Arches Coffee House — Restaurant in Carlisle

A superb little coffee shop hidden down the pleasant back-streets of central Carlisle.

Fortunately we visited the place mid-morning with the shop half-full of customers. There's around 12 tables, roughly 5 at ground level and the remainder up four steps - which may prove a little awkward for people who are unsteady on their feet and have to rely on sticks or crutches etc.

That said, the shop feels very cosy, fresh and clean. The tables were always cleared of old food, cups and plates within a couple of minutes of customers leaving; and the plastic table clothes were always wiped down properly, with no obvious mess on chairs or surrounding floor.

The menus are quite typical for a coffee shop - scones, cakes, sandwiches, soups, hot toasties, full breakfasts. And some of the walls do carry special deals and/or chef's specials. And the good thing is that there is a waitress to take you order at your table. So you can always ask questions or ask for variations to your choice, and they are happy to do that for you.

In my case I went for ham & cheese on wholemeal bread (the menu doesn't offer this combo, but by simply asking, they will oblige). I also had the soup of the day (home made thick and creamy vegetable), which was rather excellent!

The ham & cheese sandwich came with the usual lettuce, tomatoes & mayo side, but the entire meal was delightful, filling and very tasty.

To follow I went for a slice of apple pie and two scoops of vanilla ice cream, and a pot of tea. Again all very nice, especially the pie, which was rich with flavour and very filling!

During the hour I spent there the shop was beginning to reach capacity, and yet the three waitresses kept on top of things with ease; always patient, always with a smile on their faces and ready to help when needed.

Even though the final bill was around £14 or so I would definitely make a point of coming again, not least for the pleasant staff and surrounds; but also for the quality of...

Would absolutely not recommend eating here. I have eaten here twice and each experience was bad.

My most recent experience, I came in and sat down as it wasn't busy at all. A couple entered a few minutes after me and was served immediately as I was still waiting. The waitress (an older lady) left and the couple tried to get her attention at least 3 different times to come over to me but they were ignored.

Finally after almost 10 minutes a younger girl came to serve me. I asked her for a table size of tap water along with my order and she ended up bringing me out a cup of water with small black foreign objects in it. I had drank most of it before realizing and she came back to replace it.

The food was not tasty, I ordered a salad and it was more like an arranged plate of random vegetables and fruit which was incohesive as if there was no thought behind the flavor of the dish. It was not up to standard for the price. I ate 5% of my plate and just wanted to leave. After getting up and going to pay, I was told that they weren't accepting cards, only cash. This should have been acknowledged to me the second I sat down. This was extremely unprofessional. They told me to go to an ATM right across the street, which I did. However, that specific ATM does not accept Mastercard so I had to treck to a different one, which was extremely inconvenient and frustrating because of their dishonesty.

I came back and the older woman asked why I didn't eat my food. I explained that it wasn't good and she said "well it's a salad, sorry".

In conclusion, the inability to be honest about the payment method was unsettling and if honest, it would have detoured me from eating here in the first place which is why I believe they weren't upfront about it to me or anyone else. The food was unpleasant and I was unable to eat it. The dining experience was ruined because of the lack of...

We stopped off at Carlisle on our way back from Scotland to Shropshire and were looking for a place for lunch.The Arches is very close to the cathedral and looked clean and reasonably priced .Tables were well spaced and COVID friendly.We were given the choice of where to sit and the waitress was very friendly and attentive,not rushing us but there when we needed her. So,the food....The menu has a selection of sandwiches,jacket potatoes,cakes etc as well as full meals and specials on the board.I had steak pie,packed with meat ,very tender and tasty.My wife had the ploughman's which was massive and had everything on it,cheese,ham,cheese savoury,pickle,salad, onions, bread,all delicious.Together with two drinks it came to £18 so I'm not sure why a couple of people have criticised the price? Absolute bargain and filled us up all the way back to Shropshire.When we return to Carlisle,it will be our first...