Chesters By The River in South Lakeland

Has the Lake District gone entirely vegan?! 😳 Walked in.. walked out! Genuinely nothing against vegetarians or vegans but can we not coexist!!

Visited at mid morning at a weekend, quite busy, glad to see that they are now using proper cutlery and crockery, much more limited menu than it used to have (no lemon meringue pie!) but we drank v tasty coffee and ate a lovely piece of blackcurrant flapjack. A great improvement, we will return.

We visit Chester’s every time we come to the Lake District and it’s our favourite, incredible vegan food and a lovely setting. We recommend it to everyone and they all love it.

Whilst I have no issue with vegan or vegetarian food it might be helpful to note this on the website so meat eaters can make a choice. We had hoped for a meat breakfast but decided to stay for coffee. I have to say the latte was poor. I fully understand it is up to the owner who they cater for but I think they may lose a lot of custom. Shame

Very busy. Good selection of food & drink.

This is in a great spot, just by the river at Skelwith Bridge and on a number of local walking routes. This may account for its popularity although the car park was full when we visited so it also attracts the four-wheeled visitor as well. A couple of points of note/warning. The first is that this is a vegetarian café with vegan offerings as well. (One gets the impression that if it could, it would go fully vegan.) There is no notification of this either at the café itself (from what I could see) or on its 'website' (which comprises just an advertisement for a couple of staff vacancies and nothing else.) So don't come here expecting a ham sandwich or sausage and mash - go next door to the Talbot Bar for that. The second point is that this place is screaming for a time-and-motion study to be undertaken. The service is rigor mortis-inducingly slow. We must have queued for about thirty minutes to place our order. The tortoise-like speed of the queue (I take that back: the tortoise would have moved faster) was incomprehensible. It was not for lack of staff: despite the advertisement for a couple of positions, there were plenty of them milling around. But there was just no co-ordination about them and they all seemed to be working in isolation even if that was not actually the case. I'm afraid the end product is not worth the wait. The coffee was perfectly drinkable if nothing special and the cake accompaniments welcome (there is plenty of choice to be fair) but after such a long wait, it's all a bit of an anti-climax and disappointment. The toilet facilities also leave a lot to be desired. They are 'gender-neutral' and about the size or if not smaller than toilet cubicles on aeroplanes. Unfortunately, they were also not well-maintained in terms of cleanliness. On the positive side, this is a very dog-friendly establishment. There were lots of very well behaved dogs when we visited. My low rating for this place is more for the overall experience than anything else. To my mind, one can do better and quicker elsewhere.

Great choice of cakes and danish pastries, good coffee (not a given in the Lakes to be fair, though it has got way better last few years) and friendly service. Lovely spot on the river, dog friendly. Shame you can't walk directly between the shop and café, used to be able to, strange commercial decision apart from anything else but overall, great place 👍

Chanced upon this Deli whilst on our walk from Elterwater to Little Langdale. Busy stop point for hikers, bikers ,etc. Awesome Deli, lots of nice pastries and huge scones. Great place for a brunch and lunch break. Mediterranean inspired menu of salads, wraps and Bhaji burgers. Busy place and food is good! There is also a gift shop of local wares. Having a break there is a must! Worth a visit.

Always good quick meals and cakes. Always a long queue to order (and for the toilets).

The food is excellent here, and has a fantastic shop attached. However, the service in the cafe is so poor it takes away most of the joy. It would be solved with table service, but this is something they removed years ago.

Very busy as popular. Tried to go earlier in week but no parking so walked from Ambleside to Cathedral Cave and stopped off on way back for blackberry scone, jam and cream. Yummy. Lots of scrummy looking cakes. Shame my family missed out on the car trip visit earlier in week as I'd raved about my visit a few years prior when I had a cream tea. Guess another visit on the cards!

Busy cafe but worth the wait. Salad and bhaji were lovely. The pastries looked amazing and if we had more time, I'd definitely tuck into one as well.

Horrible experience here. The cakes and food is nice, but the service is disgusting, with poor attitudes from people who think they know better. If you get offended by someones opinion or fact, the problem is with you. And criticism is how you grow and adapt in life, not point fingers like a coward.

Great cakes (some Gluten Free) and drinks. Good service too - thanks for sorting out ordering problem!

Such amazing food and the perfect stop off mid/post hike. Lovely staff each time we’ve been. It is difficult to pick what to have when everything sounds so good! Strongly recommend the harissa potato salad and the Guinness cake.

Poor hygiene, flys on the food and the staff weren't interested when told!!!

Nice place but ott expensive. Nice vegetarian/vegan food. We enjoyed the Lebanese salad. Slow counter service as usual. Lovely setting. Actual cutlery and plates are used.

Best scones and jam in the UK !

Lovely place but staff were rude and no meat on the menu! Such a waste of a beautiful location. If it was my cafe id add meat to the menu and double you're target audience. Not many places don't do a vegie option these days so why would you not do a meat option? My sweet potato salad was normal potato not sweet potato. (Might have been ok with a steak on the side 😋) Overall I was seriously disappointed. The menu on Google is missing leading. To be fair the scone was really nice!

Incredible selection of vegan savoury and sweet foods. We loved everything we tried particularly the aloo gobi pasty, sausage roll, bhaji, and blackcurrant scones. Service was good. Lots of seating. A wonderful gem!

Nice food. Nice staff. Pricey, but isn't everywhere in the Lakes.

Popped in for takeaway cuppa and drinks for the kids

I love love love this place. I spend a fortune though every time I go because I could eat it all it looks so good. All the food is vegan, which is fantastic. It's such a popular place with vegan and non vegans as the food is so good! I love the maple and pecan rolls for breakfast. The raspberry bakewell was so so nice! All the cakes are quite big but that's good!!! 👌 highly recommend and it's a beautiful spot too, there is a nice walk nearby along the river. You can eat in or take away.

This place is always worth a visit. Vegan at heart but food and cakes are so lovely. Being so close to the river too adds to this places charm and character. The staff are always friendly and helpful. I don't think I have ever been disappointed. Give it a try...

Great setting by the river. Large selection of baked foods created on site and other meals. Outdoor seating is best when the weather is fine. Limited on-site parking. It's a bit pricey but food is very tasty and your order is brought to your table. The vegan sausage roll was very good, as was the coffee. It is best to get there early on a sunny day, as it can be very busy.

Since we came last year Chester’s has massively improved. I’m so glad we came back again and got served on proper plates a mugs! The staff was lovely, the food was amazing! Would recommend to anyone now the proper cups and dishes are back! Thank you

Excellent vegan options. 😋 Yummy cinnamon buns too.

Such an amazing place for food, all freshly cooked/baked. Staff friendly and service is brilliant, well worth a visit if you're in the area. Lots of Vegan/ plant based options!

Amazing but victim of own success. We have visited this place loads in the past as it it great food and always busy… Sadly now they have a massively reduced seating area than previous. Even tho they are good and they are!! It is not enough to over power the frustration with what seems a longer que and no seats. I would always try this place but now looked elsewhere with success. I do hope they address this as it is definitely worth it. Hope maybe to return… This review is based on many visits in the past….

Great place. Great savoury and dessert options in very nice location. However, never thought I'd ever say this but, there was far too much jam in the jammy doughnuts! It was like half a jar of strawberry jam! The photo shows the point where I had to stop eating the doughnut. Perhaps it was just this doughnut?

I went to Chesters years ago and have raved about the food ever since. Recently planned a trip back to Ambleside and chose to stay close to Skelwith Bridge because of Chesters. Was then rather sad to be told of some poor reviews (admittedly on Facebook), but I can confidently say it’s at least as good as it ever was. The staff are lovely; it can be busy but the staff were so genuine and kind, looking after everyone so calmly. Then the magic words when I asked “which of your cakes are vegan?” “All of them.” I could barely believe it, after most places will offer a flapjack or a beetroot cake, here you had the choice of brownies, stuffed croissants, doughnuts, fruit scones, cakes and more, then the savoury pies, and pastries. It’s amazing! And don’t worry if you’re not a herb munching emo hippy, the food tastes so good you won’t notice! The location is still as beautiful, with the river, the fells, and the covered outdoor seating. On sunny days you can spot an F-15 or Typhoon if you’re quick. It was already busy on a wet morning in March at 10, so I imagine it’s crazy when tourist season gets going. The car park is small, and turning can be tricky depending on how others park. I recommend a walk off Loughrigg early for stress free, and well earned, perfect snacks.

We have been visiting here for many years. It was lovely to have table service again today by a very pleasant young woman, who was friendly to everyone. Delicious pasties and coffee which arrived quickly on plates once again rather than the paper bags of the last few years. Clean unisex, safe toilets as well. We will be back.

Used to love Chester’s but we will not be returning after our visit on Sunday. Half the seating was shut off so we waited outside for a table to become available. Eventually it did. We went to sit down and a female member of staff came out and said she had reserved it for people inside who had already ordered. We said we would leave. She begrudgingly said we could have the table but we left not wanting to take the table away from other people. We were made to feel like we were not wanted. The people waiting behind us then took the table! Had a lovely lunch at Force cafe in Ambleside instead.

We stopped half way through our day for lunch and it was wonderful. It was busy at peak lunch time but staff were really friendly and worked through the queue so quickly. There are little/no meat options which some might not enjoy but this didn’t hinder the experience at all. Great soup, coffee and amazing pastries.

Tiramisu bun and latte was good. Prices are reasonable, location is perfect to explore

Fabulous fresh veggie and vegan food. Great atmosphere. Very, very busy but I think that is simply testament to the food! Dog friendly and there were loads of dogs there so if that's not your thing you may want to go elsewhere!

We love Chester’s , food is great BUT even in February ( without the summer visitors) the wait is ridiculous! Over 1/2 an hour for a sausage roll and cake that was already made and 1 hot drink . This is excessive

We arrived at Chesters at around 2.30pm. Most of the cakes and pasties had run out by this point, so we ordered hot food from the menu. The seating area overlooking the river had been closed off but we were lucky enough to get a table outside. When we asked for a highchair for a baby, we were told they don't have any. Tables were slow being cleared so the place looked a bit of a mess. The shop is nice but overpriced and it's a shame that the takeaway at the side has been closed as the queue in the main cafe was much longer as a result. The food and table service were both good but overall Chesters is not as good as we remembered it to be.

Perfect stop after a walk from Elterwater. Amazing choice of savoury and sweet treats!

Uber busy popular walking and touring stop by the river

Walking to Chesters for a coffee from our Lodge week at Langdale is always a great start to our week and has become the norm. This year we ended up in Chesters more than usual due to my partners injuries, limiting our walking abilities. The team are great, and the food/drink are always fantastic too. Chesters converted my best friend into becoming a vegetarian 4 years ago when he tried the Vegan Burrito for the first time & he's not looked back since!

I love this place. I can only go rarely but am so excited every time. The food is incredible, creative and well-priced. The staff are lovely, the scenery is stunning and the little shop is so cute too.

Service was so slow it was ridiculous. Walked out in the end and went to the Talbot around the corner, second time we've done this. As a result can't comment on the food. We weren't the only disgruntled customers either.

They have a huge array of pastries and salads. We LOVED everything we tasted. I wish they offered actual cutlery and plates as well. It is in a great location to have a little wonder around and the shop next to it has some really authentic cards. Will definitely visit again!

GF options were so good I had to go and check they were definitely gluten free!! Such nice staff and lovely place.

Had the most wonderful meal and coffee here after a cold walk! It was so busy but the staff dealt with this all so wonderfully and professional, all whilst being so friendly. I’ll most definitely be returning here and I recommend it for anyone in the area!

Nice place but No Bacon bap which i think is a must. Nice cake and lovely warm fire. A good place for a rest while walking by the river or to cathedral cave. :)

Always great - today I grabbed a salad, frittata, tiramisu bun and a rocky road.

Delicious food and cakes as always, and they have reverted to proper crockery rather than disposable cups and plates, which I was pleased to see. Indoor seating is also quite limited.

What a great little find... we were walking between waterfalls and we doung this little gem. Offering up some fantastic looking cakes and breakfast items. Outdoor seating in scenic setting. Had a piece of fritatta and a slice of guiness cake. The fritatta was another level of goodness. 👌 Guinness cake really tasty. Good coffee ☕️ Thanks!

Called around 11.30 on a Saturday morning and was very busy but managed to get a car parking spot and seat. Great selection of cakes on offer 👍

What a beautiful setting. Great food selection. Lovely service.

Simply amazing. Brilliant vegetarian options.

What a perfect stop to warm up and choose from their HUGE array of pastries and cakes. We took Thai curry pastry and sticky toffee cake, wowzers! Definitely worth going back again, and again....

Busy place when we visited. They coped well. Nice spot while out for a walk

While i haven't been to Chesters for a year or two, we have been going to Chesters for over 15 years and we were very happy they survived covid and shifted to vegan and vegetarian. We have always had excellent service and "home made" healthy meals here. They have shifted more to a take away approach with paper cups and utensils, etc. And perhaps due to their popularity, they remained more of a take away after covid just to serve all the people that go there. It is always packed, and often difficult to find seating inside or outside... so the takeaway approach allows them to serve more people perhaps. Otherwise, we would be waiting an hour to get our food and a table. We often buy things from the espresso side and bakery and bring them to the other side to get lunch and have never had a problem. But definitely don't go if you can't adapt to "takeout" approach. Never bothered us after covid. Many of our favorite restaurants, still are mostly takeaway model years after covid. Absolutely an oasis for vegetarians! Great expresso, amazing jelly donuts on designated days, fantastic breads and pastry, and a great salad selection as well as many other dishes. Set on a beautiful river. You can eat indoors or outside. We go hiking and go back for our next meal. Yes, a bit pricey... and the bathrooms are definitely not adequate for the amount of people... not cleaned often enough. But we go for the excellent food and coffee. Nice little gift shop also inside the building for rainy days. Going to get back soon. Still highly recommend!

Stunning location, awesome atmosphere, great prices, lovely staff and really tasty food. Perfect place to visit as well as the sizable shop next to the cafe. I had to eat the frangipane croissant over the whole day just to savour the flavour! Will be visiting again, thanks!

Really friendly and quick service, delicious cakes and bakes, winter panzenella salad 10/10, coffees looked and tasted great. Great place, will definitely return!

A huge choice of cakes and pastries to have with coffee, I read some terrible reviews but we were greeted by a lovely lady who was so polite and helpful, I had a cinnamon bun and my boyfriend had a frangipani croissant both of us had flat white coffee, the views were so pretty and we watched 2 Robins popping by for some crumbs. I don't mind clearing away after myself as I am a grown up and have manners. Ignore the people who are complaining and make your own mind up.

A fabulous cafe in a lovely location. The food is delicious, inventive, fresh and - bar the choice of stunning cakes - healthy too. Yes there is generally a queue but it moves quickly and quite honestly I need that queue time to choose from their mouthwatering display. They are plant-based though you’d hardly notice, so it’s great for vegans and vegetarians. If you like a plain ham sandwich on sliced bread - don’t come here!

There’s no high chairs which is equally annoying and disappointing The food is excellent but they need to get some high chairs

I love this place so much. We come here often and have loved everything we’ve eaten. How they make vegetables so delicious I don’t know. Great portion sizes. Dogs allowed and friendly birds in a beautiful setting. Great walks nearby.

Fantastic, friendly staff and extremely delicious food ! My favourite go to eating place in the lakes ! Such a picturesque location too ..

Very friendly staff. Amazing cake selection and very yummy! They very happily invited us in even though we were caked in mud...

We love Chester’s the coffee is superb and the selection of cakes and pastries unbeatable you must try the Cinnamon bun or the Almond Bear claw both are phenomenal, don’t believe the doomsayers there’s real cutlery and the clever idea of clearing your own table which is a doddle means everything is recycled and tables become free faster, a must visit if your in the area.

I do like this place. Generous portions, good food. Gets busy though so you may have to wait for a table. May 2022..Have to amend, this is now a take out only though it is possible to sit. Have to admit was very disappointed but understand the difficulty of available staff. Reduced menu, no table service. No loo paper either !!! Nov 2024 - not too busy this time of year. Dogs allowed inside. Good coffee and huge croissant which I could have shared 😆

Delicious as always. Great selection of savoury food and cakes. Reasonably priced. Friendly staff. Good facilities. A must whether you’re vegan or not!

Very busy queues and slightly pricey but understandable given location to an extent. Lovely onion Baji

Great atmosphere and always a huge selection of fresh food. The food is absolutely delicious especially the fresh salads. Coffee also brilliant. This place is one of the best out there!!

Unfortunately Chester’s not what it was. Toilets are poor as can be evidenced by the negative comments by those queuing up to use them. Having said that and although we have seen a decline in the level of service ie paper bags and no table service et al the food especially bakery products remain outstanding. It would appear that things are now geared to help the running of the establishment rather than to ensure good customer service. We have been visiting Chester for years and the decline is very noticeable but we will give it another chance because apart from anything else the actual location is outstanding.

I'm local but haven't visited for some time. The place has definitely gone downhill in that time. Basically it's become a rural McDonalds but with tourist prices. We went for coffee and cake/scone.. Cake and scone came in paper bags..no plates! And we were expected to take our rubbish out to the bins to dispose of it and leave the table cleared but not cleaned. Shan't be going again.

No friendly faces, rather pretentious food options,long wait times, exclusively vegetarian, spicy options, would have loved a basic plainer menu. Coffee awful.

We stumbled across this place and I'm so glad we did. Fabulous food, both savouries and sweet treats. We had the margarita Foccacia, onion bhaji which we both so tasty, soup and bread and took away some cakes for later. Blackberry and ginger victoria sponge and apple and cinnamon cake. We could have bought the whole display! Make sure you pop in, you won't be disappointed. I should point out I think it is vegetarian but even as a full blooded meat eater it was awesome food.

We went in for afternoon tea. The scones and cakes were delicious.

A wonderful location and really nice food. It can get busy at weekends meaning lots of queuing and long waits. They have taken their wonderful pizzas off the menu too which is to its detriment imo. I think it may be due to a staff shortage.

Having visited this cafe for over a decade it has seriously declined since our last visit. Table service has been scrapped in favour of sluggish service at the main counter. This is not a good spot for a family lunch, the offering included no meat options and nothing child-friendly. The cakes were the only highlight. It is sad to see a lovely, family-friendly cafe change in this way to favour vegan & vegetarian cuisine and inadequate service.

Fabulous eatery... my partner introduced me to Chesters and we love it, delicious fresh food.

A lovely, but soggy, walk from Ambleside to Chester's for lunch, to introduce puppy Chester to Chester's 😊 sadly no chocolate brownies available, but delicious alternatives, thank you

Not enough tables when busy queue at counter, limited parking , seemed a bit pricey was ok

Amazing cakes, good coffee and wonderful onion bhaji.

I was blown away by this place. It was super full when we arrived, soaking wet after a big downpour. Everyone were so lovely making space for us. We had some lovely interactions with people around us throughout our stay. Which was a fair while as we basically got a three course meal. The pastries and onion bargie were super tasty with delicious dip. The main was the tastiest, warming dhal I've ever had, with the side of veggies done beautifully too and the focaccia was light and fluffy. The cakes were all delicious (we sampled 3) and the coffee was a treat too, they even went to the effort of making it half decaf/half caf ....as it was a tad later than expected due to the amount of gorging. All the staff were super lovely, they were very busy but still made time for lovely smiles, they were efficient too getting through loads of orders and a big queue quickly and the preparation before hand must have been such a mission as they were so well stocked. The crockery etc are all cardboard so recyclable. Seems like they have developed their offering to make it sustainable and meet the high demand they have for a fairly small place. I was so impressed and dream of coming back here when I next visit the lakes Well done guys, superb. Wish there was a place like this near me.

This is a fantastic cafe, delicious food, an incredible range of savoury and sweet, really lovely staff, great atmosphere, clean and comfortable

My husband and I were on holiday in June from Australia and found Chesters online before travelling. We visited each day of our short trip to Ambleside because we were so impressed by the delicious vegan food on offer, especially the sausage rolls and scones! The setting was idyllic and we will definitely return on our next trip to the UK.

Two visits this week. Service is good. Cakes are to die for. Great to be able to sit outside under cover. Recommend stopping here when out walking. Shop attached to cafe has some very nice products.

Fantastic location, cinnamon roll was the best I’ve ever had. Will definitely come back for a lunch.

Delicious vegan cauliflower biryani and followed by huge and decadent cherry bakewell. So good, and great location, would definitely recommend

Chester's is perfectly placed for a post hike cuppa. Good service and a great selection of cakes and food located in a stunning area.

Still a very nice place to visit but not quite the same with the self service now. Food and drinks still good though.

Great cozy place to get nice sandwhiches and incredible coffee (even with oatly available).

Arrived too late for hot lunch but they have plenty of cold options. Biryani salad was good and the vegan sausage roll was very well done. The focaccia didn’t taste great cold however, and could have benefitted from being heated up. The food is slightly pricier than your typical cafe but justifiably so; everything is vegetarian and all the meals and bakes are very creative. The attached shop has lots to browse and is definitely worth having a look through. The best part of Chesters is definitely the view; sitting outside near the rush of the river is a must.

A good welcome cup of tea after a wet walk.

Arrived at just before 3. Got asked a question by another walker whilst I tied my dog to the bench and when I walked in to the cafe at 3 minutes past 3 I was told I couldn't have hot food by a very matter of fact man with no sympathy or customer care whatsoever. Hot food was still being prepared and taken to tables. I felt incredibly sad by the man's attitude and recommend a customer care course to give him the skills to help make this place as wonderful as I had heard it is for everyone. Saying this, I had previously stopped for coffee and cake, and what I ate was fresh and delicious. I encountered the same customer coldness from the same fella then to.

Tasty scram! Well worth a visit

absolute gem of a find, lovely options and great location and atmosphere. we will be eating here every time we visit the lakes from now on!

A great selection of veggie and vegan breakfast food - lots of different pastries and cakes on offer, the food is delicious. The only downside is that there isn’t option to warm the pastries/take away breakfast options and the ‘hot food’ section is limited with only a few options. Chesters has also changed their approach in the last couple of years - they are no longer table service - you queue and collect your food before taking to the table yourself. You are also encouraged to clean up your table after yourself, putting your rubbish in the relevant recycling bins. If you don’t like this ethos, then Chesters will not be for you. It can get incredibly busy after 10/11am.

Amazing location, great tasting food and drinks.

Beautiful location overlooking the river and a short stroll to Skelwith Force waterfall

Brilliant takeaway bakery with lots of delicious vegan options and amazing coffee ☕️ lots of options to take out or eat in . I had the noodles with tofu and banana blueberry cake.

The restaurant has changed considerably since our last visit. The menu is very limited only really pastry items or granola for breakfast. The pastry items were cold at opening time suggesting not made on site. Dirty table at 9am with notice saying clear up after yourself and dirty floor similarly unloved toilets. In contrast the walk along the river is outstanding with the reward of a magnificent view at the end which is priceless. Will do the walk again but sadly not the cafe.

Every year, we holiday in the Lake District, and we used to visit Chesters every time—sometimes multiple times a week. Yes it’s in a beautiful setting, and yes the food is still nice, but the service is just no longer there. After our last visit this afternoon, I felt I had to share my experience: 1. You no longer get plates, crockery, or proper cutlery. Your food is given to you in a paper bag, and you eat it on top of that, using disposable cutlery. 2. You have to clear your own table. It’s not just about stacking your tray in a trolley; they ask you to sort everything into different bins and areas. 3. The tables don’t seem to be cleaned between visitors. I had to clean my own table when I sat down. And while sitting in for an hour during a very quiet period, I didn’t see any of the tables being wiped down. This is just not what I’d expect from a sit-in cafe, particularly at its price point. I’m not saying the food and drink are expensive—the prices are on par with other cafes in the area—but those other places do come with table service and crockery. I'm sad to say that that was our last visit to Chester's. But we certainly won't be returning until the service does.