The Restaurant Guide for Wine Lovers
The Black Bull
We assessed The Black Bull in October 2026 and this review is based on the food menu and wine list at the time of the review. As menus and wine lists change, we name styles in order for the information to remain more useful as menus change. If things have slipped you can use the Vinealto Dining app including accessing an up to date reading using 'At the Table' from the wine list in front of you in the restaurant. How we assess
The Black Bull is an inn with rooms in Sedbergh where Nina Matsunaga cooks local produce with Japanese, German and European ideas. Its wine list is deep and knowing, rich in grower and natural wines, orange wine, Sherry and sake, explained in plain notes and fairly priced. It suits adventurous drinkers and anyone who wants a list that matches the cooking course by course.
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Askham Hall
Askham, Cumbria
Tasting menu (Michelin-starred, kitchen-garden led)
Askham Hall is a Michelin starred restaurant with rooms near Penrith, cooking a seasonal tasting menu from its own gardens and estate. Its 69 page wine list, an AA Wine Award winner, holds Bordeaux and Burgundy across many decades, sixteen wines by the glass and an outstanding run of Port and sweet wine. It suits serious wine lovers who want to explore a great cellar with an expert host.
Read the assessmentOld Stamp House
Ambleside, Cumbria
Modern British (Cumbrian tasting menu)
The Old Stamp House is a tasting menu restaurant in Ambleside that tells the story of Cumbria's food through seasonal, local produce. Its long, thoughtfully written wine list ranges from Georgian qvevri wines to classic Europe and the New World, with Sherry, Madeira and Port by the glass. It will delight diners who enjoy being guided to unfamiliar bottles and are happy to follow a pairing.
Read the assessmentThe Cottage in the Wood
Braithwaite, Cumbria
Tasting menu (Michelin-starred)
The Cottage in the Wood is a Michelin-starred Lake District restaurant with two rotating hyper-seasonal tasting menus. Its wine programme is exceptional (grower-focused and sustainable, complete by the glass down to Port, Sherry and skin-contact whites, and backed by a per-course matching flight) and it meets the kitchen's ambition course for course. It will reward any wine lover willing to travel for it, and especially one who takes the flight and follows where it leads.
Read the assessmentSOURCE at Gilpin Hotel
Windermere, Cumbria
Modern British tasting menu
SOURCE is the Michelin starred restaurant of Gilpin Hotel near Windermere, cooking creative food from Lake District produce with a choice at most courses. Its list of about two hundred wines joins grand classics, English wine and rarities from new regions, with great bottles priced close to shop value and a deep run of mature sweet wines and Port. It suits serious wine lovers ready to trade up and anyone happy to let a pairing lead.
Read the assessmentThe Schelly
Ambleside, Cumbria
Modern British small plates
The Schelly is a casual small plates restaurant above the Old Stamp House in Ambleside, cooking Cumbrian produce. Its list of well over a hundred wines from small growers is grouped by style, explained in plain notes and poured widely by the glass, though the same markup runs from top to bottom. It suits curious drinkers who want to try something new with each plate.
Read the assessmentFour and Twenty
Penrith, Cumbria
Modern Cumbrian
Four and Twenty is a small Penrith bistro cooking seasonal Cumbrian food with a few welcome borrowings from further afield. Its list of 42 wines is thoughtfully bought, poured widely by the glass and carafe, and matched glass by glass to every dish on the menu. It will most please diners who like to be guided to a good glass with each course, and anyone with a taste for sweet wine and Port.
Read the assessmentThe Cedar Tree at Farlam Hall
Brampton, Cumbria
Modern British with Indian spice, tasting menu
The Cedar Tree is the Michelin starred restaurant of Farlam Hall near Brampton, cooking modern British food shaped by Indian spice. Its list of about one hundred and fifty wines ranges across the world, names a glass for every lunch dish and pours a rare run of sweet and fortified wines by the glass. It suits diners who like to be guided and anyone keen to see how far good wine can go with spice.
Read the assessmentLake Road Kitchen
Ambleside, Cumbria
Modern tasting menu
Lake Road Kitchen is a small, Michelin starred tasting menu restaurant in Ambleside. Its list of about ninety wines is classic, deep in Burgundy and poured mostly by the glass, so each course can find its own wine. It suits diners who like to drink a little of several fine wines across a long meal.
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