Alston Restaurant Guide

“Chef Hrishikesh Desai is so clever with tastes” at this fine dining room set – just seven miles from Hadrian’s Wall – in a remote northerly corner of Cumbria. A Relais & Château property with origins dating back to the fifteenth century, the “grandeur of the dining room” is considered by some diners as “a little excessive compared to the rest of the experience… perhaps that’s the original architect’s fault!”. Service, meanwhile, is “excellent”. There is a simpler ‘Escape’ menu for £100 per person early in the week, with the ‘Journey’ menu always available at £130 per person – “maybe the food feels a little more Michelinny-sanitised than it needs to be but it’s highly accomplished”. Want something simpler? – head to ‘Bistro Enkel’.

“Out of the way but well worth an overnight stay” – this 18th-century inn with four bedrooms is set in the North Pennines and was taken over and refurbished by industry veteran Nick Parkinson in 2023. It’s more a restaurant with a bar than it is a boozer. Chef Connor Wilson uses classic cooking techniques to produce an à la carte menu as well as (in the evening) a ten-course tasting menu for £105 per person – a “great selection with the accent on local sourcing”. Top Tip – “unbelievable wine list, a huge selection and some real bargains”.

2023 Review: “Suits of armour, spiral staircases, gigantic fireplaces” – this “stunning, preserved medieval castle turned into a country-house hotel” makes a “wonderfully romantic destination”, just “two minutes off the A69 between Carlisle & Newcastle” – “you’d rave about it if you found its like abroad, yet here it is”. “Service is attentive, friendly and professional”, while “the food is extremely good, if not top fine dining”.