The 15 best restaurants in the Lake District

Cumbria offers everything from Michelin stars to down-to-earth pubs

L'Enclume, Lake District
The chef-owner of L'Enclume, Simon Rogan, was at the forefront of the movement that saw UK restaurants begin to offer menus driven by foraging and local sourcing

Eating out in the Lake District has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. The choice is no longer between twee tea rooms or food for hungry hikers – though both of these exist – instead it now rivals that of many a metropolitan area. Eleven restaurants boast Michelin stars (L'Enclume has three) and pubs range from the gastro to the down-to-earth and filling. Add in smart bistros, tapas bars, vegetarian cafés and you'll not go hungry. Local produce to look out for includes Herdwick lamb, damsons, forest mushrooms and the ginormous Cumberland sausage.

For further Lake District inspiration, see our guides to the area's best hotels (including the best luxury hotels), pubsthings to do and walks. Use our expert guide to plan the perfect holiday in the Lake District.


Southern Lakeland

L’Enclume


Chef-owner Simon Rogan was at the forefront of the movement that saw UK restaurants begin to offer menus driven by foraging and local sourcing; this three-Michelin-starred restaurant (tasting-menu-only) follows that same ethos today and has its own 12-acre kitchen garden. This isn’t Blumenthal-style magic but tiny courses of exceptional skill and balance: an egg shell containing a yolk in mushroom broth; a finger of turbot in nasturtium butter, the dinkiest caramel mousse sitting on compressed apple. The surroundings - a former smithy - are deliberately rustic and minimalistic to focus attention on the food. All is presented exquisitely but without fanfare on rustic pottery, handmade glass, even a pebble. 

Contact: lenclume.co.uk
Price: ££££
Reservations: Essential

L’Enclume, Lake District
The evening menu at L’Enclume consists of 20 tiny courses of exceptional skill and balance

The Masons Arms


It’s a tough call whether this pub is at its finest in summer – when you can laze on the outside terrace with its sweeping views over the gentle Winster valley – or in winter – when you'll want to cosy up on mis-matched chairs in one of the fire-warmed snugs beneath low beams and picture-crammed walls. Whichever, the food is the sort to set you up for, or reward you for, a hearty walk: filling, unpretentious, tasty – from pie of the day to pan-fried rump of lamb with mint gravy, and their signature ribs in sticky sauce. Pub food like it used to be.

Contact: masonsarmsstrawberrybank.co.uk
Price: £-££
Reservations: Advised

The Masons Arms, Lake District
The hearty food at The Masons Arms is just the sort you'll crave after a long walk

Windermere and around

Drunken Duck Inn


At a lonely cross-roads, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, for first-timers it can be a mission to get here. But plenty of people do, and keep returning. Despite its pubby exterior, this inn offers far-from-ordinary pub grub. In fact, this is the Lake District’s first gastropub, where you’ll find food that is considered but never pretentious. How about crab, chive and apple crumpet with parmesan, or pork belly with white bean and chorizo and salsa verde? There’s a restaurant-standard wine list plus its own-brew beer to drink. Or try one of their home-flavoured botanical gins. There’s a well-judged contemporary-country style – rugs on oak floors, hop-hung beams, heaps of cartoons and prints – and you can opt to sit in the cosy dining-room or jovial bar.

Contact: drunkenduckinn.co.uk
Price: ££
Reservations: Essential

Drunken Duck Inn, Lake District
The Drunken Duck Inn, which stands alone at a cross-roads, was the Lake District’s first gastropub

Kysty


One street back from the busyness of Ambleside town centre, Kysty is the chilled-out younger sibling of Michelin-starred The Old Stamp House (the latter, which is half the size, is two minutes’ away). Self-described as ‘fine dining in a relaxed setting’, pretty much nails it; it offers exceptionally skilled cooking – clever things with local ingredients, artful presentation – but without the fuss and flummery. Morecambe Bay shrimps in a spiced cauliflower velouté might be followed by local lamb with truffled peas and smoked potato. Throw in a good soundtrack and a casual, stripped-back setting, and you can more or less turn up in your walking gear.

Contact: kysty.co.uk
Price: ££
Reservations: Essential for evenings

Lucy's on a plate


Restaurants come and restaurants go (or change their spots) frequently in the Lake District but Lucy’s has been part of the Ambleside scene for so long it’s almost an institution. It did mis-matched chairs and crockery before it became fashionable. The daily changing menu is a colourful affair with a merry mix of styles – fish chowder, lamb tagine, bubble-and-squeak – and guests who have booked in advance are often mentioned by name in the menu’s introductory paragraph as a friendly welcome. Puddings are famous; you can even pop in late evening just for this course.

Contact: lucysofambleside.co.uk
Price: ££
Reservations: Essential during busy seasons

Lucy's on a plate, Lake District
Lucy's on a plate's daily-changing menu is a colorful affair and might include fish chowder or lamb tagine Credit: Social Media

Villa Positano


Up a narrow passageway off one of the busiest streets in Bowness, most visitors walk right past the discreet sign to this family-run Italian restaurant. Which is why it’s a locals’ favourite; the welcomes and goodbyes can be lengthy affairs between owners and regulars. The resolutely traditional menu is rustic, honest and fuss-free – Parma ham and mozzarella, pollo alla Milanese, gnocchi ai funghi porcini – as well as a range of pizzas, pastas, steaks and the ‘catch of the day’. Noisy, fun, with a nostalgic, idiosyncratic soundtrack and walls hung with wine bottles and Italian scenes, it’s excellent value.

Contact: 015394 45663
Address: Ash Street, Bowness-on-Windermere
Opening times: Tues-Sat, 5pm – 8.30pm (last orders)
Price: £-££
Reservations: Advised

Homeground Coffee + Kitchen


The good-natured pavement queues outside this corner-site café in Windermere town attest to its enticing menu and welcoming atmosphere. Everyone from hikers and young families to folks-on-laptops seem to relax in this chilled-out space with its chunky wood tables, pot plants and cool tunes. Enjoy breakfast-y things such as bacon sarnies on ciabatta or brunch-y things such as baked eggs with avocado on toasted sourdough or just indulge in well-judged coffee and spoiling sweet treats.

Contact: homegroundcafe.co.uk
Price: £
Reservations: Not possible

Grasmere and Rydal Water

Forest Side


Local sourcing is more than a token gesture at this Michelin-starred restaurant-with-rooms; up to 80 per cent of fruit, vegetables and herbs comes from the kitchen garden, or is foraged, with over 100 vegetable varieties alone. The seven-strong kitchen brigade is led by Head Chef Paul Leonard (previously at Isle of Eriska and Devonshire Arms hotels). Expect complex, precisely flavour-balanced dishes such as beef tartare with caviar and smoked bone marrow, or tiny gnocchi with caramelized shallots and wild garlic. Clean, modern, fresh – much like the light-filled dining room in this handsome Victorian villa.

Contact: theforestside.com
Price: £££
Reservations: Essential

Forest Side, Lake District
At Forest Side, most of the menu's fruit, vegetables and herbs come from the kitchen garden

The Yan



This warm, buzzy bistro, in converted farm buildings, is a family affair: chef Will is married to front-of-house Jess, whose sister and husband also help with operations. The girls’ parents Dave and Sally, set up the business, including the sleek rooms above the restaurant. Modern comfort-food dishes are full of punchy flavours, spicy twists and local sourcing: slow-braised Herdwick lamb and chilli croquettes; prawn, chilli and lime fishcakes with roasted cauliflower; and roasted pepper and sun-dried tomato bhajis with curried couscous. Generous sharing platters, home-made puddings and local cheeseboards, too.

Contact: theyan.co.uk
Price: ££
Reservations: Essential 

The Jumble Room


This wonderfully – and aptly – named restaurant, fizzes with energy from the pink and purple velvet cushions to the mis-matched plates to the bluesy music. It’s about as far as you can get from the twee tea rooms or traditional pubs elsewhere in Grasmere. Food is a refreshing Middle-Eastern spin on Lakeland produce. Picture pan-seared local lamb on a bed of hummus and olives, and sirloin with sweet potato and spring onion mash – everything is served in generous, often spicy, portions. Tables are neighbourly, so expect a fun, lively evening. Check out the album covers in the loos before you go.

Contact: thejumbleroom.co.uk
Price: ££
Reservations: Advised

The Jumble Room, Lake District
Food at The Jumble Room is a refreshing Middle-Eastern spin on Lakeland produce

Outlying areas

Punch Bowl Inn



With the entire ground floor a series of little dining areas, this is definitely a foodie rather than a drinkers’ pub – though it has a country-pub feel with low beams, flagged floors, cottagey roses around the door, a smart sheen of Farrow and Ball colours, cushion-crammed window-seats and polished-wood tables. The cooking is assured but not tricksy (no fancy canapés); perhaps lamb with boulangère potatoes and onion purée or pan-roasted sea bream with saffron potatoes and shrimp sauce, plus a pricey-ish wine list. To eat outside, overlooking the neighbouring church on a summer’s day, is a treat.

Contact: the-punchbowl.co.uk
Price: ££
Reservations: Advised

Punch Bowl Inn, Lake District
The Punch Bowl Inn has a country-pub feel with low beams, flagged floors, and cottagey roses around the door

George & Dragon


The George & Dragon might look your typical 18th-century coaching inn given a snazzy country-contemporary makeover – which it is and very nice, too, with faded rugs on flagstone floors, eau-de-nil panelling and rough-wood tables – but its trump card is that it’s owned by the Lowther family who also own the splendid nearby estate. So expect to find great things on the menu such as the estate’s rare-breed pork 'osso buco' or slow-cooked shorthorn beef with truffled potato and parmesan purée. Round proceedings off with a fruit crumble supplied from the kitchen gardens. It’s a bit out of the way but worth it for the stylish and skilful cooking.

Contact: georgeanddragonclifton.co.uk
Price: ££
Reservations: Advised

George & Dragon, Lake District
The George & Dragon is a bit out of the way but is worth it for the stylish and skilful cooking Credit: Jstockc/Joe Stockdale

Coniston and Langdale

Chesters by the River


One of the region’s first vegetarian cafes, opened in 1985, Chesters has been through a few changes, most recently to a more casual, self-service affair from the smarter waiter-service-and-chic-sofas that it used to offer. Not everyone is pleased, but the setting – beside the bubbling River Brathay - and the quality of food – everything baked and prepared on the premises - remain the same. There are big bowls of salad – perhaps wild garlic pasta and pickled celery and fennel – pillowy focaccia, smokey bean turnovers and vegan sausage rolls. Scones are humongous, and cakes – such as a juicy berry slice, and carrot and walnut - perfect for refuelling after climbing the nearby Langdale Pikes. Eat indoors, on the partially covered riverside terrace or take away to your own picnic spot.

Contact: chestersbytheriver.co.uk
Price: £
Reservations: Not possible

Keswick and the north

The Lingholm Kitchen



Barely have you stepped inside this airy, glass-walled and slate-floored café when your eye is drawn to the display of cakes: magnificently huge slices. On a privately owned lakeshore estate, where Beatrix Potter holidayed in the 1920s and two miles from Keswick, everything is made in the adjoining bakery, famous for its sourdough. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and sweet treats are all on offer. Savoury dishes range from avocado with tomato and chili relish on organic rye or a pastrami bagel to confit duck hash. The Garden cake (like a carrot cake) and Victoria sponge roulade are winners. There’s good local sourcing, too – coffee roasted in Threlkeld, for example, meat from Cockermouth. Save time to explore the Victorian style walled garden; the inspiration for Mr McGregor’s garden in Potter’s Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Contact: thelingholmkitchen.co.uk
Price: £
Reservations: Required for afternoon tea, only

lingholm kitchen
Lingholm Kitchen is on the lake shore Credit: Jo Crompton Photography/Joanne Crompton

The Cottage in the Wood


This aptly named restaurant-with-rooms – a roadside cottage on a narrow road that climbs 1,000ft up through Whinlatter Forest above Lake Bassenthwaite – belies its modest looks. Michelin-starred since 2019, it turns out carefully considered Modern British dishes, often of intriguing combinations: cured seabass with kohlrabi and sunflower seed milk, perhaps, or Grelot onion with goats’ cheese and gooseberry. And there’s a real sense of place in the dishes: Cumbrian Herdwick hogget might be served with wild watercress, chicory with forest-foraged mushrooms. Its semi-circular conservatory dining room overlooks woodland with views through the trees to Skiddaw, and, on clear nights, bewitches with a starlit sky.

Contact: thecottageinthewood.co.uk
Price: £££
Reservations: Essential

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