British, Modern Restaurants in Skelwith Bridge
1. Langdale Chase
British, Modern restaurant in Windermere
Ambleside Road - LA23
Built in 1891, this turreted Victorian landmark has a dramatic waterside position and recently emerged from a major upgrade, complete with glass-fronted dining room. The cuisine wins a good all-round rep in feedback: in particular the “amazing afternoon tea, with some lovely interesting touches in dish choices (I didn’t know where to start!), all wrapped up with the most amazing view over Lake Windermere”.
2. The Forest Side
British, Modern restaurant in Grasmere
Keswick Road - LA22
“A great stay-and-dine location” – Andrew Wildsmith’s hotel inhabits a fine Victorian-Gothic mansion near Grasmere and is one of Lakeland’s ‘premier’ destinations. Chef Paul Leonard “uses locally sourced ingredients to create stunning dishes” for an eight-course tasting menu at £140 per person (although, if you are a hotel resident, there is also a four-course alternative at £95 per person). The “enchanting setting” makes it a superbly “romantic” choice, although a growing number of reporters also consider it rather an “overpriced” one too. Overall, however, positive vibes prevail. (“We were lucky to arrive due to a large dump of snow on the Saturday but we managed to park in a snow drift and enter a world of gastronomy – wow, what a delight! The care and attention to the food preparation and presentation was beyond anything I’d seen before, the beetroot starter was a masterpiece almost too good to eat. A great venue for a romantic overnight stay or a great place to catch up with friends over a gourmet dinner. Superb!”)
3. Rothay Manor
British, Modern restaurant in Ambleside
Rothay Bridge - LA22
“The hospitality is second to none” according to fans of this well-known Lakeland hotel, whose tasteful dining room – with its wood floors, bare tables and Farrow & Ball good looks – has been elegantly updated over the years. Head chef Aaron Lawrence joined in late 2023 and presents a range of menus – from à la carte to tasting options. All who report are impressed, including one diner who “went with low expectations and came away pleasantly surprised”.
4. Drunken Duck
British, Modern restaurant in Ambleside
Barngates - LA22
This rural gastropub-with-rooms in prime Lakeland tourist territory is “still good after very many years”. The concise menu has “a strong focus on vegetarian and fish dishes” (although one visitor’s husband “had a hankering for a few more meaty options”), but in any case it’s all “very tasty” and “the bar with the on-site brewery (Barngates) is excellent” too.
5. Old Stamp House
British, Modern restaurant in Ambleside
Church St - LA22
“The Lake District is not short of good places to eat at, but this stands out in an area of brilliant restaurants!” – so say fans of Ryan (chef) and Craig (manager) Blackburn’s well-established destination located in the former office of poet William Wordsworth from the days when he was the local stamp distributor. The main event in the evening is the ‘Journey around Cumbria’ tasting menu with eight courses for £95 per person: “superb food that thoroughly deserves its Michelin star” all delivered by “knowledgeable and warm” service. Top Tip – “priced at £55, it’s very good value for lunch: rabbit cannelloni is good, the steamed halibut superb, the hogget full of flavour and the rhubarb dessert delicious”.
6. The Samling
British, Modern restaurant in Windermere
Ambleside Road - LA23
2023 Review: Set in 27 acres, this country house hotel is one of the better-known luxury destinations in the Lakes and boasts a dining room whose floor-to-ceiling windows provide magnificent views of Windermere and the surrounding peaks, where chef Robby Jenks presides over the kitchen. It inspired very upbeat (but relatively little) feedback again this year, with nominations as an ideal romantic choice or for its impressive afternoon teas. For a full meal in the dining room, lunch is a four-course affair for £60 per person, and in the evening the sole option is a seven-course tasting menu at £115 per person.
7. Holbeck Ghyll
French restaurant in Windermere
Holbeck Lane - LA23
2022 Review: Ratings weakened this year at this luxurious Lakeland hotel, whose wood-panelled, traditional dining room provides a splendid vantage-point for gazing over Lake Windermere. One reporter felt that the “competent, but potentially excellent, cooking was not value for money, due to willing but overstretched service” – perhaps signposting that the blip was due to the tribulations of the times?
8. The Yan
British, Modern restaurant in Grasmere
Broadrayne Farm - LA22
2023 Review: “Well-cooked food”, most notably the Grasmere Herdwick lamb that appears in various guises – the signature shepherds’ pie, a slider in a brioche bun, a Greek-style roast shoulder – is par for the course at this family-run restaurant-with-rooms. Breakfast is a particular hit, too.
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