L'Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria

Jean and I had a couple of days in the Lakes.

Lake Windermere

I've been going to the Lakes since my teens originally for walking and climbing but this trip was to have a new gastronomic experience. We were booked in the hotel and the restaurants of L'Enclume.

Simon Rohan was one of the chefs chosen to produce the Great British Menu this year. The critics praised all of the food he produced but he was asked to cook the final cause of the banquet for the Olympians. L'Enclume is his establishment.

He has a small hotel and two restaurants in the small village. Due to the land availability in the Lakes they are made of 5 separate building. All are within a couple of minutes walk based around the square.

Cartmel village square

On Sunday we were at his bistro restaurant. The full menu that Simon had prepared as entries for the Great British Menu was offered which we could not refuse.

The two meals this weekend struck home the saying "less is more". I wondered why the portions in these places are so small. I was suspicious about it. The first course put paid to that - the intensity of the flavours were a completely new experience for us. To taste just one leaf of a herb or a small vegetable, a fraction of the size that I would eat for Sunday lunch.



The roasted suckling pig was so tender. It had been cooked for 24 hours and was that good Jean even ate the fat and all the crackling!! Lobster and longoustine where the fish course.

The main restaurant L'Enclume opened at 6:30 and we were scheduled to be one of the first. The whole 12 course tasting menu was to take nearly 3 hours.  Here is the menu.

There are too many course to describe in detail here. The overall impression for me was the starters and sweet courses had a greater immediate impact as they delivered startling flavours which were surprises. This perhaps does a disservice to the meat/fish dishes which still were outstanding but with less novelty.

The highlight for me was tasting one leaf which I could not recognised. I had expected a bland sensation but was hit by a far stronger aniseed taste. The disappointment was the venison - not as strong a taste I had expected.

The most novel was the Oyster pebbles. These came in a bowl with real pebbles. At first glance I did not spot the two edible ones. They were places next to two seashore leaves. We were recommended to eat the leaves first. The "pebbles" were meringues flavoured with apple to make them look grey. The emulsion was in the centre.

The wine list was extensive but we passed on the £830 bottle of red.

Just missing my sheep dog

Other photos can be found  HERE