Of all the places we had planned to eat during our trip up north, dinner at L’Enclume was the one I was most looking forward to. In 2016 it was voted best restaurant in the UK for the fourth consecutive year by the Good Food Guide and in no way did it disappoint when we visited on the Thursday before Easter for an 18-course booze-fuelled extravaganza.
L’Enclume is situated just south of the Lake District National Park, just over an hour from Carlisle, where we were staying. We arrived at our hotel at just after 5pm, so we had plenty of time for a cheeky drink (or two) at the hotel bar before getting freshened up and ready for dinner at 8.15pm.
We were greeted when we arrived, shown to our table and offered a drink. Mr M and I both opted for a glass of English sparkling wine and Mr M’s cousin Mr D had a gin and tonic. The restaurant dining room is quite a large space (55 covers), but the area we were sitting in only had three other tables so felt quite intimate. Before Simon Rogan bought the building it had apparently been used as a working blacksmiths and they have maintained a lot of original features including the anvil (L’Enclume is actually French for anvil) and the hooks that were used to hang the tools on. The furniture is simple but comfortable – wooden tables and chairs, and the whole atmosphere of the place is very warm and welcoming.
After our drinks were served the waiter who greeted us came back to ask where we were staying and how we were getting home, explaining that taxis could be hard to come by. Luckily, our hotel was just next door, but we all thought it was a really nice touch for the staff to check and, if needed, make the necessary arrangements for customers to get home.
On the table was an envelope containing the menu, complete with wax seal bearing the anvil logo. In another nice example of the fabulous attention to detail at L’Enclume, our envelope had two menus, one of which had substituted the pork dish for another option for me, as I don’t eat pork. We’d not had a single thing to eat yet, and I was already in love with this place.
As this was a tasting menu, and we had already given our dietary requirements, the only thing to choose was wine. We were given a wine list, but eventually decided to go for the wine pairing option, and then we were ready to get started.
Our first three courses arrived together – pumpkin and vegetate, fermented tea and pumpkin juice and an oyster cracker each. The pumpkin and vegetate were beautifully presented and had a nice, slightly tangy taste, the fermented tea was really good and the oyster cracker was delicious – a creative spin on the traditional prawn cracker – with a little bit of seafood sandwiched together between two crackers.
Next came our first glass of wine and the next two courses – truffle pudding and Stichelton porridge, millet and bone marrow. The truffle pudding was one of my favourite dishes of the night – it had a gorgeous woody and garlicky flavour and a lovely texture and I remember declaring after I’d eaten it that I wouldn’t mind if they just brought plate after plate of them for every other course (but of course I’m glad they didn’t). The Stichelton, millet and bone marrow was gorgeous and nutty and had a lovely pear compote surprise at the bottom which made the whole dish.
Our second glass of wine was served with three more delicious courses. This time apple marigold bouillon, salted gooseberry and herb tart and scallop with kohlrabi and seaweed. All three were amazing – the bouillon was really tasty and full of flavour and the tart had a pleasing texture. The scallop was served with a beautiful jelly and was tangy and salty – absolutely delicious.
After this came bread, butter and our third glass of wine, followed by artichoke with stout and Ragstone. For me, this was another standout dish. It had a nice, crumbly texture and a slightly smoky flavour and was really tasty.
Glass number four was a non-added sulphites Argentinian Malbec, which went perfectly with our spectacular tenth course – aged veal tartare in coal oil, shallot and buckler sorrel. This was even more standout than the artichoke and the truffle (although I’ll admit it was getting hard to compare so many incredible dishes, and the wine wasn’t helping). The veal was presented beautifully and had a gorgeous texture. It was served with two sugar crystals filled with sweet liquid when you broke them open, the sweetness adding a really lovely quality to the meat.
By the time the fifth glass of wine arrived the three of us were, unsurprisingly, feeling rather merry. We were served grilled prawn, carrot and nasturtium next, which came in a langoustine custard. This has a really tasty, creamy taste and there was a nice saltiness to this dish.
Turbot marinated in fermented rice brand, kale shoots and shrimp cream came next, alongside wine number six (an Australian chardonnay). The shrimp cream was poured at the table and we were also given a small sourdough bun each to ensure that none of the cream would go to waste (none of it did and we all had clean plates at the end).
For the next course, Mr M and Mr D had lightly smoked Lop Eared Pig, and I had lightly smoked beetroot, both served with onions and spring shoots. They both loved the pig, and the beetroot was fabulous too. The beetroot was served with a beetroot cracker, which was delicious, really fragrant and floral. Oh, and there was another glass of wine, of course.
It was with both disappointment and excitement that we realised we’d eaten all our savoury courses and it was now time for the sweet courses. Disappointment that we were coming to the end of the meal, but excitement at the thought of five more courses, all of them sweet and accompanied with an Austrian sweet wine.
First of our dessert courses was a sheep’s milk ice cream, which was really smooth and creamy – gorgeous! This was followed by liquorice custard and sea buckthorn. We were advised to try the sea buckthorn on its own first and then mix it in with the liquorice, which was at the bottom of the bowl. On its own it was very bitter, but then immediately transformed when mixed with the liquorice.
Next we had pear, sweet cheese and hazelnut, which was gorgeous, and beautifully presented. The pear was served in little balls on the plate and the sweet cheese was then sprinkled on top. As the sweet cheese has been frozen to a really low temperature it created a dry ice effect when sprinkled on top of the pear – this dish definitely had the wow factor, which is saying something considering how many times we had ooh-ed and aah-ed over the dishes that had come before. The hazelnut came in the form of a biscuit to accompany the pear and cheese, and the whole thing went together perfectly.
Our penultimate course was L’Enclume’s signature anvil. I liked it as soon as it was set down in front of me, mainly because it was covered in edible gold. It was a lovely texture inside with a gorgeous minty flavour.
As it turned out the anvil wasn’t our penultimate course after all because the boys then decided to order the optional cheese course. As I’m not a massive cheese fan and, apparently deciding I hadn’t had enough to drink, I ordered a glass of port, and our fabulous waiter Graham turned up with the cheese board. He talked through all the cheeses and selected five, all of which went down very well with both Mr M and Mr D.
Lastly, we ordered coffees – an espresso each for me and Mr D, while Mr M ordered a drip coffee. To make the drip coffee, Graham brought over another trolley and made Mr M’s coffee at the table, carefully weighing out water and coffee alternately and talking us through the process.
Coffee was served with our final course – intricate little pine cone chocolates, presented hung from a small tree.
To our complete surprise and bafflement, by the time the bill came it was 1am and the restaurant was nearly empty, Mr M in particular was incredulous at how long we had been in there. The time had really flown yet we had spent five hours at L’Enclume eating, drinking, chatting and laughing. For the three of us, the bill came to £734 (worth every penny) plus 12% service charge. Service charge is split between all staff at the restaurant, which I was really pleased to hear.
I don’t think any words I write can do justice to what a fun evening we had at L’Enclume – we enjoyed some fantastic food, fabulous wines and great company. Service was impeccable throughout, the front of house team was absolutely amazing – attentive, friendly and so knowledgeable. They were equalled only by the super-talented kitchen team who served up one incredible dish after another. The attention to detail during the whole evening was outstanding and we enjoyed some fantastic food and great wines. After visiting, it’s easy to see why it’s one of the best restaurants in the country. Special thanks to our waiter Graham and our sommelier Pierre for looking after us so well during our visit, we had a really great night and can’t wait to visit again.
Albatine x
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