Penny Blue in Carlisle

We visited Penny Blue restaurant on Saturday for lunch with quite a few friends, the restaurant was seemingly busy, with other guests, attending a wedding, but staff were clearly doing their best to make us feel welcomed, apologised a few times for the noise (which we were not bothered about), explaining the circumstances and did an amazing job with looking after us. The food was delicious, with a fancy presentation, as it should be in a fine dining restaurant.

This is a excellent menu for a special lunch, we tired this menu last year and when we seen it return we could not wait to come back. Excellent value for money, my partner enjoyed the garlic mushrooms, and I had the three cheese bonbons, both were presented beautifully. We asked for a recommendation for wine and the manager, Charlotte recommended a bottle of red after asking what we liked and what food we had ordered, a bottle of primitivo arrived and she was right it was beautiful. Cumberland sausage & Beer battered fish as mains, again presented beautifully. I thought the sausage, mash and gravy were amazing, my partner said the fish was good and especially enjoyed the homemade tartare sauce. The staff checked with us while we dined and nothing was too much trouble, pouring more wine into our glasses while we ate. Great service. Have booked to return later in the month for a evening meal.

Visited for Sunday lunch, from start to finish everything was perfect. I had the roast beef which was one of the best roast dinners I have ever had, made even better by the side of cauliflower cheese! Nothing was too much hassle for the staff, it was busy still helpful and attentive. Can’t wait to visit again!

Seriously, in my humble opinion, this place is overpriced and under achieves. The surroundings and decor give you the impression that you are going to be getting a great dining experience, but unfortunately you are going to be sadly disappointed. After placing our order for food for a party of seven, we patiently waited for it come to the table, tasty and piping hot, as we were all quite hungry after a 2 1/2 hour drive to Carlisle. Sadly, the food turned up in dribs and drabs almost an hour later, and after having to ask staff, who didn't seem at all interested, what the delay was. Then after the delay, to top it all off, the food was very average pub food at best, pretending to be a fine dining experience. It was very disappointing to say the least. The whole experience was quite embarrassing, with poor service and food that was poor for the price we paid. If I could give some advice, it would be to walk past the Penny Blue and head for Nandos around the corner where the food is at least honest and far from pretentious, giving you a lot more value for your hard earned money. Sorry Penny Blue, this is an honest review, which people are entitled to do, as it was my money that I spent in your restaurant.

I visit often, but after today, I wouldn't give them the pleasure. My cocktail was amazing, but that is really the only positive I can give. Arrived and shown to a table, the waiting on team arrived a few minutes later to ask our drinks order, fab, arrived with said drinks, took our food order and this is where the customer service vanishes, waited a while for two soups, one served with flora one with a more upmarket actual butter, fine not a huge issues, but some consistency from the kitchen would have been better, give one or the other not two different types for the same table, then our mains arrived, the steak was very overcooked, when asked for blue, and there wasn't even a faint pink line in it, when the team member brought our second drinks, I said the steak was overcooked, he took the plate, then came back to the table to tell me I was incorrect and the steak had pink running through, but the lightening in the restaurant didn't show this, which is absolute nonsense, a steak cooked anywhere between blue to well, has a definitive line between the searing and unless you're dining In the dark (not 2pm sat by the natural light of a window and a well lit restaurant), are blind, or have never eaten anything less than well before. Not a single apology, feedback, or actual service came after. I am actually glad I went to ask for no further meal, as being accused of lying about the steak, just was enough for myself. The manager cleared the table, and didn't ask how everything was with the meal, which is just unheard of, she would have been made aware there was an issue, and aside from taking one plate away, didn't even come across to the table. The chefs could be seen staring over, while clearly talking about nyself, was just the icing on the cake for a very awful experience. Please train your team better, a meal should be served as asked, the team shouldn't belittle guests dining, and the management should come over and address issues caused by any of the first two.

Ate here as a party of seven. It was over priced, and the meals were average pub food pretending to be fine dining. One of our party ordered the salmon, which was very dry and totally tasteless. The three meat roast dinners seemed to be the beat option from the menu, but in my opinion, not worth anywhere near the £26 each. As for the service, we'll that left huge room foe improvement. The staff seemed not to be interested at all and very miserable. We waited for an hour for our food to arrive in dribs and drabs. We left there all viewing the same opinion, that we wouldn't be revisiting and certainly not recommending the Penny Blue to friends & family. Bit if advice, go to Nandos around corner as its a lot better value for your hard earned money. Sorry Penny Blue, your place is just not up to scratch.

Amazing cod dish, really enjoyed my visit.

Only 4 chips, and the burger patties were tiny. I was hungry again an hour later.

A genuinely wonderful night. The food was brilliant. We had starters, main and a dessert. The staff were top notch. Lovely and warm, they made the whole night feel special.

Visited 21/01/25 , had a wonderful experience,beautiful setting, fantastic food and lovely staff, the chefs are obviously very talented , thankyou to all!! The chicken ballatone was amazing !!

Ordered chicken salad & chicken burger. Croutons were hard as rock and the burger was soggy. Lovely ambience and the service was quick. The waitress did check about the food , but it was like: how’s the food ? Alright yeah, enjoy then left. ( she asked & answered by herself ) 😂

Food was lovely, service let it down we had booked but we’re seated at the bar table next to a group of people no personal space and made for an uncomfortable dining experience! People who had not booked managed to get a table even though they weren’t having food!

Place looks lovely staff were very friendly and the atmosphere was very nice but the Katsu chicken had zero flavour I thought it was overpriced for what it was. I’ve had better for cheaper.

Restaurant, close to the station with a good menu and quick service.

Such delicious food and atmosphere! The fish and chips are to DIE for. Such an amazing place to grab dinner and drinks with friends.. a must go to when in Carlisle!

Took 30 minutes to take our food order and another 30 minutes for starters. No one came to clear plates or ask us if we wanted more drinks in between courses/ when serving food. Mains eventually came - no one asked if our meals were ok or if we wanted condiments with our roasts. Had to keep attracting attention of servers. Eventually they said they’d come back to take drinks orders - didn’t happen. Ordered desserts and was promised they were straight to serve - another 30 minutes. We complained about the service a few times and got a pathetic “sorry”. There were plenty of servers and chefs - other tables turned over quickly so not sure why we we were invisible. Thankfully the 4 young children we had with us were amazing - maybe if they hadn’t been we’d have been served quicker?! 🤷🏽‍♀️

Went on a Tuesday and had tapas food was excellent

My wife and I visited tonight and had an excellent experience. The staff were friendly and efficient and the food was excellent. The quality and presentation of the food was 5 star. We had the chicken breast with air dried ham. I had the peppercorn sauce and my wife three cheeses sauce. We had a wonderful sweet. Homemade vanilla ice cream and a vanilla cheese cake with white chocolate. Big thank you to the excellent chef snd hard working girls who looked after us.

As group we’ve eaten here regularly genuinely enjoying the experience. Sadly our last venture was very disappointing. They could find the booking, there were no tables resulting in several frustrated people. The staff were ok? Food mediocre this time !

Very ignorant staff. Started took over 45 minutes to come which was a bowl of soup, when we mentioned this the waiter got very upset and started arguing with us. Service very very slow

Myself and my family came for my birthday but didn’t have the best experience. Our Mushroom starters were superb, however, the three of us ordered the £34 Fillet steak. Two of the steaks were ordered medium rare but came medium but were edible but one was order medium and came well done. We didn’t get a check back on our meal from our server so I had to chase down someone as I really wasn’t happy with my well done steak. The server was lovely and offered to get me one cooked how I asked but suggest I get medium rare if I want medium - this seems to suggest she is aware that they are never cooked to how they should be. Following this my family had finished their meal but still didn’t receive a check back in their meals. My steak came which was cooked medium finally. It took us being sat with our empty plates for 30+ mins after we’d all finished, and once we’d come back from having a cigarette someone eventually came over to clear our plates. Dessert was offered and we said we would like some but in 5/10minutes. No-one ever came back so we decided to get the bill. My mum mentioned the above problems but in a way for feedback as the bill was £240+ and the server - who was extremely passive aggressive and seemed disgruntled stated “well I’ll go get a manager then”, but then came back and said “we’ve take 5£ off the bill as obviously we had to rebook a whole other filler steak”. This server didn’t bother to hear us out or allow us to explain then tried to blame us for cooking another steak when it was cooked to how we asked in the first place. We felt extremely disappointed that no manager came over even though the server threw that in our face when we said we weren’t overly happy. Poor service and you could see the servers were struggling to keep up with big tables all around us and therefore it felt we got forgotten. Occasionally they were good at asking us for drinks, but overall disappointment birthday meal and experience.

We went to this restaurant as we were in Carlisle with no booking. We were told on entry that tonight was the steak night special. Following this we decided to order steaks. I ordered a fillet steak with peppercorn sauce and side salad. Steak was lovely and tender and cooked to medium rare (like I asked). Side salad was delicious (one of the tastiest I have ever had) but the stand out for me was probably the only rings. THE WERE THE BEST onion rings I have ever had and tasted like they had been pickled. Triple cooked chips were also lovely. I tried the katsu curry as well which was amazing, much better than any I had tried before (1000x better than Wagamama for sure!). For dessert I had the biscoff and white chocolate cheesecake which was really tasty. I couldn’t stop eating it!! Overall I highly recommend coming to this restaurant on steak night or to have the katsu curry.

We went to Penny Blue for a lovely evening meal & some wine & loved the vibe & enjoyed it all, Would definitely Return! :)

Went for Sunday lunch. Although the restaurant wasn't overly busy the main course took a while to come . Others in after us were served well before us.

Penny Blue is simply the best - our home from home - food is absolutely spectacular, however, it is the service from the wonderful team which makes it our stand-out! The fabulous staff (the lovely lady who I believe may be manageress) &the fabulous Darren who go above and beyond 💖 With love from the ‘Sambuca Table’😉xxxxx

We visited for Sunday lunch with family. The service was terrible and was so disjointed. We struggled to get the attention of staff to order more drinks and desserts. The Sunday roasts were tiny portions and overpriced. The desserts came out in 10 minute intervals. It’s the second time I’ve visited and it’s been the same experience both times so I won’t be returning.

Went with family for a birthday meal, the food was lovely, but our food didn't really match the description and therefore our expectations. There was a minor mix up of our order, but the staff quickly sorted that out for us. I was impressed by the service. It was Friday evening at 7:00 and we weren't expecting it to be quite so busy, it was so noisy you could only just hear any conversation. The venue is very beautiful, it's a lovely spot.

Selected this for a Sunday roast lunch while on a choir singing visit which meant our timing was tight. Both had beef which was absolutely excellent as were all the trimmings. For desserts my wife chose the creme brulee while I had a delicious raspberry pavlova ice cream. Service was attentive, friendly and timely giving us time for a leisurely stroll back to practice at cathedral.

We went for Sunday lunch with a group of around 14. We were presented with our meat, mash and a Yorkshire pudding and this was shortly followed by a few tiny plates of veg and some roasties. the veg was not evenly distributed along the table, and the portions were so small we assumed more was to come to fill the gaps on the table. after waiting a while, we enquired about this and they simply moved the already exiting veg around the table to spread it out. I left still hungry, this was the smallest portion of a Sunday dinner I’ve ever had. The food was actually nice, there was just hardly any of it! they need more vegetables and more meat wouldn’t go a miss, I opted for ham and received a couple of small slices- I could of ate the whole thing again

I've been to the Penny Blue a few times... And I'm now confident enough to say... it's just not good. The food is below average, service is naff, the restaurant is too noisy, it's not clean, and there's just too many mistakes. Tonight our table of four: Was given 2 menus to share, the covers with filthy, and one was a Sunday menu that was useless. The menu really isn't very interesting... But not offensive. It's pub grub presented as fine dining though which is frustrating. After a long wait, the server put my meal in front of someone else at the table. The sauces were put with the wrong steaks and one sauce was completely wrong (nobody ordered peppercorn). Dudd of the night had to be the GRILLED ASPARAGUS, FETA CHEESE & OVEN BAKED TOMATO SALAD Shaved chilli pickled cabbage, pistachio & garden herb roasted potato salad. ...Oven baked tomato was some thinly shaved dehydrated tomato, no evidence of chilli in the cabbage, no trace of pistachio, 4 bay leaves (inedible in a salad!?), 5 pieces of sad potato that tasted like the back of the fridge all served in a very dill heavy mayo that simply wasn't nice. £40+ a head - categorically not worth it. Such a shame as Bartons Yard and the Halston catering is fantastic. Letting the side down! There are ways better places in Carlisle - even in the same building!

If I could give -5 stars I would , there is no words to what I experienced last night , the most unprofessional, worst service I have ever had in my life I'm still in shock to what I experienced and what the people I was with experienced. Tiny portion of bad food and over priced, didn't even get what I ordered and had to get my own drinks as the staff preferred a chat over serving tables and when they did serve the tables I'd rather they went back to chatting as they were rude and useless .

Fantastic food and service. Highly recommended. Our group had a selection of dishes, including tapas, and all of it was delicious. Some of the best and tastiest food we had at a restaurant in a long while.

Loved everything. We went about 3 p.m. when quiet on a Wednesday. Food excellent and 'Postcard Menu' lunch menu very good value for money.

Over priced and nit food orderd ... chicken supreme was a chicken dinner with huge bone hardly any chicken and very dry veg dishevelled.. chicken n bacon salad no avocado as stated n hard hard lettuce .. fish n chios should read fish and 4 chips ... n all 18 or £19 .. RIP OFF

We honestly couldn’t rate this restaurant highly enough. The food was to die for and the service from Charlotte was 10/10. The ambience was chilled and music spot on. We just wish that we lived nearer so that we could come back more often! Thank you for such a lovely evening!

Superb food, great staff and atmosphere. Noisy on a Saturday evening though. More relaxed during the day if that's what you are looking for. Would highly recommend.

My family agreed that this was the best dinner we’ve had on our vacation so far. I had the katsu chicken curry which was crispy on the outside yet moist on the inside over a bed of rice and some curry sauce on the side which was quickly devoured. The service was very quick and friendly too. Portions were great too. Glad we got to try this place out before continuing on our UK road trip!

Amazing. I have visited regularly and have never been disappointed. So good that we visit every year for our wedding anniversary. Very friendly staff, always checking if everything is okay and if more drinks are required. Food and drinks are always exceptional. I could not rate Penny Blue any higher.

What a fantastic tapas we had thank you so much.

We had dinner on Tuesday which was a tapas night. Plenty of choice, three dishes for £20. Each dish was carefully prepared and presented. Plenty to each and some great flavours. Our table was managed by Olivia who was perfect, attentive and helpful.

We went in on a busy Saturday night for food, pre booked ahead which was an easy process, thank God we did. Everyone seemed to be out because of the sunshine. We regularly eat at Penny Blue, absolutely amazing food, cocktails are gorgeous and dessert is fantastic. We always order too much but can't help it, the food is amazing. Staff are amazing, polite, always welcoming and friendly. Also so helpful with my partners allergies. Prices are very good considering the amount of food you get, service you get and for the atmosphere as well. Bouncer staff were friendly, polite and chatty as we were waiting for a couple of friends to join us. Also massive thank you to the lady bouncer with black hair for lending me a hair bobble when mine decided to snap!

Started a night with friends here. Weather was lovely so busy on the terrace outside. Not so busy in side, but still a good atmosphere

Food was outstanding. Huge confusion at the end as it hadn't been made common knowledge that the price they say your food costs and is advertised as, doesn't include VAT. Unfortunately this messed everything up and caused so many issues. Prices should be amended to include VAT then when all is paid, all is actually paid.

Came in for our anniversary and everything was absolutely perfect. Lovely staff, really special food (best steak I've ever had), and the cutest dog sat behind us that I looked at more than my Mrs. Easily the nicest meal out I've had in Carlisle.

Food wasn't bad but I did leave hungry also felt the service was alittle slow considering it wasn't really that busy in the restaurant

Food was excellent and staff were very nice. Restaurant was very nice decor.food was very reasonable for price and good quality.👏

Visiting from Vancouver, Canada. This restaurant came up on Google Maps as a seafood place. And so i just felt the urge to go in for a snack - a scallop and bacon starter and it was delicious. Manager was friendly and comes across as well travelled. Server was friendly too. Decor is elegant but yet there is a cosy feel to the room.

Lovely decor. Only one issue with the food, being that my steak was only luke warm when served. But perfectly cooked otherwise. Service was great and we were pleased to find they are dog friendly, which makes visiting whilst in the area much easier. Would definitely return.

Service was a massive let down took 45 mins to take out order and was never offered drinks during the meal

The Penny Blue Restaurant came up on a trip advisor search. Glad it did or we wouldn't have known it was there. I had the parfait, steak and then cheesecake. All were great. Had a few bottles of wine to wash it down. The service was great. I really need to start noting names so I can thank personally.

I went for a meal with my boyfriend for his birthday and the experience was lovely! We got treated to some free champagne and the food was delicious. Amazing place for a day out. Will be coming back :)

Stayed last year fabulous Sunday roast fabulous loved watching the chefs preparing it Stayed elsewhere just for a cost comparison could not wait for the meal today had ranted to friends saying it was the best we ever had and it was good again today but the plate was cold which spoiled it a bit so it went from a 10 out of 10 to an 8 but still very good just a little detail that makes a huge difference

Great food Swordfish was delicious

Amazing service Food great Prices affordable

A very nice opulent premises service was very good

Love having lunch there many times 😋 with my sister from London and my partner Bryan

Probably one of the best restaurant in town; great atmosphere, great food and great service;

Great service - I had to catch a train and the waitress made sure my order came out on time even though it was a busy Saturday. Food itself was delicious

Excellent food and staff...went for family meal in August...loved it

Very nice meal would recommend and will go back.

Went here with my family and all of us thoroughly enjoyed our food. The highlight for me was the scallops from the appetiser section of the menu. The cherry amaretto cocktail was also a stand out. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they do a tapas menu where you choose 3 dishes. I'm always a bit wary of tapas as it can be very little food but the portion size was very good here so I recommend that if you want to try several of the dishes. The interior is nicely decorated and there was a good atmosphere as it was pretty busy even on Tuesday night.

Cant fault it at all, food and service were fantastic.

Tapas Tuesday with friends. Delicious

I must say that the food was absolutely fantastic. Piping hot and very tasty indeed. My only slight gripe would be that I thought service was a bit on the slow side for a Tuesay night. We seemed to sit quite a while waiting for our table to be cleared before we were offered desserts. We would go again.

Wonderful staff, food ,service and well priced

Fantastic restaurant- steak was cooked to perfection, peppercorn sauce one of the best ever and the wine, beer and service was first class. Thoroughly enjoyed a night in the Halston and dinner at penny blue. Will be back when visiting Carlisle, couldn't fault a single thing

Nice food, good service and the price was reasonable. Thank You!!

Great service from Natalie this evening so happy to help fantastic member of staff

Large table booked in advance with food pre ordered only to find in the night we couldn't sit together. Volume was so loud in the place you had to shout to each other. Portions small and still gingery after a main and dessert. Drinks very expensive. Overall very disappointing.

Lovely Sunday dinner with my daughter today. This place was recommended to me by a family member and we were both very happy it was. Service, food, sitting area, parking, space's between tables... everything was absolutely perfect. Staff well turned out and very professional with timing, right amount of attention and a smile. Will we go again... absolutely. Do we as a family recommend it to you and yours....100% 👍

Absolutely amazing! A very cozy warm place, the food is delicious and good value for money, the service is good and the interior beautiful. Tuesday deals are a nice chance to try different dishes without spending a fortune. I will definitely come back!

Food was not that great this time and tgeee were other diners there that had their dogs with them

Chicken/haggis burger & chips tasteless, chips lukewarm 1/2 cooked, instead of triple cooked burger a mush of chicken and haggis

We stay in Carlisle for 3hours to wait the train. This is One of the best steak I have ever had.(we wait for about 40min,but it is ok for me haha)

Lovely Sunday lunch but would've preferred more green vegs our plates rather than the colourless root vegetables. Very tasty though Service was good to start off with by pleasant staff but got slower as our visit went on. Desserts and coffee were great and the ambience was good. Would visit again. Thank you.

Please people that are in Carlisle Please please get a reservation out standing xx

Great restaurant, food been amazing both times we have been as a party of 8. Service very good and staff nice and friendly. My only negative is their wine list is terrible, clearly been created by someone with a poor taste in wines. Over priced for such poor wines.

Lovely meal, friendly staff and great, clean place. Definitely recommend.

Amazing atmosphere and truly gorgeous food

Quiet for a Saturday night but nice place for a drink or 2!

Excellent food. Lovely attentive staff.

Great service, only went in for a quick drink, they make you feel special. The food looks amazing. Highly recommended.

Eaten here a few times, food is always very nice. Service is great. Good for groups and families and always very accommodating.

Lovely chilled place, very friendly staff and very nice cocktails.

A wonderful place to celebrate following our son's graduation! Lovely and cool on the hottest day of the year, a complimentary glass of fizz for the new graduate, delicious and well presented food, really interesting, different menu, excellent customer service, and overall great atmosphere

We had a great start to our night out here. Service was amazing and the cocktails delivered on all points. The atmosphere was great and we ordered from the starter menu as I am a big fan of satellite dinning and each dish was superb. The staff are friendly and accommodating. Fab place definitely worth a visit.

Good food, friendly helpful staff, nice atmosphere

Beautiful decor, excellent food and really nice service. Highly recommend.

Good, varied menu - relaxed atmosphere- value for money

Great interior, nice and quiet. But 3 out of the 4 cocktails we tried were terrible, and the staff looked like they hated their job which ruined the otherwise pleasant atmosphere.

Great atmosphere and friendly staff

Food was expensive but when I tell you, I don't mind.. each bite was worth my money . Defo found my spot 👌🏽👌🏽 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 nice setting and atmosphere is nice ❣️❣️

Good food and amazing atmosphere

Good food, good service, good atmosphere and good company.

A quick Google for somewhere to eat while we were visiting Carlisle for the evening resulted in us booking a table at late notice. I cannot understand how on earth they had space as the food was brilliant! The place should be packed out. I think we were lucky that our was a quiet night.

Went for a date night. The food was excellent. The only downside was one dish that could be gluten free for the starter.

Beautiful food and nice staff. The cleanest baby changing facilities I have ever seen!!!

My partner & I visited here before seeing a comedian at the Sand centre later that evening. Based on great reviews, I thought it would be the best shout… but we left really disappointed. When ordering food, the member of staff went to dash off not once but 3 times before we had finished ordering what we wanted. So that was really odd… it took over 40 minutes to get served, so much so my partner for the first time ever in a restaurant started to get really agitated as 2 other tables who entered & ordered after us, got served before us. The fish itself tasted amazing & the burger itself that my partner had was lovely, but the fries were really strange, a bit like cardboard texture. We ordered onion rings each which although looked amazing, had a really bizarre vinegar taste to them. Never were we asked if everything was okay at any point during our visit. When asking for the bill, another member of staff came over and basically dumped the receipt on the table & walked off. After 10 minutes, my partner had to get up & find a member of staff to pay the bill itself away from the table. It’s the first restaurant we’ve ever dined where we’ve never left a tip & will most certainly never return. Really odd experience & little to be desired.

Lovely restaurant with great food and was very filling.

Perfect food and good atmosphere