The Yew Tree/British/Carlisle

Situated in Crosby Street in Carlisle, there is little parking around, but probably very difficult to find a spot during the day.

We decided to go after seeing a feature in the local paper.

We parked more or less outside the door, in the street, and walked over to the front door.  Here we had to walk into a little conservatory type porch where the Chef (owner?) and two men were sitting smoking.  How nice, having to walk through a cloud of cigarette smoke to get into a restaurant.  Because it was a warm night the door was wide open too, so the cigarette smoke was floating into the room.

The waitress was lovely, very accommodating and pleasant.  Brought us the menus and took our drink order.

For a starter I went for Brie.  It was lovely, a huge piece with redcurrant jelly on the side.

My friends had Chicken Coujons from the snack menu, plain frozen chicken bits, just chucked in the deep fat fryer, although they said the sauce that was served with it was lovely.  (Even though it was served in the little square dish you usually get sauce sachets in!!)

For a main there was actually loads of Veggie options, but alas, there is a small print at the bottom saying they need to be pre-ordered......which left two choices.

I went for the Mushroom & Lentil burger.

This had to be the WORST burger I had ever eaten, it was so thin and overcooked (cremated!) that it simply turned to dust in my mouth.  No bread bun, or salad, which would have hidden how bad it was, just a burger slapped on a plate with chips, peas and a touch of salad garnish.  Chips were ok, said they were home-made, not entirely convinced to be honest.

Hubby had a home-made chicken kiev.

It was a large piece of chicken, very very dry to eat, and he didn't even get a hint of garlic or butter until the 2nd last mouthful.  Very disappointing.

Our friends went for Cumberland Sausage & chips - no complaints there at all.

We didn't go for a dessert as by now we were sick of the noise coming from the floor above.  It was a load of banging and crashing, and very distracting.  We asked the waitress what it was and she said "Oh, he's just moving stuff about upstairs"!  HE came down later on and walked through the restaurant carrying a bucket and something else.  Odd.

Our bill was somewhere around £70 for drinks, starter and mains for 4 people.

Wouldn't rush back.

Here are the details for you:

The Yew Tree
2 Crosby Street
Carlisle
CA1 1DQ

Tel: 01228 522785 



Do please comment if you have been.