When I was researching good places to eat in and around the Lake District, a PR reached out to introduce me to the Black Bull in Sedbergh, which is technically located in the western Yorkshire Dales but on the edge of the Lake District.
Sedbergh is an old market town and upon first glance, you probably wouldn’t guess that it’s home to one of the UK’s top 50 gastropubs.
Its head chef is Nina Matsunaga, one of only five female chefs to feature in the list. Her Japanese heritage influences some of the flavours on the menu, which is delicately balanced with traditional British staples and incorporates the area’s local produce.
We found The Black Bull straightaway: its sophisticated decor is conspicuous yet not garishly incongruent with its surroundings.
My review of lunch at Black Bull in Sedbergh
Upon entering, we were led past the more casual bar area into the restaurant (though there’s little distinction between the two at the moment due to the current government restrictions).
We were seated in a comfy booth with a view across the room and out through the window, and a glass bottle of chilled water was swiftly brought over by one of the very well-dressed staff.
Service was super fast, which we were thankful for because a morning of exploring some of the Lake District’s top attractions had built up our appetites.
Tom had a Kirin (Japanese lager) and I ordered a glass of house red, which was beautiful.
The bar menu (Served 12pm to 6pm Wednesday to Sunday) is traditional pub grub with a few contemporary twists. It’s also very reasonably priced for the quality of food we were about to experience.
We skipped starters and instead ordered the Spicy Wild Halibut Beignet from the ‘nibbles’ section.
Oh my, what an absolute pleasure for just £3.50! The complex flavour of the beignets was our highlight of the entire meal. Tom said it was the best thing he’d tasted for a long time and I was inclined to agree. They definitely aren’t for those who are shy about heat, but the perfectly cooked fish morsels are otherwise a must-try.
We began to wish we had ordered a portion each, rather than one plate to share…
For mains, I ordered from the a la carte list while Tom had a Howgill Hereford Beef Burger, Coleslaw & Fries from the bar menu. For just £12.95, it was miles better than most places we’ve been to that pride themselves on their burgers. Wonderfully juicy and packed with flavour offset by a spicy mayo, the burger was well worth the fairly low price.
Tom’s very professional review is: “It didn’t even need cheese. ‘Nuff said.” Yes, Black Bull are so confident in the quality of the meat that they don’t taint it with anything else!
After umming and ahhing over the Lakeland Venison Wellington and Shorthorn Beef and Ale Pie, I took a chance and ordered something I’d never tried before: grouse!
My dish was Whernside Grouse with Butternut, Chervil Root and Bilberry. Having never tried grouse before, I was taken aback: though slightly tough to cut with a knife, the meat was tender and melted in the mouth. The sweetness of the bilberries complemented the meat perfectly and I had to force myself not to gobble it all up in a few bites.
I got sticky toffee pudding for dessert. It was, as anticipated, fantastic.
Tom had the lemon mousse, which was a party on a plate.
In my opinion, The Black Bull in Sedbergh treads the fine line between proper boozer and fine dining restaurant very gracefully and, most importantly: the food certainly lives up to the hype. We were very impressed by the value for money and have raved about our lunch there to everyone since we got back from our trip!
The Black Bull has some very luxurious-looking rooms where you can spend the night, so I’ll definitely be keeping that in mind should I find myself near Sedbergh anytime soon. You can check availability here.
As mentioned at the beginning of this post, I was invited to review a meal at Black Bull in return for a complimentary meal. This post is not sponsored.
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