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.

This is a standard SUBWAY shop. The staff as nice, and relatively quick at making your order…read more One major flaw which this particular branch is that you have to cue along the side of some customer seating, which can is very impractical and impolite. There is however, a section downstairs with ample seating with tables for 4-6 people. The selection of salad is the usual, with none of the extras found in a select few branches.

Smallish subway store, perfectly adequate but nothing too exciting. Always a welcome change from…read moremcdonalds or kfc at the other side of town. My last visit required multiple explanations of what I wanted, but we all have our off days. Every other visit has been spot on.

Great food and staff are very attentive. Good selection on the menu…read more I would give 5 stars but the expensive prices and not very clean toilets lost them a star.

Pizza express do what they do wherever you go. The staff at this branch are particularly friendly…read moreand helpful and the pizzas are fantastic. 10 out of 10! On a par with the Brewery for the best pizza in kendal / Cumbria

Well what can I say, I'm a fan, ok you got me I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!…read moreThe food is excellent, the service is quick and you can watch your food being cooked :-) My brother in law is a bit of a Indian food connoisseur and he loves it too, whenever he's in town this is his take away of choice. I would recommend phoning your order in advance though as it can get busy (a victim of their own success I suppose) If your in town and fancy a nice n spicy take away I would highly recommend. Bonne appetite :-)

British Raj was good when it opened up a few years ago, but in my opinion it has gone down hill a…read morelot. I believe now they are cutting quality and costs and just interested in money....... The last few meals I have had haven't been good, one time I heard a employee ask the manager if he should use old food / leftovers also the amount of breast chicken meat has been replaced with mixed thigh meat not good, the sauces are not very good very watery and slimy. I used to spend £20 at least a month there but I make my own better curry at home now. Although its a open kitchen all the food is pre cooked and all they do is warm it up when you order, I have had the tandoori mixed grill twice that was dry as a bone and I suspect days old just heated up. The only thing cooked fresh in there are Nan bread's and King prawns, the rest of the entire menu is pre cooked in huge big tubs that they re heat, I have no problem with that, but when I got a week old chicken madras and a tandoori mixed grill that was dry and mouldy that's when I stopped going in.

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.

Hidden away from the main thoroughfare is a 'Little Chippy'. Plenty of choice on the menu, with…read moreplenty of homemade choices. Reasonable prices.

Amazing food, really yummy. good prices. my fave chippy in windemere, highly recommendedread more

Ordered a take out it was over an hour late and was bland to say the least. When we called to see…read morewhere the food was the arrogant Scotish manageress was les than helpful , Can't wait to not have another meal from there.

We visited the Eastern Balti whilst staying in a spa in Kendal then heading on into the Lakes. This…read morerestaurant was just down the road from the Spa and we thought we'd give it a go as the town centre was really quiet. We walked down earlier in the day and spoke to the owner asking if we should book, she said yes as it can get quite busy. We arrived later on about 9pm to find the place completey empty... maybe we should have seen the warning signs but we thought meh this will be fun, they can't do a bad job if we're the only ones there, so we ignored the awkwardness and headed on in. Upon entering a few of the staff just stared at us, then the owner came out and showed us to a table by the window. The decoration in the place was really random, we were sat next to what seemed to be a pirate ship wooden rail with some tiger print nearby as well. The owner explained they were in the middle of a refit and that the walls had been thick with grease when she arrived.... nice just what we wanted to hear before eating... We ordered a variety of indian dishes, some starters and naans and waited whilst listening to some Indian music being play from tinny cheap speakers on the window next to us. The atmosphere was... lets say underwhelming. The starters were okay, but when the main tandoori dish came my girlfriend took a bite and bit into a stone... literally a stone! She promptly removed the stone and put it on the table. She hurt her tooth and was pretty put off from the rest of the meal. We told the staff and the owner seemed apologetic but that was as far as it went. We didn't even get the meal discounted even though we left it and my girlfriend nearly chipped her tooth. Let just say we weren't very happy and the way the staff dealt with situation and to still charge us for a meal that had a stone / grit in it... not impressed. So to sum Eastern Balti up --- WATCH OUT FOR GRIT IN YA FOOD --- This place is just to awkwardly decorated and quiet to be worth a visit when in Kendal.

They restaurants here fill up fast, and they all seemed very understaffed on the day we visited…read more Fortunately, this small, no-seating shop sells warm and flaky creations with fantastic fillings for an easy picnic or something to hold you over until you find a sit-down place. We tried the Scotch Egg and the Pork & Apple pasty, both of which had beautiful crusts a delicious fillings. They are substantial so best to share with friends.

Splendid bakery. Wide choice of pastry's including vegan, vegetarian and meat options. I don't know…read morewhat it was we ordered for a pastry but it was divine and I wish I had one now! Friendly staff