The story
Aven is a Modern British restaurant at 10 Camden Place in Preston, awarded three AA Rosettes in 2026. It opened in October 2023 and takes its name from the neighbouring Avenham Park.
Chef-director Oli Martin was born in Lancashire and has cooked at Northcote and Hipping Hall, where he helped win a fourth AA Rosette. In 2018 he reached the final three of MasterChef: The Professionals. Head chef Sean Wrest led Roots in York to its first Michelin star in 2021. Their menus follow the seasons, drawing on Lancashire suppliers and foraged herbs, fruits and roots.
Evening diners choose between a £59 set menu and a £79 tasting menu, each with a vegetarian version. A sample menu opens with tomato essence and oyster with cucumber and horseradish, then moves to cod with leek and brown shrimp and lamb with Jersey Royal and asparagus. Rhubarb with magnolia and crème fraîche closes the set menu. The Good Food Guide, which lists Aven for 2026, named a chicken breast with braised and puréed turnips, wild garlic pesto and a strong jus as the star of its meal.
Dark olive panelling sits against white door frames, with glass panels dividing the space. Menus come in small envelopes printed with the booking name. Wine pairings start at £40, and the Good Food Guide notes a compact list with small-glass recommendations from £8. It also praises the service as slick and professional.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
While Lancashire has long since ensconced itself on the northern culinary map, its administrative centre (a full-fledged city for over 20 years, after all) has awaited its moment in the spotlight. Step forward Aven, which opened in an odd backstreet site in the vicinity of its near-namesake Avenham Park in October 2023. Under the eagle executive eye of Lancashire-born chef-director Oli Martin (ex-Northcote et al), this city-centre venue is a tiny room (seven tables) done out in impeccable decorative style, with dark olive panelling offsetting brilliant white door frames, glass panels partitioning the space, and menus presented in little envelopes bearing the name of the booking. Set four-course menus are the mainstay, with an evening taster adding another two courses, as well as a vegetarian alternative. An opening soup of fermented mushrooms is piled with diced Jersey Royals, maitake, peas, braised radishes and bites of smoked eel, under ruffles of tasty chicken skin. To follow, a commendably imaginative fish course offers a sliver of opalescent monkfish in brown butter, topped with soft baby leek and pickled magnolia petal. The star dish at our meal was a piece of splendid chicken breast with braised and puréed turnips, wild garlic pesto and a strong chicken jus – an object-lesson in the savoury arts. The bemusing presentation of dessert saw its elements marooned in a little cluster at one edge of a huge platter, as though awaiting rescue: fine honeycomb, apple-peel tuile, cultured cream, surprisingly delicate pine parfait. That said, there is enough creative energy here to make Aven one to watch. Slick professional service adds to the gloss, while a modestly proportioned wine list is big on pairings, opening with recommendations by the small glass from £8.
3 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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