A wonderful lunch at The Belsfield Hotel, Bowness-on-Windermere

Having wandered around Bowness-on-Windermere for a while enjoying being tourists but not finding anywhere we were inspired to eat we found ourselves back at the boat pier where we had arrived on the steamer 'Tern' in the morning; overlooking the pier is the The Belsfield Hotel. We crossed the road and found the brasserie menu displayed by the gate and it sounded very interesting, so a short walk up through the gardens and we found our way in through the terrace doors. Very quiet, empty in fact, and I was afraid that they were not serving food, but the moment we spoke to staff we were looked after attentively and yet utterly unobtrusively. The service really was second to none and the food was delicious. The hotel itself is out of our price range, to stay at, but for a lunch overlooking the lake from a fantastic vantage point I think The Belsfield is impossible to beat. They are in the process of major renovation to move from a 3* to a 4* rating but this was in no way detrimental to the service or the food.

I don't sit taking photographs of my food so you will just have to make do with a picture of Lake Windermere from the terrace of The Belsfield Hotel.

A wonderful lunch at Melton's

My mind is on my stomach - it is a happy stomach. Lunch was a delight at Melton's:

My choices......

Hand-Dived Scallops - Saffron Crispies
Braised Fennel, Spiced Fish Sauce & Coriander
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Apple Orchard Chicken - Ampleforth Cider Cream
Parsley Mash Potato, Mushroom, Black Pudding & Cabbage
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Yorkshire Rhubarb - Crumble, Warm Jelly & Custard, Rhubarb Sorbet
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I think I made a perfect choice from a menu that tempted with every dish. For me the starter and the dessert were just stunning while the main course still met and passed expectations. Whilst waiting for our starter we were served a delightful 'amuse bouche' of creamed leek soup with a little lemon oil drizzled on top. Complimentary still or sparkling water and filter coffee help you feel like a guest as much as a customer.

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The scallops were perfectly balanced between needing to be cut and pulling apart, tender and juicy - complemented beautifully with the fennel and coriander with the spiced fish sauce adding a wonderful umami highlight. I had no idea what to expect from 'Saffron Crisipies' but they were just that and had an almost palate clearing lightness and the gentlest hint of almond. My stolen forkful of Alastair's duck terrine was rich and luscious - I had been very tempted by this starter.

The chicken included both dark and lighter meat, which was good for me as I tend to prefer darker meat and often you just get breast meat which I can find slightly dry. Here the balancing of the more delicate breast meat against the cabbage and the richer dark meat with the mushroom and black pudding made it almost feel like two separate dishes tied together by the parsley mash and the sauce. Alastair had the venison and my thieving gained me a tender mouthful with less intense flavour than I had been expecting - memories of childhood venison in Scotland didn't seem to match this tender succulent mouthful.

(Unfortunately, Melton's haven't put a picture of the chicken on their Facebook page.)

And on to the dessert.......

I have been looking forward to this rhubarb creation since it appeared on Melton's Facebook page back in February  As a true West Yorkshire lass I have an appreciation for the finer things in life - one of the finest being rhubarb. Did you know you can hear rhubarb growing if you visit the arcane wonders of the dark rhubarb sheds of the 'Rhubarb Triangle'? What can I say about the dessert.... it was sublime :) From the gently sweet but refreshingly tangy coolness of the sorbet with its artfully placed slender stick of rhubarb, to the warm almost mousse like jelly with a heart of vanilla custard and between them the gorgeously tart rhubarb hiding below the crispy crumble topping. I didn't steal any of Alastair's cheese - nothing was allowed to interrupt the rhubarb worship ;)

This treat was due to my winning of the Melton's meal for two back in January we saved it for this weekend, a week before Alastair's birthday and the day before he flies off to Bosnia Herzegovina to see Chloe.

While Melton's is well beyond our pocket for a normal meal out we would happily return for a special occasion. A beautiful, un-rushed, calm and 'cared' for meal: cared for in the presentation of every item of food and in the unobtrusive but friendly service.

Thank you Melton's - we hope to be back :)