31 Best Restaurants in The Lake District, England

Billing itself as "Vegeterranean" to reflect its Mediterranean culinary influences, Fellinis is one of Cumbria's finest foodie destinations and a particular treat for vegetarians. Upstairs is a plush studio cinema screening art-house releases, while downstairs the restaurant rustles up sumptuous concoctions for a sophisticated crowd. The large, open dining room has soft seating, bold patterns, oversize lamp shades, and a chill, jazzy soundtrack. White tablecloths, contemporary art, and fresh flowers enhance the modern sensibility. Service is attentive without being fussy. Sister property Zeffirellis, a 5-minute walk away on Compston Street, also offers a fine-dining-and-cinema combination with a jazz bar to boot.

High ceilings, shabby-chic chairs, and old-fashioned filament bulbs in jars set the scene for this handsome conversion of what was once a bank: the family-run bistro's name references the financially themed nursery rhyme. Although there is an a la carte menu, the set menu is a particularly good value at £26 for 3 courses, including delights such as homemade mackerel pate with Isle of Wight tomatoes and elderflower balsamic and grilled cannon of Cumbrian pork with wild mushrooms. Book ahead, especially for weekend evenings.

An informal restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Simon Rogan, Henrock is a superb addition to the dining scene in Bowness. Much of the fresh produce is grown on Rogan's farm in nearby Cartmel, and all of the dishes are seasonal with strong roots in British cooking. In addition to lunch and dinner, Henrock also has an imaginative afternoon tea menu with sweet treats such as chocolate and passion fruit tartelette and pink pepper, raspberry, and rose choux buns.

The village of Cartmel has earned a place on England's culinary map with this ambitious Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms. Chef Simon Rogan's innovative food incorporates long-forgotten herbs and cutting-edge techinques. The restaurant is in what was once a forge, now converted to a bright, contemporary, and airy space with dark wooden beams, stark white walls, and splashes of color. The set menu comes with up to 16 courses and includes delights such as dry aged Herdwick lamb with fermented cabbage and fennel sauce, and a fritter of Duroc pig and smoked eel with lovage. L'Enclume's 16 elegant rooms are in three different buildings around the village.

The quality of locally sourced and foraged food has been raised to a new level by this Michelin-starred restaurant, which, together with the Lake Road Kitchen, has given Ambleside unexpected status on the British gastro map. Chef Ryan Blackburn has created a menu anchored to Cumbrian traditions but at the same time mouthwateringly creative and contemporary. Look for hand-dived scallops with pumpkin, braised daube of beef with smoked celeriac, and Cumbrian gingerbread with rhubarb soufflé. The restaurant has an unprepossessing setting, down steps in a dim room, but there's history in the whitewashed, rough-hewn walls: Wordsworth once worked here as "Distributer of Stamps.” A tasting menu is also available at lunch and dinner.

Created by four friends who have returned home to the Lakes, the menu at the Fellpack is designed as a celebration of Cumbria's ingredients and traditional recipes, albeit with a quirky twist. The space has both indoor and outdoor seating, plus a vintage Airstream trailer serving burritos and fries.

A small stone building dating to the 18th century, Grasmere's first shop is now a quirky, family-run restaurant. The food is an eclectic mix of international and traditional British; think porcini mushroom arancini, beetroot and pumpkin ravioli, or Lebanese chicken with clementine and fennel. A dedicated local fan base means the place always buzzes, and the owners' enthusiasm is contagious.

With a porch that appears in a Beatrix Potter story and a location just a rabbit's hop from the author's home, you might expect this pub to be something of a tourist trap, but luckily it's anything but. The meals are tasty and copious, making use of local ingredients. There's a slate floor, a crackling open fire, and a bar that stocks some of the best beers around. Four bedrooms upstairs offer a good-value alternative to pricier lodgings.

Up the steep slope from the water's edge in Bowness, this spacious, stylish pub serves good home-cooked fare as well as a fine collection of beers that includes its own Hawkshead brew. The seasonal menu includes a traditional Cumbrian sausage ring and breaded whole tail scampi from Whitby. Leather sofas and open fires make the Angel a cozy place; service is low-key and friendly, with crayons for kids and games to play. The decoration is bright, minimal, and contemporary, with wooden floors and off-white walls. Thirteen comfortable, good-value bedrooms complete the picture.

At this authentic Turkish restaurant located in a courtyard just off Main Street, the chef combines speciality ingredients from Turkey with those grown and made locally in Cumbria, so every dish has a multicultural twist. The owners are warm and welcoming hosts.

Flocked floral wallpaper, old lamps, an open fire, and a handsome wooden floor set the tone at this appealing pub. Homey and intimate, the pub serves big, tasty portions of traditional British food such as scampi tails, chicken-and-leek pie, and gammon with egg and pineapple. You can wash it down with locally brewed beer. The excellent Sunday lunches are popular with locals.

Attached to the Coniston Brewing Company, whose ales are on tap here, the Black Bull is an old-fashioned pub in the heart of the village. It can feel a little dated, but it's a good pick for simple, hearty food such as fried whitebait, housemade leek-and-potato soup, and a tasty steak-and-ale pie. The beer choice is exemplary. Old photos of Donald Campbell's boat Bluebird decorate the walls, and there are wooden beams and benches. The inn also has 11 ensuite rooms, which are suitable for families.

At this 500-year-old pub, restaurant, and inn in the heart of superb walking country, antiques, comfortable chairs, and prints and oil paintings furnish the cozy, beamed public rooms. The hearty traditional British food—from grilled haggis with housemade plum jam to pan-seared sea bass and wild-mushroom stroganoff—is popular with locals, as are the many whiskies and ales, including a specially brewed Britannia Gold beer. The whole family can relax with a bar meal and Cumbrian ale on the terrace while taking in the village green and the rolling scenery beyond. The nine simple guest rooms (eight of which are en suite) are more modern in style, with large, comfy beds.

Husband-and-wife team Kevin and Nicola Tickle run Heft, a superb fine dining restaurant in the village of High Newton, just outside Cartmel. An imaginative set menu with dishes such as oxtail and thyme custard and a Shetland mussel kebab glazed in cucumber garum is served at lunch (£45) and dinner (£95), and there's a separate Sunday menu available until 6 pm. The building was a 17th-century inn, and the Tickles have preserved many of its original architectural features. Heft also has five double bedrooms.

This bustling, cozy little café and deli is lined with jars of locally made jams and chutneys. Bang in the center of Grasmere, it's great for coffee and a homemade pastry or flapjack (bars made with syrup, butter, and oats). Heidi's also offers a B&B experience in the six-room lodge.

At the more casual and affordable sister restaurant of the Old Stamp House, head chef Dan Hopkins and his team create seasonal menus inspired by the Cumbrian landscape, sourcing their ingredients from small artisan producers. The lunchtime set menu is a particularly good value at £27.50 for two courses.

Cumbrian ingredients are used to create authentic Spanish tapas in this charming little restaurant in the center of Penrith. There's an extensive tapas menu with plenty of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options, but the best value option is to choose four specials for £20 (available Tuesdays through Thursdays as well as Sundays).

Cuttlefish shells piled in the window and a Nordic-style wood-paneled interior give a clue as to the culinary style of Lake Road Kitchen, quite possibly the most awarded restaurant in Ambleside. About 80% of everything green on the menu is foraged; the remainder comes from the highest-quality, mainly local suppliers. Every dish is creatively conceived and expertly put together, creating food of the highest order. There are two set menus (eight and twelve courses) each night, or a shortened five course menu. Wine pairings are available and they can cater to most dietary preferences. Reservations are essential as there are just nine tables.

This eatery has one of the best views in Bowness, thanks to its outdoor terrace overlooking the lake that is drenched in sunshine for much of the summer and has quite a party atmosphere. There's often live music and an extensive drink menu that includes signature cocktails, plus a tasty selection of sourdough pizzas, burgers, and shared plates.

Matthew Colley is a charismatic chef who opened his own restaurant in 2001 to serve "retro classic" dishes to hungry Lake District walkers. He's passionate about local, artisanal produce and makes almost everything from scratch, including his own Cumbrian sausages. The early evening set menu is an exceptionally good value (three courses for £25 if you order before 7 pm); opt for the creamy deep-fried brie, the Pollo Marsala with shallots, and whatever the special dessert of the day is. The atmosphere is warm, leaning towards lively on the weekends, and families are welcome. There's a separate children's menu.

This unpretentious 17th-century inn in the pretty little village of Troutbeck is in a superb location. The menu showcases local ingredients and there's a traditional Sunday lunch with roasted meats and all the trimmings. The intimate dining rooms have oak beams, flagged floors, and log fires. If you want to stay overnight, the 10 ensuite guest rooms have splendid views, and the spot is well positioned for walks in the beautiful Troutbeck Valley. The Queen's Head is owned by Individual Inns, a small group of properties in the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales. 

Hidden away up a winding lane past the old mill waterwheel, homey Rattle Ghyll is a deservedly popular little café serving great housemade cakes, soups, sandwiches, and salads. The tasting plate of cakes is an especially good option. Local art hangs on the berry-red walls, and old exposed beams give the place extra atmosphere. It's child-friendly, with books to read, and there are seats outside above the stream for good weather. Head to their deli and shop for local produce, an eco-conscious refill station, and coffee from regional roasteries.

Young locals and windblown walkers gather in Keswick's liveliest café for excellent coffee or tea, fruit-flavored cordials, and some serious hot chocolate. The music is laid-back; the staff is undeniably cool; the walls are hung with paintings and photos; and there are housemade pizzas, tapas, and pints of local beer for long rainy days or cold winter nights. Don't miss the decadent chocolate orange cake. 

The National Trust now owns other pubs, but Sticklebarn was the first. With its own water supply and hydroelectric power, the pub's aim is sustainability; the kitchen uses as much produce as possible from the immediate area and makes its own gin and vodka. Most of the menu is traditional pub fare—burgers, macaroni and cheese, and lamb stew, for example—aimed at the Langdale walkers who fill the rustic, wood-beamed dining room. Tables spill out onto the terrace in sunny weather. There's also a wood-fired pizza oven.

This coaching inn and dining room is in Sedbergh, a pretty town nine miles to the east of Kendal. The husband and wife team prepares food with influences from the Lake District, Germany, and Japan, and source their ingredients from within 20 miles of the restaurant.

Chocolate rules at this old spot serving 16 chocolate drinks. You can choose among 300 kinds of chocolates in the shop, too. Aztec Experience hot chocolate blends five spices; the milk-chocolate truffle cake is scrumptious. Servers in period costumes also deliver traditional English fare such as potted shrimps.

Small but sleek, this restaurant with an open fire and artfully battered floorboards has won a good local reputation for high-quality dishes. The vegetarian selections are always worthwhile, and the sometimes adventurous Modern British cooking shows Mediterranean flourishes. Excellent lunches and the fixed-price early dinners are especially good values.

Situated in Keswick’s iconic Market Square, the Round is the starting point and finishing line for the Bob Graham Round, the most famous and grueling physical challenge in the Lake District. It's a vibrant restaurant and bar serving gourmet burgers with names inspired by the national park's peaks, such as Katsu Bells and Pullvellyn.

Situated in Ambleside’s old mill yard, the Tap Yard serves craft beers fresh from the tanks. It's a lively spot in the evenings, popular with locals as well as visitors, and there's a wide menu of wood-fired pizzas, gourmet burgers, and antipasti to share. Dogs are welcome, and there's a separate children's menu.