Reviews in Cumbria and Lake District

Stunning food! Wow! Will certainly be headed back soon. Lovely staff also.

After the sat nav urged us along a terrifyingly undulating, not to mention winding, one-vehicle track which fortunately had nothing coming the other way, we came out onto the main road that houses The Brown Horse Inn. Quiet in the afternoon with only about ten people dotted about, I ordered a Guinness and a wine for my friend. The Guinness, it turned out was not of the best quality and had a chemical taint almost like the pipes had been cleaned but not rinsed thoroughly. This was soon replaced though, with a local bitter and I'm sad to say I can't remember the name of it now because it was truly excellent. Fruity with an almost elderflower finish I was distraught about the fact that I was driving and could only have the one for as the sun shone on the front terrace I could happily have stayed the whole day and drank the place dry! We both ordered the Gammon and fries from a fairly extensive lunch menu, which came with both a fried egg and pineapple. (I never came to terms with pineapple and gammon!) The fruit was dry and left no taint on the meat so that was okay. The Gammon itself was a delight and accompanied by home cut fries and a salad went down an absolute treat! For pudding I had some simple vanilla ice cream which was lovely while my friend had the "re-designed cheesecake" This turned out to be a pudding for about ten people but she rallied bravely and I have to say I was quite proud of her accomplishment. The young man who served us was incredibly friendly, attentive and helpful (Particularly about the Guinness) and I have to say that as an eatery I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending The Brown Horse to anyone passing or planing a trip to the lakes!

Went here for my hen night on Saturday. They ruined the evening. No greeting on arrival, served walnut bread to one of our party with a nut allergy despite being prewarned by email. Waited an hour and a half surrounded by dirty plates between main course and dessert. Were only able to catch staff to order one round of drinks all evening and when we finally managed to catch someone to ask for the desserts and tried to order more drinks we were told bar staff were too busy. So no more drinks! Table set up so there was no room for waiting staff to get past so guests kept having to stand up to let them through. Ignored for most of the evening and blank looks and no apologies when we complained several times. Shocking really. When I emailed them to say we realised later they charged us £36 in gratuities without asking first and asked for a refund due to our bad experienceI was treated to more woeful customer focus. Unacceptable. All twelve guests were unhappy and I was left feeling like a right idiot as the organsier. Thanks for ruining my hen night Lucy4.

Booked 2 nights 16th June for 4 people. We saw a offer for food £10 for 2 courses on your site and all we had to do was to mention your site Sugar Vine, so we rang up to book for the 2 nights for the offer, whoever the man was that we spoke to said that would be fine but we had to eat between 6 pm and 7pm and the menu would on a less to chose from menu. This was confirmed by him. On arrival there was a menu on the bed with what was on the £10 menu. We went downstairs and asked what time they wanted us for the meal, the reply was there was no offer and that sugarvine had no right to give that information, also they said nobody at the hotel had the conversation with us confirming the meal deals. We said that there was a folder on the bed with offers on, so after a bit tussle they allowed us the offer but changed the menu to smaller. The second night they would not allow any offer , we said that is not on as we spoke to someone at the hotel and we would not be going again, as this was calling us liars and the conversation did not take place. Then the gentleman swore at us and told us not to come back. So the customer service is out of the window. As if the offer was still not on this should have been said on the telephone. Thank you Susan

A bunch of guys stayed here for the Boot Beer Festival. It's a great pub in one of the nicest corners of the Lakes in Eskdale. The pub had a wigwam style marquee and around 30 odd beers. We also ate at the King George the IV and were impressed with the food. Would return

What a find! We were not expecting to see a pub like this in such a remote part of the Lakes. On entering I was expecting a tiny traditional inn with nooks and crannies. However the place has been opened up and its a big room with very contemporary touches. Funky lampshades a big swish TV etc. The landlord has an old army vehicle to ferry his customers about too. The Woolpack it just at the start of Hardknott pass.

Good food, good beer in a great part of the lakes. Pity about the midges but you cannot blame them for that!

A fine pub in a beautiful tiny village. It has a cracking beer garden with magical views of the fells. I would recommend the Boot Inn

Lovely food excellent staff. However, when the owner decided to go to the toilet in the ladies (no one was in the gents) without locking the door and then did not even apologise for making me feel uncomfortable after I walked in on him, explaining to me, in an aggressive tone, that 'I own the place and can go to the toilet where I want'! He then expected me to follow him back into the toilet for some reason. I went back to my table. Then to hear that he apologised to the person paying for the bill - she advised him that she was not the person to apologise to. This was a silly unnecessary event which marred an otherwise enjoyable evening. To the owner all you needed to do was apologise nothing more, simples!!

I visited Carlisle yesterday 31.5.14 with my family. We had a very nice meal. The girls were helpful and friendly. My husband and I had the lasagne it was piping hot and tasty. My sister had the chicken breast with salad and veg she said it was lovely. My brother-in-law had the gammon he said was also good and all reasonably priced. Would recommend to any one.

Glad we booked in advance, even for a Sunday evening. Superb menu, excellent quality food with nice choice of specials. Great atmosphere and 1st class service. Looking forward to a repeat visit next month!

Visited there on Friday 23 May for the first time and found it to be of an exceptional standard. The staff were very helpful and efficient. The food was top quality and cooked from fresh and reasonably priced. We even recommended it to couple who were reading the menu outside. We will definitely be calling back in there soon.

A party of ladies enjoyed an exceptional lunch at the Gilpin Hotel. The hotel itself is gorgeous and what you would expect of a Relais Chateau establishment. Michelin honours looming I hope.

Local produce used in this cafe, lovely and very friendly staff. Goats cheese and cranberry muffin is to die for. I would highly recommend this, not over priced and a really lovely experience. 5 stars and look forward to coming back!!

I bought two cod and chips tonight (Friday) and was very disappointed. The chips were fine but the batter on the fish was awful, it was soggy and tasted of flour just terrible. I have always come to the Windebrowe chippy and usually it's great but I am very sorry to say tonight it was not. I hope you appreciate this feedback.

Called in twice during our stay in the Lakes, both times had an wonderful meal, found the staff more than helpful and very friendly, excellent service will return defo.

What a charming host....Graham has a brilliant sense of humour and a very intelligent gentleman. The Tea room is a must on a walk, we thoroughly enjoyed the time spent there on Thursday last, when walking from Brackenrigg. Cake is lovely and the tea was just the ticket.....Really folks, you are missing out if you don't stop for a cuppa and a chat here. You will remember us Graham, I was the lady who had to come back for a second cuppa as I couldn't make the pass due to my fear of heights. The surroundings are great. We will definitely be back, thankyou Graham, a charming gentleman.

The white chocolate and raspberry muffin was fresh and very tasty.