The best restaurants in Derwent Valley Allerdale North West

Precis: Wow! Excellent! Any other superlative you choose! Full review: What a wonderful gem of a find! From the start the welcome was warm and friendly. Nothing was too much trouble for Gary, Donna and their team; what a diamond they have found in Jack! The quality of the furnishings is very high, the fittings top class and the home made biscuits in the bedroom were delicious! Even a welcome decanter of sherry to start off your stay! The hallway walls are adorned with award plaques from numerous organisations! The grounds were extensive and very well kept. We had read about the wild red squirrels and hoped we may get to spot one - no fears there; we watched them running around the garden and feeder each day! Now for the food! Absolutely excellent! Each evening started at 7pm with canapés and good conversation with fellow guests, most of whom seem to be repeat visitors, with good reason! Gary is very personable and quite the bon viveur, his knowledge of wine is excellent, after all by his own admission he has been in the game for a good number of years! The four course dinner menu is set, no choices, but the menu is on display each morning and I'm sure that alternatives could be organised if enough notice were given. Each course was exquisite, served piping hot (where appropriate!) and presented beautifully, as was the table in general. Service was efficient, friendly and knowledgeable. Breakfast was just as good! Hazel Bank has seven rooms and the restaurant is open only to residents. All this means that each guest gets very personal, and personable, service from start to finish! If you think that this review is a little enthusiastic then I doubt you've visited! Don't get me wrong, it isn't for everybody and nowhere is totally perfect, but Hazel Bank gets VERY close!

Location and building is stunning, staff are beyond courteous and professional, also extremely knowledgeable, the service was exceptional, at no point were we hounded to buy more drinks or being asked if the food was okay, simply because there was no need, everything was exquisite. The ambience and view from our table was just perfect, the food was so fresh and looked, smelt and tasted divine. Drinks were as you would expect, with ample choice. Me and my wife were celebrating her ‘milestone’ birthday and have always wanted to experience a Michelin restaurant, this exceeded our expectations in absolutely every aspect!

We have stayed at The Cottage in the Wood near Keswick for over a dozen years, enjoying their journey from simple restaurant-with-rooms to a Michelin Starred triumph of The Lakes. Now under Beth & Jack’s new leadership we are excited to experience their new chapter. Our two nights stay and two different dinners were excellent food, exceptionally prepared and present with care, in a friendly relaxing atmosphere. This feels like home but with food that stretches our imagination. We will be back next year.

Excellent service, lovely restaurant, delicious food. The steak was cooked to perfection. Easily catered for vegan and disabled members of the group. Wine was good. Altogether the best meal we had in the Lake District.

Superb friendly service from start to finish. Lovely hotel with well stocked bar and food offering in the restaurant was amazing.

Visited again on a ride out today, once again the coffee and service was first class. Thank you again, we'll be back 🙂. Previously have eaten there and would highly recommend

Lovely gardens & cafe with fab food & atmosphere

Sitting in the restaurant right now waiting for over an hour too be serviced for food have asked for service no joy one member of staff in restaurant other people have been served before us absolute joke room number 14 still waiting in restaurant

Wife had to wait 5 minutes at the empty bar so i went and told the staff and the reply to me was " it can't have been 5 minutes " not sorry, sir, we are on the way...NOT very personal

Walked from Keswick centre to Nichol End Marina. A lovely walk but was glad when I arrived at the marina cafe. Roger (jolly Roger) welcomed me in and was so helpful and friendly. It was quiet as the season is coming to an end. I had an oat milk coffee and a raisin sticky toffee scone. It was so big! Put half in a bag to take home. Plenty of choice of scones all fresh and looking delicious. Prices were so reasonable. Roger then gave me a ride in his boat across Derwent Water. He’s such a nice man. It made my day to find a gem of a place. Would def recommend if in the area. Will return and try out the boating/canoeing etc next year.

Delicious home baking with local produce and perfectly situated for enjoying views of beautiful Borrowdale. We enjoyed carrot and coriander soup with toasted cheese and chive scones - highly recommended!

Great friendly service. Delicious food. Stopped for ice cream ended up with a lamb pasty as well , delicious ! So glad call in we will be back!

We booked this after visiting the village in 2023 & seeing the refurb. We wanted something other than a B &B, but some of the “ 5 star” lakes hotels were charging astronomical prices. What can I say, but this is a gem, and we are so pleased we give the other hotels a miss. We were in a skiddaw facing room- bed was huge, so comfy, lovely bedding, high quality. Room had everything you needed , and the decor was so tasteful. The staff were so friendly, welcoming and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. We didn’t eat dinner there, so can only comment on breakfast. I noticed a review that commented on the English breakfast ie sausage, bacon, egg, tomato and mushroom only being one of each. I really feel it is important to add, that while that may be the case, in addition to this you can have as much toast, cereal, fruit, yogurt, fruit juice, coffee/tea etc as you want. My partner has a big appetite & he wasn’t at all disappointed, and we were both very impressed by the wide choice of food on the breakfast menu. We are planning our next visit here for 2025, we enjoyed it so much. I don’t think , if I were visiting in the spring/summer, that I would book a skiddaw facing room, given the noise from the A66, but as we had all the windows closed given it was November, the noise wasn’t a problem.

Great breakfast,cooked to perfection by Sarah, same great quality every morning. Highly recommend,great start to the day.

So disappointed to arrive last night for our restaurant reservation to be told "it's not in the book"! You are not able to book online therefore we phoned 3 weeks prior but obviously whoever took the call never "put it in the book". The fact we are on honeymoon made this even more disappointing.