The best restaurants serving British food in Allerdale North West

We were staying in Cockermouth and I found this lovely bistro through Tripadvisor. The food was excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed what we ordered. Staff were lovely too and it was reasonably priced. We would recommend eating here if you’re staying locally.

This place has now closed from 1/1/25. Such a shame as many wonderful reviews. Not particularly highlighted as their booking site still states the restaurant is there.

Me and my partner stopped here on a whim, whilst looking for somewhere for lunch in the Cockermouth area. Upon arrival, we were welcomed by friendly staff however, all of the free tables had been marked as “reserved”. Despite this, we were sat straight away. The menu was exactly what we expected from a cafe and tea room, For two panini’s, two soft drinks and some water, it came to £27, we felt that this was a little on the pricier side. The food came quickly, was hot and was tasty enough. Overall, if ever in the area we would likely be back, but would be conscious to book a table ahead of time.

Storm Eowyn late January knocked out the power to our house for around 60 hours (still off at the time of writing this). 😔 But Maes tea rooms stood up to the community spirit and helped those without power. They very kindly allowed me to shower and gave me a cup of tea and some food to warm up from the horrible weather. It’s been cold ind sleeting rain since Saturday night. Now is Monday afternoon. Maes really impressed me, the staff were very helpful, very friendly and extremely kind and caring. I moved to the area in June 2021 and have been to maes a few times, it’s always warm, clean and tidy. I do t know that many people in the area so was gobsmacked at the kindness maes staff showed me during this difficult time. I will always be grateful for their help and kindness. 👍🏻

We’ve stayed close to this lovely tearoom on quite a few occasions over the last 30 years! We had the pleasure of more regular visits on a recent stay both to the shop (essentials, delicious cakes, teas, coffees, hot food, ice cream, Cumbrian gifts, cards and importantly take away menu) and to the tearoom where we enjoyed toasties and delicious hot chocolate. Being able to take homemade lamb pasties and lots of other goodies is so helpful when self catering and fancy a night off while supporting an established local business. Well placed if staying in the Borrowdale Valley or if you are walking the Cumbrian Way make a plan to stop. Currently open 10-5 daily Above all, you can expect a lovely warm welcome from all the team 😁

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!

I recently just visited the old posting house after a recommendation and OMG the food is amazing! The best lamb I’ve ever tasted. Well done chef! I was told the lamb is al local Which we appreciate. This place is one to watch. I can see them getting a few awards in the future. I’ll definitely be back with family.

Fantastic fish and chips. So much so that we're off back again tonight. The chips and onion rings are to die for with everything freshly cooked.

Ate here on two successive evenings. The food was absolutely delicious and very plentiful. All freshly cooked too. Can’t recommend it more highly

We had a lovely dining experience for our anniversary. We had the steak which was quite salty along with the fries. The service was quite slow too, but everything was made up with the dessert which was exquisite. Beautiful presentation, perfectly balanced taste. Friendly welcoming staff.

Lovely place to have a hot drink and a snack , got a vegan scone ( which are hard to find in most places) it was delicious only complaint is it could of been bigger lol! and a oat milk hot chocolate which was good.

Staff were so friendly, welcoming, bubbly and warm, they really made our experience when they were having a laugh and bantering with customers. The food was delicious, really good portion sizes and reasonably priced. Didn't have to wait long at all for service, drinks or food. We are so glad we decided to try this place before we left Cockermouth to return home. We even asked to take some scones with us for when we got home.

I was in Keswick, to do some solo mountain walking, prior to going to my accommodation, I always visit the Town Centre, I pick up some essentials, followed with a visit to the Golden Lion, on this occasion I only attended for a couple of drinks, however, as always the staff were friendly and welcoming, and as lone traveller, I always find that the other customers are a mix of visitors and locals, and it is easy to strike up a conversation with other customers, often this is to do with my love of dogs, and it is hard to find a suitable place sometimes to accommodate dogs as well, so it is lovely that you allow dogs in. Overall a very pleasant experience, thank you.

We had an issue with our lunch, prompt resolution provided, we will certainly return. Definitely a one off as have eaten here many times before.

We popped in for a warm up after having a walk nearby. Rude staff told us to take the kids shoes out of the cafe because they were spreading muck and now they would have to hoover. Can’t comment on the food as the service left a bad enough taste in our mouth and we took our business elsewhere!