Cumbria, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

“What more could you want after a day on the fells than the hearty, well-cooked food” at this famous 400-year-old Lakeland inn, which brews its own beers at a site nearby (and where you can also stay the night in one of ten rooms). The cooking’s nowt fancy, mind: Chicken tikka burger, Steak & ale pie or Moroccan lentil cottage pie are typical of the no-nonsense scoff.

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.

“I think the best meal I’ve ever eaten” – Simon Rogan’s converted blacksmith’s workshop in a beautiful village to the south of the Lakes nowadays carries the weight of anticipation brought about by the third Michelin star that it acquired in 2022, and on most accounts “the drive is well worth it” to sample such “ridiculously good” food that “lives up to all expectations”. At the heart of the experience is a fifteen-course tasting menu for £265 per person (at lunch there’s a shorter selection for £125 per person). It’s finely wrought cuisine, with an emphasis on ingredients from Simon’s ‘Our Farm’ project nearby, and “the intimate nooks and crannies to hide away in and the quiet efficiency of the unrushed service makes it a place where time freezes” (“add in a room for an overnight stay and you have the best romantic getaway”). Sommelier Jordan Sutton is “fantastic and the wine pairing really complements the meal beautifully”. Is there a catch? Perhaps. Although ratings are still enviably high, complaints about value are also steadily rising here. (“A real sense that I was paying over the odds for the three stars. For my partner and I to be offered a glass of Champagne on arrival to mark my 50th to then be charged a huge amount per glass was a low point.”)

“Just the right balance of superb food and unrivalled service” maintains high ratings for Simon Rogan’s less formal venue in a beamed cottage just around the corner from L’Enclume, where many visitors also stay the night. The Tyre Men have felt it necessary to bless it with a star, but it’s a step-down ambition-wise (and price-wise) from its famous sibling – lunch is a three-course selection for £49 per person, and dinner six courses for £95 per person.