Brown Cow Inn — Restaurant in England

We came to The Brown Cow Inn for a late lunch on Wednesday 13th December and weren’t disappointed! Our family of 8, plus a baby & 2 dogs were staying at a nearby Air B&B (Near Bank Cottage) and we searched for a local pub to cater for us all. We’d passed The Brown Cow on our previous visit to Cumbria so decided to book this time round. The pub itself is a real county pub, with a log fire, rustic decor and locals who call it their second home. The staff were nothing short of welcoming, who exchanged photos and stories with us about the masses of snow they’d received the week prior and the clear starry skies they get at night. Our food and drink orders were taken promptly, with a couple of us ordering starters. I’m not sure what we were all expecting, but the food absolutely blew us out the water. The portion sizes, taste and presentation would lead you to believe you were in a city bar, not a rustic country pub. The starters ordered were Garlic Mushrooms, Halloumi Sticks & a Spicy Pepper Soup - all of which were absolutely devoured leaving us eager to eat our mains. For the mains we ordered a selection of the chicken burger, scampi, fish & chips and chargrilled chicken. Our whole table went silent whilst we enjoyed our food! A couple of our party ordered desserts too which went down an absolute treat - the chocolate browny was so gooey and warm!! The whole experience from start to finish was nothing shy of excellent and was a lovely end to our week away. We most certainly will be back next time we visit Cumbria and we thank everyone at The Brown Cow Inn for such yummy food!!! Please go and support this lovely local business, you won’t be...

After being in the UK for over 10 years, finally found a real country pub. Locals are exactly like the folks I grew up around, right down to the farmer's dog waiting on the quad bike outside!

So let me explain why this is the UKs untapped gem...

For one, it's not a chain, infact it's a 1960s country b&b pub family feel, where all the locals were popping in for drinks / food.

Two, I came back with two extremely dirty ebikes and the chef arranged a jet washer then stored the bikes in a spare space.

Three, it's not a five star, but, as I write this, a family are sat playing cards while their grand kids run around them, kids are helping clean tables and it's a totally relaxed feeling.

Four, we were going to Keswick, which is fully booked, so for the first time tried something new, here, and it's so quiet on the roads, and just the right level of busy in the pub. Amazing for a mad busy Easter.

Five, value, £80odd for a double room WITH breakfast on an Easter? Awesome!

Six, kid friendly, I am not here with young kids, but it's a safe place.

Seven, It has that small quiet country community feel. Don't get me wrong, it's a bit rough around the edges, but I think it adds to the authentic charm. So any travellers, wanting to experience what you always thought rural England is like, then...

I had booked a table for a family of five. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a poor first impression—the barman, who didn’t appear particularly professional, muttered an obscenity in response to a colleague’s question. This immediately set a bad tone for the evening.

We were seated and placed our orders, but then had to wait 45 minutes for our food to arrive.

When our meals finally arrived, they were well below standard and did not arrive at the same time, which made the dining experience disjointed and uncomfortable.

To make matters worse, the restaurant had a noticeable issue with flies buzzing around the tables and our meals constantly, which was unhygienic and off-putting.

When we finished and received the bill—which seemed unreasonably high for the standard of food and service—I questioned the total. Rather than responding professionally, the staff became defensive, which escalated into an argument. Shockingly, one of them even threatened to call the police on me.

However, the matter was eventually resolved after...