Philippa Grace
An absolutely incredible experience.
The food was wonderful and the staff were lovely.
The personal touches are a great hit - you're greeted with a letter explaining each dish and then they'd seen a birthday gift on the table so they "happy birthday" around dessert was such a lovely surprise.
This is a definite must visit if you're looking for a wonderful culinary experience in the Lake District.
Mark Steele
How Ryan gets so much flavour into his dishes is a mystery to me. He must be a magician! We had the lunch menu earlier this week and it was fantastic! All of it was amazing from the very first course. Stand outs for me were the last three courses of fish, venison and finally dessert. Atmosphere was cozy, place was full and so had a little buzz about it but the way the tables are laid out and the lighting is done it allows you to also be close to your partner and focus on the food. Staff are all super friendly and meeting Ryan was ace! This is now on our to do list every time we visit the Lakes!
mike askew
The most amazing experience, and that's what a visit to The Old Stamp House is - an experience. There's a story behind everything, and every person involved in the story is great - knowledgeable, genuine, passionate, and friendly. The food is just fantastic, with almost each mouthful tasting different and such amazing flavour, texture, and balance.
helen Moran
Outstanding in every way đź‘ŹThe food blew us away this evening, everything was exquisite. And the head chef Ryan and his team are wonderful, very relaxed and welcoming. This was our 2nd visit and definitely won't be the last. Our "special occasion" venue of choice. Thank you to all at the Old Stamp House
Jon Bemrose
The Old Stamp House
Ambleside
Excellent lunch. Tasty and well presented. The rabbit canneloni was good, the steamed halibut superb, the hogget full of flavour and the rhubarb dessert delicious. Price at ÂŁ55 very good too for lunch.
Rachel Pindard
Sampled a delightful tasting menu 'A Journey Around Cumbria' which delighted throughout with mouth watering dishes sourced locally. It was devine. Can't praise it enough.
Tanaya Jasubhai
Absolutely loved our meal here last night. It was the perfect way to end our week in the lake district. We got to try many of the Michelin pubs/restaurants in the area and found our dinner here to be the most memorable. Warm and lovely service, great cooking, super local produce and very accommodating staff. I had requested to swap their signature hogget dish as I'm allergic to lamb and was given a delightful cod main instead. I will dream of that cod cookery! It was perfection.
It was also lovely to meet the chef Ryan who came out to serve us the mains. What a fabulous touch!
We will definitely be back here the next time we visit the Lake District.
Penny Paisley
A fabulous dining experience.
Sumptuous, elegant, high quality food brought to you by people who are experts in their field. A really exceptional combination of locally sourced food with well paired international wines. Each course explained with enthusiasm, knowledge and care.
Highly recommended, though patience is required for the 6mth wait for a table. Well worth the wait, so just book it and have something very special to look forward to.
Paul Carribine
Great meal. Lovely owner. Most food sourced locally. Bit disappointed with wine flights. We had two. £60 and £80. The first whites were forgettable. One white was disgusting. Tasted and smelled of petrol. ??? Both reds we tasted were harsh and not pleasant. Pudding wine at end of meal was fantastic. Couldn’t hear a word of the rushed descriptions of the wines due to background noise. Surely a printed sheet would be more suitable. If food is sourced locally to save air miles. Why fly in mediocre wines from the other side of the world. When Europe and uk now has thousands of award winning wines both still and sparkling. Also please supply A TEASPOON to eat your delicious small portions as spoons supplied are ridiculous for size of dishes. Good luck with your upstairs venture. Regards. Paul.
Mihai Tabara
Great fine dining experience in Ambleside. The menu was very delicious and diversified, plenty of surprises along the way. The desserts were truly spectacular.
One fun fact that I have learned is that the next door deli that collects and sells local produce from the village farms provides a few of the ingredients for the Michelin restaurant.
Couldn’t recommend it enough, beautiful atmosphere and a great cozy vibe.
Bacon Onthebeech
I've been wanting to try the food of chef Ryan Blackburn since Jay Rayner's great review of Cottage in the Wood a few years back. He has a very impressive CV, including previous positions at Michelin starred Holbeck Ghyll and Martin Wishart. My budget just won't allow me too many visits to these established high end restaurants unfortunately. Luckily for me, several months ago he opened up for himself (with his brother Craig) still in The Lakes, in the centre of Ambleside. As I'm a pauper with very expensive tastes, my problem can be overcome by going to restaurants like this. Young talented chefs who are very well trained and really know what they're doing but perhaps they're not quite so well known yet. So they're not charging an arm and a leg for essentially a similar standard of food. In this case, the taster menu at lunchtime is an absolute steal at just £35 for 7 courses. (It's a shade under £50 in the evening). We'd both had bouts of illness and were forced to cancel our reservation once, so when it came time to our weekend away, we were in desperate need for a treat. The Old Stamp House is in a cave like downstairs, a series of small adjoining rooms. Simply decorated yet still cosy, apparently this was the former work place of Cumbrian poet William Wordsworth, at the time 'Distributer of Stamps', hence the name. We began with Black Pudding Bon Bons , Cumberland Sauce. Great little bites, I can imagine the same thing but with the sauce inside , giving you an explosion of liquid as you bite into it. Potted Shrimps , cauliflower and spiced mead velouté was our first real 'wow' moment. That silent exchange of nods and raised eyebrows as we dug in. Gorgeously silky smooth, with a beautiful, buttery, luscious texture and so wonderfully bold and flavoursome. The bread was used to full effect to mop up every single drop.
Anthony H.
Fulfillingness First Finale
You know wot!?, having just spent the last few weeks in some of the more popular big city destinations, where people flock like lemmings, it is brilliant to be in the wilds again. So good not having to step over crashed out crackheads or be subject to street detritus holding out a hand asking for a few pounds in an attempt at psychological manipulation.Fuck that shit.
This is the Lake District with its mountains, valleys & rivers and herds of wildlife and I had spent the day walking the Fells before yomping it back in to Ambleside for dinner at the Old Stamp House with its William Wordsworth heritage "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er vales and hills"
Two low-ceilinged rooms feature exposed beams and slate floors. The natural flavours of Cumbrian ingredients are championed in concise menus which showcase modern cooking. They serve seasonal food 'Insired by Cumbria'and sourced locally wherever possible.
I was here when it first opened 5 years ago and chef Ryan Blackburn has gone from strength to strength since his time as head chef at "The Cottage in the Wood @ Whinlatter". Your bill here will be relative to the food you have been served. Quality will always have a price but I have yet to think that the price is OTT. People travel all the way from London just to eat the "Herdwick Hogget" speciality.
Fed, watered and suitably satiated by a bottle of Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot, I made my way back along the winding lamplit streets and through the door of the cottage before crashing facedown on to my featherdown four poster.
Bliss.
I could almost be back in the Shire in Hobbiton ...
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