Tweedies Bar & Lodge Grasmere — Restaurant in England

So this review is only of the bar and restaurant area as that’s all we visited for. First impressions of outside were amazing, rly nice looking building, amazing large beer garden, food menu on wall near entrance (not cheap by any means but expected when you see the place from outside). Walking inside is a very different story, really old tables chairs and stools which are very uncomfortable, a very strange layout, place couldn’t decide whether it was an old fashioned pub (beer mats all over the wall etc and a log fire) or a family restaurant or even a church given the weird pews we hat to sit on. Next was the bar, lots of very young kids trying to be hip (the staff), which may be suited in a college area of a city but certainly not Grasmere. Listening to them try and push their over the top range of IPAs onto people was just cringeworthy. I personally love an IPA or a craft ale but this place has ridden everything else apart from its selection of lakes brewery brand ales, so many than it had a fridge full of cans next to the bar as well. Again I’m not saying this is bad but it’s limiting it’s audience, and the ones I tried were not nice at all. The first one I had was labelled as “pale ale” and was like water, the sign was turned around after my pint so I guess I got the dregs of the barrel. Wouldn’t hurt to have a Guinness or a common lager on the end of the bar. Next was the food, remember this wasn’t cheap, which was very disappointing when it came to the table. Fish and chips was £20, fish was soggy and smaller than average and there were 5 single chips lined up underneath it. 5 chips. There were more chips on my daughters children’s fish and chips!! Absolutely shocking value for money and the staff there were quick on their toes to collect the plates while you were still eating to hurry you out for the next mug that walked in. Also they had football on tv and signs advertising live music which again I found strange due to the layout and clientele sitting around us. The owners really need to decide what type of establishment they are running. So to sum up - if you’re 18-20 year old and fancy your first pint of IPA with bad advise from someone possibly younger than you this is the place to be. If you want shockingly expensive poor food this place ticks your boxes. If you have any sense of self worth and want a nice pint with some delicious food then drive ten minutes down the road to Ambleside giving this place a...

Tweedies wedding 28/Jun/2025

My wife Helen and I booked a wedding at Tweedies for the end of June 2025.

Wedding outline

We booked a wedding for 40 guests including children and booked out all accommodation.

Unfortunately despite booking in the middle of a heat wave we had rain for the wedding so indoor ceremony.

For food we requested the 5 canapés and a main and dessert for the wedding breakfast. We also requested the basic drinks package as our guests didn't include many 'thirsty' individuals. We followed this with pizza in the evening in the break between 2 sets of ceilidh dancing.

Build up and organisation

Thankfully when planning the wedding Tweedies had Laura available to organise arrangements. After getting the initial paperwork sorted and confirming the booking Laura sent across supporting information giving options for food, drink, rooms etc including an invaluable to-do list suggesting tasks to complete and when to complete them.

As we steadily nailed down the various moving parts such as food and drink decisions, guest numbers and entertainment Laura was excellent. When we sat down with Laura in April to discuss plans face to face she was prep'd with a print out of all our questions, ready to discuss.

Communication via e-mail was thorough and where we did need to clarify points Laura, although very busy, was easy to reach by phone.

The day

The Tweedies team excelled on the wedding day. All organisation points we'd planned were executed to the detail inc. schedule, seating plans, table layouts and decorations.

The canapés and food were nothing short of delicious.

The team pulled off a double room changeover converting the main room from ceremony room to wedding breakfast and then to ceilidh hall. The process was flawless.

Considering the weather didn't allow for use of the outdoor space, the main room, hallway and lounge area provided ample space for the 40 guests without feeling cramped.

Not only were the team highly professional but also made us feel very welcome, as though were were part of the Tweedies family.

We can't thank Tweedies enough for making our wedding an unforgettable experience.

Thank you Tweedies - you'll see...

This place was recommended to us by a lovely owner of the place we stayed in across the street. Beautiful area, huge garden, easy to find the table and enjoy fresh air, signs everywhere, so easy to get to bar/restaurant. First impression "it's lovely". We were quite early so decided to grab a drink and enjoy the weather. I asked what gin do they have and bartender said "it's over your head". It was a list of names of the gin but nothing extra so no help here. A bit odd but ok. Staff was not interested, happens, but we decided to come back later for a dinner as place was still pretty impressive and we liked the menu. Second time place was really busy but one person helped us find a table. My partner went to the bar to grab us something to drink. Gin and classic tonic for me but bartender didn't bother to listen so gave him diet tonic. My partner tried to correct it so asked for classic tonic two more times and he heard snarky "what" "what" and "it's your pronunciation " from a bartender. Well. At this point I can probably mention that we're both Polish and we both are pretty communicative after 10 years and lots of travelling. It was extremely uncomfortable, my partner was upset, it's our holiday and being targeted for being Polish, I thought we are past that time. I asked for manager. He came to our table, apologised and assured us that he will speak with bartender, but my parter mentioned that the same guy made a comment behind the bartender about my partner to "speak more clearly next time". Obviously he must have forget about that when he came to say sorry. Reading other reviews I believe that this place can't handle the pressure and obviously has a problem with non English accent people and basic customer service. Finally. Food was amazing. Whoever is cooking there has done a wonderful job. It was delicious. Thank you for saving our evening. Conclusion. We won't visit this place again. So rude and xenophobic. Thankfully there's...