Well it has been a while. I’m not going to waffle about my little trip to the Lakes as such as I am sure that you really aren’t all THAT bothered about when I did this summer…….butI will waffle more so about the food eaten and give a quick nod to our B & B hosts too.
B & B
The B&B is a good place to start. Normally we’d choose self-catering but as this was just a short-break we opted for a B&B. http://www.broadlandsbedandbreakfast.co.uk/ is reasonably priced, spotlessly clean, room well appointed, small but perfectly functional bathroom, lovely hosts, and best of all a BLOODY DECENT BREKKIE!!! The sausages were really delicious, good touch of pepper and herbs running through nice meaty snogs. Nothing was too much trouble and I would definitely recommend Broadlands as an excellent place to stay for a few days break.
The Restaurant
We spotted a newish looking fish restaurant near to Broadlands and had a nosey at the menu. The restuarant was small but perfectly formed http://www.hookedwindermere.co.uk/ and the menu looked simple. The hope is of course that the food lives up to the decor and the blurb!
The vino
Hooked has been in situ since November 2010 apparently and it’s ever so slightly off the beaten track…..one could be forgiven for missing Hooked as the location is just past Windermere centre heading towards the Lake. The owner was a cheerful bloke who one could immediately warm to and he set about recomending the wine of the month. Given that we were going to be eating seafood we opted for the recommendation which was a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The Cut was clean and crisp, all grapefruity with the ever-so-slight spritz on the tongue that I love. You can buy The Cut from http://www.greatgrog.co.uk/wineonline/index.php and I would suggest if you like Sauvignon Blanc to give it a go (n.b. the mark up in the restaurant is typical, so don’t expect the same kind of price as the online store).
The starter
In the meantime the aromas coming from the other diners’ plates and the kitchen were mouthwatering, so expectations were running pretty high. To begin with I had Tiger Prawns cooked in a lemony, parsley, buttery lovely light offering. The prawns were cooked to perfection. The Mr had Cod Cheeks in a tomatoey, spicy thickish broth. Both dishes were really really good and did what a good starter should do….set you up nicely for the main course.
The main
Usually we’d choose different dishes so that we can do the swap and taste thing, but we really both wanted the same main…Grey Mullet with a fennel & roasted garlic risotto. OH MY WORD!! The risotto had that nice slight nutty bite with the flavours of the fennel and roast garlic subtly running throughthe dish but not overpowering it. The grey mullet was beautifully crispy on the skin and the flesh was melt in the mouth perfect. Absolutely could not fault the main.
The afters
Following this, we opted for the cheese board to share, neither of us being particularly sweet toothed individuals. Three (fairly) local cheeses and an English Brie accompanied by some oatcakes, water biscuits and a Spanish red. Sadly I can’t remember the name of the red but it was a lovely soft, juicy but rounded effort which went very well with the cheese.
Our overall bill was less than £85 and I can assure you that this meal was worth every single penny of that. If you are going to the Lake District any time soon I’d recommend this place, but maybe leave it till your last evening there as you really will be spoilt for going to any other restaurant as I doubt anything will come close!
I could tell you about the pub dinner we had, or the other restaurant we visited, but realistically, as nice as they were they just didn’t come close to Hooked, so I feel I’d be doing them an injustice.
The PS
PS We made a 3 mile walk to (and from obv!) http://www.blackwell.org.uk/ and whilst the Arts and Crafts house is very pretty, it really was not worth the £7.70 (including Gift Aid) that was being charged. I am all for supporting UK heritage enterprises, but I’d have liked to see a few more examples of A & C furniture and sundries, and far less of the contemporary artists items. In all honesty the house is a bit bereft of furnishings and it’s no Speke Hall although the scenery from the terrace is beautiful.
Links:
http://www.hookedwindermere.co.uk/
http://www.broadlandsbedandbreakfast.co.uk/
