Best restaurants in the Lake District Published 01 April 2024
Thinking of visiting the Lake District this late spring and summer? Make sure you read The Good Food Guide's latest round up of the best restaurants in the Lake District.
Our team of anonymous restaurant inspectors have visited restaurants all across the Lake District. Their aim? To find the top selection of diverse restaurants showcasing the best local produce that the Lake District has to offer. No establishment can pay for inclusion in the Guide and we do not accept free meals, so you can be confident our recommendations are offered with the utmost impartiality.
The following selection of restaurants in the Lake District offer a variety of locally made food, from pies and pastries to fine dining tasting menus. The Lake District truly has a restaurant for every taste and budget.
On a mezzanine atop the George Fisher sports store, this warmly lit café comprises just five tables and a breakfast bar, but it never feels cramped. Staff are 'lovely' and everything from the short menu is neatly done &ndas… Read more
On a mezzanine atop the George Fisher sports store, this warmly lit café comprises just five tables and a breakfast bar, but it never feels cramped. Staff are 'lovely' and everything from the short menu is neatly done – from classic avocado on toasted sourdough with chilli jam to savoury toasties with tomato and onion salad on the side. Granola bowls, Vietnamese banh mi, cakes and bakes complete the picture. The place is also famed for its skilfully fermented, homemade kombucha – we liked the original version as well as a newer 'soft launch' strawberry riff. The coffee is exceptional too, complete with 'proper latte art for the nerds'.
‘The epitome of a local restaurant,’ this long-serving, family-run bistro and coffee house is a rare commodity in touristy Windermere – no wonder bookings are essential for each of the two evening sittings. The s… Read more
‘The epitome of a local restaurant,’ this long-serving, family-run bistro and coffee house is a rare commodity in touristy Windermere – no wonder bookings are essential for each of the two evening sittings. The simple dining room is divided into three small sections, although the tables – each properly set with cloths and a vase of flowers – are just far enough apart to ensure privacy and elbow room, while service from the owner herself and local teens is knowledgeable and well-paced without ever feeling rushed.
The rarely changing carte is supplemented by a short list of daily specials; when the cooking is ‘consistently enjoyable’, why mess with the formula? There are plenty of tried-and-tested ideas on show here, from a starter of potted salmon terrine with pink peppercorns, dill and cucumber pickle to heartily endorsed mains including lobster thermidor served with a pile of cheesy tagliatelle or ‘pig on a plate’ (pork belly and braised cheek with mash, homemade black pudding and crisp pancetta). It's not all so rich, however. Mussels come bobbing in a well-balanced leek, saffron and garlic sauce while linguine is laced with a jumble of springy palourde clams.
Given the generosity of the servings, you may need to pace yourself if you want to leave room for desserts such as the ever-popular sticky toffee pudding, as sweetly saturnine as treacle toffee on Bonfire night. Overall, this is ‘good, honest food’ backed up by a short wine list that serves its purpose.
Cumbrian native Kevin Tickle was Simon Rogan’s head forager at L’Enclume then head chef at Forest Side in Grasmere. Heft sits halfway between his two former employers, which he runs with his wife Nicola (front-of-house… Read more
Cumbrian native Kevin Tickle was Simon Rogan’s head forager at L’Enclume then head chef at Forest Side in Grasmere. Heft sits halfway between his two former employers, which he runs with his wife Nicola (front-of-house). The name refers to the seriousness of the operation (an 11-course taster is all that’s available in the dining room for dinner), but it's also an old Cumbrian word for sheep returning to the same fells for grazing and shelter; a reference, perhaps, to what remains of the village pub where locals can return for soup by the fire in the front bar.
There’s no doubt, however, that the restaurant is the true destination here, a low-key room of generously spaced Scandinavian-style furniture enclosed by ancient whitewashed walls and, on the other side, an open kitchen partially visible to diners. Some courses are delivered by chefs through the gap in the wall but most by smartly turned-out young locals. An opening shot of ‘Gotty’s squeaky cheese’, a lozenge of Matt Gott's halloumi glazed in thyme honey, sets the tone for much of what is to come – proudly Cumbrian ingredients supplied by producers the Tickles know personally, and transformed into what readers have called 'an intensity of flavour' that transcends their seasonal and local tags. Expect anything from damsons gown in Nicola’s home patch of the Rusland Valley to Herdwick hogget from Town Head Farm in Grasmere – although ingredients from further afield also have their say.
Courses arrive in quick succession, so the sensation is less of a tasting menu and more of a constant flow of miniature deliciousness. A dinky bowl of chawanmushi-style egg custard is flavoured with richly savoury oxtail and thyme and topped with an enoki mushroom. Mussels are skewered on a sort of giant toothpick, glazed in XO and mead to deliver a wallop of umami, all smeared with ‘chip shop curry sauce’ that is far more sophisticated than its inspiration. Scorched monkfish tastes smoky but the creamily textured flesh shimmers with a pearlescent sheen.
An 'exceptional-value' four-course lunch also wins praise, and they serve a mean sausage roll in the dog-friendly bar, along with pizza on Wednesday nights, local cask beer and a good selection of wine by the glass – plus inspired Sunday roasts that take the traditional theme to ‘a whole new level’. No wonder everyone leaves impressed, whether they’ve come from down the road or the opposite end of the country.
* Mark McCabe, formerly at The Ethicurean near Bristol (now closed) has taken over as head chef. He replaces Cillian Hennessy, who has been appointed Aulis development chef. Watch for a new review coming soon.*
Once up the sweepi… Read more
* Mark McCabe, formerly at The Ethicurean near Bristol (now closed) has taken over as head chef. He replaces Cillian Hennessy, who has been appointed Aulis development chef. Watch for a new review coming soon.*
Once up the sweeping driveway of Linthwaite House and through the 14 acres of gardens onto the hotel’s terrace, you'll be treated to one of the finest views of Windermere, with the namesake ‘hen rock’ poking out of the lake below. Henrock (the restaurant) is at the viewless rear of the hotel, which focuses attention firmly on the plate, though – as in the rest of the impressive property – there is also art to admire from the owners’ private collection. Henrock is a Simon Rogan restaurant with a pronounced Asian accent (the chef is a big deal in Hong Kong) and each dish bears the imprimatur of Rogan’s precise presentation. Meals kick off with the ‘hen on a rock’ canapé (mushroom and egg in a scooped-out shell atop a piece of slate) ahead of starters such as lacquered smoked eel with XO custard – eastern flavours filtered through modern British fine dining. A main course of Peking duck with a date and gochujang croquette, meanwhile, involves pink-cooked, crisp-skinned roast breast and autumnal, sweet-and-sour accompaniments. Many of the ingredients have travelled no further than the extensive Our Farm in Cartmel, 13 miles away, and vegetarian dishes such as fermented and grilled cabbage with truffled tofu, teriyaki sauce and wasabi emulsion are as diverting as the meat and fish options. Desserts (pistachio cake with blackberry and buttermilk; steamed banana sponge with rum ice cream) suggest that afternoon tea here would be excellent (and it comes with a lake view from the conservatory). The wine list casts its net wide, from Sussex to Slovenia, and an excellent by-the-glass selection (from £6) helps to make amends for the rather lofty bottle prices. If there’s a drawback, there’s no getting away from the feeling that one is eating in a hotel dining room, and that this is a Rogan satellite rather than the L’Enclume mothership. But if you can’t get into L’Enclume or a Lakeland visit doesn’t allow time or transportation for Cartmel, Henrock provides a taste of Rogan destined to inspire further exploration.
Simon Rogan was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List at the end of 2023, which is some measure of the influence he has had on contemporary British dining. The nerve centre of the whole operation is still here, in a stone-bu… Read more
Simon Rogan was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List at the end of 2023, which is some measure of the influence he has had on contemporary British dining. The nerve centre of the whole operation is still here, in a stone-built former smithy on a Cartmel road-bend, not far from its sibling Rogan & Co. The ambience has lost none of its rusticity, from the roughcast whitewashed walls and raftered ceilings to the anvil after which the place is named. The light, airy conservatory makes a fine spot for lunch. Smartly clad staff oversee a welcoming – and supremely professional – approach to hospitality, and the food does the rest. The kitchen mobilises a battalion of unexpected ingredients in surprising – even stunning – combinations, with textural notes to the fore as well as a clear focus on sustainability and regionalism. Among the appetisers is a fritter of Duroc pork and smoked eel on lovage emulsion with sweetcorn purée, an unimaginably delicious composition of flavours. There is also a pudding of Berkswell cheese coated in caramelised birch sap, tapped from a tree just a couple of miles away. A succession of plated dishes might include tiny pink fir potatoes cooked in chicken fat with pickled walnuts and an oil of burnt onion ash, while one of L'Enclume's signatures is the seaweed custard in beef broth and bone marrow, garnished with a house blend of caviar and Maldon oyster. Various vegetable-based specialties are always part of the menu, their seasonal freshness offset with powerful herbs and seasonings. As for animal protein, a pairing of John Dory and cuttlefish in pork fat with shrimp sauce, spinach and verbena might precede an outstanding dish of dry-aged Middle White pork in mead sauce with black garlic purée and pickled allium seeds, plus a pork-fat crumpet sitting on a hot stone to keep it warm. Textures go haywire in a serving of frozen Tunworth cheese topped with puffed buckwheat, lemon thyme crystals and gel, on a compôte of Champagne rhubarb. After strawberries and sweet cicely cream served in a ceramic pouch, followed by a miso-caramel mousse with apple (another L’Enclume signature), we concluded with an array of superlative petits fours – including a cornet of peach-stone ice cream with elderflower and white-chocolate ganache, and a tiny caramelised pear tart with a spot of herb oil. Wines by the glass are presented on an iPad, which you may want to keep by you as the menu progresses, but it's best to let the wine flights themselves take wing on a cosmopolitan journey around the globe.
Some things are worth the wait. Dinner at the Old Stamp House is one of them. Ryan Blackburn is a chef cooking with such consistent flair that securing a table at the restaurant he runs with his brother, Craig, requires deft forwa… Read more
Some things are worth the wait. Dinner at the Old Stamp House is one of them. Ryan Blackburn is a chef cooking with such consistent flair that securing a table at the restaurant he runs with his brother, Craig, requires deft forward-planning. But stick with it because to eat in this rough-walled, cleverly lit, almost subterranean dining room is to experience food, wine and service of the highest order. Don’t expect the rigmarole of fine dining, though, rather a fresh informality and genuine friendliness. Ten outstanding courses sing lustily of the brothers’ love for their home county of Cumbria. Each one celebrates the region’s fells, forests, fields and culinary heritage, and Craig's wine pairings are the finishing touch. As autumn slips into winter, Herdwick hogget shoulder is braised down, stuffed generously into a glazed lamb-fat bun, and served with a Madeira-warmed lamb broth that's poured, clear as amber, into a chunky cup. It’s robust and voluptuous, although a perky mint and anchovy emulsion tames any richness. Lakeland waters surrender all manner of fish. Arctic char, seaweed-cured and vividly fresh, comes with compressed apple, pickled cucumber and glistening trout roe, a shower of fresh horseradish quickening the flavours. More char is potted and wrapped in a shatteringly fine brik pastry cylinder that’s dotted with horseradish cream and roe. Morecambe Bay brown shrimps are potted too, to accompany a bouncy scallop that arrives topped with a snappy shellfish cracker in a warmly curried mead velouté, while mussels give heart and savoury soul to the cream sauce beneath an impossibly perfect piece of cod garlanded with crisp kale. The meat course leads into deep boskiness. Tucked up with seared venison is a sliver-thin celeriac pocket packed with spinach and hen of the woods; to one side, the shredded shank is folded into a celeriac and truffle mousse. It is thumpingly, memorably delicious. Flavours of raspberry, meadowsweet and apple marigold refresh the palate before a pear soufflé – an ethereal masterclass – is doused with rippling chocolate sauce and topped with a scoop of bright blackberry sorbet. All that planning ahead is worth it.
*Aaron Lawrence (one-time sous-chef at The Samling) is now head chef, following the departure of long-serving Daniel McGeorge.*
Ambleside has transformed itself into the gastro-honeypot of the South Lakes, and Rothay Manor (a whi… Read more
*Aaron Lawrence (one-time sous-chef at The Samling) is now head chef, following the departure of long-serving Daniel McGeorge.*
Ambleside has transformed itself into the gastro-honeypot of the South Lakes, and Rothay Manor (a whitewashed Georgian dwelling and one of the town’s most venerable hotels) is currently reaping the benefit of a recent boutique makeover. A three-course carte will come as a relief to anyone suffering from a surfeit of the tasting menus which are obligatory in so many high-end Lakeland dining rooms, though meals do come with all the fine-dining accoutrements of intricately wrought amuse-bouches garlanded with edible flowers, and expertly baked breads served with cultured butters. High-end ingredients are a given here. A starter of beautifully cooked lobster tail comes in a deeply flavoured bisque adorned with prettily carved carrot 'petals', typical of a fondness for the precision of Japanese technique. There are Asian flavours, too – an assembly of rosy-pink suckling pig with turnip and umeboshi is almost outshone by a stunning pork dim-sum dumpling on the side. Elsewhere, Scandinavian influences are evident in, say, a full-flavoured venison tartare with swede and rye. Each component has been chosen with full consideration for the role it will play in the overall flavours and textures to achieve the balance that is the hallmark of good cooking, whatever the nationality. There’s no denying that the food bears comparison with Ambleside’s finest but on our visit the atmosphere still had some catching up to do. Painfully slow service between courses allowed ample time to consider what it felt like to be in a gloomy wood-panelled room on a dark night, with tables set too far apart to create any sort of buzz. Summer evenings, with a view of the terrace and garden through full-length windows are, we imagine, a much nicer time to eat here – likewise Sunday lunch of roast sirloin of beef or stuffed leg of suckling pig.
Ambleside has got fairly pricey these days but this warm jumble of a bakery out front and a café out back is a delight, earning and repaying local loyalty with warm service. Pop in for full-English breakfasts, sandwiches, p… Read more
Ambleside has got fairly pricey these days but this warm jumble of a bakery out front and a café out back is a delight, earning and repaying local loyalty with warm service. Pop in for full-English breakfasts, sandwiches, pies (perhaps chicken, leek and bacon) and sausage rolls, or just a cup of tea and a slice of cake – try the Lakeland gingerbread or the signature apple pie. Dog- and child- friendly. Accommodation in 'the loft' upstairs and in a nearby B&B.
Base yourself at this family-run, country pub with rooms to fully enjoy the winding dry stone walls and quiet lanes of the Winster Valley – and get to know the robust cooking of Shaun Edmondson. Start with a tangy twice… Read more
Base yourself at this family-run, country pub with rooms to fully enjoy the winding dry stone walls and quiet lanes of the Winster Valley – and get to know the robust cooking of Shaun Edmondson. Start with a tangy twice-baked goat's cheese soufflé, or ripples of cured venison with the salty-savoury welly of olives, Parmesan and Black Dub cheese (from the Appleby Creamery). Follow with a pub classic – they’re all done well – or crisp-skinned stone bass with mussels, parmentier potatoes and a delicately curried sauce. This being damson country, a cheesecake served with damson gel and a terrific plum/damson sorbet would seem the logical pudding choice.
Part country restaurant, part local pub with its own brewery
Ambleside is well served by the Drunken Duck. It is not one of those pubs that has left its drinking side behind (not with that name); instead, it throws a welcoming arm around locals in an atmosphere of free-and-easy conviviality… Read more
Ambleside is well served by the Drunken Duck. It is not one of those pubs that has left its drinking side behind (not with that name); instead, it throws a welcoming arm around locals in an atmosphere of free-and-easy conviviality. That said, an appreciable attempt has been made to give the dining area its own identity with some framed art prints of flowers, a festooning of dried hops, and an open-to-view kitchen. Last booking for food is 8pm.
Staff are expertly clued-up, not least with knowledge of the Barngates beers brewed on site. The food is distinguished by nutritious heartiness, seen to impressive effect in a vegetarian main course of roasted cabbage and mushrooms topped with capers and horseradish, served with potato cakes, which might be preceded by a fricassée of Jerusalem artichokes with apple, black garlic and sunflower seeds.
Homely main dishes make great cold-weather sustenance, even when the cold weather comes round in late June: a bowl of fortifying marjoram-scented rabbit stew arrives with chunky veg, potent gravy and a cloud of lovely mash. Sides of perfectly textured chips and aïoli will help fill any holes.
In the context, the afters seem pleasantly light: yoghurt mousse and rhubarb sorbet team up for a refreshing finish, under a summery dusting of dried raspberries, or there may be a raspberry and fig version of Bakewell pudding. Gluggable wines by the glass head up a no-nonsense list.
Famous for William Wordsworth and gingerbread, Grasmere is awash with tearooms and tourists, so it’s refreshing to find the exuberant and aptly named Jumble Room in the midst of it all. Andy and Chrissy Hill have run the pla… Read more
Famous for William Wordsworth and gingerbread, Grasmere is awash with tearooms and tourists, so it’s refreshing to find the exuberant and aptly named Jumble Room in the midst of it all. Andy and Chrissy Hill have run the place as a fun-loving family affair for nearly 30 years, filling it with good vibrations, music, jokey paintings of livestock, retro magazines, LP covers and all manner of gorgeous clutter. True to form, their food is a wildly eclectic hotchpotch that brings together influences and ideas from across the globe. Expect Middle Eastern meze, handmade pasta, curries and a slate of idiosyncratic creations ranging from fillet of salmon baked in miso, Lebanese lamb-stuffed aubergine and Calabrian chicken with chorizo to crispy pumpkin gnocchi with hazelnut and fennel dukkah, whipped Gorgonzola, sticky cranberry and orange ‘beets’. To conclude, Chrissy’s take on the local 'rushbearing' gingerbread is a rare treat, made to a family recipe and served with hot toffee sauce and caramel crunch ice cream (or piping hot custard). Wines (from £18.95) have been knowledgeably chosen (don't miss the specially curated 'dessert wine flights'); also check out the informed selection of rare Scotch whiskies. Note: because the Hills operate together as a family, opening times can vary – so telephone for details.
A serene village in the verdant Lyth Valley, complete with a pretty church and rolling hills, is home to this upmarket hostelry. Originally a blacksmith's forge at the beginning of the 19th century, its old bones make for a m… Read more
A serene village in the verdant Lyth Valley, complete with a pretty church and rolling hills, is home to this upmarket hostelry. Originally a blacksmith's forge at the beginning of the 19th century, its old bones make for a magnificent country inn, where beams and slates, real fires and real ales feel right at home across several spaces. It's been a dining destination for several decades and continues to deliver a menu that keeps its feet firmly on the ground, with produce from the owners' farm ensuring that food miles are kept to a minimum. Lancashire cheese soufflé with caramelised red onions is a cross-border favourite, comforting and rich, or you could try a lighter option such as beetroot and pomegranate salad with goat's cheese and raspberry vinaigrette. Cumbrian lamb arrives with a miniature shepherd's pie, while fish might feature pan-roasted cod with cider and mussel sauce, plus a serving of mash to soak it all up. Lunchtime brings similar dishes, with the addition of pub staples such as fish and chips or local wild boar and damson sausages (with mash and gravy). Those damsons also appear as a sorbet with the Punch Bowl's renowned lemon tart. Well-chosen wines from £26.
The Samling sits in splendid, immaculate isolation above Windermere. It is a sumptuous place that nods in contemporary style to Lakeland surroundings that you can enjoy without getting wet and muddy; invigorating views of mere and… Read more
The Samling sits in splendid, immaculate isolation above Windermere. It is a sumptuous place that nods in contemporary style to Lakeland surroundings that you can enjoy without getting wet and muddy; invigorating views of mere and mountain spread beyond the glass-walled dining room, and the seriously cushioned lounge is warmed with a weather-defying real fire. Service is flawless, if at times a little whispered, and the cooking of executive chef Robby Jenks and his team is deliciously refined. The four-course lunch is good value (you pay more than double for seven courses at dinner), though the quietness one autumn Saturday lunchtime suggests that memo has not been received. Sourdough comes tucked up warm in white linen in a silver bowl; its accompanying butter sits on a stone, fashionably. A fragile tartlet is a few bites of walloping umami savouriness from mushrooms – ketchup, duxelles, hen of the woods, tiny little shimeji, a tuile – and the aniseedy nudge of tarragon emulsion brightens the ‘shroomy forest. Saffron is the dominant flavour in a dish of skate wing, spiralled round a gentle shellfish mousse in a sauce split with dill oil. Topped with a lacy saffron tuile that's dotted with Jerusalem artichoke and ditsy nasturtium leaves, it is a thing of golden beauty and earthy flavour. Middle White pork is treated with such tenderness that a piece of pancetta-wrapped loin becomes meltingly soft, so too a square of belly slow-cooked in beer vinegar; both get on well with the sweet-sharp seasonality of pear, parsnip and red cabbage. Finish with a classy apple dessert that uses fruit from the Samling’s orchard. A meringue cup contains minuscule dices of apple as well as almond biscuit, the whole surrounded by a featherlight mousse coated in white chocolate. Tonka-bean ice cream alongside is sublime in its nutty, vanilla-suggesting flavour. Wine-lovers take note: temptation ahead. The renowned list, vast in scope, is fat with bottles from the world’s great vineyards, and prices reflect this. There are slightly more ordinary sips – called ‘The Forty’ after their price tag – but it somehow comes as no surprise that three bottles have five-figure tickets, a bottle of La Romanée Grand Cru Monopole 2002 topping the lot at a mind-boggling £16,000.
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