Food At The Waterhead Inn in South Lakeland

Please be aware you are charged £5 for 2 hours parking to have a meal or drinks. We ordered fish & chips and were bitterly disappointed. The batter was soggy, not like it stated on the menu " CRISPY BATTER". When asked if the meal was o.k and stating that the batter was soggy ,the staff member walked off and that was the end of that. We have been coming to Ambleside for over 20 years and always visited this pub but unfortunately this will be our last visit. Extortionate parking & second rate food, there are much nicer places to spend our money in!!!!

Really nice stay at the Waterhead, lovely warm, cosy room with a lake view, the bar area is very welcoming and the staff are just lovely, One of them even wrote out instructions to find our room as its a bit of a maze upstairs ! The breakfast was great with choices of hot and cold food and as much coffee/tea as you could drink. I would definately recommend this Hotel and will back again.

We took 5 older adults from our nursing home out for the morning to the garden centre to look at the Christmas displays. 4 wheelchairs plus staff couldn’t be accommodated their so came for lunch here .. The food was excellent , the environment was beautiful and the staff went out of their way to accommodate us, everyone was able to sit together as a group, and just enjoy their afternoon . Nothing was too much trouble for staff . Everyone came home after having a wonderful day . A massive Thankyou to you all , we will definitely come back .

BEWARE THIS PUB - it no longer allows parking for anyone eating or drinking in the pub. If you use the car park you will be FINED £100. The staff will not tell you and the management will deny any ownership if you make a mistake and don't see the notices which are apparently displayed in the car park and they don't seem to care that fining paying customers £100 will lose them reputation and business . We will NOT GOING BACK again nor recommending the place to anyone else from now on.

Really poor service with the food very poor value for money. It’s curious that a sizeable restaurant in the middle of a national tourist hotspot has only a few trip advisor reviews. Venison fritters very plain with only a lettuce leaf garnish. Avoid.

Just eaten here we had the prawn curry, 3 pieces of "monkfish" and 3 prawns that were of the frozen variety and at £22 +£2 for a flatbread, lamb koftas, 3 of them no longer than my little finger some salad and a not v nice flatbread. When we complained about potion size he replied by saying "this is the Lake District" how rude! is this an excuse to rip people off? We're local and only Ambleside do this! Just don't go to Ambleside it's theft! We never will again, the place was pretty empty, even the 5 yr old with us asked where all the people were! Hope they get what they deserve!

We visited today, having enjoyed many a drink in the sunshine previously with stunning views. Today we came for lunch. Mistake. We ordered carrot soup, which was tepid. We took it back in to be warmed and were stopped by 2 families who said it was inedible - too much salt. When ours had been reheated we discovered the problem. A friendly waitress asked if everything was ok as we had pushed the soup aside. We explained and she offered us a sandwich on the house. Great we thought. She then returned to say chef says that salt is a personal preference. We tried to explain (he must have dropped pot in) so she said we could choose between a free hot drink or a hot desert. We chose one of each, but the crumble was literally powder on apple. Think this pub needs to stick to what it is good at - serving drinks in an incredible setting - or get a new chef!

Food not great. Service poor to non-existent. Nice location overlooking the pier and the lake, albeit on a busy road. Terrace space very badly designed for access in and out of the building. You have to find a table, go inside to order drinks and get menus, then go back inside to order your food, then wait a very long time for whatever you order. We at least got what we ordered, the tables next to us had wrong food delivered, one table twice and had to ask for a refund in the end. I personally wouldn’t go back.

Returning visit after a lovely meal last year. Unfortunately very average this time and over priced. Chips were dry and very small portion with steak. Kids meals also disappointing. Beautiful setting and hard working staff.

Right on the waters edge for an al- fresco dinner, lovelty food, worth the wait, lovely service in a beautiful location.