The Best Restaurants in the Lake District, Cumbria | Eater London

"Who’d have thought there’d be any connection between 18th century Whitehaven — on Cumbria’s west coast — and a luxury Lake District hotel? But thanks to head chef Hrishikesh Desai and the heritage of Whitehaven’s spice trade, Gilpin Hotel has a memorable and exuberantly furnished alternative to its Michelin-starred restaurant, Hrishi. Pan-Asian dishes come in small and big sharing plate size, with snacks like pain puri (puff balls filled with chickpea curry), soups or flatbreads (like Barbary duck) to kick off. Saddleback pork belly and marinated whole fish of the day are the pick of the mains. As with Hrishi, there’s an ‘Inspirations from Kerala’ tasting menu (on until March 2019), this time with the likes of sea bream pollichathu, tharavu mappas (braised duck), and lamb biryani and sambar. No Grasmere gingerbread for dessert, but Grasmere gingerbread is something else to thank the Whitehaven spice trade for." - Christian Dymond