It’s a nice bright room with views over the lake. In the evening, it’s a restaurant open to the public but it doubles as the Lodore Falls Hotel’s breakfast room. Tables are a good size and generally well spaced apart. And there’s comfy seating - which is just as well as service was slow and you’re going to be sat there for a while. It’s not that they were busy nor did they seem to lack staff. And the staff were generally willing but everything seemed to take much longer than you’d expect.
As for the food, it’s pretty good, with some imaginative dishes beyond the usual grills and so on, that are commonplace in the area’s restaurants. There was a generously sized cheese soufflé – good texture and nicely cheesy. That was followed by a chestnut and artichoke risotto that, in itself, was fine, if a bit autumnal, but it lacked the flavour of the advertised Parmesan and soft herbs (although some cheese was quickly brought when requested). A fennel salad simply wasn’t, being just undressed slices of fennel scattered across the top.
Ravioli was the other starter, filled with wild mushrooms and truffle heavily present in both the ravioli and sauce. A scattering of chopped hazelnuts was a bit of a texture contrast. . Local lamb to follow. Perfectly pink rump and some long cooked lamb mixed with baby onions. The onion theme continued with an lovely little onion tarte tatin and there’s a thin celeriac puree working almost as a sauce. A side order of hasselback potatoes provided a carb.
As mentioned, everything had taken time and we couldn’t be bothered with another long wait for dessert, so just ordered coffee.
