Crosthwaite Restaurant Guide

A “pleasant, dog-friendly country pub with good food in a warm setting” – the secret to the success of this Georgian coaching inn, located in the picturesque Winster Valley, and long run by the Edmondson family (latterly sons Craig & Shaun). If you overindulge, there are nine bedrooms to sleep it off in, or else make the most of the leafy locale by staying in their more recent ‘pods’, which are set on the grounds.

“A real treat for overly stressed adults looking to unwind!” – the “high class” dining room of this “lovely” Lakeland hotel provides a very accomplished all-rounder. “Food is very well-prepared by a big brigade” under the watchful eye of chef Ollie Bridgewater who joined in 2023 after a ten-year stint at the Fat Duck. The front of house team are “genuine and caring” and present the “innovative cuisine, with key foundations in sourcing and tradition” and producing a “great balance of dishes”. There’s also a “very good wine list with some not overly expensive, extremely good wines”.

“An offshoot of L’Enclume” – the Lake District’s most renowned chef, Simon Rogan, presides over this scenically located dining room – part of one of the best known hotels in ‘The Lakes’ and whose conservatory situation and outside terrace aim to make the best of its superb outlook over the surrounding hills and of Lake Windermere. Chef Mark McCabe provides both a ‘short’ (for £79 per person) and ‘full’ (for £125 per person) menu – both are “well-priced sets considering the quality of the dishes”. The aim is not a replication of L’Enclume; the food is “innovative, but not excessively elaborate” providing “top-quality local produce and excellent service in a beautiful setting”.

This “very creative Pan Asian” – one of three restaurants at the swish Gilpin hotel – rates highly for its “theatrical open kitchen and super food expertly prepared by staff who clearly love their job” (“I wouldn’t have thought of a Lake District hotel as being good for sushi, but the maki rolls were really rather good, if definitely more of an American west coast vibe than Japanese purity”). Steady ratings support those who say: “I’m pleased to say that chef Hrishikesh Desai’s departure from Gilpin has not affected the quality at all” (while the menu gives the impression of “ranging more widely across southeast Asia than it did under his direction”).

“Tiny restaurant that has been providing good-value fish cookery in Windermere for over 10 years”, where “excellent seafood including oysters” is backed up by “friendly service” in fairly “basic” surroundings.