Michelin-starred restaurants in Cumbria and the Lake District (2026)

Cumbria punches absurdly above its weight at the table. In the Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland 2026, the county has 13 starred restaurants holding 15 stars between them, led by Simon Rogan's three-star L'Enclume in Cartmel, and Michelin itself has called Cumbria the UK county with the most stars. Add a Bib Gourmand and a long list of recommended inns, and you could eat your way round the county for a fortnight without repeating yourself.

This is the complete list as shown on guide.michelin.com when we checked on 21 October 2026. The guide is announced each February, so we will update this page when the 2027 guide is published.

Three stars

L'Enclume, Cartmel

Simon Rogan's L'Enclume occupies a building in Cartmel that was a family-run smithy until the 1950s, and the old blacksmith's furnaces are still there. Michelin classes it as creative British cooking. It also holds a Michelin Green Star for sustainable gastronomy, which it retained in 2026, and much of what reaches the table comes from Rogan's own farm in the Cartmel Valley. This is a long tasting menu and a serious occasion; book well ahead. L'Enclume is our pick if you are only going to do one.

One star

Rogan & Co, Cartmel

A few minutes' walk from L'Enclume on Devonshire Square, Rogan & Co is the more relaxed sibling: a beamed village cottage with open fires, and precise modern British dishes built on the same farm produce. It holds one star in its own right. See Rogan & Co.

heft, Newton in Cartmel

Kevin Tickle, formerly head chef at Forest Side, runs heft with Nicola Tickle in a restored 17th-century inn in Newton in Cartmel. Michelin highlights a seasonal tasting menu shaped by local foraging, alongside a front bar serving pints and pies. Its inspectors note that all tables are served at the same time except on Sundays, so arrive on time.

Forest Side, Grasmere

Head chef Paul Leonard leads the kitchen at this country house hotel just outside Grasmere. Much of the produce comes from its Victorian kitchen garden, local suppliers or the team's own foraging, and in the 2026 guide Forest Side gained a Michelin Green Star to sit alongside its star. See Forest Side and our guide to Grasmere.

Old Stamp House, Ambleside

Ryan Blackburn runs the kitchen, and co-owns the restaurant with his brother Craig, in the cellar of the building where William Wordsworth worked as distributor of stamps. The tasting menu is a tour of Cumbrian produce. See the Old Stamp House.

Lake Road Kitchen, Ambleside

James Cross's small dining room on Lake Road has a Nordic feel and a tasting menu of local produce with some Japanese touches. It is fiercely independent and intimate, and one step into the room means it is not wheelchair accessible. See Lake Road Kitchen.

The Samling, near Windermere

Robby Jenks heads the kitchen at this boutique country house hotel on the Ambleside road, with views over the fields to Windermere. Michelin praises streamlined, technically skilled cooking that lets a strong central ingredient lead. See the Samling.

SOURCE at Gilpin Hotel, Bowness-on-Windermere

Kevin Scanlan's restaurant is the flagship of Gilpin Hotel and Lake House on the Crook Road. The menu pairs Cumbrian ingredients with Japanese ideas such as koji. Gilpin's more casual second restaurant, Gilpin Spice, is a Michelin-recommended (unstarred) option on the same estate. See Gilpin Hotel and Lake House.

The Cottage in the Wood, Braithwaite

Jack and Beth Bond took over this restaurant with rooms high in Whinlatter Forest in 2024 and kept its star. The tasting menu combines classical technique with Lake District produce, and the conservatory looks out over the forest towards Skiddaw. See the Cottage in the Wood and Braithwaite.

Allium at Askham Hall, near Penrith

Richard Swale cooks at Askham Hall, a country house built around a 14th-century pele tower on the Lowther Estate, a short drive from Ullswater and Pooley Bridge. Produce comes from the estate and its gardens, and the wine list draws on the Lowther cellars. See Allium at Askham Hall.

Dog and Gun Inn, Skelton

Not every star here comes with a country house. The Dog and Gun is a village pub north-west of Penrith where Ben Queen-Fryer cooks hearty, flavour-led food, with suet puddings, soufflés and seafood from Maryport singled out by Michelin. Note that this is not the Dog and Gun in Keswick, which is a different pub.

Pentonbridge Inn, Penton

Out towards the Scottish border, Chris Archer heads the kitchen at this 18th-century inn with rooms. It won its first star in the 2023 guide and has kept it since, with Michelin praising big flavours from few ingredients.

Cedar Tree by Hrishikesh Desai, Brampton

Hrishikesh Desai, who previously cooked at Gilpin, now runs his restaurant inside Farlam Hall Hotel at Hallbankgate, near Brampton. The tasting menu pairs British produce, much of it from the kitchen garden, with subtle Indian spicing. See Brampton for the area.

Bib Gourmand

The Schelly, Ambleside

The Bib Gourmand marks good cooking at a moderate price, and Cumbria has one in the current guide. The Schelly sits upstairs from the Old Stamp House on Church Street and is run by the same Blackburn brothers. Michelin's inspectors single out Lakeland dishes such as Herdwick hogget and sticky toffee madeleines baked to order, and counter and window seats that are good for watching Ambleside go by. It is the most affordable way to taste this kitchen's style.

Recommended, but unstarred

Michelin also lists a handful of Cumbrian restaurants as recommended without a star or Bib. In the current guide these include Henrock at Linthwaite House, Simon Rogan's restaurant above Windermere; Rowan at Rothay Manor in Ambleside; the Punch Bowl Inn at Crosthwaite; the Drunken Duck at Barngates; the Sun Inn in Kirkby Lonsdale; the 1863 restaurant in Pooley Bridge; and the Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman's Restaurant near Brampton. For our wider pick of places to eat, from pizza to pub classics, see our guide to the best restaurants in the Lake District.

Planning a Michelin trip

• Cluster your bookings. Cartmel has two starred restaurants and Newton in Cartmel a third, all close together on the southern edge of the national park. Ambleside has two starred restaurants and a Bib within a few minutes' walk of each other, with the Samling a short drive south.
• Book early. L'Enclume, Lake Road Kitchen and the Old Stamp House have small dining rooms, so book as far ahead as you can, especially for weekends.
• Check opening days. Several of these kitchens open only four or five days a week, and some close for a winter break. Check each restaurant's own site before you plan a trip around it.
• Stay over. Forest Side, the Samling, Gilpin, the Cottage in the Wood, Askham Hall, Pentonbridge and Farlam Hall all have rooms, and a tasting menu is far more enjoyable when you do not have to drive a fell road afterwards.
• Prices. We do not list prices here because tasting menu prices change often; all the starred restaurants above sit in Michelin's top price band, except the Dog and Gun, which is a band lower.