Lake District
Hello! We are planning a visit to the UK this summer from San Francisco. Spending the first part in the Lake District, then moving on to Scotland.
We will have four nights in the Lakes. I already have a reservation at L'Enclume for one of them, and plan on the Drunken Duck for another dinner. That leaves two dinners open plus breakfasts and perhaps a lunch or two.
Would love some recommendations for the area, especially great fish and chips (preferably fried in beef fat).
We'll be staying in Keswick and Coniston, but will have a car.
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For other excellent Michelin starred places there's Sharrow Bay, the Samling and the superb Holbeck Ghyll. Other non-starred but excellent country house hotel restaurants include Linthwaite House, Gilpin and Miller Howe. None will let you down.
The various "Lucy" outlets around Ambleside are all worth a punt. As, surprisingly, is the caff at the Lakelands shop at Windermere (lunch).
For pubs, the Punch Bowl at Crosthwaite is street ahead of the Drunken Duck and the Brown Horse at Winster is a good "pub food" stop (and they brew their own bee
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re: PhilD
Phil
Looking at my egullet review, I was last there in April last year. Food was the dogs danglies, although there was an annoying wait between starter & main (but it was a lovely warm day so who cared).
Can't recall it being owned by the DD folk but you may be right.
Just by the by, now might be a very good time to try Sharrow Bay in case the upcoming change of ownership badly affects what is, in foody terms, a National Icon.
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My wife and I went up to the lakes a few months ago and enjoyed the set lunch at Hollbeck Ghyll - http://www.holbeckghyll.com/ - nothing earth shattering, but good, french-inflected food and a lovely view. I'd not call it a must-see, but I would recommend it.
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Chiming in from Canada's west coast to say that my spouse and I enjoyed a terrific dinner at the Langstrath Country inn. It's tucked away a pleasant drive south of Keswick (and a dramatic drive if you take the pass toward the west on the way out).
http://www.thelangstrath.com/index.html›1 Reply -
We are in Near Sawrey as I type this having done your trip in the opposite direction. Just ate at the Drunken Duck last night. We've been enjoying the pub food at the Tower Banks pub in Sawrey near Hill Top (Beatrix Potter's home). At the Drunken Duck the twice baked Lancastershire souffle was wonderful, as was the duck with black fig pudding. Skip the ham hick cannelloni (bizarre combo if two served warm and one cold) and the pork wellington. In Scotland we enjoyed The Peat Inn. Superb service, excellent food. In Edinborough our favorite meal was at Wedgwood on Canongate, but we also liked Fishers bistro at One Front street. Our B&B 23 Mayfield served the best breakfasts on our trip-moist kippers, excellent black pudding, bangers and haggis.
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re: cyssf
Thanks for the replies. Cyssf -- I recognize you from the SF Board. Can you eat in the bar at the Drunken Duck for dinner, or do you have to book a table in the restaurant? After our meal at L'Enclume, we might be in the mood for something more laid back. We will definitely try Tower Banks pub.
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re: mrs bacon
We had reservations which I would recommend. I saw people at the bar but didn't notice if they could order from the restaurant menu. We ate early (6:30pm) at the Drunken Duck, I think it's easier to get seats, particularly if you promise to vacate by 8 pm when the British tend to want to eat. At the Tower Bank again without reservations I would come early (say 5:30) grab a table in the pub by the fireplace and preorder dinner which doesn't start until 6. They also had a restaurant but we couldn't get reservations so used the above technique. We had also eaten there two days earlier and had to wait for a pub table, ended up sharing a common table with A British couple which was perfectly fine since they became talkative after they found out we were
Americans. I liked the Cumberland sausage and the Cumbrian beef in ale stew with suet dumplings. Forgive my mis-spellings in the above post, having Internet connection problems and occasionally reduced to the iPhone's teensy screen coupled with crazy completion matching errors. Truly, the ham hock cannelloni at the DD was a puzzling dish. Tom and I both agreed I had ordered better with the souffle and duck. Best meal by far on this trip was Wedgwood in Edinburgh although their deconstructed Chicken Caesar salad soup (tried to get the flavors of the salad in soup form) was silly in my opinion, but the pigeon, haggis, turnip, mash starter was terrific as was Tom's venison and my scallops, pork belly and cauliflower fritters were very good. -
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This may not be strictly responsive to the original post, but we enjoyed sumptuous meals several years ago when we stayed at The Boltongate Old Rectory not far from Keswick. Here's the link to their website. http://www.boltongateoldrectory.com/d...
Dining (at least then) was only for guests of the B&B, but if you are looking for lodging accompanied by delicious food on-site, I recommend it strongly.›1 Reply -
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zuriga1
Jun 16, 2011 10:21 PM
We were there last year and enjoyed a pretty good dinner at Lucy's Bistro. It's not in the same class as L'Enclume or Drunken Duck, but it was fine. Lucy's is in Ambleside. It might be a good lunch stop if you're visiting the Wordsworth cottage.
There's a nice pub in Hawkshead (sorry I can't remember it's name), and they might make some good fish and chips. If you do get to that charming town (Beatrix Potter country), do stop in at the Hawkshead Relish Company. Their jams and relishes are so good that I get them sent to me by post a few times a year. It's a small village and not as touristy as some of the other towns.
