There’s plenty to admire about The Black Bull. Sitting in the shadow of the Howgill Fells, with the Lakes just half an hour away, it boasts a setting that makes you want to pull on your boots and head off into Wainwright country. The rooms are handsome too, smartly revamped in 2018. But what really makes the place tick is James Ratliffe and Nina Matsunaga, owners who actually care about the land around them.
Now they’ve doubled down with Tsuchi - a new concept tucked inside The Black Bull. This is Matsunaga’s stage, and it’s where her precise, Japanese-rooted cooking finally takes centre spotlight. Gone is the slightly awkward split between à la carte and tasting menus in one room. Instead, Tsuchi gets its own space: a moodily-lit lounge with black leather banquettes, timber panelling and flower-filled bottles to bring the outside in.
It’s a savvy move. By separating Tsuchi from the main pub, Matsunaga’s meticulous plates don’t have to jostle with hefty brisket burgers and hulking Mansergh Hall pork chops flying about next door. Here it’s all about quiet detail.
The menu is still bedding in, but flashes of brilliance are already there. Snacks are the best place to start: a tartlet of Cornish yellowfin with puffed wild rice is a tiny masterclass in crunch-meets-silky-fish. Kombucha-poached oyster mushrooms with butter beans and chilli crisp are properly addictive, and a seared seabass with eel and potato is a small-but-mighty jolt of fat and umami.
Tsuchi isn’t perfect, but our gripes are minor. A dish of cured Lakeland teal was too aggressively gamey, drowning out its artichoke and caviar accompaniments, and a cheese course of molten Darling Blue and pickled walnut felt messy, veering away from the otherwise controlled menu. We suspect these are more teething issues than red flags.
The bigger picture? This feels like the moment Matsunaga steps out from behind the gastropub curtain and starts building something new. Give it a few months, and Tsuchi could be one of the most exciting dining rooms in the Lakes.