Stone-built former blacksmith's in an attractive village, run by a friendly team. Inventive, modern cooking uses top quality produce to create dishes with a pleasing lightness and a superb balance of flavours. Home-grown and foraged ingredients feature highly. Choice of 8 or 12 course menu. Comfortable, traditionally styled bedrooms are spread about the village.

Useful Information

Main services

Garden

Air conditioning

Reserved for non-smokers in all or part of the establishment

Payment options

American express

Visa

Master card

Opening hours :

closed lunch Monday-Tuesday. Contacter l'établissement pour confirmer ces informations.

Ratings summary

L'Enclume

Score average

12 opinions

5/5

Review

Summary of opinions

excellent (10)

good (2)

pleasant (0)

adequate (0)

poor (0)

bad (0)

L'Enclume

12/4/12,

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Lee Heseltine

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : As a couple
Pros

A quiet setting in a beautiful village. Staff were discreet, informative and knew the dishes. It's recently gained second star it well deserved.

Cons

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L'Enclume

10/11/12,

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JohnSWilson

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : As a couple
Pros

Awesome restaurant that we have been visiting for the past 3 years. Fully deserves its second star due to the exceptional food. Simon is a genius and the staff are incredible. Definitely one of the best restaurants in the UK.

Cons

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L'Enclume

8/10/12,

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MymG

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : As a couple
Pros

A superb meal from start to finish. Menu descriptions that teased ('Cumbria slate', for example). Beautiful presentation. A lovely light filled room. Don't miss a visit to the priory that one can see through the windows.

Cons

I can't recall a single negative.

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L'Enclume

6/14/12,

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richcoupe

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : As a couple
Pros

we came here about 18 months ago and loved it! The menu has changed completely and the molecular cooking has been toned down and you are now treated to 12 fantastic courses of beautifully cooked dishes. The food is very clean and the flavours that are combined are perfect! This will become a regular place for us to eat!

Cons

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L'Enclume

5/7/12,

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nigel smithson

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : With family
Pros

16 amazing courses. so imaginative but not at the expense of taste. lots of new (some foraged) ingredients which all added to the flavour of the dishes and never just for show. were very good at swapping dishes that my newly pregnant wife didn't feel confident eating. can't wait for another visit

Cons

none

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L'Enclume

1/9/12,

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nigel smithson

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : With family
Pros

a modern, relaxed setting (especially in the glass extension area). food was imaginative, beautiful and more importantly tasted just as good. the use of foraging and unusual herbs was a revelation. the oyster pebble and a pear granita/malt cream dish were the highlights

Cons

costly but with the amount of work involved, can't really complain

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L'Enclume

9/19/11,

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VinayKhosla

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : With friends
Pros

Three friends had a great evening out. We had the 12 courses and were sad when it ended, not because we were still hungry but because we did not want the experience to end. Two of our party had very specific dietary requirements but the kitchen appeared to cope with this effortlessly. The two people did not feel that their dishes were given any less attention or thought. Service was impeccable and our waitress was able to answer every question we had. Winelist was interesting and affordable. Can't recommend enough. If in doubt just go, you will not be disappointed.

Cons

Had to think very hard to find a negative, and all I can think of is that the restaurant is quite hard to find and parking is difficult. Neither is a reason not to go.

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L'Enclume

5/2/11,

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Big D

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : With family
Pros

Amazing and imaginative thirteen course menu with twelve courses I loved. Service was excellent and superior accommodation was superb. I will visit again...soon!

Cons

One course confused my palate with the addition of calamint oil, interesting menthol-type flavour that I didn't fully appreciate.

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L'Enclume

5/1/11,

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charlotte logie

4/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : As a couple
Pros

we ate here last year and the food was creative, interesting and above all very tasty! Cartmel is a beautiful village and well worth a visit.

Cons

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L'Enclume

3/22/11,

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geoffroberts

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : As a couple
Pros

The food was the star - the setting is great in itself and I don't want to give any negative impression, but the food stood above the physical setup. 12 courses (actually 16 if you include the ameuse bouche, additional cheese course, post-dessert and coffee with petit fours) of gastronomic adventure. Our dinner lasted 4 hours and was perfectly paced, each plate being a big mouthful if you were rash or 3 or 4 mouthfuls if you want to savour every last morsel. Outstanding is not a good enough description. Service was attentive and well-informed without being overbearing. Because of the drink-driving laws we restricted ourselves to a glass of wine each (good to see such a place offering single glasses) but did read a well-chosen list from around the world at very sensible mark-ups.

Cons

Nothing.

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L'Enclume

10/22/10,

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richcoupe

5/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
- Position : As a couple
Pros

Everything about this restaurant was fantastic. Located in the stunning villiage of Cartmel down a quite side road L`Enclume deserves every award it has. From the pre dinner nibbles (fennel seed carmel lolly amazing) to the last chocolate (kendal mint cake ice cream chocolate lolly)every plate of food was fantastic. It is probably the best meal we have had for a while. The service and attention to detail was truely a pleasure. We will be definately going again in the near future.

Cons

Nothing

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L'Enclume

5/30/10,

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martinhalliday

4/5
Review information
- Language: gbr
Pros

This is our fifth visit in three years. Previously the food was very good with experimental aspects similar to the Fat Duck. Now, with this visit (30/05/2010) the chef has reached an altogether higher level of excellence. His cooking is well above what we have experienced in one star restaurants. Each dish of the thirteen course tasting menu was outstanding in that he produced flavours that were, at once, both delicate yet sang of freshness and individuality. An example is the smoked eel (incredibly tender) with lovage and juniper. The plate arrived covered with a glass dome; upon removal of the dome, the distinct, but not overpowering smokiness was not only an olfactory delight but tasted sublime being perfectly balanced by the lovage and juniper. Another, is the 'Walnut and herb granita sweet cheese and milk skin' - which was a perfectly smooth and delicate mascarpone parfait drizzled with walnut sauce accompanied by a granita which was predominated by fresh basil. The 'milk skin' was the most delicious savoury 'crisp' and set the whole thing off perfectly. We had wines by the glass which complimented the courses and were very reasonably priced. This level of cooking is far above a single star and deserving of two. We say this after careful consideration and having eaten in many starred restaurants. Whilst L'Enclume may have only one star, it is certainly two star standard. In closing, if we could only eat at one restaurant this year it would be this one. If this review confuses you, having read another review referring to gelatin etc, take it from us, we are right. If we were given a choice between the Fat Duck (we thought it excellent) and L'Enclume it would be a difficult choice but in the end we would probably go for L'Enclume.

Cons

None

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L'Enclume

L'Enclume

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