Cumbria on a plate: 10 best restaurants in and around the Lake District

Gilpin, Windermere

One of the crucial welcoming accommodations within the Lakes, the Gilpin combines flawless service with a heat casual really feel. This extends to Gilpin, the resort’s Michelin-starred restaurant, helmed by Ollie Bridgewater, previously of Heston Blumenthal’s Fats Duck. The cooking is note-perfect, from charcoal-roasted cauliflower steak with black garlic ketchup to roast cod with saffron compote and vermouth emulsion. There’s additionally an à la carte possibility if the tasting menu feels just a little daunting. Paired wines add to the expertise and the non-obligatory further cheese course shouldn’t be missed.
Tasting menu £120pp; doubles from £285 B&B; thegilpin.co.uk

Rogan & Co, Cartmel

A board of canapes
‘Haute-hearty’: canapes at Rogan & Co. {Photograph}: Chris Barnett

The youthful, extra casual sibling of Simon Rogan’s three Michelin-starred L’Enclume, Rogan & Co guarantees the identical elegantly introduced, subtly flavoured cooking with a three-course menu for a 3rd of the worth. The menu is haute-hearty. Attempt Previous Winchester cheese dumplings or pork terrine with crumpet and apple, adopted by Goosnargh duck or dry-aged Dexter brief rib – and the low-beamed, firelit eating room is stuffed with basic Lakeland allure.
Three-course set menu £79pp; roganandco.co.uk

The Canine & Gun, Skelton

The dining room at the Dog & Gun.
‘Upscale eating pub’: the Canine & Gun

Chef-owner Ben Queen-Fryer has gained a clutch of awards since opening the Canine & Gun as an upscale eating pub in 2017. In 2022 it gained a Michelin star, however stays a reassuringly conventional village pub that simply occurs to serve spectacular meals. Highlights would possibly embody native Cartmel venison or wild halibut with vermouth sauce. Desserts are sinful, native suppliers are listed and canine are welcome.
Three-course menu £59pp, tasting menu £78pp; dogandgunskelton.co.uk

The Forest Facet, Grasmere

The facade of Forest Side, a Gothic  hotel in Grasmere.
‘Creative flavours’: attempt the tasting menus on the Gothic Forest Facet in Grasmere. {Photograph}: Martin Mulchinock

An evening and/or dinner on the Forest Facet doesn’t come low cost, however this Gothic mansion is ideal for a memorable birthday or anniversary. Components actually are domestically sourced, with 90% coming from inside 10 miles, together with a big haul from the resort’s sizeable gardens. The four- and eight-course tasting menus supply intricately designed mouthfuls of creative flavours: steamed cod with smoked pike roe; aged venison with walnuts.
4-course menu £85pp, eight-course £130pp; doubles £429 with dinner, mattress and breakfast; theforestside.com

Cranstons, numerous areas

A butcher wearing a flat cap and apron with a joint of meat on the counter
Native champion: Cranstons began as a small butcher’s store in Penrith and is now in six areas throughout Cumbria

If you happen to’re seeking to create your individual connoisseur feast, Cranstons is the place to return – whether or not the unique small butchers’ store in Penrith, or the Daylesford-esque foodhall simply off the M6. A champion of native produce since 1914, it affords six areas throughout Cumbria, promoting native ales, jams, relishes and fruit and greens alongside meat sourced from native Lake District farms.
cranstons.net

The Apple Pie Bakery, Ambleside

The front of the Apple Pie bakery
Candy success: attempt Eton mess eclairs on the Apple Pie bakery. {Photograph}: Shutterstock

A culinary deal with doesn’t must imply a tasting menu; typically tea and cake is simply what’s wanted. The Apple Pie Bakery has been serving candy treats since 1975, and stays a household enterprise, albeit one which’s grown from 5 tables and a kettle to a two-storey bakery with 5 seating areas. Come for Eton mess eclairs or blueberry and lemon frangipane, or choose up some sizzling butties to go. Keep in one of many cosy rooms subsequent door for a relaxed Ambleside base.
Doubles from £65 room-only; applepieambleside.co.uk

Hidden River Café, Longtown

Wooden tables and chairs in the dining room at the Hidden River Cafe.
Tucked away: get pleasure from lunch or ebook in for the weekend on the Hidden River Cafe, 20 minutes from Carlisle

Search for “off-the-beaten-track” in a dictionary and also you’ll discover the aptly named Hidden River Café, tucked away on the banks of the river Lyne, a 20-minute drive from Carlisle. The famend café serves up moreish small plates – beef and smoked cheese croquettes; soy-brined mackerel – alongside steaks and burgers sourced from native farms. If lunch doesn’t really feel like lengthy sufficient in such a gloriously remoted spot, ebook into one of many wood cabins and make a weekend of it.
Mains from £15; cottages (sleeping six) from £200 an evening; hiddenrivercabins.co.uk

Fellinis, Ambleside

The facade of Ambleside’s arthouse cinema and Zeffirellis jazz bar next door.
Multi function: mix a veggie meal at Fellinis with a movie on the arthouse cinema above or stay music at Zeffirellis jazz bar subsequent door. {Photograph}: Kay Roxby/Alamy

A prime spot within the Lakes for vegans and veggies, Fellinis is ready beneath Ambleside’s arthouse cinema and Zeffirellis jazz bar, providing the prospect for dinner and a film, or stay music, all beneath the identical roof. Dishes are fairly priced and would possibly embody issues like crispy cauliflower katsu with quinoa, or miso marinated tofu steak. Enough room must be left for the lip-smacking rhubarb and ginger crumble, good to share.
Mains £15.95; zeffirellis.co.uk

Grasmere Gingerbread

Customer being handed a paper-wrapped package by the assistant behind the counter, who is wearing a white frilly cap
Previous spice: the biscuit-cake hybrid, first baked in 1854, can solely be purchased from the unique store

A culinary deal with that’s a should to take residence from Cumbria. Grasmere gingerbread can solely be present in a handful of Lake District eateries, and might solely be purchased from the unique store, nonetheless housed within the Seventeenth-century schoolhouse the place Sarah Nelson first baked the spicy biscuit-cake hybrid in 1854. Alongside the paper-wrapped gingerbread, the store sells its personal Cumbrian rum butter, ginger marmalades and chutneys, candies and conventional sweets.
grasmeregingerbread.co.uk

The Cottage within the Wooden, Braithwaite

A white house surrounded by woodland
Department out: artistic flavours are on supply on the Cottage within the Wooden within the Whinlatter Forest

A one-stop-shop for an indulgent foodie weekend with loads of hearty out of doors enchantment, this restaurant with 9 bedrooms feels delightfully off-grid, tucked away 1,000ft above Keswick within the Whinlatter Forest. Chef Sam Miller’s artistic flavour pairings embody scallop with sorrel, black garlic and apple, and venison with pears and chard, with a robust deal with seasonal elements. Rooms are cosy with out being chintzy, with 5 situated within the unique a part of the constructing, relationship again to 1640.
Set lunch £75pp; doubles from £340, together with dinner, mattress and breakfast; thecottageinthewood.co.uk.

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