boutinot and have already agreed to bring the Rosado in for this spring and summer!! A full flavoured deep pink rose that lends itself to both fish, white meat or even red meat because of its full flavour. We hope to ‘ship’ in for the early part of April. We also intend to bring in some of their other wines from time to time as the Crianza and Reserva really were great.

Please enjoy the photos from the Bodega and come and enjoy a Rosado in the sunshine here at the Bulls Head.