31 Best Restaurants in The Lake District, England

This 17th-century inn serves a great range of local ales and hearty meals that are just what you need after a long walk on the fells. The interior is dark and cozy, and the best bit is the opportunity for badger-watching every evening, when the staff leave food for the remarkably tame local wildlife. (Many British people love badgers.) You can also watch the badgers remotely using the inn's Badger Webcam.

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 and vegans. 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.

At this restaurant created by four friends who have returned home to the Lakes, the menu is designed as a celebration of Cumbria's ingredients and traditional recipes, albeit with a quirky twist and some global flavors, as in the pork belly ramen and falafel kofta. The space has both indoor and outdoor seating, plus a vintage Airstream trailer serving burritos and fries.

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 à la carte menu, the set menu for lunch and weeknight dinners is a good value, offering updated, seasonally focused delights such as mackerel pâté and grilled Cumbrian pork with wild mushrooms.

An informal restaurant by chef Simon Rogan, who owns multiple Michelin-starred restaurants, Henrock has been a superb addition to the Bowness dining scene, with an elegant, chandelier-lit dining room overlooking the gardens. Much of the fresh produce is grown on Rogan's farm in nearby Cartmel, and he uses seasonal ingredients to create dishes inspired by his travels abroad. The Sunday lunch menu offers excellent value, and if you opt for the superb tasting menu you may be treated to dishes such as fermented squash with truffle custard, Houghton Springs trout with lemon verbena, and cherry blossom madeleines.

In a small stone building dating to the 18th century, this quirky, family-run restaurant was originally Grasmere's first shop. The food is an eclectic mix of international and traditional British; think baked salmon with prawns, beetroot and goat cheese gnocchi, or Lebanese lamb stew with egglant. A dedicated local fan base means the place always buzzes, and the owners' enthusiasm is contagious.

The village of Cartmel has earned a place on England's culinary map with this ambitious Michelin three-star restaurant with rooms, where 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 may includes delights such as West Country duck with salted elderberries, 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.

Cuttlefish shells piled in the window and a Nordic-style wood-paneled interior give a clue as to the culinary style of what is 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 imaginatively conceived and expertly put together, revealing a variety of global influences. There are two set menus (eight and twelve courses) each night, or a shortened five-course menu. Wine pairings are available, and the restaurant can cater to most dietary preferences. Reservations are essential as there are just nine tables.

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 innovative and contemporary. Look for dishes such as scallops with pumpkin, braised daube of beef with smoked celeriac, and Cumbrian gingerbread. 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.

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 upgraded pub fare is 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 are upstairs.

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 and ciders, many on tap, including its own Hawkshead brew. The seasonal menu has 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 with a beamed ceiling, white walls, and wood furniture and flooring, the chef combines specialty 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, hearty British food such as scampi tails, chicken-and-leek pie, and gammon (ham) with egg and pineapple. You can wash it down with real ale or bottled beer. The excellent Sunday lunches are popular with locals.

This coaching inn and dining room is in Sedbergh, a pretty town 9 miles to the east of Kendal. The husband-and-wife team prepares food with influences from the Lake District, Germany, and Japan, and source many of their ingredients from within 20 miles of the restaurant.

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, house-made leek-and-potato soup, and a tasty steak-and-ale pie. The beer choice is exemplary. Old photos of Donald Campbell's boat Bluebird K7 decorate the walls, and there are wooden beams and benches. The inn also has 11 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 public rooms. The hearty traditional British food—from grilled haggis with house-made 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 are more modern in style, with large, comfy beds.

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.

Husband-and-wife team Kevin and Nicola Tickle run this superb fine-dining restaurant in the village of High Newton, just outside Cartmel, which has earned a Michelin star. An imaginative set menu with dishes such as wild Cumbrian deer cooked over embers and morel cooked in bone marrow is served at lunch and dinner, and a separate Sunday menu is 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 with white-painted exposed-brick walls is lined with jars of locally made jams and chutneys. Bang in the center of Grasmere, it's great for hot or cold breakfast or lunch, or delicious coffee and a homemade pastry or flapjack (bars made with syrup, butter, and oats). Heidi's also offers a B&B experience in the five-room lodge.

Cumbrian ingredients are used to create authentic Spanish tapas in this rustic, casual little restaurant in the center of Penrith. The extensive tapas menu includes a number of vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free choices as well as meat and fish, and the best value option is to choose four specials (available Tuesdays through Thursdays as well as Sundays). 

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 feeling. There's an extensive drink menu that includes signature cocktails, plus a tasty selection of sourdough pizzas, burgers, and shared plates.

Fabulous views over the rolling countryside of the Winster Valley to the east of Windermere enhance the Masons Arms, an old slate-floored, traditional inn serving local ales and good pub food. Mirrors and tankards decorate the walls, and there's a speciality gin list as well as a menu showcasing the best local ingredients. Favorite dishes include slow-cooked pork belly, Cartmel lamb with a rosemary and garlic mash, and a particularly good glazed ham hock to share. In winter there's an open log fire; in summer outdoor seating beckons. Five suites and two cottages provide stylish places to sleep, should you wish to stay.

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 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.

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 chefs Gaetano Zito and Antonio Giordano work hard to bring a Mediterranean flourish, including homemade pastas, to the Lakes. The Express Lunch is an especially good value.

This unpretentious 17th-century inn in the pretty little village of Troutbeck is in a superb fell-side 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. Queens Head also has 10 guest rooms, and the spot is well positioned for walks in the 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 deli and takeaway serving great soups, sandwiches, and lots of salads. The deli also has an eco-conscious refill station and coffee from regional roasteries.

Situated in Keswick’s iconic Market Square, the Round is the starting point and finishing line for the Bob Graham Round, a 24-hour mountain run that is the most famous and grueling physical challenge in the Lake District. This vibrant restaurant and bar serves gourmet burgers with names inspired by the national park's peaks, such as Katsu Bells (from Catbells) and Pullvellyn (from Helvellyn). Besides beef, there are chicken, pork, and lamb choices, all with interesting toppings. 

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 pizzas, tapas, and pints of local beer for long rainy days or cold winter nights.

Sustainability is the goal of this pub, which has its own water supply and hydroelectric power; 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, hot dogs, loaded fries, and nachos, for example—aimed at the Langdale walkers who fill the rustic, wood-beamed dining room. Tables spill out onto the terrace in sunny weather. 

Situated in Ambleside’s old mill yard, the Tap Yard serves craft beers fresh from the tanks in a wood-filled but contemporary, high-ceilinged space that also has outdoor seating. 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.