White Lion Hotel Restaurant in South Lakeland

Turned up to a very busy pub with 5 people and a dog. A lovely couple swapped so we could have their big table to eat. Unfortunately the offers of 2 courses weren’t on due to it being bank holiday but a member of staff informed us of that straight away. Food was great and quoted an hour wait but arrived easily before that. Jess who was running the pub was great and so helpful. We ordered desserts, again quoted an hour but they were out in 10 mins. A truly personal experience in a really busy town, well done, we’ll be back

We visited on the 23rd to make a booking. The single bar staff was completely overworked. I only needed to ask about a table booking and had to wait 15 minutes (delays due to teenagers ordering 12 shots and assorted chasers). Eventually it was suggested that we booked on line. Booked for the 24th of December, meal was good hearty pub-grub. Very much like the White Lion of old.... We then booked again for the 29th of December but were phoned 2 hours before to say the 'chef had gone home' and they had to close the kitchen.... The White Lion was a great pub/restaurant but in the last 5-6 years has really gone downhill. It seems to suffer from getting good reliable staff so the service can be hit and miss.

Gabby and Anthony were fantastic with the food, service was excellent. Nothing too much trouble.

Absolutely brilliant night. The service was, is excellent. Food piping hot Prices value for money. Staff, lovely and attentive. 5 star plus

We booked for Christmas dinner on Christmas day and had a wonderful time. The staff were all very welcoming and attentive. Every course was tasty, well cooked and well presented and we will definitely be back when we visit the lakes again.

Went for xmas dinner. Lovely turkey, but only 2 slices, roasst potatoes very hard, sprouts too undercooked. Parsnips would of been a nice addition instead of 2 types of cabbage and peas. Creme brulee tasted like cold custard. Bit of a disappointment. Dinner wasent very hot, tasted like it was prepared and left to sit about 2 long. But staff were lovely.

Food hit or miss but good service

Always great service..child and dog friendly. Lovely atmosphere. Always return every time we come to Ambleside.

Meagan Anthony Jess and Sam looked after us so well - food was sensational thank you so much

Great friendly traditional pub 👍

We enjoyed our four night stay. Clean and comfortable. Made even better by friendly staff, especially Bee who is a credit to the hotel.

Megan had great service at the bar :)

Fantastic welcome from Nick who looked after us on two visits. Ate here twice & the food was amazing. Compliments to the chef Ant. Would definitely recommend

We had a fantastic experience, good food and professional service.

I really enjoy my meal. The Staff where very friendly. Got 3 course meal on set menu for £18 very good value.

Great service from Nick and chef Ant

Nick was lovely, saw that I was cold & got us a table near the fire. The food was amazing, well done gabby Would definitely recommend & be coming again

Welcomed by Gentleman behind the bar instantly as came through the door. Customer service level excellent served and mixed amongst customers effortlessly making everyone feel welcome. Pub nicely dressed for Christmas with warm atmosphere. Only popped in for coffee but food coming out looked and smelled nice.

Lovely food, service and ambience

First time me and my partner kevin had visited the white lion hotel, our server was nick and he was amazing, friendly, me and my partner kevin had a meal and the chef gabby made it perfect

Good pub food with friendly and efficient service plus a nice atmosphere with real log fire. Just what we needed on a cold December day

Nick was amazing polite and service was brilliant. Gabby's food was gorgeous the starter and mains was delicious and the pudding out of this world could eat it every day.

Nick was so attentive, was so lovely and helpful and made our staffy Bruce very welcome as he did us. We was here for 5 nights and ate here twice as the food was delicious and hot the wine was lovely too!

Excellent food and service from Sam on the bar Nick for his service & a shout out to Gabby the chef

Great food & service, lovely pub food with such a friendly welcoming environment… highly recommend. Compliments to the Chef (Anthony) 👍

Stayed the night and the hotel room was absolutely lovely

The food was very good and desert was even better. Friendly staff. Would highly recommend to family and friends. We’ll be coming back when we’re next in Ambleside.

Good service and a friendly atmosphere. Decent vegan options. Dog friendly.

Spot on food and drink at spot on prices. Real fire roaring lovely atmosphere. Highly recommended

My husband and I had a wonderful meal here making the most of the evening menu, two courses £15.99. Amazing value for delicious food and wonderful atmosphere with a roaring fire and Christmas decorations. Thank you!

Fab good fab atmosphere and Nick our waiter was excellent building us a warm log fire. We had the roast dinner sides which were really good quality - proper homemade Yorkshire puddings and lightly cooked greens. Great gravy and the cauliflower cheese was excellent. All for a reasonable price. You won’t be disappointed. :)

Lovely welcome by all staff especially Nick! Nothing was too much trouble and both my little girls loved the colouring he provided. Food was beautiful well worth it. Will now be the place we eat when we come for the day 🥰

Elle Megan were amazing, amazing atmosphere!

Friendly staff. Lovely warm pub with a great atmosphere

Shame its become less Dog friendly but otherwise good honest pub grub in nice surroundings for a good price.

Amazing pints staff are extremely friendly me and my friends came after a fell walk atmosphere was very welcoming deffo coming again

Wonderful time, great pints, and really lovely and friendly staff!!

Came with a group of 4 friends and really enjoyed steak night. Stayed for the quiz where we excelled. The staff were really helpful amd very friendly. Will definately come back. Special mention to Elle and Jess (Babs).

Great food and service and the quiz was excellent

Can't beat a pint after climbing a fell

Lovely food lovely staff. The rainbow lasagne was gorgeous also the tandoori skewers

Very friendly, welcoming staff. Food service is excellent, quick service & food was spot on.

Chef Anthony’s food was outstanding and our server Jess was a delight. 100% recommend. ( love the White lion anyway )

Waitress was really friendly and helpful.

Food fantastic, service brilliant.

Lovely food staff friendly Lovely log fire on a clold day will be coming back

Great service, very quick for a busy time of night. Staff very helpful

Lovely pub atmosphere, fantastic staff & service. Great recommendations of what to do in the area from Megan. Decorated beautifully with Christmas decorations.

Hostess with mostess 🫶 Brilliant service by Megan! Lovely smile 😃 Cocktails really nice 👌

For a non busy Sunday @ 7:30pm, the Sunday roast was great. Good food, and good service, but it was quiet. Then the following Friday @ 7:00pm, it was extremely busy, all tables were filled and we were fortunate to have pre booked. My partner and I had a 3 course meal, and we were again very happy with the food. But Nick, our member of staff for the evening was extremely attentive. He was full of life, attending to our every need, asking us if we were happy with our food (during all 3 courses), and asked if we needed drinks when they were low, helped clear the table as the evening progressed to keep it less cluttered, helped with the menu at times. Great staff, great food, would recommend coming here for a warm evening after being out in the Fells.

Superb food and atmosphere. Great vfm.

Megan, elle and sam were amazing. Great staff, chatty and attentive.

Come in and was greeted by the very lovely Jess, who was amazing. All staff lovely and very helpful. Foods was lovely too 😀

I had a wonderful three-course meal here . Each dish was well-prepared and delicious, from the appetiser to the dessert. Our waitress, Sam, provided excellent service—he was friendly, attentive, and made sure everything was perfect. Highly recommend for both the food and the welcoming atmosphere!

On entering the hotel we immediately noticed the nice atmosphere..We arrived quite late in the evening and asked Megan if food was being served, Megan gave us money saving ideas with the drinks...and Megan checked with Anthony the chef who said we could order within the next 10 mins....even though the kitchen was officially closed.....Our waiter Shane was attentive and courteous making sure the food was to our satisfaction....One of us had the chicken curry and it was the first time we had fresh coriander and fresh chilli as garnish in a restaurant other than an Indian, we were impressed by this attention to detail by the chef Anthony.....I chose the seabass on the Mediterranean curried vegetables and pulses... amazing again....also everything was very reasonably priced....... Megan and Shane both said we hope you enjoyed your evening with us as we were leaving......keep up the excellent standards.....

Sunday roasts.. duo was fab ..Turkey and gammon lovely.. rib of beef was delicious

Shane was super helpful and very friendly, thank you for making our visit

Came here for Sunday dinner, had the beef rib roast dinner and it was delicious! It’s a really nice and cosy pub, they had the fire it and the staff were so friendly! Would definitely recommend you to come here for food and drink!

Great service from Megan! And yummy chips 😁

Had a lovely meal today. Friendly service. Will be back x

Lovely food great service. Would come back

Great place been coming here for years food is very good staff are friendly only issue I have had is a reservation dropped on our table for 9 o’clock but we are eating and may want to stay later than 9 o’clock never had this before so hopefully it’s a one off

The service and food was very good quality, our server Megan was very helpful and made us feel very welcome

Elle was great, Shane was super and Megan and sam all make a great team. Eleven out of ten.

Food and service was absolutely exceptional. Warm friendly atmosphere, the staff are very attentive and nothing was too much trouble . A big thankyou to Shane Elle and chef Anthony .we will definitely recommend the white lion to all our friends and family. We will definitely be back thankyou

Fantastic meal and excellent service from Nick

Great value for what you’re paying. The food was excellent and the service was excellent! Would definitely recommend this place to anyone visiting Ambleside.

Amazing food and service! A lovely end to our week away in Ambleside 😊

Alisoa was pushy to get my review

I ordered the stake pie and it came very presentable and promptly but when I tried to cut the pie it was really hard to cut the pastry was rock hard, so the gentleman who was working front of house very nicely said he was sorry and took it away and said he would take it away and get another one for me A little later he brought me another pie and apologised but the new one was just as bad the pastry was rock hard so I tried to eat it but it was too much so hard so I just left it and the gentleman said I could have something else from the menu but I didn’t want anything else so I just left the rest of the pie and went home

Great food, comfortable suroundings and the staf are very friendly, Nick looked after us and made sure we had a wonderful evening, the cleanliness was superb.

Food excellent, Sunday Dinner, and very good value for money. Staff very friendly and welcoming. Will definitely be back. Thank you.

Cosy lake district pub, lots of seating, and open fires, I had the steak pie with cabbage peas and chips for £17, large portions.

Thank you for great service el and Shane 💕

A great experience. Good food, lovely welcoming atmosphere, great service. 2nd visit and will definitely come again. Special thank you to Elle for looking after us 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Great location, staff are really friendly and the food is great. Food is amazing value for money given the location. Thanks to Jess the chef and the rest of the team for making us feel so welcome.

Went in for lunch with family of 7. Exceptional Service from Elle, we felt very welcome. Nothing was too much trouble and we were well taken care of even at a busy time. Great food arrived on time and served swiftly. Thank you Elle!

Thanks for taking such a large group

Nick our server was fantastic and the sundsy roast was brilliant.

Nick was very attentive, definitely service with a smile

Nick was very helpful throughout our meal. Food was brilliant.

Super helpful with large group booking and lovely food. Thanks to Nick and staff team for lovely evening.

Nick is a wonderful waiter, service with a smile in the heart of the Lake District 🙂

Great food , friendly staff. Make sure you book

Nick was amazing and accommodating our needs. He couldn’t have been more helpful .

Food and service were lovely!! Nick was extremely helpful and friendly!! Would definitely recommend.

Great evening. Shout out to Nick looking after us at our table a Mark serving drinks and the lovely gentleman getting us a table location suitable for our needs. And the rest of the team. All did a great job on a wet and very busy evening. Well Done Guys!

Good friendly service. Lovely food

Thanks Megan Jess and Nick for your wonderful hospitality!

Great service, very friendly staff. Megan was particularly kind.

wonderful dinner out the server elle was lovely

Food was lovely and our server Megan was great! Would highly recommend and we will be back!

Shane Megan Sam Nick Were nice and friendly, welcoming people. We had lovely family meal and time here. Would definitely come back again because it is the best pub in Ambleside. Love Otis, aged 5 and 3 quarters 😻

Great lunchtime pub grub and fast service. Dog friendly too. We had kids and adults with us and everyone cleared their plates.

wonderful service from elle. great at moving us to different table that better suited our needs. and wonderful food…..

Megan and El deserve a pay rise👌🏼

Megan was so lovely, we’ll definitely come back here again!

Delicious food, great service and attentive staff. Lovely cosy atmosphere and family friendly vibes, but equally great spot to come as a couple! One of our faves in Ambleside - we have only been here for 4 days and have been twice for our evening meal!

Elle was super lovely, helpful and friendly.

Lovely atmosphere. Good service, friendly staff. Nice lunchtime meal deal, food really good. Good range of drinks. Exceptional ‘Pink Paloma’ cocktail. Visited twice during our week’s stay. Would definitely recommend.