Foxes Cafe/Cafe/Carlisle

Foxes is a "rustic, messy, curiosity shop" style cafe in one of the back streets in Carlisle.

Situated in Abbey Street, that leads from the back of the Cathedral towards the Castle. Parking during the day is a bit hit and miss, depending if there are any one-hour spaces available, the nearest car park is Devonshire walk, then you would cross the Dual Carraigeway via the Millenium Bridge and walk up Abbey Street.

Inside the tables are rustic old wood, and old church hall style seats and pews. The walls are decorated with 40' & 50'2 style advertisments and postcards, just stuck up in a random manner, and there are all sorts of nick-nacks hanging about, like teapots stuck in an old branch, and a supersized Toblerone box in a tree !!

The cafe is on two levels, on the higher level just a few steps up, is like stepping back in time, with lots of old memorabilia - as far as I can work out not styled in any kind of theme, just a mismatch of all sorts of bits and bobs. The Cafe often has themed parties and events (Vintage Tea Parties & Local Artist Events)

Very student, arty, hippy friendly, everyone is greated with a huge smile by the happy, vocal lads that run/own it.

The menus are rather tatty, to the point that they really need replaced. The menu is "Pro Vegetarian" but they do have the odd meat option available too.

We opted for a Brie, Grape and Redcurrant Panini, served with Hummus and salad.

Unfortunately we got Bacon & Brie, my friend was able to eat hers but mine had to go back and be remade as I am Veggie.

They were beautifully served, with a criss cross of balsamic syrup and a little triangle of orange hummus.

The sandwich was fine, wasn't keen on the hummus though, not sure what was wrong with it, but it just wasn't too my taste. Lovely vanilla latte coffee though.

This is a characturistic little place, not the place if you like your eateries to be pristine and modern, but definately worth a visit if you want a nice Veggie snack with some great options. - Vegan options available too.

They are open the odd evening too, but check out their website for all the details.

http://www.foxescafelounge.co.uk/

Let us know if you go.

Fu Man Lou/Chinese/Carlisle

Sadly I am having to do a quick follow up blog on this restaurant.

We phoned a couple of weeks ago to see if they still offered their fabulous £12.50 meal deal as were we planning to take some friends, but they said they did not do it anymore, that was a little disspointing so we went elsewhere that night.

However last night we decided we fancied a Chinese meal, so off we went, asked for a table for three, and was sat down with some Prawn Crackers.

The waiter came back to take out drink orders and I ordered a large red wine, but only to be told "We have no glasses of Red Wine, we only have bottles" Even though 175mm and 250mm glasses of wine were offered on the drinks menu.

I didn't want to buy a bottle, so I asked could he not open a bottle and pour me a glass? He said "No, the Boss says we are not allowed to open bottles as the rest of the wine gets wasted."

In the end we discussed it, then decided to leave. I would have actually had two large glasses which equated to 2/3rds of a bottle, so I am sure the price would have covered the bottle cost anyway.

Please click on the link below for the original blog.

http://letsnotcook.blogspot.com/2010/08/fu-man-louchinesecarlisle.html

Feel free to add any comments.

Adriano/Italian/Carlisle

Adriano is a modern, clean, well set out Italian Restaurant in the centre of Carlisle.

Situated in Rickergate directly opposite the Civic Centre.

Plenty of parking available close by on an evening, but trickier during the day as drivers are often jostling for a parking spot.

The interior is beautiful, with tiled floors, heavy iron furniture and quality place settings.

We went on a Wednesday evening with two friends, it was very empty, so we were seated and served right away.

We chose to have 'light' starters, I had Green Olives and the rest all had Garlic Pizza with Cheese.

The Olives were not very nice sadly, they were way too under-ripe and hard to bite from the stone. I only had two.

The Garlic Bread was lovely, with lots of Garlic and a good scattering of Mozzerella.

When the starter plates were removed, the un-eaten Olives were ignored, but perhaps they thought we were keeping them to nibble on during the rest of the meal.

For mains I had a Spinach & Egg pizza, it was fine, sadly nothing memorable, but tasty enough.

Hubby had a chicken pizza, and our friends had pasta dishes, Al Forno and Carbonara - all of which looked very good.

The wine, although Italian, and I don't usually care for European, was actually quite nice, and a good large 375ml glass.

The Olives were still not removed or mentioned when clearing away the dinner plates.

While we were sitting chatting at the end of our meal (we were the only people left in at this point) one waiter was cashing up the till and counting the notes, while the other brought the menu board in from outside. It was only around half nine, so not too late, but this made us feel like we were outstaying our welcome a bit so we got the bill and left.

The total bill, not including a tip, was £76, this was for 4 light starters, four main meals, two large wines and two cokes.

Would we go again? Very probably, there is nothing wrong with the place, but nothing hugely memorable either sadly, it's just regular Italian food. Certainly nothing to complain about, but on the other hand not much to get excited about either.

Here is the website, which has menus etc on, but strangely no opening days or times, or address. Give them a call to check they are open :)

http://www.adrianoristorante.co.uk/

Let us know if you have been.

The Crown/Pub Food/Carlisle

The Crown is situated out of Carlisle, along the Durdar Road and heading towards Southwaite. You drive along the country road, passing The Black Lion and what was once the White Quey, keep driving and all off a sudden there is it, blink and you will pass it :)

Have not been for years and years, the interior has been totally refurbished with modern furniture and nice fresh deco. It is very restaurant like, rather than pubby. Very clean, neat and welcoming.

We were greeted and seated with a smile and a drinks order was taken straight away.

The house wine seemed very expensive at £3.75 for a 125ml glass, which equates to £22.50 a bottle, the same wine was £13.75 for a bottle, so went with that option.

The background music was modern, a touch too loud, and a little too fast paced, smoother, softer music would have been much nicer.

We were served beautifully hot (home-made?) bread rolls and real butter, which were gorgeous, while we waited for our starters.

I chose a dish from the Specials list, which was Grilled Goats Cheese on top of a Potato Rosti, I checked their was no onions in the Rosti and after popping into the kitchen to check, the lady taking our order assured me there wasn't.

There was a little wait for our starters to be delivered, but as it was all cooked fresh we didn't mind, and when it did arrive it looked amazing.

Unfortunately, although there was no onions in the Rosti, a generous spinkling of them had been added as a layer between the cheese and the tomato, I was so dissapointed.

When the server came back a few minutes later I explained I couldn't eat it. She took it away and offered me another, but as we had waited a while, and as Hubby was nearly finished his starter I just decided to go straight onto the main. On reflection I do wish I had accepted the offer of a new one as it looked amazing.

The apologies for the mix-up came thick and fast, apparently the Chef was "gutted" that he had got it wrong. I was offered a free desert to make up for it. How nice to have such fabulous service, it guarantees a return visit.

Hubby had Garlic Pizza Bread - hand-rolled dough and cooked in an authentic oven, made it very Italian, and having stole a small piece I can say it was delicious.

For mains I went for a Pesto & Mushroom Pizza, it was as good as anything I have ever had in an Italian Restaurant, beautiful crust and quality toppings.

Hubby had his usual Gammon, which was served with two fried eggs, cooked in butter, home-made chips and a fabulous veg selection, which was perfectly cooked and seasoned.

At this point I was quite full, and had left a little pizza, so really a pudding was not necessary, but I felt it was rude to decline their kind offer so went for a Creme Brulee.

It was really good, made with raspberries and lavender sugar, it was a perfect consistancy and finished the meal off well.

Hubby had one scoop of Caramel Ice-Cream. It looked a little lost in the sundae glass, but it is all he could manage.

We will definately be back, plenty of options for Vegetarians with a Veggie section plus the pizzas and pastas.

Have a look at the website, the menus are on there as well as some photos from the refurb, directions and contact details.

http://www.crowninnrestaurant.co.uk/

Let us know if you go.

Imperial Dragon/Chinese/Carlisle

The Imperial Dragon is a Chinese Restaurant situated on London Road in Carlisle.

A large building, the bottom floor is the restaurant and above it some private dwellings.

There is plenty of parking, a few places on the front and more around the back. It is accessible by bus, or would take around 45 minutes to walk, from the City Centre.

You enter via the door on the front, walking into a bar area where people sit while waiting for their take-aways. After asking for a table you are directed into the restaurant.

The restaurant is functional, not hugely atmospheric, but clean & tidy.

They do a great deal, eat-as-much-as-you-like for £13.50. The best bit about this deal is it is all cooked to order, no helping yourself out of luke-warm buffet trays.

Four of us went on a Sunday evening, we had the whole place to ourselves, only to be joined by one other couple later on into the evening.

We ordered a huge selection of starters, opting to choose main courses (should we need them) after we had finished the starters, and we are glad we did - they certainly were not shy with the portions, which were all served in this fabulous "lazy susan" style serving dish.

One slight issue is that the Veggie Spring Rolls were just chucked in with the prawn and chicken dishes, there was enough space for them to be kept separately really.

We could barely manage a main course so we opted to order just half portions. I got a Mushroom Egg Fu Yung, with curry sauce - we shared rice & noodles.

My friend got Orange Chicken.

All the food was delicious, we have been a few times before and it is consistantly good. They seem to be very busy with take-away orders, which probably keeps them going as the restaurant is often quite empty.

The waiter was really good, helpful and happy.

The bill, not including a tip, for four people was £70.60, for 4 buffets, a carafe of wine, beer and soft drink.

The only real downside of this restaurant is the state of the bathroom, the Ladies anyway, it is really quite tatty, smells of damp and in urgent need of a real good overhaul.

The contact details are:

Imperial Dragon

264-266 London Rd

Carlisle

Cumbria

CA12QS

01228 819 989

Let us know if you go.

Houghton Hall/Cafe/Carlisle

Houghton Hall is a lovely Garden Centre, just off Junction 44 of the M6. (Leave M6 jct 44, 1 mile on A689. )

Plenty of little consessions to look round if you go, such as a Food Hall, Craft Centre, Minatures Shop, Model Shop as well as the Garden and Gift centre.

After a wander around a friend and I decided to try lunch there. There are a decent amount of options, along with some specials on a chalkboard.

I opted for Soup - Butternut Squash and Apple, with a roll. A nice smooth base with huge chunks of apple. It was nice and hot, but very sweet - almost like stewed apple, in fact it wouldn't have been wrong with a drop of custard :) However, it was nice to have something different, and I would probably have it again.

My friend had BBQ Chicken Melt Panini, served with crisps and salad.

Decent coffee, nice and strong.

Nothing much more to report, pretty unoffensive, resonably priced food, worth a visit if you are visiting the Garden Centre.

http://www.visitcumbria.com/car/houghtonhall.htm

Contact details for the Garden Centre are:

Houghton Hall,
Houghton,

Carlisle,

CA6 4JB.

Tel 01228 400610

The Salutation/Pub Food/Carlisle

This is a nice little public house, in the Village of Irthington, just a few miles from Carlisle

You can get to it from the A689 road from Carlisle to Brampton, turning left at the sign for Irthington, the Pub is just as you enter the village.

Plenty of parking behind the pub.

We have been trying to visit for a while, having been before and knowing how nice it is, but every time we phoned they were fully booked, so always book before going.

We parked around the back in the car park, but the back entrance to the Pub was being used as a smoking area, and it does feel a little daunting to have to excuse yourself and walk through a group of smokers, so we walked around and in through the front door.

The inside is quite modern, and is split into three sections. A pool table area, a small bar area and a restaurant area. You are asked to sit in the bar section while you look at the menu, then you are taken through to your table.

The menu is good, with some nice choices on and there is a specials board with different items on each time. What is excellent though is that they offer Quorn pieces as an option when choosing one of the "Meat with Sauce" dishes. Genuis idea, and very much appreciated.

For a starter I chose one of the specials from the blackboard - Oven Baked Mushrooms filled with Garlic Butter & Mozzerella Cheese, served with crusty bread.

It was very tasty, and the Ciabatta bread mopped up the mushroom juice perfectly.

Hubby had Chicken Coujons. He said the chicken was beautifully tender and just the right amount of spices and herbs in the breadcrumbs. It was served with mayo.

For mains I went for a Chicken Diane dish, swapping the Chicken for Quorn pieces, and requesting no onions. It was served as ordered and tasted divine, the Calvados Cream sauce was amazing, and the home-made chips complimented it perfectly.

You have the choice of Salad or Veg, we chose Veg, it was perfectly cooked, very fresh, and served hot & steaming.

Hubby had his usual Gammon & Egg - I don't know why he doesn't get bored with eating the same thing, but he never seems to!! Thought it might have been served with some trimmings, but he doesn't mind.

Said it was very good, but like me he did really enjoy the home-made chips.

We were so tempted to have a pudding, there was loads of lovely options on the desserts board, but we really couldn't fit it in.

The bill, not including a tip, was just under £40. This was for two starters, two mains, two cokes and two regular wines.

Would happily recommend this place. The food has always been good, and the choices excellent.

Don't forget to book though.

Can't find a website, but here are the contact details:

Salutation Inn
Irthington

Carlisle,

Cumbria

CA6 4NJ

016977 2310

Let us know if you go.