Cranstons, the family-owned butchers in Penrith, has been serving local meat since 1914. Now it has…read moreopened a new café above the Cumbrian Food Hall, close to the M6 on the south-west side of the town. When I visited on a lunchtime in late November, the place was packed with locals, no doubt taking the opportunity to get out and about following the recent Biblical downpour. As you'd expect there's plenty of meat on the menu: an 8oz Gammon Steak; Cumberland Sausage with mash and red onion marmalade; an 8oz steak burger with streaky bacon and home made chips. Each of these costs £8.45. For £10.25 you can try the 'Cranstons' Local Platter, which features pastrami, roast ham and smoked pork loin. I was told that the soup of the day was parsnip and banana. I gave this a miss and opted for Chicken and Mediterranean Vegetable Terrine with tomato and olive chutney. It played safe, in my opinion, and would have benefited from a more imaginative accompaniment. A nod to vegetarians comes in the form of Grilled Goats Cheese & Pickled Beetroot Salad and Quiche of the Day. But I think a vegetarian in Cumbria is someone who has resolved not to eat meat between meals. The café is bright, spacious and unfussily furnished. The tall windows offer panoramic views of the lowering skies over the northern fells. On the opposite wall, a water-painting depicts a more benign riparian scene.

what can i say about this fine specialist butchers, apart from you have to go to buy to experience…read morethe quality of the food. The meat is so fresh, and they do fab stir frys plus so much more than you would expect frfom a butchers. There is also a really good fruit and veg section in there along with a local family run bakers whose bread is good.They also sell locally produced desserts and specialist food tha you wont find in supermarkets. If its something different for tea you are looking for then i strongly recommend you give this place a go.

Whenever I am in Penrith I have to go here first. Situated right in the centre of the town in the…read moreMarket Square this is a must for serious foodies. They stock the biggest variety of cheeses and olives I have ever seen, and the sunblush tomatoes are to die for. If you are unsure about anything in the deli they will always offer it for you to taste first which is a brilliant little touch although I always end up buying it anyway as it is so good. The bread is all gorgeous and stocked in open shelves and you choose what you want and bag it up. As it is a deli they do all the typical types of meat and crackers you would expect. They aso have a fabulous selection of Green and Black's chocolate and Jelly Belly jelly beans. Although a tad more on the expensive side than your local supermarket it is definitely worth it for the wide variety of choice. I would recommend trying it as who knows what gastronomic treat you might find and the smell when you enter is divine.

Independent delicatessen. Well worth a travel for treats. I would recommend their home made…read morequiches, worth ordering for parties and dos. Just go in to admire the decor, wooden floors and the smells of the lovely cheeses, coffee etc.

Yes that's right, I am vegetarian. And this butchers gets 5* from me!…read moreBasing my review on my experience in the shop and what my meat eating men said about the produce. My dad told me pay a visit to this butchers after buying a piece of machinery from them for our bakery and then finding out how much AWARD WINNING produce they have! I got told to get the award winning bacon and Cumberland Sausages. So, in we walk and I have never seen so many award winning signs in my life! What to choose??? Let's start with the Cumberland sausages - two kinds, both please! And then to the choice of bacon, well, how do people choose?? We opted for the black treacle cured back bacon (award winning obviously) and Adam Y chose the oak smoked back bacon. All the bacon was boasting not to leave that nasty white stuff in your pan. While we were here we picked up some award winning pies too. Pork Pie, Peppered Steak Pie and Chicken Pie. All of which looked perfect (coming from a baker, that's a HUGE compliment) and i am told they tasted just as good! The service we received whilst in the shop was second to none. Enough said. If you are ever passing Windermere town (and you eat meat) you must pay Huddlestons a visit! x

Here is what I wrote after visiting Huddlestone's during my walk from John O'Groats to Lands End in…read more2013. 'The most memorable thing about Windemere was a "Cornish" pasty I bought from Huddlestone's Butchers in Windemere. It was so good I returned to the shop to tell them so, and the man said he had obtained the recipe from an old friend of his in Cornwall, who had recently retired, and finally parted with his secret recipe. So if you are in the Lake District, and craving for a "genuine" Cornish pasty, go along to Huddlestone's Butchers in The Avenue, Windemere.' I am so pleased that they have been recognised as the 'Premier' in 2016. Congratulations to all at Huddlestones. And yes, I can still remember how good it was. And I still live in Cornwall. Bryan Pesce

My family have used Richard Harrison for over 50 years - i have also eaten many other makes of…read moreCumberland Sausage and none of them comes close to Richard Harrison's - just THE BEST. PeeJay

Probably the best butchers in the country, and with the best Cumberland sausage anywhere, which…read moremakes it the best sausage anywhere of course!. I've known this butcher's for over fifty years and even though I've lived in various parts of the UK South Wales, Yorkshire, Manchester, I keep going back for my meat and especially sausage. Excellent service, too.

William Peat is one of 2 very good butchers in the town. They have 2 shops just a few doors apart…read more One is purely meat & the other does pies, cooked meat slices & cheese. There is a small counter that sells hot bacon buns & pulled pork rolls. Well worth a visit if in town for a tasty plate pie or quiche for an evening meal.

A lovely farm shop with a butchers baked goods fresh fruit and veg and frozen stuff…read moreThey sell a massive rang of food from redenberg popcorn which is lovely to Duchy Originals. The sausages and burgers they make their are great and the meat comes from the farm, they also make a great rang of pies and pastys and cakes you can buy via the slice or the whole cake. The coleslaw from the butchers is great and goes really well with the ham cooked on the bone that they do. They do a range of puddings in the fridge and lovely frozen fruit great for pies in the freezer. There buns are fab, the best things are the corned beef slices the country barn pastys and the mars bar slices the lemon drizzle cake is also worth a try The coffee shop is great with plenty of seats there is another level off the level where you get served the food is not too expensive and if you get corned beef slices they come with crisps and salads and sometimes a little chutney The hot chocolate from here is fab It is not far from here to druridge bay and a nice little walk to the ruined chapel

We already checked this place out on the Internet before going so it was just a matter of finding…read moreit. Just outside of town and only a small sign to let you know where to turn, this is somewhat of a hidden gem. The barn-like-store consists of a butcher shop, cheese shop, and bakery on the first floor with tables on the open second floor for dinning. All the tables are for two or four people only and they serve meals including delicious soups, sandwiches, scones, tea, and other good stuff. We shared a sandwich and went for some tea and scones. The staff was very friendly and took time to chat and joke. Small and out of the way, but overall a nice break in the afternoon if you are driving through.

This is a small town produce and meat shop. For its small size, we were amazed at the selection…read more We also went to the meat section and bought the most tender rack of lamb.

Simply great meat. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Busy most of the time so queues are normal. Early…read moreclosing on Wednesdays.