10 Great Restaurants in the Lake District

The Cottage in the Wood turns local ingredients into delicious works of art right in the heart of Whinlatter Forest, England's only mountain forest. The restaurant holds a Michelin star thanks to head chef Sam Miller’s creative eye.

The menu changes regularly throughout the year to reflect the seasons. A sample menu includes 7 courses, starting with cured stone bass, followed by roasted langoustine, and finishing with pears, parkin and ice cream. The tranquil setting is great for an overnight stay, so you might as well sample some well-curated wines if you’re not in a rush.

L’Enclume is a world-class Michelin-starred restaurant that really takes the idea of farm-to-table to heart. It holds the honour of 3 Michelin stars, thanks to cuisine that is defined as cooking that has been “elevated to an art form". The restaurant also makes incredible use of its 12-acre farm to harvest fresh fruit and vegetables.

Local meat and fish make delicious pairings with its homegrown produce. L’Enclume’s sample menu includes East Coast lobster and pickled rosehip, as well as confit potatoes and walnut puree. Of course, everything is served with the utmost care and welcoming service, too.

The Dog and Gun Inn serves up top-notch food in the humble setting of a classic British pub. This place proves that you can experience Michelin-starred dishes in a warm and comfortable environment, minus the strict dress code.

This Lake District eatery takes pub grub to another level, with triple-cooked or truffle parmesan chips for sides, and venison suet pudding or grass-fed beef for mains. The serving staff are down-to-earth and welcoming – traits that just add to the warm pub atmosphere.

Blue Smoke on the Bay is a stylish restaurant within the Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa. Its centrepiece is a 3-metre-long wood-fired grill, with tables overlooking either a lively open kitchen or the beautiful Lake Windermere.

Dishes are cooked over the grill, which adds rich flavours to every ingredient. Treat yourself to the likes of wood-fired chorizo and halloumi, dry-aged sirloin steak, or wood-fired butternut squash (if you want a plant-based meal). If you’re visiting Blue Smoke on the Bay during the day, you can indulge in an afternoon tea or a hearty lunch by the lake.

HRiSHi at Gilpin Hotel & Lake House is a Michelin-starred restaurant that serves modern takes on British dishes with accents from Asian and Indian cuisine. Part of the Gilpin Hotel & Lake House in Windermere, its modern décor creates a light and comfortable dining atmosphere.

The chefs go to great lengths to produce intriguing textures and flavours. They even have a plant-based menu if you’re not a fan of meat. HRiSHi has a tasting menu and an a la carte menu, where you might find Cambrian beef tartare and potato foam or spring peas tartare with black garlic ketchup.

The Old Stamp House is an intimate restaurant in the quiet village of Ambleside. This modern British eatery occupies the former office of William Wordsworth, who was the Westmorland Distributor of Stamps. It offers modern takes on traditional Cumbrian dishes, with a careful balance of bold and delicate flavours.

Historically, Cumbrian dishes make good use of imported spices. These flavourings are added to local ingredients to create dishes like English Channel Turbot with potted shrimps and spiced mead velouté, or raspberries with caramelised rum and gingerbread. You’ll get something different with each season at the Old Stamp House.

Forest Side is a sophisticated restaurant in a stately Victorian hotel of the same name in Grasmere. Complementing its rustic atmosphere is a seasonal menu with ingredients foraged from the surrounding Lakeland and its own kitchen garden.

Some dishes come and go as quickly as you can say “freshly foraged”, so don’t expect to return to the same offerings. But to give you an idea, hand-dived scallops and aged Cumbrian lamb have been part of the menu. Forest Side also offer vegetarian options if you’re not a fan of meat.

Allium at Askham Hall is a gorgeous Michelin-starred restaurant set in a 13^th-century stately home in Penrith. Its gourmet dishes make the most of local produce plus its own ingredients, which are grown in its lavish gardens and the Lowther Estate.

As with many restaurants that use local and homegrown products, Allium at Askham’s menu is very seasonal. Expect dishes with freshly harvested apples or plums, or deer and partridge from nearby woods and moors. The restaurant’s onsite cellars stock a wide range of wines from various parts of the world.

Porto Restaurant may take its name from Portugal, but its food is modern British and European. Located along Windermere’s stylish Ash Street, the restaurant holds an AA rosette, which indicates a high level of culinary standards.

You can easily stop by for a drink and a light bite at its heated roof terrace. If you’re here for dinner, you’ll get a chance to sample a seasonal and locally inspired menu for very reasonable prices. For example, Porto Restaurant’s autumn menu features wild mushroom risotto and Lakeland pheasant. Try the Porto focaccia, which is offered at every table before your meal.

High Stile Kitchen gives you exactly what you might want from a Lake District restaurant: impressive food and stunning mountain views. Set in the quaint Buttermere Court Hotel, the restaurant offers an upmarket take on classic British pub grub.

Take a seat in its garden and take your pick of comfortable classics like oven-roasted salmon, or dishes with a twist such as the falafel salad bowl. If you can’t get enough of that countryside atmosphere, stay for a night (or 2) at the hotel. That way, you can try its full Cumbrian breakfast or various gourmet morning delights.