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15th June 2022

Best places to eat in Keswick

After a bracing day spent treading trails and fells, taking in spectacular Skiddaw, or admiring beautiful Buttermere, you will likely have worked up quite an appetite.

Here we explore some of the best places to eat in Keswick, promising menu’s that showcase some of Cumbria’s finest seasonal produce. All you have to do, is decide where to venture first.

Fellpack

This on-trend café specialises in fell-pots; a Lakeland-style Buddha bowl incorporating ‘all-in-one meals’ such as sweet potato and curry, smoked macaroni or braised chilli beef (each freshly made and flavour-packed). Flatbreads and baguettes are offered too, for lunch on-the-go.

The food here is zingy and imaginative and you can also drop by three nights a week for dinner.

The Chalet

It’s a little out of the way in Portinscale, but this café is a popular stop-off for passengers on the Keswick Launch, with a menu of flatbreads, stone-baked pizzas and deli boards served on local slate. Stacked-high logs and wooden furniture strike a Scandinavian vibe.

Dog & Gun

Benches, beams, hearths … the Dog & Gun is the picture of a hearty Lakeland pub. Look out for Thirst Rescue ale, which donates part of its proceeds to the Keswick Mountain Rescue Team.

The Pheasant Inn

A short drive along Bassenthwaite Lake is this fine-dining haunt. Pewter tankards cover the bar (stocked up with vintage whiskies and Lakeland ales) and two restaurants, an informal bistro and formal restaurant, serve an expert rustic menu. The afternoon tea is presented in proper English fashion, with a tiered cake stand, scones and cucumber sandwiches.

Jasper’s Coffee House

This popular Keswick café is nuts about pups. In fact, dishes here are named after dogs of legend (think The Muttley, Old Yeller, Huckleberry Hound) and naturally, four-legged companions are welcome. Food-wise, it is standard brunch-to-lunch fare and cooked breakfasts.

Lingholm Kitchen & Walled Garden

What a setting this splendid café comes with; set in a delightful walled garden on the Lingholme Estate, with a 30m glass wall which showcases cinematic views of Skiddaw and beyond.

For lunch, expect brunch dishes such as baked eggs, pork croquettes and avocado toast.

Bryson’s of Keswick

This traditional bakery is known for its fruit cakes, Battenbergs and Florentines.

The Square Orange

This lively café-bar seems to have become everyone’s favourite hangout in Keswick. Thanks, no doubt, to the superb thin-based pizzas, excellent wine and extensive craft beer selection. In addition to a regular programme of live gigs.

The Dark Room

On the top floor of George Fisher, this attic café is one of the best places to eat in Keswick. The space was once occupied by the Abraham brothers, early pioneers of Lakeland photography.

Morrel’s

Ideal for a more formal sit-down dinner, Morrel’s majors in bistro-style British food, with a refined and intimate atmosphere.

While at one of our Lake District cottages, be sure to stop by the best places to eat in Keswick.

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