L'Enclume
“L’Enclume is in many ways the ultimate destination restaurant.” - AA Inspector
CARTMEL, CUMBRIA
Our Inspector's view
One of the UK’s best-known sites of culinary pilgrimage, L’Enclume (‘anvil’ in French – as it’s housed in the former blacksmith’s) is a true destination restaurant set in the rather idyllic medieval village of Cartmel. The restaurant interior is plain – with beams, stone floors, unclothed tables, whitewashed walls, and windows overlooking a small but perfectly manicured garden. Table appointments are bespoke, with an array of stunning dishes and serving vessels designed to highlight the ultra-local produce, some from Simon Rogan’s own organic farm while others are foraged from the surrounding fields, hedgerows and woods. The wine list is superb and recommendations come with real depth of knowledge, while the daily and seasonally changing menus are complex productions that you’ll be guided through by the polished, switched-on staff. Here, you’ll experience triumphant levels of skill and invention, very refined, dazzlingly contemporary cooking, every perfect miniature dish bursting with dynamism and creativity and allowing the tremendous quality of the ingredients to speak for themselves. A must-try opening dish is the fritter of Duroc pig and smoked eel, lovage and fermented sweetcorn, which packs a big hit of flavour. For mains, the Passandra cucumbers compressed in calamint, raw Orkney scallop and pickled elderflower is amazing, while the signature ‘Anvil’ dessert is a caramel mousse with miso, apple and spruce.
Awards, accolades and Welcome Schemes
5 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
AA Notable Wine List
Facilities – at a glance
Credit cards accepted
Private dining
Vegetarian menu
Wheelchair access
Features
- Seats: 45
- Private dining available
- On-site parking available
- Wheelchair accessible
- Steps for wheelchair: 1
- Accessible toilets
- Assist dogs welcome
- Closed: 25–26 December
- Wines over £30: 500
- Wines by the glass: 28
- Cuisine style: Modern British
- Vegetarian menu
Also in the area
About the area
Discover Cumbria
Cumbria's rugged yet beautiful landscape is best known for the Lake District National Park that sits within its boundaries. It’s famous for Lake Windermere, England’s largest lake, and Derwent Water, ‘Queen of the English Lakes'. This beautiful countryside once inspired William Wordsworth and his home, Dove Cottage, in Grasmere is a popular museum. Another place of literary pilgrimage is Hill Top, home of Beatrix Potter, located near Windermere. Tom Kitten, Samuel Whiskers and Jemima Puddleduck were all created here.
Much of Cumbria is often overlooked in favour of the Lake Distirct. In the south, the Lune Valley remains as lovely as it was when Turner painted it. The coast is also a secret gem. With its wide cobbled streets, spacious green and views of the Solway Firth, Silloth is a fine Victorian seaside resort. Other towns along this coastline include Whitehaven, Workington and Maryport. Carlisle is well worth a look – once a Roman camp, its red-brick cathedral dates back to the early 12th century and its 11th-century castle was built by William Rufus.
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