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hand picked restaurants

Inhabitants and visitors to the Lake District are blessed with a great choice of excellent restaurants, and none exemplify this more than Jerichos. Set up by chef Chris Blaydes, a member of the Master Chefs of Great Britain and formerly of Miller Howe just down the road, with his wife Jo in 1997, it has consistently received praise from both its customers and the major food guides.

The style of their cuisine is quite straightforward and draws on local seasonal produce wherever possible, treated in a sympathetic and complimentary manner. Quality dishes could include chicken and duck liver parfait with mango chutney or goat's cheese pannacotta with home produced gravadlax. Good wine list - with very sensible mark-ups encouraging the consumption of better bottles. No children under 12 years.

As dusk descends on Windermere's splendid environs, the convivial atmosphere at The Oakthorpe Hotel's Lamplighter Bar and Restaurant in High Street picks up pace with guests gathering for an evening of bonhomie after a day well spent. Friendly staff fosters the party spirit in an 'olde world' ambience as the well-loved aromas of traditional British food waft in to whet the appetite.

A menu that showcases local produce, especially fresh fish delivered daily from Fleetwood, offers patrons time tested culinary delights such as smoked salmon, potted shrimps, battered haddock with tartare sauce, whole Dover sole, grilled local trout and rope mussels in a wine, cream and garlic sauce. They can also choose from homemade duck liver pâté with granary bread, tortellini filled with ricotta cheese, fillet steak in a special whisky and red wine sauce and roasted rack of Cumbrian lamb with mint gravy. If spicy fare beckons, there's choice of korma, Madras and vindaloo with prawn, chicken, beef or mushroom. Unwind at leisure with a glass of Chablis or Pinot Noir, or a pint of real ale.

Cedar Manor Hotel and Restaurant is situated in the heart of the Lake District in mature walled gardens dominated by a 200-year-old cedar tree. The country house was built in 1854 as a private retreat; today it provides comfortable accommodation, and tasty food in an AA Rosette restaurant.

Spend time enjoying beautiful scenery, spotting red squirrels, taking walks to Lake Windermere, or having a drink while relaxing on sofas in the lounge or bar. When you're hungry head to the cosy restaurant and feast on dishes from a seasonal á la carte menu that reflects the use of fresh local produce.

An evening meal could start with ham hock terrine, homemade chutney, and toasted brioche or green pea risotto, soft poached egg and white truffle oil, followed by wild sea bass; beef fillet accompanied by fondant potato, buttered curly kale, baby carrots, and onion marmalade, or perhaps a game suet pudding before the final surrender to a dessert of nutmeg custard tart with a stem ginger beignet and fig and honey jam.

There are 20 acres of gardens, moors and woodland that surround this lovely hotel and it is ideally situated for someone looking for a comfortable base from which to spend time in the Lakes, confident that the inner man will be cosseted and cherished. Their restaurant holds three AA rosettes and numerous other awards which prove their competence admirably. Under head chef Russel Plowman, the cuisine is modern English with an emphasis on the finest ingredients.

A ballotine of organic salmon with horseradish and potato mousse and beetroot salad makes an interesting starting. The roasted sirloin of Cumbrian native beef bordelaise and red wine shallots to follow is excellent and the pistachio crème brûlée with vanilla ice cream is immensely appealing. The drinks list features more than 200 wines from thirteen countries with some remarkable house wines that offer great value. Owned and run by the Cunliffe family since 1987, this romantic Lakeland retreat has some luxurious accommodation if you should wish to stay.

Situated on the hillside on the eastern bank of Lake Windermere, The Beech Hill Hotel is an ideal destination for those who'd like to reconnect with nature and the eye-soothing vistas provide respite from the bustle of city life and pressures of modern living. And if you're looking for some fantastic food in a convivial setting, the 2 AA Rosette award winning Burlington's Restaurant is worth noting.

Scan the ingredients and you'd notice the kitchen making the best use of the rich produce from the farmlands of Cumbria. A Formby asparagus and hot smoked salmon cocktail could be a sign of the season but it's also good to encounter a Cumbrian 'deli' of confit of poussin, grilled pork belly and veal noisette. Next it could be a Fell-bred beef fillet, or grilled sea bass with wild mushrooms, butterbean puree and walnut aiolade.

On Saturday evenings guests could relax and enjoy their meal whilst listening to a jazz quartet or pianist.

Amongst all the many pretty splendid hotels in the Lake District, there are few to match the Langdale Chase. Completed by the turn of the last century it became a hotel in 1930 and has been attracting the discerning ever since. The dining room has scenic views across Lake Windermere with a breadth of view that matches the menus.

Proceedings commence with an amuse bouche, followed by starters that could include a coarse pork pate with a parsley, dill and caper sauce, an assiette of seafood with crab and herb mousse, smoked mackerel, Morecambe Bay shrimps, salmon tartar and Bradan rost, or a Tuna Caesar salad.

For main courses keep an eye open for the trio of Mansergh Hall lamb, a compilation of roast loin, sauté kidney and cutlet of lamb served with a cassolet of pulses and confit of garlic complemented by a rosemary redcurrant lamb juice, or perhaps the tournedos of beef with wild mushrooms, charred foie gras and a red wine shallot jus.

Puddings follow the same pattern with a dark hot chocolate gateau offering no escape at all lest it be the milk chocolate, flavoured with dark rum, with a chilled poached pear and cinnamon infused anglaise sauce. The petits fours served with the coffee are works of art, and when I say served I do mean service as it should be, both then and throughout the meal.