The Esk Cafe in Carlisle - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Absolutely delicious 😋 food and amazing service

Stopped here on the way home. The chips were bland and overdone with the batter on the fish being tasteless and underdone. All in all a very poor experience. Even the dog turned his nose up at it. Another takeaway that is taking part in the race to the bottom

The battered haggis and black pudding was delicious, but I'd personally rate the creamy haggis a little higher due to the black pudding being so rich it was almost overwhelming. Absolutely top tier battered food

Very expensive place for fish and chips. Fish was full of bones, very greasy and chips very bland. Staff didn’t seem very motivated. They put paper in between fish and chips which was already in a box. The steam from the food, stuck the paper to the fish so when you took the paper off the fish, the batter (soggy as a result) came off with it! I also paid for a paper bag to carry everything which lasted less than a minute - the handle broke. Nothing here yields quality and I didn’t feel I got what I paid for.

Rude staff don't acknowledge your actually waiting in the queue. Don't serve people in an order just as and when, also staff could wear hairnets. Good quality of food.

We stopped going to the Esk chippy because the fish we got was poorly filleted. It was full of sharp long bones. Tonight after 4 months we gave it another go. Fish was full of bones again. They really should check with whoever is filleting their fish as it's absolutely awful getting a mouthful of sharp bones. The frier should double check fish before it gets covered in batter. In the bin it went . Won't be back.

Best fish and chips EVER!!!!!!!!

The chips were rank , dry and bland . Don't go , wouldn't feed it to the rats in my bin . Honestly horrid

Black pudding sausage, top marks, wish I lived closer

Just stopped by and got chips and a burger I've seen better in a dog bowl chips where reheated and burger looks like road kill at leat the seagulls loved it won't be back

Just had a Fish and a Pie Supper tonight from the Esk Cafe. One of the worst meals we have had from them. The Fish and the Pie were alright but we should have been watching when they served up the chips as they were absolutely disgusting, completely burnt, no joking you would not have fed them to your dog, probably wouldn't have ate them anyway!. It really is about time these shops treated their customers a bit better than they do, especially for what they charge. £18.60 for two meals, not that cheap that you can just toss it in the bin if it doesn't look or taste right. There is no excuse, none at all, whatsoever, to serve up badly cooked/tasting food like this.

Food was delicious, although like most places the prices have gone up. A fish on its own, a portion of chips and carton of peas just over £12. Staff are friendly.

Very nice fish & chips, fish cooked to order

Oh man, that was the best big breakfast I've had in years, the mushrooms are from the local garden centre and they are magnificent the haggis was also amazing, if you are in the area its worth a visit. 👌👌

Staff could be friendlier but food excellent.

I was here recently ordered 2 lots fish and chips with a portion of mushy peas what can I say. The fish were realy massive portion and lots of white flakey fish the chips very very big large chips and medium pot of peas we took it away. And what can I say I have never tasted fish chips like this before. They were excellent very filling. Sometimes it felt that it was a lot for one person but I managed to eat the whole lot this was very good 2 meals but the price was not what I was expecting it was very pricey. For 2 lots fish and chips. Peas

One of the best fish and chips on the A7 .

Sadly did not enjoy our fish and chips on Sunday evening just gone. We arrived an hour and a half after opening and I can only assume the fish and chips we were served had been sat there since opening, as the fish was soggy and the chips were overcooked, to the point of being dry, too crispy and almost just air in the middle. I would have expected a lot more for £19.80 for two lots of fish and chips. My partner has eaten here previously and had a much better experience, but the food was freshly fried then, so I think the time you go affects the quality of the food. Won’t risk it again unfortunately.

Fantastic food as ever, freshly cooked, piping hot and delicious

Fantastic fish and chips, cooked fresh as you wait 😋👍

Excellent fish and chips. And good value.

Lovey fish and chips well worth a visit. Friendly staff. I will definately visit again

I av been comin to this chippy for a few years now as a truck driver I park nearby it used to av specials ! And peas n gravy are now £1.80 a tub ! They don’t come from the Ukrain ! The fish alone is £7 I can get a sirloin steak from the spar across the road for a fiver ! £11.70 for fish ,chips n peas n a bun ! They are taking the p*ss

Lovely fish and chips. Small portions available - and just right for a lad who's stopped growing

Really friendly staff. Generous portion. Was going to have fish but then tempted by the homemade steak pie so went for that. Delicious

Very polite staff and prepare your order efficiently.

Genuinely the worst takeaway experience I’ve ever had. Their opening times were listed as 9pm. Assuming even if that was wrong I’d be okay getting in there at 7:40pm. I heard one of the ladies in there say to somebody after he’d queued up that they weren’t cooking anything else now except chips and the leftover bits of food on display. There was a black pudding fritter, fish cake and piece of chicken left. As we were both very hungry I reluctantly ordered 2 chip butties along with the black pudding and chicken. Thinking that even if the black pudding and chicken were terrible that the chips would at least be nice as they were cooking them fresh. I was wrong. The black pudding and chicken were bad, I assumed that was because they’d been sat for a while which I didn’t really mind. But how can somebody dry out chips so much? It felt like these had been cooked days before and reheated by throwing them back in the fryer! Honestly they were so dry and difficult to eat that we just threw them in the bin. Also to follow that, the bread bun was absolutely tiny! I’ve eaten bad takeaway before, but honestly this was the worst takeaway experience I’ve ever had. The staff seemed like they just couldn’t be bothered serving anybody and were bickering with each other behind the counter. The food was terrible and I am just glad that I now know that I can avoid ever returning. I’ve never done a negative google review before because I’ve never felt this strongly about food before. Honestly. The worst. Ryan

Granted it was a Cod not a jelly fish, but it was full of bones. Never ever had haddock or cod from a fish shop with this many bones in it, yes the odd one sometimes gets left in the fillet, but this was stupid. Was like eating Kippers!! Take care if young children eat from here. Chips and curry was very good. Go with Haddock, it's a much better fish. Trust me Cod is Southern nonsense!!! Staff very friendly.

Passing through and found these extraordinary fish and chips.... Best I've had in England

Hit and miss. Depends who's working

Called in for an evening meal, no curry, peas or gravy, what chippy doesn't have these? , staff couldn't be bothered, served people before me even though my order was in the hot warmer, so had to wait even longer for more chips to be cooked but because I asked about this they only half cooked the chips, unfortunately we won't be using this chip shop again, very disappointed.

We don't have fish and chips very often, but have been picking them up a bit more often, maybe once every 2 months, as many restaurants are closed. Yesterday evening (15.06.21) we decided to pick some up on our way home. The fish and chips were not up to the standard which we have found recently. The fish were a lot smaller than on previous occasions, and one of them was actually two small fish cooked together, one of which when eaten proved to be virtually all batter. both portions of fish seemed dried up, and were grey underneath the batter and tasteless. Maybe they were frozen previously. Normally the portions of chips are so large that we are unable to finish them, but yesterday's was so small that there was barely enough for one portion. It was about a third the size of the normal portions. Again lacking in flavour. In recent months the price has gone up and up, which is bad enough when the food is good, but it now makes them poor value for money. It is unlikely we will return. I understand from a friend that the fish and chips from Gretna are very good, so might give it a try, but it is a bit further to travel. The staff usually do not wear masks, though the customers do.

We had fish & chips from this place today - the fish was cooked to order & was ok, if small for the price - the chips were absolutely rank, they must have been cooked a week ago & heated up every day until someone was foolish enough to actually pay good money for them!! Would we recommend this place - never!!!

Friendly helpful staff great food well worth a visit

Great choise of food, very reasonable prices and pleasant staff, would be nice to have crispy chips though.

Excellent fish and chips, good portions and nice staff, would definitely recommend.

Fish and chips best in UK enough said well done girls

I have to say this is probably the best fish and chips we have ever had, speedy service, cannot find fault.

Really good fish chips and curry. Stopped off on the way back home from Newcastleton bike trails and were very glad we did!

Lovely cant fault it and the staff are brilliant

Nae bun wae your cheeseburger, unheard of shenanigans

Worst fish and chips I’ve ever had.... soggy fish rock hard tasteless chips if I hadn’t driven away I’d have got my Money back (£8.50 !! Not worth £1.50) Never again 😳

Brilliant Fish and Chips. The fastest chippy I've ever been to.

Lovely fish and chips but had to wait what seemed an age

First time visit, had the best fish n chips in a long time.. Highly recommended

We'd rather do the extra few miles from Carlisle to get our chips from here. The specials are great value and very satisfying. I regret ignoring the place for so many years.

Probably my favourite chippy, lovely chips nice people.

Good fish and chips and the steak slice is delicious.

Very clean plesent people and helpfull

We had a Birthday Celebration last weekend in a local house and needed to feed 18 people on the Friday night. We tried out the fish and chips before and knew the were good, so we called in last month to ask how much notice they would need for a large party. They said 24 hours, so we gathered the order and rang on the Thursday asking for collection on the Friday at 6pm. When my wife and friend arrived to collect the order everything was ready and waiting but due to traffic they had to park down the street and there was too much for both to carry so a local chap helped them to carry the food. When the food got to us it was warm and very tasty. All the order was there and they even gave us some bottles of coke to wash it down. Everyone was very happy with their meals and the service provided by the staff. So a big thanks from the Birthday boy. 😊👍

Fish n chips to die for ....got to love it

Great fish and chips, opens at 5pm on a Sunday.

Nice fish and chips. But its not a cafe its more of a take-a-way.

The Esk Cafe is a great business, with the best Fish & Chip super for miles, employing local staff, working very hard to give back to Longtown & the wider community. They also home cook other daily specials, for example Lasagne & pies, excellent fresh food & drink, always happy polite welcoming staff. A truly superb local business, giving us quality food & regularly helping to support good causes. Thank you - Heather & Zach Graham Zach Graham Photo Art - Longtowns Ladybird's Pebble Art

We stopped on our way up to Edinburgh to get 3 fish and chip suppers. We pulled in just passed the shop and parked our motorhome in a convenient parking space. My wife jumped out and was quickly back having been served by friendly staff. The fish and chip were as you would expect, yummy, and wasn't to expensive. I would recommend to anyone the Esk Cafe.

Food is dripping with grease and the chips were dark brown. Very disappointed.

Very friendly staff and very tasty fish and chips!

A fish and chip shop with a surprise: Their steak slice is an unexpected treasure. Crammed full of proper, beautifully cooked good quality steak chunks. It has a great, genuine pastry top and bottom (and side if you get a side piece). You get a generous portion, great value for money. This is something that you can easily overlook but you will miss out on a surprisingly excellent menu item. The fish and chips themselves are cooked perfectly and not drowned in batter and grease. Full marks for great delivery of this great British traditional food. Place is clean, looks attractive (for a chippy) and the staff are friendly and polite while remaining efficient. Most importantly they are also clean and hygienic! You can expect a wee chat with these lovely people. Added bonus is that they use non-plastic packaging. Credit to this little gem of a place in Cumbria!

We ordered fish & chips for 22 of us staying locally. We rang through with our order an hour before to give them enough time. When we collected it the order was ready and correct with some complimentary bottles of coke thrown in, too. Staff were really friendly and the food was delicious. All 22 of us enjoyed- thank you

The food was slightly overcooked, but good enough; and in this part of the world, to be served so quickly makes a very nice change. Lasagne was an interesting option to have. Shame it has such a misleading name - we were trying to find 'the Longtown chippy' online, didn't connect it with this place!

Lovely chips wish they done gluten free it would be better

Fish and chips very good lovely and fresh

Great little Fish and Chip shop with a good selection of food available. The portion sizes are really good, you won't be hungry afterwards that's for sure. The chips are really yummy and the fish, wow, really tasty.

It's a good chippy but it at times is a bad chippy. Service can be lacklustre. Also little tip if you heat things that have been ordered, be a bit more discrete

The best fish and chips I've ever had! Great quality, large portions, very affordable and friendly service too. The shop is always sparkling clean and the food is ready in minutes.

Great food, choice and quality.

Seems to be under new ownership. The "cod" was truly awful - I suspect previously frozen. Oh, and the Pensioners special has gone up by nearly a quid!

I go for fish and chips for a treat when been up the road to the bridge for a walk next to the river yum yum cooked to perfection

Wonderful food and fast and efficient service

Had a very bad experience in this cafe with an extremely rude member of staff, which is a great shame, as food lovely and in the past was a brilliant place, what a shame it's gone so downhill :-(

Fish, chips and sausage all excellent. Highly recommended

Stop there for the first time today. Very impressed . Fish and scampy was very fresh and most enjoyable.

Best Cumberland sausage and chips around

Excellent service, friendly staff. Very good menu highly recommended.

The esk cafe is a wonderful place. The staff are very friendly and as for the food, top stuff. It has a 5 on the food standards agency which is a great start. Then the food. To me a chip shop is all about the batter no matter what u have battered, if good then the rest follows. It’s good, very very good. The food they serve is perfectly cooked. If traveling to the borders and following the prehistoric Route there is not much worth having Beyond here for a long while. Stop here and you can enjoy the rest of Journey.

fancied having a fish portion all different sizes nothing cooked dont know how got in top 60 . just good i didnt judge

One of the best chippies I know. We always stop off for fish and chips at The Border Cod, on our way to Hawick.

Up to date website, good food, staff not the best in customer liasons

Called in here last night on our way from North Wales to the Borders. It was nice to see somewhere that caters for the OAP's - they do a Pensioners Fish & Chips for £4.90 and it was great. You get a normal sized fish with a reduced portion of chips. The fish was straight out of the pan, so was piping hot and the batter was lovely and crispy. The quality of the fish was second to none, very fresh and a decent size. All in all, we were glad we made a stop here on our journey and will definitety return again if we are in the area.

A good fish and chip shop. Nice thick and sticky mushy peas.

The guy behind the counter was wearing a really dirty white coat (thought he was a mechanic). Had to wait for fish but when i got it home the fish was burned underneath and chips were soft and greasy! The smell when opening the wrapper was like old chip oil or burnt!!!! wont be back.

Not really a café as only one table right in the middle of the queue but... two OAPs cod and chips £4.90 each, huge portions, eaten in the park by the Esk - lovely!

Alquilamos una torre cerca de la ciudad durante el fin de semana largo de Navidad y fuimos a la ciudad para conseguir alimentos. Me acordé de ver esta tienda en TA y decidimos tomar pescado y patatas fritas para llevarlos de vuelta a nuestro lugar. Era una tienda muy pintoresco, y a todo el mundo que trabajaba allí era muy servicial y agradable. El pescado y las patatas fritas y pasteles de carne estaban deliciosos! Recomiendo encarecidamente visitar este lugar para llevar! ! !

Had Chilli and chips superb. Great choice.Great welcome.Chips superb. There is one table if you want to sit in. Good parking outside. Lots of choice.Try the Haggis Tweeds.

friendly staff very clean premises from customers point of view A nice little plaice''''' Coffee + Haggis 👍😊 Will pay a 'pit stop' here when next in town 👍

Fantastic chippy great value staff friendly 🇬🇧😊

This is a good, traditional fish and chip shop. The staff are friendly and they provide fresh, quick food with flavour and efficiency.

Un muy buen pescado y chips que ha sido recientemente reformado. La comida era de muy buena calidad y a un precio razonable. No parece haber ningún sitio donde sentarse y comer la comida como sólo había una pequeña mesa y una silla por no estoy seguro por qué ha sido llamado un café. Sin embargo, como para llevar es recomendable.

My local chippy :) portion could be a bit bigger but nice nonetheless

Chips were just ok. But the fish was 8 out of 10 I like mine in paper not in a cardboard box