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 lodge’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 may be additionally an à la carte possibility if the tasting menu feels somewhat daunting. Paired wines add to the expertise and the elective additional cheese course shouldn’t be missed.
Tasting menu £120pp; doubles from £285 B&B; thegilpin.co.uk
Rogan & Co, Cartmel
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 value. The menu is haute-hearty. Strive Outdated Winchester cheese dumplings or pork terrine with crumpet and apple, adopted by Goosnargh duck or dry-aged Dexter quick rib – and the low-beamed, firelit eating room is filled with basic Lakeland attraction.
Three-course set menu £79pp; roganandco.co.uk
The Canine & Gun, Skelton
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 embrace native Cartmel venison or wild halibut with vermouth sauce. Desserts are sinful, native suppliers are listed and canines are welcome.
Three-course menu £59pp, tasting menu £78pp; dogandgunskelton.co.uk
The Forest Facet, Grasmere
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 regionally sourced, with 90% coming from inside 10 miles, together with a big haul from the lodge’s sizeable gardens. The four- and eight-course tasting menus supply intricately designed mouthfuls of ingenious 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 places
In case you’re trying to create your personal gourmand feast, Cranstons is the place to come back – 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 provides six places 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
A culinary deal with doesn’t should imply a tasting menu; generally 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
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, e book into one of many picket cabins and make a weekend of it.
Mains from £15; cottages (sleeping six) from £200 an evening; hiddenrivercabins.co.uk
Fellinis, Ambleside
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 dwell music, all beneath the identical roof. Dishes are moderately priced and would possibly embrace issues like crispy cauliflower katsu with quinoa, or miso marinated tofu steak. Enough space needs to be left for the lip-smacking rhubarb and ginger crumble, good to share.
Mains £15.95; zeffirellis.co.uk
Grasmere Gingerbread
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 may 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, sweets and conventional sweets.
grasmeregingerbread.co.uk
The Cottage within the Wooden, Braithwaite
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 inventive flavour pairings embrace scallop with sorrel, black garlic and apple, and venison with pears and chard, with a robust concentrate on seasonal components. 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.
