House of Meg in Carlisle

Absolutely delightful! Adorable decor, fabulous service, delicious food & tea 😍 Accessible toilet with change table and parent chair. Make it a stop on the Hadrian’s Wall walk, between the Willowford Towers & Poltross Burn Milecastle.

Tasty breakfast, milky coffee, great stuff.

Very cozy, it feels like your living room. The garnished potato is very good, as is the salad on the side. The staff are welcoming and friendly.

This is a great spot to get breakfast or lunch. We came for lunch after visiting the Roman army museum a few miles away and it was definitely worth the slight detour. For drinks we ordered tea and two mochas which were both nice. For food we got a baked potato with beans and cheese, a sweet chilli chicken baguette, a chicken, bacon and brie panini and we were kindly allowed to order a ham and cheese panini despite this not being on the menu. All of these came served with a side leaf salad and coleslaw. The food took around 25 mins to arrive and every item was great! The chicken on the baguette and the panini was high quality and so was the bacon / ham. The sandwich sizes were generous and overall the value for money was excellent. All the food was fresh, hot and tasty. I grabbed a jammy dodger blondie on the way out and this again tasted great and it had a soft fudgy texture. Overall definitely worth a visit and easily the best lunch we had during this break!

Really friendly staff. A nice place to get a cup of tea and cake.

A welcome stop in Gilsland for a coffee and sandwich while walking. We were able to sit outside, undercover with our doggies. Lovely fresh sandwich made to order and a great selection of other goodies available. Super friendly owner who was willing to go above and beyond to help us get a Times newspaper in a village where none are available! What a star.

The place looks lovely. I was on Hadrians Wall path and saw a sign welcoming walkers entering Gilsland saying the Tea Room is open from 8am. I diverted the 300m or so to the Tea Room to find this was not true, it actually opens at 10am. Disappointed, I retraced my steps back to the trail path only to find there was a diversion back past the Tea Room 😔. If the original sign was correct I'd have saved myself at least half a mile carrying a heavy backpack. Moan over, I'd have loved a cup of tea, cake etc sitting in the garden and relaxing.

the food is phenomenal and the service is extremely friendly. the best possible place to stop if you're working up an appetite hiking hadrian's wall.

I recommend visiting it, taking a cup of tea, and walking around the village I recommend visiting here and walking around.

Absolutely delicious cakes and wonderful service. Very cute indoor and outdoor seating. I had creamed tea with a scone and nephew had walnut cake.

Such a lovely spot and brilliant tea

We had the most AMAZING and DELICIOUS Full English Breakfasts here...2 days in a row...couldn't resist! Best breakfast ever. Delicious and beautifully presented. Good value for money also. Fantastic service and the chef/owner (I'm so sorry I didn't get your name) was so warm, friendly and welcoming (and accommodating of our special requests). Comfy seating inside, and outdoor seating also available. Beautifully decorated and had a lovely warm and homely feel. There was even a basket of blankets available to help yourself if a bit chilly, which I thought was a nice touch. I wish we had tried all the lovely cakes too...but we will be back for sure! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.

Nice little restaurant, excellent service

Absolutely fabulous! Just had one of the best full English breakfasts ever. Breakfast is served until 1pm, so good for the (not-so) early risers 😉 Vegetarian option available also. Great service, and delicious food. Thank you! 🤗

Good for food and friendly service 👍 👌 😀 😋 😊

Such a lovely, authentic & quirky feel. Just dropped in for tea & brownie (great) but would call for breakfast or lunch when in area again. Liked the welcome to walkers / bikers/ cyclists (I was none of the above on this occasion and also v welcomed!) and eclectic clientele, and the amount of outdoor seating - tho I enjoyed sitting indoors in the room on the left. And the literary / folkloric link! A wee highlight on my trip home from N Pennines to Scotland

Great little Cafe, virtually on Hadrians Wall

Had the best time here while on the Hadrian wall route. Luckily landed on a night the greek food truck was out front so they were open later than usual. Food was amazing, baked goods were delicious and Andi was hands down one of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Friendly service. Inviting with the fire lit. Enjoyed my gorgeous cheese jacket potato with salad. Excellent.

Lovely atmosphere, friendly service. We had a panini and a jacket potatoes all delicious but the fruit scone was the show stipper

Lovely, lovely, lovely cafe. Managed to hold off the fear of the coming storm if only for a brief 15 minutes. Also had a small stock of various items useful while hiking, could come in handy.

Called. In on the last Sunday of January. Place has a lovely cheerful feeling about it. Our first visit for coffee a Sandwich and cake. Lovely food and well presented. Staff cheerful helpful and courteous.

Fresh, tasty and served with a smile. A wonderful place with a warm welcome for tea room classics. Andi also provides wonderful in-home catering for my voice retreats. He's always appreciated by the guests and brings not just lovely, home-cooked food but a great bit of fun and craic too. Thanks Andi!

What can I say? Absolutely brilliant tea room with Andi, the cake wizard being our host along with his wonderful, friendly team. Always a warm welcome whether it's for a decent coffee, a variety of teas, cold drinks and an assortment of alcoholic beverages, this is the place to go. The food is delicious, plenty of it, with a good choice on the menu, we've never been disappointed in all the years we've been going. Today though it was the Festive afternoon tea for me and my friend for her birthday treat. Four sandwich choices, all delicious and with loads of filling, pigs in blankets, absolutely fantastic orange and white chocolate scones, we've eaten many others over the years but these were top notch! Butter, jam and clotted cream to go with them. The delightful Katie's sweet mince pies very moreish, rocky road Christmas puddings and homemade gingerbread men. Christmas cake oh yum! The cake wizard excelled himself, mind you his cakes are super. The whole afternoon tea beautifully presented and Christmas crackers too. The food is so good I brought two afternoon tea's home for my family to have for their tea, beautifullypresentedin a box! Obviously without the drinks. It takes us an hour to drive to The House of Meg but it is always worth the drive. If you want quality food, friendly service and a beautiful old building to sit in this is the place to be. Thank you Andi and the Megs team, enjoy your Christmas and your well deserved break.

Beautiful full English, lovely coffee, great service with a smile in a cosy atmosphere. Set us up for the task ahead . Thank you we will be back.

Coffee was unpleasant and overpriced. Staff are friendly.

Called in for breakfast before heading for Hadrians Wall and glad we did. Great home cooked food and homemade cakes/bakes. We did the short walk around the village and would recommend it.

Absolutely amazing afternoon tea delivered and set up perfectly for us whilst staying at the Bushnook farmhouse. The service was fabulous and the food was delicious. Highly recommend. 😊

This was a great stopping place: excellent coffee (the coffee machine is in the back room!), home made scones and cakes. Lots of essential items for walkers. They even grated some cheese for us to go with the pasta sauce we bought. The kind of delightful find that makes the next ten miles seem like five.

Visited Hadrians Wall. Stumbled upon this gem. Staff/owner welcoming and bakes the best Lemon Drizzle cake I have ever had. Worth a visit, spotless, heart of the community and awesome tea and cake. Enjoy!

We arrived 30 minutes before closing, but we were not rushed. Another 10+ arrived shortly after we were served and they were also served. Very good cake, not too sweet, but just right. Good Tea. We only stopped for Tea and cake, so can't comment on the rest of the menu, but we're very glad we stopped in.

Great little place. Never been to Gilsland before and really didn't expect to find such a nice little cosy place for a cuppa. Great service, friendly staff and customers. Really enjoyed our cappuccinos and scones.

What a gorgeous little place! Came here based on reviews and it didn't disappoint! So cute inside and the full breakfast was absolutely delicious!

What a gorgeous little place! Came here based on reviews and it didn't disappoint! So cute inside and the full breakfast was absolutely delicious!

Just absolutely STUNNING, BEAUTIFUL, and soooo RELAXING!!!! The Coffee is THE BEST EVER, and the Cake is AWESOME!!!! Oh and Andi is the perfect host too!

Really lovely staff and nice tea rooms and gardens.

Wow, leckere Kuchen und Kaffee genossen. Die Küche bietet weitaus mehr an. Sitzen kann man draußen oder drinnen, mega gemütlich eingerichtet. Wir lieben es und hatten einen Halt auf dem Weg zur Fähre eingelegt, unbedingt mal einkehren. Mit Wickeltisch und Hochstuhl für die Kleinen.

Called in here for coffee and cake, before we started our walk. What a lovely, cosy place! The sun was shining so we sat outside. For all the place was busy, we were served in 5 mins. Such a nice man greeted and served us. Thoroughly recommend!

So we took the kids on a long walk and promised half way a stop at the cafe for a drink. We arrived too later and just las the owner was locking the door, much to my kid’s disappointment , which would of entailed moaning for 2 miles back to the car. The very kind owner offered to open the tearoom to let us purchase drinks and a snack. Which saved the day. Very kind and fantastic customer service. Highly recommend this wee gem.

Franchement excellent ! J'ai pu goûter le panini poulet bacon brie un vrai régal. L'atmosphère est très sympa. Une étape indispensable pour tous les marcheurs du mur d'hadrien.

Excellent food, lovely setting and people.

Mega! Achtung schließt schon um 15:00

We stumbled across this little place on our way back to the car from doing part of Hadrian’s Wall. As we needed to feed our 8mth old we thought it a good place to stop. Granted it was 2.50pm and they were part way through their close process however they said it was fine and could sit inside in the shade. The young girl did forget to sort my coffee/cake but after a quick mention they were right on it. Lovely carrot cake, coffee and overall good place to stop.

Top class food and excellent friendly service from Andi and his team.

Try not to miss this place if you're in need of a snack or lunch - it's a delight. Lovely fresh food which is reasonably priced and friendly staff. We were so happy to stumble across it whilst doing the Hadrian's Wall walk.

A belated Review, Circa 2016. We arrived after a few miles from Gretna Green and Carlisle on a Lake District holiday. We stopped off at the cafe for some lunch with our little family. At the time it was a very quiet beautifully presented Tea Room. We sat outside in the gardens outback and it was so lovely. Skip forward to 2023 and its taken me some years to remember the name and location using Goggle maps. But I've found it, if we are ever to return from our home town on the South Coast, well stop by for some lunch and hello.

Had a lovely panini outside in the sun . Great service and made to order fresh food . The prices were reasonable too ! What a find ! You can walk along the wall from House of Meg - we parked in the free car park near the school

Great cafe, good choice of food and service with a smile.

Having enjoyed a nice walk to the Stepping Stones on the River Irthing to renew childhood visits to Gilsland, we enjoyed a good cup of tea and some scones, at "Mumps Ha", and those nice comfortable settees helped aching bones

Lovely place near Hadrians wall, so good for walkers. Food devine.

Really enjoyed eating here over Easter from cake on good Friday to delicious breakfast Saturday and Monday! Lovely place! Very friendly, great service!

A lovely place to stop off for some food and drinks whilst walking Hadrian’s wall. There is a lot of benches to sit on outdoors, it is dog friendly and you can even ring up in advance to put your order in before you get there. We had some jacket potatoes and some chocolate snacks. It can get quite busy in peak times

Cannot recommend the Brie, bacon and Camembert baguette enough. Amazing

Stopped off at this lovely tea room for hot chocolate after a long walk when the weather turned bad. Lovely place, very friendly staff. We made enquiries about the bus service or taxi to get back to our cottage, the owner Andy gave us a lift back. Very kind of him, saved us a long walk in bad weather conditions. Would highly recommend a visit.

Enjoyed a coffee and the full English for brunch which fuelled a walk along the wall.

Amazing find! We stopped with young children and had great drinks and perfect cakes. The scone with jam and cream was delicious, the cakes were bakes to perfection and really tasty, others were eating lunch and that looked perfect too. Lovely, friendly and welcoming - worth a stop (and on my list of places to return to!)

Amazing find! We stopped with young children and had great drinks and perfect cakes. The scone with jam and cream was delicious, the cakes were bakes to perfection and really tasty, others were eating lunch and that looked perfect too. Lovely, friendly and welcoming - worth a stop (and on my list of places to return to!)

Lovely wee place, we had 4 breakfasts, tea, coffee, juices- great, crispy bacon, tasty mushrooms. Good service, friendly and welcoming. Oh and we grabbed a couple of cakes to take away with us, wow the lemon drizzle was so moist. We'd be back if we're ever in the area again. Thank you

Great welcome, very friendly. Delicious paninis and salad, homemade coleslaw and delicious coffee. We will definitely be coming back, we don't live too far away, can't believe we haven't been in before.

Adorable teahouse... pleasingly decorated, comfortable ambience. The jacket potatoe with cheesy savoury was delicious. The baked goods...top notch yummy!

What a cute place to stumble upon during a walk around Hadrian's wall! Brownie was to die for

Lovely quaint cafe. Service was excellent.

Sat outside in the pod as we had our dog with us. Fantastic service and the food simply couldn't have tasted better, off the top shelf. Well done House of Meg

Those of a literary bent will know that Meg Merillies was imprisoned, scourged, and banished, but always good in a pinch. And the same very much could be said of the cafe named after her, which may be the most reliable lunch to be found throughout the ancient Waste of Cumberland. The fare is standard: soups, sandwiches, scones, cakes, and hot beverages. But it is notably not just good of kind, but better. The soundest example of this was the bacon on my BLT baguette. When your good friend from Lincolnshire starts noting the bacon is unusually good, you know that your sense of taste and texture does not deceive you. After all, Lincolnshire is surely the pork product rival of Cumberland. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating, and camping hikers (or anyone else in need of necessities) will appreciate the basic groceries available.

Lovely little tea room with great cake too .. I recommend a visit 😁

Private hosting, operative kitchen, own cooking, nice and quiet, beautiful sunrise and sunset 🌇 , gushing River, feels more as nature at work 😊

Got a toastie and a couple of coffees, served quickly and efficiently by friendly staff. Lovely cozy feel to the place . Nice for a quick bite while travelling.

KOFFIE! Heel bijzonder in Engeland 🤭 En een lekkere panini!

As a semi regular at house of Meg, I can’t reiterate enough how friendly and amiable the staff are. Andi’s cooking skills are exceptional and the cakes are just fantastic. I recommend them every day to customers at the place I work at, and they always let us know it’s a great recommendation. Prices reflect the exceptional quality food and are very reasonable indeed. The lemon drizzle cake is the best I’ve ever had. Seriously, can’t say this enough - try the lemon drizzle cake!

Excellent local cafe and tea room. Manged and staffed by locals a great stop of on Hadrian's Wall.

Nice iced latte and other coffee &tea options, Friendly staff, clean, wifi available Scones and Carrot cake was nice.

Quaint little coffee shop. An essential stop for all Hadrian’s Wall walkers. My fiancé and I only had a coffee here but it was a really nice little place. Do make a stop here.

A lovely family run affair in rural England with an interesting historic angle. The House of Meg has a lovely comfortable family feel. The café doubles as the village shop and space is limited indoors, though there are some picnic benches on the small green in front. The menu is full of traditional English cafe fayre (menu is up to date - Aug 22), and it's portions plentiful and very reasonably priced, especially considering it's position on a well trodden trail. This isn't a high-end attempt at haute cuisine, it is hearty and filling life affirming good food. The café is a gem and on our visit was full of welcoming locals keen to talk and tell us the tale of Ol' Meg.

Amazing food, very cute restaurant and very good prices!

Lovely little find. Stopped off on the way back from Lanercost and Hadrian's Wall. Even through they were getting ready to close, they were happy to get us tea and cakes, which were very tasty. Recommended, but check the closing time!

Very friendly and helpful team. The Scones with clotted cream are the best I had in a time. When you have a dog, there are shelters in the back where you sit dry and out of the wind. I had a really good breakfast too but I was to hungry to take a picture 😅, but it tasted good. In the entrance you can see pictures of their history, 15 years ago they opened. It felt a little bit like being home.

Great wee tea room, I recommend it

What a treat this was! Got in just before they closed, so I recommend checking the hours to make sure you don't miss out. We had tea with tray bakes, which were wonderful.,

Lovely café with sheltered outside seating. Dog friendly. Great food. Excellent service from very friendly staff.

After a walk along Hadrian’s wall we saw a map of the local amenities and decided to visit the tea room which was clearly labelled. So glad we did. The menu catered for a wide range of tastes, both savoury and sweet. The cakes were absolutely gorgeous. The staff very friendly and the service was quick. There were several outside covered areas where we could sit with the dog. The prices were very reasonable, lunch with cake and tea for two for under £20. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this lovely establishment and hope to visit again.

Very welcoming after a long drive. Lovely food and atmosphere.

Das Cafe ist sehr gemütlich eingerichtet. Wir hatten sehr leckeres Essen. Es gibt auch einen Hochstuhl für kleine Kinder. Das Café war sehr gut besucht von Touristen und Einheimischen.

Vriendelijk personeel. Heerlijke koffie. Ook een kleine winkel. Terras

Happened upon this gem whilst walking part of Hadrian's wall. I was so happy they had gluten free cake! I had the carrot gluten free and it was delicious. Coffee really good too. Lovely

Lovely service in very pleasant surroundings as well as a great range of food make this an excellent spot to regroup on the Hadrian's Wall Walk. Highly recommended.

stopped here at part of a break on Hardin's wall trail. good for a coffe and a cake

I had an enlightening time at the house of meg tearooms. The staff were all absolutely lovely especially Abbie Jean Barwick, she was exceeding kind and made me feel so welcome and at home. The food was delicious i would 100% recommend x

Arrived at 3.20 pm to be met by the owners(?) taking the rubbish out to the bins as they close at 3. However, I was offered a takeaway if that suited and indeed it did as I would have opted to sit outside and watch the world go by regardless. Gorgeous, moist, tangy lemon and blueberry cake as well as my coffee and change out of £5. Nice, friendly service and they made me feel that my custom was valued as opposed to being a nuisance and interfering with their closing routine. If you're walking Hadrian's Wall, its worth the very short detour to this cafe. They also function as a shop with a range of essential items. Having read other reviews I will make a point of checking when I am next over that their opening hours are still 10-3 (except Wednesday) and making a trip there for lunch.

Lovely cakes and drinks after a sunny walk along the wall and back. Very reasonably priced. Service was excellent. Most definitely will return.

We visited House of Meg tearoom when walking nearby with our 1 yr old daughter, the food was amazing the home made soup was absolutely delicious. The staff were very friendly and we really enjoyed the experience which can be quite challenging with a young...

Lovely little cafe. Parking out front, warm fire inside. We all had great sandwiches and paninis. Good selection of fillings, we had: brie & cranberry, coronation chicken, ham & cheese. Definitely no scrimping with the fillings! Staff were friendly, cafe was clean, and service was quick.

Lovely cake..lovely coffee..friendly staff..dogs welcome outside,not inside.

Clean and looks very good service good but let down by the full breakfast bacon over cooked .but all other ok.

Fantastic experience at House of Meg. Brilliant service from our affable host ans a fantastic menu made for a perfect pit stop on our walk of Hadrian's Wall. Oh and the tray bakes he has on offer are worth the trip alone!

Warm welcome, plenty on the menu, lovely sweets for afters, great for a coffee or something more substantial.

Absolutely first class, amazing time had by all 😊 we booked the tea rooms after regular hours for our family birthday meet up and had the loveliest time, excellent hosting from Andi and mam, fantastic ambuiance nothing was too much bother for Andi.. (as always)...

Meg's offers a great range of sandwiches plus hot and cold food. There are also cakes, teas, coffees etc, moreover Meg's has a few alcoholic drinks on offer even a glass of bubbly! There is plenty of seating inside and out. In good weather you can watch the world go by and on cooler days you can sit by a roaring fire indoors. There is some lovely history attached to the building of Mumps Ha' (Mumps Hall) through Sir Walter Scott’s novel of 'Guy Mannering'. Sir Walter Scott visited Gilsland several times. He was very fond of the village as it was there that he met his future wife, Charlotte Charpentier, in Gilsland. Meg's Cafe is named after Meg or Margaret Teasdale. She is a real person and her grave is to be found in the Over/Upper Denton Church cemetery a few miles away. Meg Teasdale featured in 'Guy Mannering' as the character of Tib Mumps. Meg was a fearsome landlady (allegedly) but you will not get that reception from Meg's Cafe: friendliness and helpfulness abound!

We came in dripping wet and cold from walking the path a few weeks ago and they were so kind and let us sit by the fire to try and dry our clothes while we enjoyed hot drinks and scones. The baked goods were amazing and the staff delightful, we’d highly recommend a stop!

Although the food looked great on our attempt to visit this is NOT a dog friendly cafe if the weather is bad. They have 1 table under cover in the garden but dogs are not allowed inside. We made a detour to visit on a...

Worth a visit, small place, but food is very good, will definitely be going back