Wild Boar Inn
Crook Windermere LA23 3NF
Chef's table at the Wild Boar is bang in front of the open kitchen, with a grandstand view of the chargrill that's at the heart of the menu. Steaks, chicken and lobster are all great choices, while the inn's other string to its bow – the Lake District's first restaurant smokehouse – means that delicate smoking adds fascinating flavour to anything from fish platters to wild boar chops. The wood and charcoal comes from their private woodland out back, along with produce like damsons (used in the homemade steak sauce) grown in their own orchard. Everything else is just-so, from triple-cooked chips to homemade relishes and local ice cream, while the restaurant itself is a wonderfully romantic place – an opened-out cottage interior of warm colours, exposed stone, ancient beams and hideaway tables. Guest rooms here are in the same rustic-chic vein, and as there's a cosy bar with very quaffable local ales you might just fancy a night's stay too.
