Dodds Restaurant in South Lakeland

Best restaurant in Ambleside. Dine here every time I frequent Ambleside Food is great, service is quick, staff are friendly and prices are very reasonable. Would definitely recommend

Lasagna and pizza just perfect! Would recommend!

Delicious (huge) pizzas, great service, and great atmosphere.

Love tge lasagna, the pasta and the pizza! Don't forget to try their Lake District elderflower gin, whisky and vodka. Their alcohol coffee also very try the Vodka caramel americano, so gooooood ❤️❤️❤️

By far the most enjoyable casual dining experience to date in the UK. Their coffee was also the best roast I have had as well. Thank you for a great meal and experience

We’ve been to the restaurant several times over the years. Visited last week and the food and service was exceptional. Be advised, they don’t take bookings so get there early to avoid disappointment!

We visited with the family in April. Didn’t have the booking but they did their best to accommodate. Explained the waiting times and invited us to the bar. Due to the cancellation we didn’t have to wait long. Food and service was great. Would highly recommend.

Nice little restaurant. Very busy, nice atmosphere. Good food, friendly staff, felt like a family restaurant. Really enjoyed our meal. Lasagne, rocket salad, chicken and leek pizza. Very nice Good selection of wine.

Having dined all around the World, I still rate Dodds as one of the best restaurants around! Excellent service and fabulous food! Plus a great atmosphere. What more could you ask?

My partner and I stayed in Ambleside recently and walking round looking at menus we found in his one enticing. The restaurant was really busy but the host offered to take our number and would call us us in 30-40mins for a table. We popped round the corner for a drink and sure enough, within 30mins we received the call. We were shown straight to our table and then shortly asked for our drinks order then after a few mins our food order. We found the staff attentive and very friendly. We ordered a shared baked Camembert starter followed by 3 mains as my partner was u sure which to have! Everything was good excellent. We also enjoyed a couple of very refreshing cocktails to wash everything down with. All in all a lovely vibrant restaurant with excellent food and exceptional service. Highly recommended.

We have been eating at Dodds for years, and it's always a delight going back, Great food and service. With a relaxed atmosphere. We'll be back as soon as we get back to the lakes. Cheers.

Great evening lovely food probably the best lasagne we've ever tasted ,tiramasu amazing. Wine was also a great accompaniment to our meal fioroso so good ! Look forward to returning inthe autumn Garlic bread with mozzarella was delicious. Thankyou for agreat evening

Always good and friendly service. Will always call in when in Ambleside

Lovely atmosphere, the food was delicious. Very busy. Recommend 100%

Great place, food good, service good, atmosphere very nice. Only downside is you can't book and gets very busy so you can end up with a long wait or disappointed that you can't get a table.

My wife and I recently had the pleasure of dining at this delightful Italian restaurant, and it exceeded all our expectations. From the moment we stepped through the door, we were greeted with warmth and hospitality. The atmosphere was cozy and inviting, setting the stage for an unforgettable meal. Let’s talk about the food - each dish was a culinary masterpiece, bursting with authentic Italian flavors and made with the freshest ingredients. From the creamy risotto to the savory pasta dishes, every bite was a taste sensation. The attention to detail and passion for cooking truly shone through in every dish we tried. Not only was the food exceptional, but the service was also great from start to finish. The staff were attentive and friendly, always ready to offer recommendations and ensure that we had everything we needed. Despite the busy evening, we never felt rushed and were able to savor each moment of our dining experience. Overall, our visit to this Italian restaurant was nothing short of fantastic. We left with full stomachs, happy hearts, and already planning our next visit. If you’re looking for an authentic Italian dining experience with impeccable food and service, look no further than this gem of a restaurant. Buon appetito!

5 of us went here on Wednesdsy 20th March 2024 whilst on our annual Lakes Trip. We usually go here at least once and it didn't disappoint us. We all had different meals. I had Tuna Steak with roasted sweet potato and tender stem Broccoli with Sriracha butter. Absolutely lovely. We all enjoyed the food. Thank you.

Great food and service - so much better than some of the pubs in town.

Second time visiting here, food was amazing both times. This time the restaurant was quieter and was not full however we felt very rushed. Food courses came out with quick succession and plates were quickly cleared afterwards. The staff are nice, if a little too efficient, we would have punctuated our meal with more drinks, but we sisnt have the chance. But still, food excellent!

My husband and I came here over a long weekend in January. We went a little early around 6:30pm, and it was buzzing and we managed to get a table straight away but it was full. The atmosphere was fantastic, we were by the kitchen and saw the chefs cooking and the food was fantastic and so tasty. I had a special on the menu, which was a lamb, red pepper and tzatziki burger, and my husband had a pizza. Can’t wait to eat again to Dodds when we visit Ambleside in April.

Amazing pork belly. Really good quality of food 100% will be returning soon

3rd visit. 3rd fabulous and delicious meal. Lobster ravioli was superb. Really good portion sizes as well. Helpful friendly staff. Thoroughly enjoyed it again. Strongly recommend.

Wow, love this place. Called in at 6pm only to take shelter from the rain. Ordered 2 pizzas and they were so tasty, really enjoyed them. Excellent service. No booking so go early.

Celebrating our friend's birthday in Ambelside with a delightful 2 days at the Salutation, Dodd's was my her Saturday night choice. Everything was good apart from the hostile, unfriendly service we received from one female waitress. It was so bad we had to explain to another waitress who was lovely why we wouldn't pay the full service charge. It was as if she was angry with us the full evening you didn't even want to ask her a question. Miserable and should not be in a job dealing with the general public if she can't be amiable at least.Totally rude and what's worse is she was even like it when I made thd booking on the phone. The food was wonderful and as someone who lived in Italy for 10 years it really was great.Just such a shame the service was so poor 😢

The food was brilliant, especially the black pudding! WARNING TO ALL- Went to pay the bill and they added a service charge… I have no issues tipping but I find it rude when a charge is added without permission. Look out for this!

Loved this spot and the food was delish!

This place stands out from the twee offerings in Ambleside. Really welcoming, a nice range of light and larger meals with proper customer service. Best of all - no dogs!

Dirty fries were incredibly good. My seafood pizza was one of the best I've had. Homemade, hand rolled base. Everything about the ingredients oozed quality. It was our second visit but not our last. First class place.

Lovely food and environment. Fantastic service from waiters. Great value for money. You cannot book but we just had a drink at the bar whilst we waited for a table which didn’t take long. Would recommend

Great Pizza Had the Philly steak pizza So good Lovely place Staff were excellent No bookings So always a table availability

Amazing food. Would recommend. Its a very busy place. Staff were really friendly. Only thing I didn't like was when we were at the bar waiting for a table we could see one of the waitresses vaping in the kitchen. I would have eaten here for every meal if I was aloud lol

Visited here at the weekend with our 5-year-old, very reasonably priced for a fresh well well-presented meal. The kid's menu included a drink and ice cream for less than £10. Mushroom carbonara was amazing probably one of the best I've eaten! and the pizzas are also very very good! we even ended up taking home some left over pizza!

Lovely place. Black pudding starter especially delicious. Unpretentious family restaurant. Second visit. Would go again

We live locally but always try to get to come to Dodds . We went Sunday for a early wedding anniversary meal, and yet again were not disappointed. The staff were very friendly as always. The meal was outstanding . We had the Antipasti for 2, followed by Lobster ravioli and Rib eye steak. Again the meals were out of this world. We also had a bottle of red wine. We always recommend Dodds to family and friends. You won’t be disappointed , they tend to get busy early on but well worth waiting

What a lovely, small, friendly, attentive Italian restaurant. Good value and delicious food. Great service too. Will definitely go back.

Delicious food and a lovely atmosphere. My boyfriend and I visited this restaurant with high expectations and were not disappointed! We ordered the king prawns to start which were amazing and then pizza and spaghetti bolognaise for mains - which were both equally tasty. Friendly staff. We would definitely recommend this restaurant!

Delicious starters. Get the Spicy Tiger prawns, and the Dodds black pudding! Best black pudding I've had - it has proper bits of pulled pork in it. Lasagne was good, tiramisu only average, but the staff were so lovely and its inexpensive.

Lovely restaurant. Family feel. Outstanding, friendly service. Let us wait for a table and then remembered us! Food was excellent, flavoursome, unusual and beautifully presented. Atmosphere warm and friendly. Highly recommend.

Been visiting here for 15 years. Consistently excellent. Great food, well priced, very fast service. An excellent example of how to run a family restaurant. The only possible criticism would be that you can feel slightly rushed due to the high table turnover but we would not eat anywhere else in Ambleside. A brilliant place. Update 12/02/24. Still brilliant.

Excellent service and food. Seated us quickly and served us quickly. Top quality restaurant that had a great atmosphere and was packed to the rafters before 6pm.

We shared a mushroom (white base) pizza and seafood risotto, absolutely delicious.

Popped in today, and had a thoroughly delightful lunch. One of the nicest sandwiches we've had for a very long time, plus a fantastic seat in the window which was perfect for people watching! Thoroughly recommend.

Excellent food and excellent service. We really enjoyed it and will go again. The staff were lovely and so was the restaurant.

Dined here yesterday evening with the kids. They absolutely loved it. Of all the places in Ambleside, this place is my first choice. Prices are very reasonable, the staff are welcoming and always make you feel at home, and the food is out of this world. I may be bias- I eat here at least once a month. But in the 10 plus years of going to Dodds, not once have I had a bad experience (hence my repeat custom). Keep up the hard work!

Superb restaurant. Food, service and atmosphere all very good. You can tell that it is a place to eat as you cannot book and a queue builds up outside before it opens. Will go again

Went out for an evening meal. Was the best home cooked meal. My husband had the crispy pork belly with black pudding and said it was the best he'd ever had. Service was friendly and helpful. Recommend to anybody to go for a meal here

Me and my wife have been coming to this lovely Restaurant for seven years or more staff very friendly and the food is amazing quality food not over priced like other places Restaurants in Ambleside good Gouguenheim red wine and lovely Irish coffee what more can you ask for after leaving you feel plentiful full and Happy thank you

This restaurant is fabulous! We visited as a couple midweek while on a two night stay in Ambleside. Nothing disappointed whatsoever. We had starters, main and shared a dessert. Every course was scrumptious and we definitely will return. If you’re visiting Ambleside this place is an absolute must, fast service, polite staff, relaxing atmosphere, we really couldn’t ask for anything more.

Have been a regular visitor to Dodd’s for many years and the high standards have been maintained throughout. The food is excellent and the service efficient prices are are fair. Would recommend a visit.

Pizzas were delicious, service excellent

Reliably good food. Don’t normally allow booking but on this trip put a ‘time limit’ on some customers tainted the experience on this occasion. Also I prefer to choose to tip (or not) rather than it automatically being added to the bill

We turned up with no reservation, they took our mobile number and called when a table came free, we only had to wait around 20mins, the staff were friendly and attentive, the food was excellent and it was reasonably priced 👍 Recommended 😃🙏

Great service, very efficient and friendly. We had both lunch and dinner here, toasted sandwiches were delicious and pizza was the best in town!

Not certain if it was because we had been seated toward the end of lunch service, but it did not seem they were too impressed to take our order. Food was however nice and a member of the kitchen team was also friendly.

The food was good, and the staff were pleasant but when we checked our bill a 10% optional tip had been added. There was no mention of this on the menu and we were not informed of this by the staff beforehand. A tip is not a service charge and should be freely given by a customer, not included in the bill. This bill includes VAT so you are effectively tipping on tax! We will not be visiting again.

We have passed Dodds many times. However, today, we popped in for lunch. Menu choices were spot on. I chose the Smashed Burger, the good lady chose Loaded Fries. We were both ultra happy with the food and service. This was our FIRST visit, and...

Excellent food in Ambleside. Authentic Italian fare. Well worth the visit

Lovely lunch this afternoon. Our kids wanted garlic pizza with cheese which wasn’t on the menu but the waiter spoke to the chef and they said no problem. Two happy kids! Excellent service!

Came here quite late hoping for food, I think they were starting to clear up for the night, but still served us. Everything was amazing, pork belly, amazing. gnocchi, amazing. Everything right down to the parsnip puree was AMAZING. Definitely come here if you are in Ambleside. 100/10 would highly recommend!!! But sorry for keeping you slightly later guys, even then the food was not rushed, it was perfect. Thankyou for welcoming us late and I hope I can eat here again ☺️

Unfortunately overall the food was literally luke warm ….I don’t like to complain as it would spoil the atmosphere & I do not want a meal that has to be ‘returned’ to the kitchen!!! ….the staff were sooooo ignorant !!!….to my face they questioned the...

Be careful of the service charge.

Called in while wandering around Ambleside, food was very good. The soup was fantastic and the grilled chicken ciabatta was also very good. A 10% tip was included in the bill which makes a tip redundant. Overall excellent.

This gem of a eatery is a must visit if you're passing or staying in the area. We managed to get a table in what was the areas biggest snowstorm for years and was a welcome relief to get in and try their amazing food...

We were surprised and slightly wary as the restaurant seemed very quiet for lunchtime. However it was still a fantastic meal! Service was quick, staff are very polite and friendly, and the sandwiches we got were delicious. The Cuban and mozzerella were both lovely, and the chips clearly homemade! We will return on future trips.

Consistently beautiful freshly cooked food at the open kitchen never had a bad meal here yet over the years. Service is friendly efficient yet informal , the restaurant is generally bustling due to its central location in Ambleside. All food on the menu can be taken out if need be. The menu is imaginative and the pasta and desserts particularly delicious, all the items on the menu are priced very reasonably and reflect good value for money in our opinion. It's definitely our go-to restaurant of choice and can't recommend highly enough particularly the Lobster ravioli with the incredible Dodd's homemade black pudding. A particular desert , toasted panna cotta with pistachio semifreddo and caramel sauce was just beyond words!! Really looking forward to our next visit soon.

Lovely warm and welcoming Italian Restaurant. Nice cocktails, tasty pizzas, and I really enjoyed the lobster ravioli in tomato and vodka sauce.

Rarely nice place offering excellent food and wine. Excellent service. No need to book if eating early.

Dined here because of the reviews...however my experience very disappointing. Had pollo pizza, came with very fatty pancetta pieces on it...not very nice. Also dont agree putting a tip included on the receipt. Should be a choice and from my experience i definitely should not have left a tip.

Friendly staff. Brilliant chefs & excellent food! ..smashed burger and beef chilli pizza..😁 Best quality...stayed for desert too, which was also fantastic!!!

We have both pasta dishes . I have seafood spaghetti and my partner have spaghetti bolonaise . Full of flavour and yummy !!! My seafood dish was on smaller size , but my partner spaghetti decent portion. For dessert we have just one tiramisu to...

Love it here! Such a lovely, cosy, and informal space. Food is consistently delicious and enjoyable with polite and speedy service. Occasionally, we decide to try somewhere else, but we usually just navigate our way back to Dodds. Go and check it out on a cold autumnal evening and look at the cosy atmosphere through the windows. I guarantee you'll be tempted to go in and be drawn back time and again. Gluten free offer isn't extensive, but there's always a delicious pasta and sauce to enjoy.

Family of four. Great meal. Really enjoyed it. Cannot fault the food at all, and it looked great on the plates. Only thing that spoiled the day was the OPTIONAL TIP 'TRICK'. If its OPTIONAL, why have you already calculated a sum, and ADDED it...

Called in for lunch about 1pm. Quite busy, given window table. Menus on table and order taken quickly. Food arrived very soon after, piping hot and looking good. Very tasty. Fully recommend.

Found this lovely little restaurant when visiting Ambleside for a day Friendly greeting as we entered it was already quite busy so lucky to get seated quickly. The menu was not too large which I always think is a good sign ,you could see into...

The new menu is great. The ribeye steaks are excellent if on the small side. I would like to see a Florentine steak available here...

So cosy, amazing atmosphere and delicious food. The staff were SO friendly! Going straight back tomorrow with the family.

Came here with my family eight of us, they accommodated us last minute Saturday afternoon, great food & atmosphere thanks !

Amazing food. Worth the wait. Chicken fusilli and chicken milanese were delicious perfect.

Always worth a visit. They don't take bookings but turn up and they can 1 fit you in 2 give you the update on the tables 3 take your phone number and call you when the table is ready so you can go for a...

Great steak and good pizza. The gluten free pasta was disappointing though. Extremely friendly service and great with the children.

We come to Ambleside twice a year we always come to dods every time best Italian in the area food can’t fault thanks for a great dining experience

Absolutely fantastic food, couldn't recommend highly enough. Slightly spoiled by stroppy waitress who 'greeted' at door but food more than made up for her attitude. High chairs all had faulty restraints so couldn't use for baby

Nice little place for lunch. Very clean, excellent service and food. Coffee is good.....

We has been recommended Dodds by family and we can see why! When we arrived, there weren't any free tables and you can't book but we were able to stand at the bar until a table became free. It only took about 10 minutes. The...

The food was extremely fresh and delicious Excellent value for money on a lunch time Friendly service and lovely atmosphere

Had the mushroom carbonara with truffle oil. It was absolutely fantastic! The espresso was served with a piece of homemade fudge which was the best fudge I’d had in a while! Lovely staff and warm atmosphere!

Mushroom Carbonara to die for! Daughter had fried chicken and pink coleslaw sandwich, with salad and crisps - she cleaned the plate! Side order of parmesan onion rings also excellent. Lovely!!

very nice...Great confit belly Pork

It has been a few years since we have visited Dodds, mainly not being able to book has put us off. We tried the restaurant during our visit this year and arrived at 5.30pm to an already busy restaurant. It’s certainly popular for a reason....

Tel he restaurant was really busy, but our food came out within minutes of ordering. Never a good sign for me. Staff were pleasant in the main, but so busy , it was difficult to get attention. We shared a garlic bread starter, which was...

Amazing food!! Well worth a vist

The best pizza we have ever had in the UK! The staff is nice and friendly and the place is cosy. Highly recommended!

Visited with friends who had been previously. Great food. The restaurant was extremely busy. Evidence of the great value for money. Staff friendly and helpful Highly recommend

I’ve only had takeaway’s from here so far. But I’ve had half a dozen. I will one day eat in. It’s always busy but it has a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere. The staff are always polite and attentive. And the food is delicious!!

We went to this place for dinner as it was very well rated. We ordered soup and lobster ravioli. The latter was highly recommended by the reviews so my expectations were high. I ended up disappointed. The soup was good, but the ravioli sauce was very salty, hard to eat.

Just tried to make a table reservation for a forthcoming trip. Whoever answered the phone was ruse and abrupt from the very first reply. Good manners don't cost anything. Bad manners just cost you about £150.

I had the best risotto with prawns in my life!

Very nice spot for a romantic dinner! Service was great and the atmosphere was quiet and nice. Food was delicious! Highly recommend!

Chicken special that was on the menu was amazing

This is a little gem of an Italian restaurant. We were last here two years ago so as we were back in the Lake District we had to visit again and we were not disappointed. The food is as fabulous as we remembered. If you...