Restaurant at Lovelady Shield House in Eden

Having been informed that this hotel is to close permanently we booked in for a night with Dinner- 7 course taster menu with wine and Bed and Breakfast. The service was excellent and the food sublime. The chef excelled with his choice of dishes.

The food served is well cooked and presented. The staff are trained to ensure you have the best service. The bistro menu provides simpler meals such as chilli con carne or fish and chips but the taster menu has the wow factor. We ate from both menus and all was delicious but we were most impressed with the taster menu with flight of wines selected to accompany each course. Well done to the new chef and the excellent staff.

Try it - the taste sensations were lovely from the goats cheese mousse starter to the liquid orange gel with the chocolate brownie - lovely

The 7 course tasting menu is fabulous, you are escorted into the restaurant and then courses are served at intervals so it is nice leisurely dining. Bistro food was also very good.

We have visited several times before and always had an excellent food experience and this time was no exception. From the Amuse Bouche - Wholemeal bread round, smoked salmon and lemon yogurt through six more courses to the Chocolate mouse with brownie and vanilla ice cream we were treated to a gastronomic experience that was well worth the visit. Each course was well served by the waiting staff and you were given enough time to enjoy each course before the plates were removed. The highlights were the smoked haddock and bean cassoulet and the main of sirloin steak, just outstanding. If you have never been for a tasting menu at Lovelady Shield Hotel then it is well worth the visit.

We loved it! We stayed for two days and enjoyed everything, including breakfast and dinner and will definitely be back

Tired and pretentious, not what we hoped for. Not worth the drive. It felt like someone cut up pub food dishes and tried to decorate them cleverly then sold them as a tasting menu. Boring to say the least.

We have stayed here several times, and on this occasion accepted an offer for. 7 course tasting menu with wine flight. The food was excellent and the wines complemented each course beautifully. If you paid full price this would be expensive, but get on their mailing list and watch out for offers. They arrive frequently, and are well worth the money. Rooms are comfortable and good sized. Breakfast is also a treat, with an extensive variety of food on offer, freshly cooked to order.

We had the seven course tasting menu which was very reasonably priced and the wine flight was available at £30 per person. Very extensive wine list and many wines could be had by the glass or half bottle. All the food was beautifully presented and tasted incredible. Pleasing to the eye and to the taste buds. Can’t fault it at all. A well thought out combination of dishes and accompaniments. It was really nice to have both a cheese plate and a sweet dessert after. We were completely stuffed after it all. Very friendly and polite staff too. Deserves its rosette award without a doubt.

7 course taster menu is excellent, top quality food, good variety. Excellent wine choice and bar menu. Breakfast excellent choice and quality, very very tasty. Staff in hotel very helpful and friendly. Rooms clean and average for type of hotel. Excellent base for local area and lovely and peaceful.

Outstanding food. We stayed in this beautiful and charming hotel 2 nights and had The seven dinner taste menu that was excellent and breakfast the 2 days. I am totally impressed with all the food here. It's not only homemade,but also nice and tasty, very well presented and the staff are just lovely. Great experience.I will definetly come back!!

My wife and I stayed in the hotel for 3 nights and ate here each night. The first night we had the seven course taster menu and the next two nights we had the four course set dinner. All the courses were very good. However on the third night there was some repetition in the courses from the previous two nights. I am not sure how often they change the menu but obviously if you stay two or more nights you will see the same things reappearing. One thing that seems to fairly typical with this type of restaurant is because of the amount of time that is taken to present the food it is some times not as hot as it could be.

We had the tasting menu and whilst the portions were not large they were well presented, beautifully cooked and made with the most tasty produce. A question of Quality versus Quantity. We would definitely have this option again.

The food is of excellent quality. I would recommend the venue for the quality of food. The decor is somewhat dated and tired. The carpet needs to be refitted in the dining room. The staff are excellent.

Delicious high quality food prepared by a chef who won a master chef competition. Wine pairing is selected by an expert and every one of them was great.

We booked for dinner having seen the fabulous reviews for the tasting menu. It was a celebration night for us so we booked ahead online for dinner. This was a mistake. The online booking books you in for a 'bistro' (pub grub) menu which closes at 7.30pm, NOT the tasting menu which starts later. This isn't notified on the website. If you want the tasting menu, best to phone as this is pre-booked and has only one sitting. If you try and discuss it with the staff, they're not interested. So we were re-routed to the limited bistro menu which was very much a limited choice of pub grub - soup of the day, ham hock terrine for starters (a couple of others are available); mains from Cumberland sausage, fish & chips, steak & chips, burger & chips and a pasta dish. The disappointment of not being able to have our tasting menu turned into an entertaining evening a la Fawlty Towers with ice being 'unavailable' for gin & tonic, the pasta dish selling out after 2 portions and various other mishaps and Fawlty-ish happenings along the way. The drinks were also very over-priced.

stayed one night at this charming old hotel using a secret escapes deal for 2 people included bed and breakfast and the 7 course tasting menu. The staff were lovely, attentive and chatty, but the food, what can I say ?Iwas so excited about the tasting menu, being a foodie and chef myself, the service was spot on with each course being explained as to what the course contained. Every course was truly amazing, great care and attention to every detail, not too much, but not stingy little bits either, it was outstanding and myself and my husband enjoyed everything. It was a shame that the background music was not in keeping with the wonderful food and surroundings- I think it was Magic FM? innappropriate! The breakfast menu was also excellent with homemade museli, yogurt, fruit and juice served to you before the main event. My husband had the kedgeree with a poached egg on top and I had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, all lovely. We would definatley recommend this place and will go again soon

We had the seven course taster menu as part of a deal , the meal was excellent as a mature couple it was nice to have lots of different tastings experiences and not to be over faced with large portions of the same thing.

The great thing about the food is that it is freshly prepared for you, and arrives on the table still nice and hot. The selection and preparation in the Bistro is Pub Lunch stuff, the Taster meal is better quality, the selection of wines excellent. Little or no heed was paid to our dietary requirements, notwithstanding our detailed response to their request for the information. Perhaps a lack of communication between the office and the kitchen?

My wife and I booked a weekend retreat here with a tasting menu dinner.

Always a warm welcome and good food. Great setting and friendly staff - been visiting for many years and never a bad experience.

My husband is an amazing chef and actually chose this hotel due to the seven course taster menu which was on offer. What a complete treat. We experienced both this menu and the a la cart bistro one the night before. This chef is absolutely top drawer and I gather that people including us drive from all over to dine in this restaurant. You will not be disappointed. Probably one of the best gourmet experiences we have encountered in the UK. Congratulations to the chef

Guau. La degustación de comida. 7 platos era excepcional, casi 2 horas de comida deliciosa. Desde el "chefs amuse" a la coliflor a la soufle y cremosa valoute al fantástico sorbete y campo de dulces que realmente no me puedo quejar.

Nos alojamos en el escudo Lovelady como parte de una oferta de travelzoo, que incluye un estancia de una noche y el menú de degustación de 7 platos con maridaje de vinos. La comida estaba bien presentada y sabor muy agradable, y el emparejamiento vino bajó genial. El personal era amable y Peter acerca de los vinos!

El chef preparando la cena degustación de 7 platos hicieron bien en la presentación de los diversos platos. Sin embargo, lejos demasiado tiempo transcurrido entre campos,

Parte de una oferta de 1 noches y fue excelente comida travelzoo (así era el desayuno). La comida y el vino eran de primera clase y funcionaba muy bien juntos (estoy seguro de propietario es un conjuro de vino).

Acabamos de regresar de una estancia de una noche en el Hotel Casa Escudo Lovelady. Mientras estábamos allí, tuvimos el menú de degustación de 7 platos en el restaurante se sirve con vinos para acompañar las comidas. La comida era deliciosa y muy bien presentada y los vinos complementa los campos perfectamente. Disfrutamos de nuestra estancia de una noche y desayuno la mañana siguiente.

Como parte de una comida groupon la comida era de primera categoría, el personal muy amable ambiente encantador encantador los alrededores precioso edificio antiguo

Had the the four course tasting menu with wine flight. Excellent food and presentation.very enjoyable.

Wonderfully prepared food, very tasty and accompanied by fantastic wines. We ate a 7 course taster menu and a (different) 4 course taster menu over the 2 nights we spent in the charming hotel.

Having read about this place on several occasions I thought I’d treat the extended Wanderers clan to some fine dining!The journey through the Cumbrian countryside to get to the restaurant is very scenic especially if you enjoy rural landscapes so make a day of it!Unfortunately we missed the sign for Lovelady Shield Country House and continued driving until we reached Alston before asking someone who sent us back in the direction we came from so do something about the sign please! Once we found the appropriate turn off we headed down what is effectively a farm track before reaching Lovelady Shield Country House which is tucked away under the foothills of Alston Moor in secluded gardens on the banks of the River Nent so you can’t help get a feeling of peace and tranquillity.It’s only a small establishment so don’t expect a lavish stately home, it is what it says on the tin .. a country house, that said I suspect most people would love to call it home.As well as the 2 AA rosette restaurant Lovelady Shield Country House is a small boutique hotel (see separate hotel review) so you can easily combine your fine dining experience with a relaxing stay.As I’ve mentioned the restaurant has been awarded 2 AA rosettes but it’s also been awarded a number of other accolades particularly for its wines.Although the restaurant feels a little dated in terms of decor and furnishings it does have an intimate feel about it. Staff are well trained and knowledgeable and although they are friendly and courteous they are not in your face like some establishments.Our party had booked in for the 7 course tasting menu which does vary according to the season. Each course was served in a timely manner, was well presented and it was obvious that quality ingredients had been used, much of it sourced locally. It was also clear that a considerable amount of thought had gone into the menu as every course was carefully balance and designed to complement each other with the end result being that we all felt that we’d had a dining experience rather than just a meal - well done to all concerned!TIP: Check their website for current deals that combine an overnight stay with your dining experience.

This was our second visit and both occasions were memorable for the superb dining experience. The first time we were amazed by a seven course tasting menu with a paired wine for each course. This time it was a four course menu and we chose our own wines from the extensive wine list which ranges from reasonably priced wine by the glass to fine wines that we could only dream of tasting. The food is faultless and beautifully presented. I couldn't have been more satisfied. The service is friendly and not at all pretentious. I wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant.

Fantastic food, whether as tasting menu, bistro menu or breakfast. Attentive staff. Good atmosphere.

Fantastic food - had a four course tasting menu which was cooked and displayed on the plates perfectly

I have always wanted to visit here after reading the AA Restaurant Guide and finally had the chance when visiting the area.Great surroundings and extremely friendly and professional staff. It also wasn't a stuffy atmosphere and so had the chance to talk to people on another table. The chef was also nice enough to let me have his recipe for his Butternut Squash veloute.The food was still the star of the show though and I chose to have the seven course tasting menu. Each dish was amazing and the next dish just kept getting better than the last. The true standouts were the pan fried fillet of sea bream and the beef sirloin main course with oxtail croquettes. A tasting menu was just right and so you didn't leave feeling uncomfortably full. It also showed the true skills of the chef.The best meal that I have had so far this year and would highly recommend to anyone.

A delicious place to enjoy the food. We return often. The friendships are important. We will recommend.

Great food, really enjoyed dinner & breakfast. Asked for further top ups of coffee, juice etc., all provided with a smile.

We stayed at the hotel for 2 nights and on the first night had the 7 course tasting menu which changes daily. We had a goats cheese mousse (I asked for recipe), a full flavoured cup of soup, lamb and cheese & biscuits to mention a few courses. All courses were absolutely delicious. Would highly recommend this menu. It's quite expensive at around £50pp but well worth it. You can add a wine package to match 4 of your courses. The second night we had fish and chips which were fantastic. The batter was light and crispy with delicious chips but be aware that the portions are large! The service is very good with friendly staff but there is no atmosphere in the restaurant at all. There is some music playing by the entrance but it is so low that when you are seated you cannot hear it. Don't get me wrong I don't want music blasting out but nor do I want to feel the need to almost whisper which all the dinner guests were doing! This restaurant is definitely worth a visit and next time we are in the area we will be returning!

We booked a TravelZoo two-night break. We had a warm welcome on arrival and were shown to our room, which was clean, large and well equipped - flat screen TV, DVD player, iPod docking station and a nice selection of teas and coffee.Although, as many have already commented upon, it feels like a little bit of TLC would not go amiss, the hotel is really cosy and in a fantastic location. We found the host to be very helpful with regards to suggestions for walking routes.The breakfast menu was very impressive. We had the full Pennine breakfast on the first morning. it was beautifully cooked and attractively served. Pre-dinner drinks - a great selection of gins and a choice of tonic waters. The 7-course tasting menu with matching wine flight was exceptional. The host explained the wine choices as each glass was delivered and they matched perfectly with the food, which was of an extremely high standard.Breakfast on the second morning was also great - the Eggs Florentine and Omelette were both cooked to perfection.The restaurant staff were fabulous and really added to the experience. They were attentive, friendly and professional.If you are after a cutting-edge stylish, boutique experience then this won't be for you. But if you like great food and wine, served in a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere, then you need to experience the fantastic location and have the 7-course tasting menu.

Menu was lovely & the food & wine excellent; host was very knowledgeable & the staff were very pleasant and helpful. I was there with 3 female friends celebrating a 50th birthday and we all had a lovely time!

Gorgeous meal included in the stay. Superb service and effort from all staff. Food was amazing, especially the breakfast

Lovely dining room. Food and service second to none. Beautifully cooked delicious 4 course dinner each evening and a Cumbrian full english in the mornings (nobody does a full english like a cumbrian!)

Tom Orton is a master at work. One of the best meal we have enjoyed. Seven course tasting menu with wine.

We had the taster menu with matching wines which was superb. The following evening we had the bistro menu but I'm not sure if the resident chef cooks this as it wasn't up to the same standard.

Tucked away in the countryside this is an excellent place to try some great fine dining within a fantastic setting. The quality and presentation of food was first class as was the service. If you are in the area give it a try. A little expensive however if you have a Gourmet Society card or Tastecard you can get 25%off bill!!

Just returned from a two night stay. The first was on a Travelzoo voucher and we had the special taster menu with a range of wines. Brilliant. We also had a nice bistro meal and can thoroughly recommend the breakfast which was the nicest we have had for a long time. Peter is a lovely host and knows a hell of a lot about fine wines.Once you have found it you will have no regrets.

Friends had stayed here & thoroughly enjoyed so when I saw a travel zoo offer I thought..nothing ventured etc. £139 for dinner b&b. Bargain. If you can please take the opportunity to stay here. The surroundings are so beautiful, the food is excellent but bookings are much needed to aid much needed repair.

.excellent food, beautifully presented. It was an eating experience. The staff were first class. And very attentive.

This was a great experience, the wines were lovely and food blew us away. The tomato veloute and black pudding bread was wonderful and the haddock chowder was pretty spot on.

Excellent food and lovely staff in fantastic surroundings. We will definitely be back and may try the tasting menu and possibly an overnight stay!

Excellent, double-sided choice menu, all served to your table, not laid buffet style. Homemade muesli and also kedgeree were extremely good.7 course Taster Menu with wine in evening was nicely portioned and delicious. Wine list is extensive , choice to suit all tastes and pockets. Lunch and lighter bites also available.

If you love good food you will not be disappointed with the restaurant at Lovelady Sheild. The staff were excellent and nothing was too much trouble. The hotel is beautiful, and you are made to feel at home and relax. We will definitely be returning soon!

I am not a regular contributor to TripAdvisor although my OH is, see his review below.I have to respond to the owner (Mr grumps?) to our previous review.... I booked this restaurant and encouraged my neighbours to accompany us as it was her birthday. I mentioned this in passing when booking and was told that they would make a note of it. I thought a bit of a fuss might have been made, but nothing. On arrival on a damp dreary evening the fires were laid but not lit, I was tempted to do it myself! The meal was disappointing. Our neighbours agreed without prior prompting. Fish was over cooked and the main was just dull. I really don't know where other reviewers here have eaten but it certainly wasn't the same meal we ate that night. I am so glad we got this on a travel zoo voucher because I would have felt very ripped off if I had paid £51 for it and embarrassed with my neighbours. We are locals and the area is in dire need of somewhere we can eat well. This isn't it and we won't be recommending it to anyone who lives locally.

I have visited Lovelady Shield a couple of times over the years. The food was always on the pricey side but good. This time I went with three others and had their tasting menu. It was probably the most overpriced bland food we have had in a long time. The fish was overcooked, meat dry and the mush accompanying it not much better. Most local pubs can produce better desserts than the concoction that we had here. The wine was overpriced - not much under £23 for average wine - one I saw in a local wine store for £4.75 .Maybe because it was a Sunday night the chef had taken the night off (I certainly hope so!). The outside is looking distinctly tatty and the smell of the cesspit outside the front door was not the best for making you hungry.Staff were very friendly and welcoming but I do not suppose they can influence the quality of the food. I doubt anyone who has eaten mid to high end food internationally (and all our party has) would be impressed at this standard of cuisine. (Maybe the Trips adviser reviewer who has written several hundred reviews of Macdonalds, Pizza Express, Greggs and other fast food outlets in Newcastle might be!)The shame is Lovelady Shield has the potential, location and building to be a really sought after venue.

Excellent food ,wonderful flavours and good service. Breakfast was excellent with good selection of foods freshly prepared and quick service.

This was a treat for my husbands birthday on a deal voucher. The food was exceptional. we also had the wine trip which accompanied the taster menu. Excellent value for money and I would certainly recommend the restaurant.

Very nicely presented food of high standard. Friendly staff. May be a little expensive to some. A nice special occasion venue.

The special taster menu was a very good deal. The food was of a very high quality and beautifully served

We enjoyed a Taster menu with selected wine options. It was all excellent and I would recommend the experience to everyone

Our second visit to Lovelady Shield this year. A gem of a place. Taster menu was wonderful , complimented with the wine flight. I'm sure we'll be back again soon

Taster menu and wine delicious - large choice of hearty breakfasts. Atmosphere in retaurant was relaxed and friendly.

In a secluded and beautiful part of Cumbria there is a wonderful restaurant serving excellent gourmet food. We had the seven course banquet which was superb. This was accompanied by four different wines, all which complimented every course. Congratulations to the chef.......

Stayed as part of a Travelzoo promotion, and what a find! Excellent welcoming staff, comfortable bed, backed up by Fabulous food ( both breakfast & ' Dining experience '), if only the weather could have helped, but this didn't diminish a relaxing enjoyable stay

sumptuous eating a little expensive but quality is ensured especially with their new chef and menu excellent :)

Excellent service, nice friendly relaxed staff, meal very well cooked, but coulis, purees etc are not my style... I am not interested in how clever the chef can be ( and he is ) but more of Nigel Slater or Hugh Fernley foodie... Nonetheless a very enjoyable meal, a bit pricey though for what you get. Very good wine, but again a bit overpriced.

A warm welcome, friendly staff, comfortable rooms in all areas and an exceptionally good meal with matched wines. Dog friendly and in a beautiful part of the country.

I have a good knowledge of this place and how it has changed over the years. I am happy to say that the food here is on the up again, well cooked and tasty if you are prepared to wait, it takes a long time to arrive, a minor point if you are in no hurry. The views from the bay window are superb. The range of beers and ciders here are extensive and very well kept. With friendly staff and open fires in the colder months this place is a pleasure to go into.

The restaurant is very peaceful with nice views over the gardens.The food is excellent by top class chefs. The breakfast is the best hotel breakfast I have ever had. All the food is sourced locally and this reflects in the quality and taste. The chefs are very accommodating and produced fabulous foods for veggies

Had the seven course taster excellent! Beautifully presented and most enjoyable! Would recommend and would do it again.

We came to this hotel on a Travelzoo offer. We stayed for 2 nights and on the first night we had a 7 course gourmet dinner with wine. All I can say is the total meal was beautifully put together and each course was delicious and at the end of the meal we were comfortably "stuffed"! The wine choices were excellent.The dining room is beautifully decorated, the tables well spaced, and the staff were attentive and efficient.As for the rest of the hotel, it was well decorated and our room was extremely comfortable and clean.We will definitely be back, well done.

Absolutely great 7-course meal with wine selection and lovely breakfast with good, friendly service.

Went for a two night stay including the 7 course taster menu. After some confusion about whether we were supposed to wait at the door to be seated or seat ourselves, we dug into the amuse bouches and had a great night. I would say the low point was the min - braised beef and seared sirloin, in that the later was well done rather than seared. But otherwise, fantastic! Of the wine flight, the rosé which came first was definitely the best.

We had the 7 course tasting menu with selected wines. The food was delicious and the wine pairings were well thought out. The portion sizes were we perfect, not too much but equally satisfying. All in all delightful

Stayed here this week on the b&b and taster meal package. The hotel is wearing a bit and in need of TLC in places, but overall very comfortable. Staff and the Pennine breakfast were great. The taster meal varied with some great and imho some poor courses, but maybe that's just my taste. It wasn't as good as others we,ve had elsewhere. If you want a comfy hotel with great breakfast in a good location for some awesome countryside then this is for you.

I had the luck to enjoy the both beautifully prepared a la carte menu and breakfast over there. The atmosphere is very relaxing within this lovely countryside house. Food is full of flavour and fresh. The service is best.

We had a fantastic 7 course taster meal which lasted the whole evening. Each course was exquisitely presented by our lovely waitresses, after firstly having a drink in the bar.The room we stayed in was very nice and overlooked the garden. The breakfast was lovely and also waitress served. The whole night away was a lovely experience.

On a visit to the Hotel recently we booked in for their Tasting Menu, the food was exquisite and there was way too much food for me but I managed to eat almost everything. Service was attentive but not invasive and everyone was very pleasant and you felt genuinely interested in what you had to say. Lovely relaxed and romantic atmosphere with the right touch of formality, it wasn't cheap but them the food far outweighed the cost and experience for us, My only disappointment was that there appeared to be no dress code, someone was dining in there weight grubby jeans and a baggy t shirt!

Stayed on a travel zoo deal which was excellent value the room was comfortable and the food was excellent. The best thing of all were the staff who were helpful and cheerful throughout our stay.

The food cannot be faulted. Everything was spot on Breakfast was superb too lots of choice. There is nothing to dislike and it's all served with a smile too.

Excellent fine dining as part of a "dine & stay" offer.Tranquil location, excellent attentive staff and memorable food - what more can you want ?

Food, atmosphere and personnel excellent. Would highly recommend the Gourmet Dinner or Taste Dinner plus the choice at Breakfast is vast and varied, something for everyone and will keep you going all day, perhaps until the Gourmet Dinner !!

Unseasonally cold for this time of year, it was noticeably too cool for comfort in the dining room when shown to our table at 8pm (we'd booked for 7pm). The owner said he'd turned the heating off because it was noisy but we'd soon warm up once we'd had something to eat! Grudgingly, he agreed to turn on the heating if we didn't mind the noise. The ensuing absence of warmth, noise, apology or concern for our comfort left us contemplating the owner's peculiar brand of customer service in the bland ambiance of the dining room, devoid of the atmospheric appeal of a table posy or lighted candle or warmth or subtle background music.The four of us ordered from the a la carte menu. The chef was certainly having a laugh with his amuse bouche - a floret of spiced cauliflower on a cucumber slice. The solitary tortellini on its bed of peas proved a tasty, if rubbery, morsel as a starter. The main lamb dish was excellent, the Chilean pinot noir providing a pleasant accompaniment. The potatoes with the salmon dish were hard and underdone, so remained uneaten. Proper grilling of the brioche would have avoided the sogginess from the sautéed mushrooms and an imaginative accompaniment would have enhanced what was essentially a very expensive plate of mushrooms on toast. And so to the pudding order. We were told the tartes tatin would be some time as the chef prepared them to order. Presumably a lengthy wait for the diner is less hassle than a quick check of pudding requirements at the time of taking the main order. On eventual arrival, the tartes were acceptable although fully caramelised apples and crisp pastry would have been preferable.Fine dining prices do bring fine dining expectations. Such expectations do not normally embrace the arrival of a voluble baby in a high chair at nine in the evening. It should not be beyond the wit of management to discreetly arrange an alternative dining facility, not only to relieve parents from the embarrassment of shushing every two minutes but also to leave diners free to enjoy the kind of relaxed dining experience they anticipate when paying top whack. We note from the reviews that we are not the first to raise the issue.Well at least we had the pleasure of coffee in the cosy “lounge with log fire” to look forward to. It came as no surprise there was no log fire. Wholly disappointed with our evening, we nevertheless paid a full 10% gratuity, not for Lovelady Shield but for the pleasant waiting staff whose politeness and friendliness demonstrated how it could be done with a little effort. We do hope they got a look-in.

"2nd visit here. We had the tasting menu and wine flight. Perfect. The breakfast choice is certainly the best choice I've ever had. We had fruit and greek yoghurt and the full English first morning, hubby had the same the next day but I went for something lighter as I was too full the previous day, I had cereal (Pecan and Maple crunch) and kedgeree. There was a large choice varying form boiled eggs and toast soldiers to eggs benedict or smoked salmon.Recommended

We ate as a party of friends and had the tasting menu and accompanying wine flight of English Wines. The matching of food and wine was impressive. The flavours of the food were spot on and we had a great time. Thank you all.

If you love your food and comfort, then I recommend this hotel. The breakfast menu is especially varied and excellent.

We returned to The Lovelady Shield for a second time, booking directly after previously visiting on a Travelzoo offer. I was a little concerned, that the food could not possibly match what we had before, but I needn't have worried. The Chef's knowledge and flair in compiling the menus is obvious, with the ingredients combining excellently. The service was also first class. A third trip to Alston, is certainly on the cards.

Beautifully presented ,interesting menu cooked to perfection, lamb was divine and so was the rhubarb soufflé and semi freddo.

Have stayed regularly in the past and dine there now from time to time. The cuisine is excellent as is the wine list. Peter is a great host. The location up in the Pennines above Alston is beautiful.

Nice room with views over the front of the hotel with stream and sheep to look at. Bed comfortable, room warm, free wi-fi, tea making facilities, hot water, tv & good clothes hanging space. The exterior is in need of a bit of tlc, but these sort of country properties are very expensive to maintain in immaculate condition.There is not a reception as such, so it was fortunate that a couple of other guests showed us a bell on the wall we had to ring in order to get somebody to check us in. There did not seem to be anybody in particular in charge here and a warmer welcome would have been appreciated.My disappointment was with the food. We had the tasting menu. The first dish was the worst - pumpkin risotto with green beans and chicken wrapped in air dried ham. It was a mound of tasteless over cooked rice with few bits of green beans and a sliver of chicken with the ham being merely a coating round the edge of it. Soup was good, salmon was totally overcooked and dry. You could have lifted it at one end, waved it around and it would still not have separated into flakes. And the caramalised cauliflower with it? It was a blip on the plate that could have been anything.The sorbet was not a sorbet, rather a foamy, moussey sort of thing, cloying rather than refreshing.The braised beef cheek was tasty, but the seared sirloin served with it was a small round piece of overlooked, tasteless steak. The cheeses were very average and the chocolate fondant was dry. Fortunately the wines were good so towards the end I started to care less.I always think of a tasting menu as an opportunity for the chef to show off his skills and be a bit creative. Perhaps he had left someone else in charge that night.On the plus side, the breakfast was lovely.

A small choice of absolutely gorgeous food. The breakfast is truely delightful freshly cooked and innovative.

Not normally a taster menu person but what I enjoyed was that there were less courses but they were more substantial but very very cleverly designed and cooked

The waitress staff were friendly and attentive, but not in your face. The food was really good and fine dining. The restaurant had a feeling of opulence with plates printed with the Hotel picture, etc.Really enjoyed our visit

Seven course tasting menu with wine as part of a DBB package on the web, proved a tad disappointing to me. The set menu contained no choices and I probably would not have chosen any of the courses from a la carte. There was nothing wrong with the food but it was just competently made and lacklustre in respect of interesting flavours or creativity. I was not enamoured of spending over two hours at the dining table and most of the evening waiting for the next glass of wine. Pleasant room though and lovely outlook, be warned if your not a great traveller the route from Penrith is a switchback!

Nice staff disliked time taken to eat and being ignored as a result of not being a wine buff by the owner.

Great food and wonderfull service, we had the taster menu and wine selection which were of a very high quality

I took my husband to Lovelady Shield for a Valentine's Day treat. We arrived on the 15th Feb for a two night stay with the 7 course tasting menu including matching wines on the first night. I chose this hotel because we had been a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. Also, they allow dogs in some of the rooms and as we have a small chihuahua crossed with a westie, I thought it would be ideal. I used one of the many voucher deals available at the moment which was a real bargain. Now, the meal, I quite enjoyed the tiny portions and the matching wines but my husband just wanted a good feed! I definitely would not pay the full price for the tasting menu, (£59.50 for food and £24.95 for wine). The staff were very attentive and the breakfasts were really good. Also, beds are VERY comfortable.

Fresh tasty well presented food. Wine on taster menu matched to food. Good service from attentive staff.

There was nothing to dislike about this the food was out of this world I have never had such excelllent service wish it was round the corner I would be there every night

Unexpectedly brilliant for such a quiet place tucked away, the chef has featured on Masterchef in the past

The food was really amazing. It was served on time and really presented properly. It was 5 star rating