Xtreme Vogue London Desk: Judith Benjamin
As the taxi approaches the Old Stamp House restaurant in Ambleside, I wonder how much of it would be ‘the world’s best’.
Would it have the world’s best restaurant entrance? The world’s best restaurant tables and chairs? The world’s best bathroom taps?
This lauded Lake District eatery has been named the overall global winner of Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice ‘Best of the Best’ Restaurants Awards for the past two years, garnering gushing tributes from almost every customer (1,334 ‘excellent’ reviews out of 1,477 at the time of writing).
Intriguingly, tantalisingly, its credentials as a world-beater don’t immediately present themselves, but percolate during the 10-course taster menu my chum Colin (a top wine merchant) and I enjoy, with a wine flight.
The Old Stamp House restaurant in Ambleside (above) has been named the overall global winner of Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice ‘Best of the Best’ Restaurants Awards for the past two years. Ted Thornhill pulls up a chair and tries the £95 10-course tasting menu
Ted’s Old Stamp House meal begins with snacks – black pudding ‘bon bon’, spheres of black pudding topped with Cumberland sauce (left), and beetroot meringues with duck liver (right)
The restaurant is housed in the building poet William Wordsworth used as an office when he was a tax collector, distributing revenue stamps.
It dates back to the year 1700 and the history is tangible – there are bumpy whitewashed stone walls and dark beams, but little else in the way of interior design, bar a few hung photos and paintings (including one of a Herdwick sheep, with which we become more familiar during course No.3).
It’s a sensible ploy from Chef Patron Ryan Blackburn. This way, the food and wine take centre stage.
Almost every Tripadvisor review for the Old Stamp House restaurant has a verdict of ‘excellent’
Not that there’s much chance of being distracted – the wines are glorious and the dishes consistently superb, artistically presented with textures and flavours almost magically intertwined.
The £95 tasting menu is billed as a ‘Journey around Cumbria’ – and proves to be a wonderful showcase of the county’s terroir, if you will, with many of the ingredients sourced from the local area.
THE FOOD
We start with delectable snacks themed as representing ‘The Field’ – black pudding ‘bon bon’, little spheres of black pudding topped with Cumberland sauce, and beetroot meringues with a duck liver centre finished with pickled walnut puree.
Next, it’s on to ‘The Fells’ and a dish made partly from the aforementioned photo subject called Herdwick hogget broth and bun. Herdwick is a species of sheep native to the Lake District and a hogget a lamb aged between one and two years old.
Ted’s roasted cod loin with crispy kale. It’s served with an ‘outrageously tasty sauce, concocted using a stock made from Cumbrian mussels and vermouth that’s finished with double cream and dill oil’. Ted adds that containing this is a circle of artichoke puree
LEFT: Herdwick hogget broth and bun, which Ted describes as an ‘optical illusion’. RIGHT: ‘Scrumptious’ beer bread made using Lost Wolf beer brewed by Unsworth’s Yard Brewery, located in the Cumbrian village of Cartmel
LEFT: A ‘mini coral reef’ of Arctic char cured in seaweed served with apple juice ketchup, pickled cucumber, cured trout roe and a grated horseradish garnish. RIGHT: Hand-dived scallops with potted shrimps
Old Stamp House Chef Patron Ryan Blackburn
