Booths do their best, but when you really want to treat yourself to great cheese this is where you…read morehave to go: a little alley off Market Square, one of those the tourists overlook. You'll find the 'normal' assortment that denotes a genuine cheese shop, but what really sets the place apart is the whole counter dedicated to local cheese: wonderful creamy blue with a nice kick later on, the same for an innocent-looking goat cheese, and wonderful choices in the hard cheese section. For once you can talk with the staff about your tastes, and for once they know the history of each of their products: this is more than commerce, it's genuine pleasure. Interesting oils, preserves and biscuits, too.

A gorgeous little shop tucked away in the narrow Clarks Yard. Offers a generous selection of yummy…read morescrummy cheeses plus a wide selection of wines and products you're not likely to find in you local supermarket!

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.

I visited the cheese room which sells lots of lovely local Northumbrian cheeses as well as…read morechutneys, crusty loaves, biscuits and more. Sandwiches are also on sale for the lunchtime trade. All in all it's a friendly and individualistic little shop in this historic and busy little Northumbrian town.

The cheese room is the main reason to visit this shop, but there are lots of other little treats…read morethat'll catch your eye. They've got some excellent breads and a whole lot of lovely things in jars. I went in the other day to get some cheese and ended up spending fifty quid on various lovely things. Oops.

I really like the idea of this place and the important things are really done right here. The food…read moreis good is and cooked to order. Someone decided to skimp on the chairs for half the place with office task chairs and they are really the wrong idea. They don't fit under the tables and just look and feel wrong too. I had a breakfast panini sandwich with egg and bacon and it was hot and delicious and very economical. Oh my, good coffee too.

I love this place for breakfast Bacon Egg &Cheese cabbata delicious never tasted cappuccino like it…read moreI take my elderly mother as she adores the panninis and latte the staff are friendly and very pleasant. The home made soups are to die for. Very clean and welcoming

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.