The Borrowdale - Allerdale

I wish the food wasn't so expensive because it's really not worth the high price. Although the food tasted good and I finished it all, I think it could have been seasoned better. In my opinion, it's not worth the cost. The knives provided were hit or miss in terms of sharpness. On the positive side, the staff were friendly and attentive, and the restaurant's atmosphere was well-decorated and clean.

It is great to see that Borrowed Sunday lunches have returned to their rightful place as the best in the area. Among the three roasts offered, the roast sirloin from the carvery was perfectly cooked with a hint of pink, the roast leg of pork with crackling was delicious, and the leg of lamb was also tasty. Congratulations to all involved for a job well done.

We were informed that there was a deal of £20 for 2 courses or £25 for 3 courses at this hotel restaurant. We called to book and asked if dogs were welcome, and if the deal was available. We were told that dogs were not allowed in the restaurant but were allowed in the conservatory, where the deal was on. However, when we arrived, there was no one in the conservatory and we were unable to sit there. We were also informed that the £20 offer was only available in the restaurant. We decided to choose off the main menu and ordered the chicken and ham pie with chips. The meal arrived and we asked for gravy, which the waitress said she would bring. We were disappointed to find that the pie contained only small pieces of chicken and ham, with a small amount of congealed white sauce. The frozen chips were dry and the vegetable portion was minimal. The price was £19.99. The waitress returned to clear our plates and apologized for the lack of gravy, offering a 20% discount or a new meal. My husband's Welsh rabbit meal, priced at £10.95, was also not up to par. On a positive note, the garden was beautiful. Despite visiting on a Thursday, the restaurant was empty, with only three people and their dogs in the garden, and one other couple in the bar. If they continue to serve food of this quality, they may struggle to survive. It's a shame, as the hotel itself is lovely.

As a follow up to the previous review this review is solely on the restaurant. Having stayed at the hotel many times and in that time given five star reviews on the food, sadly on this stay the quality seems to have taken a hit with the latest refurbishment. On our first evening we thought we would try the Cumbrian Menu, beware, the lamb hogget was one of the toughest pieces of meat we have ever experienced. Being aware that hogget is a one to two year old lamb I wasn’t expecting melt in you mouth lamb. What we both got was what I guess was a very tough and grisly knee joint without any flavour, most of it went back. On our second evening we played safe and had the roast sirloin of beef with all the trimmings. Well the toughness of the beef surpassed the hogget. It had obviously been cooked sous vide and then quickly seared. A cooking technique I use occasionally myself. Well all I can say is that somebody there needs lessons on how to do it, how sirloin can be so tough is beyond me. As for the Yorkshire pudding, it resembled the local Bowder Stone in shape at texture, inedible! Tenderstem so undercooked that it was still bitter. On collecting the almost full plates the waitress asked if all was okay. The above was pointed out, her response, ‘I’ll tell the chef’. If she did he didn’t even have the guts to come out and either apologise or defend his cooking. On the third night we’d given in went to the conservatory and had steak and chips and fish and chips. It was okay but not what we used to go the the Borrowdale to eat. My view is that there is an issue within the kitchen of the hotel, who knows what it is. Too much change for the chef on the change of menu? Incapable chef? But there is no doubt a problem and it has saddened me to write this review.

From booking to checking out it was faultless, booked, follow up call checking in all effortless. Food amazing and staff some of the best!! A credit to all.