The Bitter End — Restaurant in England

A cosy pub that serves hearty food…

The Bitter End is a bit of a local legend but I’d never actually been here for food and I can truthfully say that there’s nothing bitter to say about the place!

We had a table booked for 1pm on Sunday, it was important that we went somewhere that didn’t restrict their menu to solely Sunday roasts and The Bitter End certainly didn’t disappoint! The Sunday roast was available alongside the full regular menu and even a few specials.

We did ask to change tables as originally we were plonked right in the middle of the dining area and being a larger gentleman I felt uncomfortable somewhat blocking the passageway for the serving staff and customers, we moved to a corner table which was far more comfortable and made for a much more enjoyable experience.

Our drinks arrived really quickly, two pints of Coca-Cola which were both delicious and full of flavour.

For food; I opted for the BBQ pulled pork burger with chips and my partner chose the Cumberland sausage with chips and gravy.

The food arrived pretty quickly, both dishes looking beautifully prepared; the taste certainly lived up to the appearance too!

My BBQ pulled pork burger was so good, it melts in the mouth and was full of flavour - The bun was very soft and fresh too! I also thoroughly enjoyed the dill pickle, coleslaw and tomato sauce/salsa.

The chips are proper homemade chips, cooked to perfection and they go great with the gravy (when my partner let me dip them in anyway!)

The staff were all really friendly and helpful, I have zero complaints about our experience and I’d happily come back here for food - I’m not a drinker personally but they seem to have a wide range of ales on tap and...

We have used this place excessively over the last couple of years. We holiday a lot in the area as well as visiting family and have always found warm and welcoming staff, a great pint and good food. During our last visit to Cockermouth we only went twice instead of our usual three times in the week, the first visit being as good as previous but our second leaving us unable to justify a third visit. We arrived to find our table had been swapped, however when I pointed this out on arrival it was swapped back as the one we booked was still available, as it was a nice evening and as we arrived early we had a drink outside prior to sitting down to eat, the bartender who gave us back our table came out shortly afterwards to inform us that her colleague who had allocated our table to her customers had sat them there anyway, she apologised, gave us a free drink but informed us she now had no option but to change our table, not impressed we accepted the alternative table and ordered food. Starters arrived and were as good as we come to expect, I ordered Lasagna which the previous time I ordered was creamy, tasty and I fully enjoyed, this time however it was over cooked, dry and the meat rubbery, I highlighted this to staff who said they would let the kitchen know, it wasn’t discounted or removed from the bill and we left disappointed at what up to this point been a pleasurable dining experience, really hoping it was a one off and should we return in the future the previous high standards...

Had a second visit and Sirloin steak dinner from here on this occasion. The first one wasn't too bad. Staff are friendly enough, especially the grey haired lady, and the tall young man. Steaks could do with their fat side cooking more to render the fat and make it a lot less chewy, and able to picked up by a fork. This second time around, I asked for the chips to be omitted. Sadly, the onion rings came with one skinny ring of onion coated in a lot more batter. The first time, they had at least two rings in each and were quite nice. I asked the young man if it was the same cook on this night as the last time. To which he replied yes, and stated He, implying that it was a Man. However, when the plate was collected by a short auburn bob style haired waitress(?), I pointed out the lack of onion. She asked, rather defensively, why I had assumed it was a man cooking as she informed me that there was a male and female cooking this night. I informed that I was not to know, only that the polite young man had told me it was a man. I asked about the inconsistency with the onion rings and told her that the cook hadn't mastered cooking a steak just yet. The auburn haired lady didn't take kindly to the feedback, and so I'm guessing she was The Bitter End of the staff. Hence the name of the public house. I'll check out Blocks within the Allerdale Hotel on Market street next time I review a steak dinner as part of my work. I hear they do...