Lake Road Kitchen

Modern European·
££££
·
Gold Award
·

SquareMeal Review of Lake Road Kitchen

Gold Award

‘Hyper-seasonal, climatically local cooking’ is the name of the game here, which means a tuned-in zeitgeist-hugging amalgam of ‘preserving and pickling’, ‘working with nature’ and so on. It should come as no surprise that James Cross used to work at world-beating Noma in Copenhagen before deciding to shake up touristy Ambleside with his radical cuisine.

Lake Road Kitchen serves what most people would know as a tasting menu, but the restaurant prefers not to use that terminology as it sees its dining experience as coming together as one complete meal, rather than as a sequence of dishes. Diners are given a choice between eight or 12 servings, with optional wine pairings available for each. All dietary requirements and intolerances/allergies can also easily be catered for.  

Menus for Lake Road Kitchen change regularly. On our visit, we experienced wild pickings and indigenous ingredients galore, all combined in revelatory dishes with lots of new Nordic echoes: meaty snails were dressed with a fearsome green miso made in-house from peas and beans; roast squab was given a Scandi edge with lingonberries, girolles and yarrow, while a sweet caramelised scallop was enlivened with fennel shavings, bee pollen and sunflower seeds.

Elsewhere, beef carcases are dry-aged for months on end and there’s a signature dish of whole roast cauliflower basted in goat butter, while desserts might include a cleverly fashioned blackberry tart garlanded with citrusy oxalis leaves.

Lake Road Kitchen is a modest no-frills space with wooden planking on the walls, bare tables and an open-to-view working area – it’s also the kind of eatery where you’re expected to pour your own wine (sourced from Northern Europe, naturally). Note that the restaurant operates a smart casual dress code, which specifies no hoodies, walking boots, caps or rucksacks.

Good to know

Average Price
££££ - £50 - £79
Cuisines
Modern European
Ambience
Fine dining
Awards
One Michelin star
Food Occasions
Dinner
Special Features
Vegan options, Vegetarian options
Perfect for
Birthdays, Celebrations, Special occasions
Food Hygiene Rating

About

Lake Road Kitchen is a multi award winning restaurant in Ambleside, found in the heart of the stunning Lake District. Food here is slightly different to what you encounter at most restaurants. Choose for either twelve or eight servings per person, or the classic Lake Road Kitchen menu of five servings. For each menu, delicious wine pairings are available. There is also a gluten free, dairy free, pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan option available for the menus.

When dining at Lake Road Kitchen, expect to find dishes of pecan smoked pastrami with dill pickled cucumber and mustard mayonnaise, along with kingfish tartare with a delicious mix of white soy, mirin and gold grade nori. Then, you may enjoy a dish of Escargots de Bourgogne adorned with parsley miso, and fried chicken with smoked peppers and lime. Smoked Shetland monkfish, burrata and beetroot follow up, and then a prawn cutlet sandwich. Galician octopus, Peruvian lemon chili are next on the menu, before a plate of rich beef shin and Koshihikari rice. For those who love dishes from the sea, you’ll be delighted with the Steamed Norwegian sea trout with a tomato consommé and pink peppercorn, and a BBQ saddleback pork chop with aubergine is next up.

Finishing off the menu on a sweet note is the walnut gelato with calvados caramel and lingonberries, then the honeyed custard, fig and orange purée and earl grey oil, and lastly, a rich Amadei 65%, Chantilly with raspberry. Additional courses can be added on if they’re available, from a 9 year old Parmesan custard to A5 Kagoshima wagyu beef, and lastly, sweet woodruff and Jersey milk gelato. What a delicious and delightful way to spend an evening.


FAQs

Are there vegan options?

Yes vegan options are available

Helpful? 0

Location

Lake Road, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 0AD

01539 422012 01539 422012

Website

Opening Times

Dinner
Mon Closed
Tue Closed
Wed 18:00-21:30
Thu 18:00-21:30
Fri 18:00-21:30
Sat 18:00-21:30
Sun 18:00-21:30

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01539 422012 01539 422012

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