Reviews in Cumbria and Lake District

We have just come back from a lovely weekend away. The hotel staff were extremely friendly and helpful and went out of their way to make sure everything was perfect. The room was small but clean and satisfactory. A great additional extra was the swimming pool, sauna and steam room with spa.The restaurant had a good menu and we could hear people really complimenting the food so were looking forward to our meal. I had the Sea bass and cheese cake which was really nice, unfortunately my Husband didn't have the same experience with his pheasant! The first one was dry and over cooked which he sent back and although asking for the next one pink it was raw! He didn't make a fuss as the staff were so pleasant about it so decided to have the sticky toffee pudding which we believe is the local dessert, it was hard and over cooked looked liked had been microwaved which was a such a shame as it put us off eating there the night after. I think it was just a one off as pheasant is hard to cook! On the up side breakfast was very nice and just what you needed before a busy day out.

After going up and down trying to find a tea shop the Pillar House attracted me from the outside. Beautifully decorated and very busy which is always a good sign. The food was very nice and all looked fresh and home made. The only down fall unfortunately was the either owner or Manager! He was very stressed which he took out on the staff and very short with the customers. Just because your business is doing well, it's the customers that make you money! Did put me off going back as the staff looked on edge and unhappy.

We had an amazing 18 course menu with 11 matching wines. Unbelievable food, thought provoking. The wines were a perfect match. Thanks Sugarvine for recommending and booking L'Enclume.

Great food value for money and friendly atmosphere and staff. Well worth a visit.

Had a meal for 2 there, we had their game pie with seasonal veg. I have to say it was delicious. The staff were also very good and the place seemed very popular.

Charlies is the best cafe in town, for coffee and cake, to more substantial midday meals. All the staff here are exceptionally helpful and welcoming, and the entire menu is to die for! I especially enjoy going in the summer to sit in the 'secret garden'.

What a find, pub steeped in history, great food and speciality Gin menu at the bar. Room was great, Egyptian cotton sheets, very comfy bed & central Cartmel location. Excellent value on the room through Sugarvine deal, would highly recommend and return thanks!

This place is a little gem. And I’m clearly not the only person who thinks so as both the takeout counter and the large café area were packed all day.by the look of it. The Apple Pie is a bakery and café in the middle of Ambleside and I think it also has letting rooms too. Lovely feel to the place and friendly staff.

A good place to meet near the Station in Windermere. The café is within the Lakeland shop behind Booths. Very popular as the queue system affirms. Service was very good as was both our soups. I ordered a humus and pepper sandwhich which had a very unpleasant taste. I ate it anyway as I was starving. The waitress did a good job finding out that the offending flavour was truffle oil. Why on earth would you put such a strong taste on a sarnie and not mention it on the menu. Due to the professional manner of the waitress going to find out I would still recommend this café.

We had an amazing lunch at the Drunken Duck yesterday. We had planned to go for a walk but thought better of it! They have just put in a brand new state of the art kitchen and it certainly showed! Fantastic food and venue.

I think this is ‘80 Days’ as in ‘Around The World In…’ and what you get here is an international menu drawing inspiration from around the globe. We found this place perchance after a last-minute decision to spend New Year in the Lakes. We were lucky enough to get a table here for their New Year’s Eve gala dinner which included a welcome drink, a multi-course menu and live entertainment. There’s an open kitchen so you can watch the chefs in action as you dine.

Raining heavily on a winter night in Bowness and we asked a passing cab driver where was the best Indian restaurant in the area. He recommended Mela on Ash Street and we were not disappointed. I think it’s a fairly new place and has a handful of tables downstairs and a handful more upstairs. We got a table for 4 upstairs which has the better atmosphere for me. Thoroughly enjoyed the food and the service was efficient and friendly. Cosy an intimate and all the better for it.

Cafe and coffee area seem inefficiently managed and the too few staff overstretched. The new rule of having to buy cake to obtain a free coffee seems a) miserly and b) discriminatory. The latter because people who are diabetics, watching their weight or just not into cake are now excluded from obtaining a free drink. I anticipate the store losing trade as a result because we cannot be the only people who went in for a free coffee and then wandered upstairs and bought a few items that we would not otherwise have bought.

We stayed at the Old England Hotel in Bowness for New Year and on a hunt for a local pub found the Albert nearby. Popped in for a drink one evening and the atmosphere was great and the food arriving looked really appetising. Tried a couple of other pubs but they were not a patch on the Albert so we returned here for a late lunch the next day after a walk. Lots of choice on the menu and we thoroughly enjoyed and can highly recommend if you are in the area.

I had lunch there in 2013. The food was excellent.

I have been a great enthusiast when it comes to Booths Artisan cafe but was disappointed with the new set up caused by the problems arising from free hot drinks. Service was unnecessarily cumbersome . My drink did not arrive until after I had eaten my jacket potato (which was delicious!). I found the tone of the notice insisting one remains seated until one has paid somewhat discourteous. Surely having someone standing at the counter to take payment would mean tables were not occupied longer than necessary. As it is, once you have finished you have to attract the busy waitress's attention to get a bill and then wait for her to walk to the cash register and return with your change/receipt. It also took her a long time to put my order onto the till in the first place which delayed it reaching the kitchen as she had to return to the table to bring my Booths card back. This is not the sort of restaurant where one goes for a leisurely meal but rather a quick lunch. Your convoluted system is slowing things up too much. Also the new rules making drinks free only as takeaways can only add to the litter problem and is creating a kind of second class customer. Isn't the nation fat enough? Forcing us all to consume cakes, buns with our coffee will not help. Provide healthier savourly snack options if you insist on us eating something with our morning coffee....

A large – and filthy – party had spent the morning quad-biking at the nearby Rookin House Activity Centre so I don’t think it was ideal that we all rocked up unannounced for a drink and a late lunch. That said, the staff coped admirably sorting out drinks for us all and then large plates of mixed sandwiches and chips which were it the spot perfectly. The pub is just off the main A66 Penrith-Keswick road and ideal for a quick drink or meal.

Twenty two of us were staying for a fabulous long weekend at nearby Blencowe Hall and on the Friday night descended on the Boot and Shoe in Greystoke for an evening meal in their private dining room. It’s the kind of traditional country pub you would love to have near where you lived and on a chilly December evening was ever so warm and welcoming. It’s not a big place and the staff did really well to cope with us all; everything ran very smoothly and nothing was too much trouble. Bearing in mind we did not pre-order and that they have a large a la carte menu it was quite the achievement. The food was lovely and the atmosphere too. Highly recommended.