Readers recommend ...

2:10pm Friday 5th September 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

When holidaymaker Julie Turner returned home to Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire, after a trip to the Lake District, one of her first tasks was to contact Food & Drink. Here’s her review of The Cook House Bistro, in Victoria Street, Windermere.

I was so enamoured with The Cook House Cafe Bistro that I felt compelled to write. What a delightful discovery it was!

The food was cooked using fresh local produce and the café had a simply furnished, relaxed ambiance with very competitive prices. When we arrived at 8.20pm the Bistro was not full, thankfully, which gave us chance to ooze over the menu and specials board. Once we had chosen we did not have to wait long before we were brought an entrée, which was totally unexpected. This consisted of bite-sized roasted cherry tomatoes with garlic, served in a small earthenware bowl with fresh crusty bread. The taste was wonderfully sweet with a hint of chilli which gave an added kick.

My main course was red bream fillet which was beautifully poached and served with a mustard and caper mayonnaise, a fresh light salad, sliced roasted potatoes with broccoli and carrots which were perfectly al dente.

My partner succumbed to the famous Cumberland ring sausage served with minty mash, black pudding gravy and vegetables which, again, were perfect.

The wines were chosen by someone who knew their wines and were in a completely different league to the normal cheap-tasting, tongue-numbing house wines which we have been fobbed off with in some establishments.

“I am not normally a pudding person, but the description of the pear in chocolate sauce served in filo pastry with red berries was enough to tempt me - and it tasted wonderful.

Our bill came to less than £38 for two main courses, one sweet, four large glasses of wine and two small lagers.

The venue was certainly the icing on the cake of our holiday. Many thanks go to Stephen and Louise Marston, the owners. We will definitely return.

If you would like to submit a review of your favourite restaurant for consideration for publication, then write to – Readers Recommend, c/o Gillian Cowburn, The Westmorland Gazette, 1 Wainwright’s Yard, Kendal, LA9 4DP or email: gillian.cowburn@kendal.newsquest.co.uk