Herdwick Inn

We’d been out all day without eating and were starving, but still couldn’t bring ourselves to eat what we were served. The food was frozen, bland, and looked dreadful. My partner’s chicken wing starter was from a packet, and the vegetables with our meals were frozen diced veg. The burger had nothing on it. We ordered the “homemade chips,” but were brought packet chips instead. When we pointed out that we’d asked for homemade ones, they told us they’d run out. They hadn’t let us know beforehand, and after we sent the packet chips back, they still charged us for them. We were also charged for food we never received. We came because the food was advertised as homemade, and at the ridiculous price we paid, we expected it to be fresh and made there. The manager was rude and aggressive when we said how disappointing the meal was. My partner said, “Mate, there’s no way this food is fresh and homemade,” and the manager snapped, “Don’t call me mate, I’m not your mate.” If he’d spoken to us respectfully and apologized for the food, I wouldn’t be writing this, but his response made an already awful meal even worse. It was completely unprofessional. I never write bad reviews, but this experience was so terrible that I had to. I suspect this pub is buying reviews, because the reviews on here don’t seem to match the food we were served. Avoid it, don’t waste your time.

We found this place on our third night in the area, where we were staying for four nights, and came back for dinner the next evening. Both meals were great, and we left happy each time. On our first visit I had the Cajun chicken burger, while my girlfriend chose the steak and ale pie. I liked my burger, but I was so jealous of her pie that I ordered one the next night. Wow, it was the best I’ve had. We’ll come again!

We were on a family break in the North Lakes after Christmas and liked this place so much that we went twice. It’s an authentic country pub with a log burner, and the food was delicious. My husband thought their homemade steak pie was one of the best he’s ever had. Highly recommended!

We had pies for lunch today. There was plenty of filling, though it was a little dry, so we asked for an extra jug of gravy to share and add some moisture. We couldn’t believe the bill included £3 for it. Without the gravy, we couldn’t have eaten the pies.