I got the salad and it was so flavorful and I really enjoyed it. It was kind of hard trying to…read morefigure out how to get a seat and order but it was really good food once we got sat. (It's not table service, you have to order at the bar ).

We're staying in Grasmere so I hopped onto Yelp to see where was good to eat. We stopped here for…read moredinner on a raining evening and the restaurant was packed so opted to eat in the bar area. We ordered a burger and the fish and chips. My husband had the burger and it was surprisingly large and cooked beautifully. I had the fish and chips and it was fantastic! It was served with mushy peas and the best tasting tartar sauce I have ever tasted! The service was great; fast and friendly. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and then headed off back into the rain! I definitely recommend trying this place out if you're in the area. The restaurant is around the back/side and the lodging entrance is at the front.

Absolutely the best pub in Ambleside! Good ale (again, I'm not obsessed, I swear!), dog-friendly…read more(again, you're proably sensing a theme here), attracts similarly-minded 'active in the day, find a good place to drink in the evening' kinda people. Hidden away off the tourist track slightly, no airs or graces, just a decent pint. Some brilliant parties, usually unplanned!

Definately the best and friendliest pub in Ambleside. Its located on Kirkstone Rd at the bottom of…read morethe struggle. There is a great selection of regular and locally brewed beers, the staff are very friendly and has a lovely relaxed atmosphere. They don't do food as in meals though there is usually a selction of homemade sandwiches and ppork pies on the bar. There's also a small seating area outside at the back of the pub, dogs are welcome too.

My friends and I were staying near the place so we went almost every night for either food or…read moredrinks. I have to say, that the Unicorn was the best part of our trip. The steak and ale giant yorkie was amazingly good, and my friends had the chicken and trout a couple of times. We were definitely repeat offenders with the menu. Everything went down well with beer and wine, and we really enjoyed the live music. I made some friends there, and I'm looking forward to my next vacation when I can go back.

Nice little cosy pub with good atmosphere serving quality food. Had steak which was well cooked as…read moreordered. Good selection of real ales. Off the beaten track & was recommended to me by a local. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

The drunken duck is a favorite of our friend who has come here for 40 years, starting with golf…read morebuddies, then with family and best of all to celebrate weddings, and great moments. Relax here, the staff is ready to make this luxury even better with whatever you need! Directions to many local hikes or hot coffee on the picnic tables. So much fun to have, there are gardens, strolls, patios and quiet libraries too. This is the most beautiful place I've ever stayed because I can get some rest, unwind and enjoy the great outdoors. Yesterday there was a local marathon- yes!- great runners charged past into the local town of Ambleside. Hikers and dog lovers are here too. National parks close by... what a get-away we are having!!

Such a charming pub and inn right in the middle of the Lakes District. There's a glorious view…read moreoverlooking the mountains right in front of the venue (with picnic tables if you'd like to sit and enjoy it with a pint). Brunch, lunch, dinner, and bar snacks are served at the Drunken Duck, and I'd only really recommend booking for dinner. The beer and cider are mostly local I believe. We did the curry bowl to share (vegetarian and VERY tasty - kind of wish I could get the recipe), scampi, fries, and tartare sauce (those fries are to die for!) and the lamb kofta, hummus, flatbread, and mint yoghurt (great for sharing and noshing). There's plenty of parking on the side of the inn. The inside is decorated beautifully (very insta-worthy), so maybe consider renting out for an event. And yes, you can bring your dog to dinner/drinks.

This is the highest five-star rating I can possibly give, and it's strictly for the restaurant…read moremenu. The food is just out of this world. As starters go, the salt and pepper calamari and beef carpaccio are PERFECT. Fisherman's platter is large and well prepared, and certainly worth a go to get your meal started. The duck breast is perfectly cooked, and prepared in a complex blend of cauliflower puree, spinach leaves, potato, jus and spices that requires careful eating to ensure that you get a bit of everything in every bite. Thank god it's a menu constant - I'll be going back just for that dish. This weekend's beef special was, well...special. Again using a butternut puree together with a blend of the typical beef-required accoutrement, just roasted and spiced to a mouth-watering breath stealer. Ok, this is getting a bit intense. Let me calm down a little bit before we get to the deserts... The pub burger was just OK - nothing otherworldly - and the onion rings are a complete miss. The "aged" cheddar on the burger is unidentifiable to the taste buds, the bun was sloppy and easily fell apart while eating, and though the beef was quite good and cooked just right, the spice was boring and kind of just like you'd expect a pub burger to be. After everything else, this was a shame - should have been much more interesting and elevated as well as being meaty. Wine selection was decent, and plenty of the basics on tap and behind the bar. Avoid the restaurant side of the place and just sit in the open-seated pub to ensure that you don't get a side of unwanted pretension along with your steak (and save the 12.5% service for an extra wine, of course!). Now, the desert... The rumours are true, and the sticky toffee pudding is undeniably the best desert on the menu. The pool of sugary syrup that covers the bottom finger of the bowl is plenty to have every bit swimming in the stuff, and the cake is the right kind of wet-spongy to make you lose your head. Baked Alaska - interest and complete. But wow, waaaaay too much sugar by desert number two to palate that last 1/4 of that. Just to be clear, had I eaten the sticky toffee last and got to the last quarter with the same amount of sugar in me, I would have made the effort and finished off the sticky toffee...not the case for the Baked Alaska, however. Disappointed that the ice cream throughout the desert wasn't better - it certainly didn't match the quality of the rest of the restaurant - but if that's the major error on the desert menu, I'll still go back there 10 times out of 10. This place, by itself, will bring me back to the Lake District time and time again. I've not had such wonderful food on vacation in my entire life....oh, to be those lucky locals who get to eat here every evening... Hats off to the chef and his team.

The Swan at Newby Bridge sits on the edge of the river Leven which runs out of the foot of Lake…read moreWindermere. On a hot day it's the perfect place to laze with a drink. I must admit that my round came in at twelve quid for 4 drinks, 2 of them cokes for the children. I could easily been tempted by the gorgeous looking scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, being consumed at the next table, but L decided that it was too hot for that.The Swan is also a hotel, with a nice looking dining room.

Best find on holiday ever!!…read more Set in a beautiful little village with a huge village green with loads of parking round and about (although im sure that on a mid summer sunny day parking may be somewhat difficult!). The pub has a bar area and a restaurant area - we only ever went into the bar as you could eat int here and it was really cosy (dogs are also allowed!). The staff were incredibly friendly and chatty (lets face it, Yorkshire, particularly North Yorkshire folk are possibly the most friendly on the planet - i challenge you to disprove this!). The food was INCREDIBLE. Nothing fancy pants, just really good food, VERY big portions (trust me on this, you dont need three courses - choose your weapon of starter or dessert to go alongside your main - we made the mistake one night and 1) couldnt eat it all and 2)pretty much rolled home). We spent an evening in the pub, had a meal and then sat playing card games - we felt incredibly welcome. So welcome that we ended up visiting three times in a week long holiday. You cant really get a better recommendation than that can you??

The Three Shires Inn is a traditional Lakeland slate inn, built in 1872 near the meeting point of…read morethe three former county shires of Cumberland, Westmorland and Lancashire. The pub has all the features you would expect of a lakeland pub - real ales, fantastic views, open fireplace - and the food, whilst traditional, is prepared with a little more finesse than your average pub grub. The Inn also does accommodation.

Love, love, love this place! Have taken four or five different groups of friends or family there…read morefor dinner and Sunday lunch, not one person has come away disappointed or feeling hungry! This is a real gem of a pub, tucked away up the hill just a few miles from Hexham. Have heard this is walkable from Hexham on a nice day but most will need a car - one thing to bear in mind is parking can be a bit limited and a bit of a free-for-all at busiest times, but you should usually get a space somewhere. Alternatively, taking a taxi is a good option, should only cost about £6-£8 from the centre of Hexham itself. First of all, the location and setting is simply stunning. If you park across the road, the views over the Tyne Valley are fantastic. You then go into the pub itself via a lovely garden area with a pergola. Inside is a proper Northumbrian country pub, great traditional decor, roaring fires, with some unusual wall and ceiling decorations (will leave that for you to discover!) Each time we've visited to eat, we've been welcomed by the friendly staff who offer the right level of service, i.e. keeping your table clear, everything in check without being overly attentive. The bar offers a good range of real ales, usually with a local brewery on offer, all of which are very well kept. They have an excellent range of wines and spirits as well, so you could easily go here for a relaxing drink, although the bar area is relatively small. However, if you are here, you really must try the food. Honestly, the Rat Inn has served up some of the best food I've ever eaten, nothing fussy or complicated, just locally sourced ingredients cooked to perfection. What is encouraging is that there are no menus on the tables, instead you'll find the day's menu on a chalkboard, which indicates freshness and illustrates how much they care about what ends up on your plate. In fact, you can find out where the meats and veg have come from as the suppliers are also chalked up on the wall. As the menu changes fairly regularly, it is not really worth recommending any particular dish on here for fear of it not being on next time, but the Sunday roast dinners are superb and the Sticky Toffee Pudding is top notch! Bear in mind you do get hearty Northumbrian-sized portions here, it is difficult to leave here without feeling a tad on the full side... As this place features in the top 50 UK gastropubs, it can get popular and they don't have an abundance of space, which adds to its charm but is also a slight disadvantage - definitely worth booking in advance to avoid missing out. In summary, the Rat Inn really is a wonderful place and one to which I can't wait to have an opportunity to go back soon.

We are regular customers at The Rat because it is such a great place with great food…read more Last night's visit was for my wife's birthday and except for one minor thing it was as good as usual. The Rat is the very definition of an English country pub. Open fires and a cosy atmosphere are exactly what you want from a pub, add in the great food and it is hard to beat. We shared a starter of smoked haddock fritters which was delicious if a little parsimonious for £7. Main courses were superb; slow cooked belly pork and 3 cuts of lamb; delicious, deep savoury flavours that are so hard to accomplish at home. My wife's warm gingerbread dessert wasn't warm which was a disappointment in an otherwise delicious meal.

Lovely Lakeland pub. Dog friendly. Great fish & chips (weird mushy peas!!!)read more

If you want a pub with a view then this is the one. In the lovely little village of Ambleside sits…read morethis gorgeous bar, it has loads of seating outside to admire the beautiful views of Lake Windermere, Its quite open plan inside as well and its all very trendy and friendly. This place does have a free car park on the side of it so don't be fooled by parking directly opposite in the pay and display like we did.

Looks posh on the outside, but not really that posh. After a full day of activities, the last…read morething I want to do is walk back into Ambleside for a drink or dinner even, just to stumble back out to the hostel. That's why this place is convenient. It is nice for a drink... if the weather is nice, sit outside, it is beautiful! When you enter, the first area looks cozy and quaint, but when you head up the stairs to the bar area, you'll notice a large dining room with lots of tables and it can be quite loud back there. Dinner is nice as well... affordable, as my students have frequented and had no complaints about the prices. Then again, the portions are generous. I enjoy the fish from the fish and chips... the chips could use some work and I opt of peas instead of the mushy peas. When it gets busy, it can get loud. Overall, nothing special, but it is a nice pub and restaurant.