Heron View Restaurant in South Lakeland

We went to the hotel bar for a quiet drink and ended up coming away stressed and upset. A man was sat in the corner with a dog and the dog went to bark at another dog which created a scene. The man started to speak to the man in a corner in an aggressive tone., saying he should be put down etc. my husband politely asked the man to calm down and then 2 other men then started to have a go at my husband. Swearing and threatening him, at one point the man slapped my husbands hand away and was banging on the table. Whilst this may not necessarily be a reflection on the hotel itself I wouldn’t go back again. The police I saw arrive later on so assuming someone phoned the police on them. But don’t want to experience that again!

The food was amazing, nice portion sizes and the presentation outstanding . Lunch menu value for money and evening menu just enough choice. Breakfast was again amazing with lots to choose from .

We were staying in this hotel for an overnight stay and booked in the restaurant. It was very busy with a warm atmosphere. There are traditional parts of the hotel and newer builds, It is a bit dated but does not lack character. There is a small but lovely cocktail menu and trying the lakes gin is a must! The food was exceptional - especially the camembert and Asian salad starter and any of the venison dishes, wine list was excellent with a lovely pinot noir at £20! Would highly recommend and note some of the other reviews are very old. We will be back - the service was fabulous.

Estábamos de paso, así que decidimos parar en algún lugar para tomar el té y elegimos este lugar a pesar de las críticas. Nos saludaron calurosamente al llegar y tomamos unas copas en el bar antes de que nos mostraran nuestra mesa. El personal fue fantástico en todo momento y la comida siguió las mismas líneas complementada por la vista y una visita en el techo afuera por los patos residentes. En general, una experiencia muy agradable disfrutada por 3 generaciones de nuestra familia. Gracias.

We popped in for a drink on our way home during our holiday in the lakes. The bar area was very dated and in quite poor condition. We asked if they did wine by the glass and had a menu pointed at, rather than given, there was also only one choice of real real ale, which was a summer pale ale and this was January? Little or no atmosphere.

We were here for two days and because its relatively isolated we decided to eat in . On the positives the restaurant has great views outside and well designed inside with a light oak finish throughout . Even though the finish was light oak created with mdf on a foil finish it created a nice environment . The staff were really good throughout and worked really hard . My wife had two reasonable meals . Sea bass then pheasant on the second night . I pulled the short straw lol - Sirloin steak ! Medium - Well what I got was nigh on "Blue" 30% of it I couldn't eat . But 2nd night I had the beef daube (Like an idiot lol) which was from the freezer and microwaved . Dry and oh so tough . The "Trimmings" we had with the main meals were very good but it did not make up for my poor quality main course . Finally when you are offered a bread roll ( Of poor quality ) you do not expect to pay an extra £2.50 at the end of the meal - Really sharp practise for sure

Second visit to this hotel for lunch with my wife and her parents. (Last visit 2010.) to say I was dissapointed would be an understatement, took twenty minutes for anybody to appear in the bar even though there was a button to press for attention which obviously didn't work. In the end I hunted down the hotel receptionist who served us our drinks and took the food order herself, now you would think you couldn't get a chicken club sandwich wrong. When it came there was two lumps of chicken stuck between soggy bread and filling and it also tasted burnt. One mouthful was enough for it to be left on the plate. Service horrible, food horrible.

We are staying in Grange for the week and looked forward to having a meal at the Damson Dene having visited three times previously and enjoyed everything about it. So we set off from Keswick at 5pm hungry and tired after a full day exploring the northern Lakes by car and foot. Due to the wet weather our journey back was quite fraught as we had to detour here and their due to floods, we arrived at the Damson Dene and hour and three quarters later, relieved that we had found it. It was comforting to smell the open fire and cosy atmosphere on entering the reception area and to be able to take out little dog Jack in with us is great. We checked with the receptionist if we could use our Platinum Hi-life card..she checked with someone in the back office( who transpired to be the barman/ assistant manager) and confirmed that yes we could. We settled into the public bar area and eagerly looked at the menu, mouth watering dishes for hungry guests! My husband went for the burger, I the Pinks Cumberland sausage with mash and onion gravy. My husband went to get the drinks and advised the bar man that we were having food so left the tab open. The barman then before taking our order went away saying he was going to check with the Chef if we could use the Platinum Hi-Life card, returning several minutes later to tell us we couldn't use it because we have to book 24 hours in advance. So on a quiet Thursday night at 6.45pm when we had already been told we could use it the Chef has the final say that we have to book 24 hours ahead. I asked to see the manager and was told it was Wayne's night off and the barman was the under manager. Upset....is an understatement to describe the treatment we were given by the barman, initially I refused to pay for the drinks as I wouldn't have been having a drink if we weren't going to be dining and as he wasn't going to let us use the card we weren't going to be; but he said he would call the police, being a law abiding citizen I didn't fancy being arrested but In reality I doubt the police would have been interested. So Wayne our memories of visiting the Damson Dene are no longer fond and no longer will we recommend you to friends. It seems honesty and common sense no longer exist at the Damson Dene. My husbands opinion is that the barman didn't know how to put the Hi-life card through on your computerised till system and that was why he had a change of mind on letting us use our card. Or was it that the Chef that was in charge. On paying for our drinks it seems that the initial transaction had to be voided as we were charged some seventy odd thousand pounds for our two pints of beer.

Really difficult to find a few miles outside Windermere but well worth it as the 3 course set menu was excellent with a range of meals to ensure there was something for everyone. I had the lamb which was cooked to perfection. What made it for me though was the excellent service - helpful and friendly but not pushy. The locations was lovely although I had an urge to go out and strangle a amorous duck which kept quacking all evening - funny though...

We did not stay here, just stopped for lunch in the bar area after hearing some good reviews, it was ok. The bar has a lovely view, but there is no background music and totally lacked any atmosphere. The person behind the bar was very polite, but was clearly new and had been left on his own probably too soon, the food is very average, the prices aren't to bad, maybe slightly above average. You don't mind paying the money if the qualitys there but I think they could do better, In short there are far bettet establishments close by