The Lake District’s Best Vegan Restaurants

Hello friends! I know it’s been a time (and a half), but I’m back and I hope you haven’t missed me much 🙂

A lot has changed this year which I don’t need to tell you. These are undeniably strange times for everyone, to say the least. For me having to stay put has been tough, as I have serious wanderlust and staying still for long makes me want to get up and run for the hills (literally). The good thing about the travel restrictions is that it has forced me to look closer to home for adventures, and one place I’ve always wanted to visit has been the Lake District. So earlier in October we packed up our bags and our puppy (oh right, we adopted a dog!) and headed for the hills. 

The Lakes did not disappoint. The landscape is truly magical and unlike anywhere I’ve been in the UK… there are times where you feel as though you’re in a fairytale and you can see how Beatrix Potter’s imagination was able to flourish in such a stunning part of the world. 

I did expect the Lake District to be beautiful. I did not expect it to be so vegan friendly. There were so many vegetarian and vegan-only restaurants, even in little villages, and so many omni restaurants that had clearly marked vegan options. I found the Lake District more vegan friendly than even Cornwall or Devon – it blew away my expectations. So without further ado, here are some of the delicious vegan meals we ate on our trip. 

Bar Es, Ambleside

On our very first night in the Lake District we visited Bar Es in Ambleside which is a Mexican restaurant with vegan options and dog-designated tables. They serve tapas predominately, as well as a few larger main courses. They even mark the vegan wines on the drinks menu which is always much appreciated.

We decided to split a few dishes including chips and guacamole, mixed salad, shishito peppers, and veggie enchiladas with vegan cheese that came with a side of wedges and coleslaw. Each dish was flavoursome and perfectly seasoned, and the staff were so lovely (it helps when you have an adorable dog under the table!). This place was really popular, so make sure you book well in advance! 

Slates in Elterwater

On our first full day in the Lakes we did a 5 mile walk from Elterwater to Chapel Stiles and back and decided to have lunch in Elterwater before heading home to our cottage. We originally looked at eating at the Britannia Inn, but the only vegan option they had was bean chilli, so we went across the street to Slates which had a much more extensive vegan menu and outdoor seating with views of the pub and beautiful oak tree.

I was hungry after working up a bit of an appetite on our walk and opted for the vegan cheese pizza, while Andrew went off menu and asked for a vegan sandwich which they kindly created using homemade hummus and roasted red peppers. Both dishes were so scrumptious and hit the spot after the long walk. 

We enjoyed our lunch so much that we went back on our last night for dinner, where we shared a delicious hummus platter and I had the vegan curried cauliflower potato pie (YUM) while Andrew had the pizza. Seriously good stuff. 

Chester’s by the River, Skelwith Bridge

On day two we did a walk from our cottage near Little Langdale to Skelwith Bridge, where food was our destination this time: Chester’s by the River. Chester’s is a vegetarian restaurant where almost everything on the menu is vegan, apart from a couple cheese pizzas. For a vegan restaurant in a tiny village, this place is always packed and for good reason. 

We opted to sit outside on the big deck by the river even though it was chilly, and it’s a really lovely spot to sit, listening to the river babbling by. For lunch I had the wild mushroom tofu ramen while Andrew went for the cauliflower curry with an onion bhaji, naan bread and vegan raita. My soup was delicious with rich flavours, but I admit I was disappointed by the noodles. I feel like ramen soup should have skinny ramen noodles, not big fat slippery ones, no? It wasn’t bad by any means, but I had serious buyer’s remorse and wish I’d ordered the mac n cheese instead. Andrew’s dish on the other hand was pure heaven. So creamy and spicy and flavoursome. I definitely would have ordered it if I’d known it was going to be that damn good. 

Oh – AND – the best part of the meal? Hand down the chips. Triple cooked no doubt, and probably the best chips I’ve ever eaten (top 3 easily). 

Doi Intanon, Ambleside

This is our second trip with our lovely rescue pup Avery, and one thing we’ve learned about travelling with canine friends is that you have to plan ahead for meals, and usually that means getting takeaways for dinner or cooking in a self catering cottage. Our second night in the Lake District we ordered food to go from Thai restaurant Doi Intanon in Ambleside. On the menu they clearly mark the vegetarian dishes which means you can be sure they don’t use any fish sauce or shrimp paste, and they mark if anything has egg in it.

We ordered a medley of dishes to share, including tom yum soup, tom kha soup, vegetable Thai green curry, sweet and sour tofu, and fried noodles. The food was so so so good and the green curry was one of the best I’ve eaten, ever (again, at least top 3 haha). 

Zeffirelli’s, Ambleside

Zefferelli’s is a vegetarian-only restaurant in Ambleside that has a cinema above it! We had originally made a reservation to eat at the restaurant for our 10 year wedding anniversary, but then we felt bad about leaving the dog so cancelled our plans and got takeaway from them instead. 

We ordered a few dishes to share again, including garlic bread (not pictured as we caved and ate it on the drive!), salad, pesto penne, spaghetti pomodoro and a side of vegan cheese. The garlic bread was a bit boring, but everything else was so delicious. My favourite had to be the pasta pomodoro. It was so so simple but SO good. HOW? I can never get pasta to taste that nice! 

Kat’s Kitchen in Keswick

On day three we headed to Keswick to see the Castlerigg Stone Circle and afterwards headed to Kat’s Kitchen for lunch. Kat’s is a fully vegan restaurant that only has outdoor seating at the moment, so make sure you have some layers if you go, as we all were quite chilly (including Avery who we put a blanket over to keep warm!). 

For lunch Andrew opted for the Mexican styled burger made with a perfectly cooked Moving Mountains patty and a delicious, creamy potato salad. I went for the breakfast wrap which had scrambled tofu, sausage, bacon, mushrooms and spinach. It was delicious and definitely worth braving the cold for! 

Ginny’s Teapot, Hawkshead

On the way out of the Lakes we made a slight detour to Ginny’s Teapot in Hawkshead before the long drive home. This is another fully vegetarian restaurant that is set in a really unique little village. It has that traditional tea-room feel with pastel vinyl table coverings and flowers in vintage glass vases. Luckily for us they are also dog friendly, so we were able to get a table inside on a cold, overcast morning. 

After looking over the menu, it was clear that we were both going for the full English (mine without beans, but extra mushrooms please). The dishes that came out were works of art. So beautifully plated and perfectly proportioned. And who can go wrong with TWO different types of fried potato?! Everything on the plate was delicious, and honestly this is probably one of the best vegan breakfasts I’ve ever had – and Andrew agreed. I so wish we had Ginny’s near us. Then again, maybe not….

---

To do

---

Elterwater to St Chapel Stile walk

This is a really easy walk to do with minimal elevation changes. We started in Elterwater but had to park on the road as the carpark was completely full by the time we had arrived (something to keep in mind if going). We then followed some instructions we found online that led us by the river, through some villages and across farmland before going through an ancient woodland and finally looping back around to Elterwater. It was a truly stunning walk, but make sure you do have really good written instructions for your walk, as it’s easy to take a wrong turn and mobile reception is non existent! 

Little Langdale to Skelwith Bridge walk

We were lucky enough to have walking paths right outside our cottage, so on our second full day we picked one that crossed over the river from our garden and led up to a path that took us all the way to Elterwater (about 2 miles one way). We made the mistake of following the wrong path after crossing the river so ended up slogging through ankle deep mud for about 10 minutes before realising our mistake and turning around. Once we were on the correct route though the walk was just divine.

The walk had everything – farmland, views of valleys, rivers, ancient woodlands… it was even prettier than the Elterwater walk the day before. AND you end up at Chester’s… what’s not to love! 

Castlerigg Stone Circle 

Castlerigg is an ancient stone circle that’s located in Keswick on the top of a hill with views of the surrounding fells and valleys. Castlerigg is among one of the oldest British circles, raised in about 3000 BC during the Neolithic period. We went on a cold, misty day and the low clouds shrouding the peaks around us made the experience quite surreal and almost magical.

Lake Windermere

No blog about the lakes would be complete without mention of the lakes themselves! On our last day we drove around the Lake District and saw just how stunning the undulating hills are, and just how much water there really is – there are lakes, streams, rivers and waterfalls everywhere you look. We also spent one evening on the shores of Lake Windermere watching the sunset across the water with a glass of champagne to toast our anniversary.

We parked in Bowness-on-Windermere and walked along the water’s edge until we found a cute bench under an acorn tree to watch the sun set over the peaks. We weren’t sure if anything would come of it, but as you can see the sky lit up spectacularly as the sun went down and gave us a stunning show. What was really sweet was there were quite a few other people doing the same – hanging out with friends and loved ones to watch the sunset and take a few photos. 

Have you been to the Lake District? What are your favourite vegan restaurants? Let me know in the comments!

Pin this image to save for later!