Restaurant review: The Bistro, Storrs Hall Hotel, Windermere

Twas the night before Storrs Hall’s post-Christmas closure and we snuck into the new Bistro for a Saturday night dinner. Considering the staff must have been on their last legs after the festive parties and New Year celebrations they didn’t show it, someone immediately and merrily scooping us up at the door to show us the way.

We, on the other hand, were feeling the strain having taken advantage of one of the first dry days since October to take on the hills above Settle. It is a lovely thing, whilst enjoying all the benefits of fresh air and exercise, to know that someone else is going to feed you when you get back.

Happily Storrs Hall is just a ten-minute drive from home so after a quick change we headed back out. The Bistro has been developed from the former kitchens, which makes complete sense since it looks out across Windermere.

The Bistro at Storrs Hall (Image: Sarah French)

After our exertions, we weren’t up for formal and The Bistro immediately hit the right balance between stylish surroundings and attentive service while at the same time being relaxed and unstuffy. Rather than ubiquitous plain white, napkins are retro-style, colour banded cloths; cutlery is collected neatly in individual wooden blocks.

The dark blue and tan colour scheme of The Bistro is warm and welcoming with oak-topped tables, contemporary art and abstract light fittings. Across two adjoining rooms there is a mix of banquette seating, round tables for larger groups and small for twosomes – the orientation of our table meant we both could look out into the restaurant which pleased my partner especially since he always gets the ‘wall view’.

Settling in with a glass of prosecco, we were given plenty of time to peruse head chef Andy Beaton’s excellent menu: four snacks, eight starters, 12 mains including salads, steaks and a sharing rack of lamb plus three potato sides and two vegetables. In terms of choice, there was something to suit all tastes (though vegetarians and vegans may feel a little short changed).

Grilled Queenie Scallops (Image: Sarah French)

Four starters jumped out for me, but the Twice Baked Cheddar Souffle and Truffle won the day. Ever since I first enjoyed a proper souffle at the Punch Bowl, in Crosthwaite, about 20 years ago it has set a benchmark for this particular starter, and Storrs’ was a good one. A wafer-thin crust cracking open to reveal a fulsome and feather-light, airy middle, sitting in a not too thick, not too thin creamy sauce, making it a bowl of cheesy, savoury deliciousness topped with a luxuriant truffle toupee. A little shy on the seasoning perhaps, but I always think it’s better to let the diner salt to their taste – you can add but not take away if the chef has been too generous.

Ian chose another of my options, Grilled Queenie Scallops (though he didn’t share I noticed). He reported a veritable shoal of shellfish basking beneath a toasted topping. Other starter options included Lobster and Prawn Cocktail, House Aged Fillet Tartare or a Charcuterie plate.

I was similarly spoiled for choice among the mains and went for Butter Poached Cod with Shrimps, Almonds and Capers and a Parsley Potato Puree. The fish was very well cooked, a light toasting on the outside that just held the flaky fish together. Cod will never knock you out with flavour, let’s be honest – it’s about texture and freshness and this had both – while the capers provided zing, the almonds crunch.

Butter Poached Cod, Shrimps, Almonds and Capers, Parsley Potato Puree (Image: Sarah French)

I’d ordered green beans with almonds as a side – a generous portion on both fronts – so ended up with quite a pile of toasted flakes to scoop up with the herby and well-seasoned mash.

Ian chose the Pork Belly with Granny Smith Apple, Kohlrabi and Charred Hispi Cabbage. The pork was tender and full of flavour, the apple providing sharpness and the cabbage a nice hit of barbecue. Not a lover of turnip, he declared the neat balls of kohlrabi “a good way to hide it”.

Pork Belly, Granny Smith Apple, Kohlrabi, Charred Hispi Cabbage (Image: Sarah French)

Other choices included a ‘Tranche’ of Calves Liver, Creedy Carver Chicken or Grilled Salmon, Sirloin or Fillet Steak and Rack of Cumbrian Lamb to share. By now a steady stream of diners, presumably hotel guests and mostly couples, had joined making for a pleasant ambience. We were surely not alone in playing our own game of ‘name that tune’ from the unusual arrangements of pop hits playing in the background.

After an appropriate break, dessert. Having already had souffle for my starter I couldn’t order another for pud so was left coveting the spectacularly risen banana concoction that arrived for Ian. Doubling the height of the serving dish, it was everything souffle should be – light, airy and, with one spoonful scooped out, providing the perfect receptacle for the toffee sauce, the banana flavour concentrated further with the addition of a smaller caramelised banana chimney.

Banana Souffle, Glazed Banana, Toffee Sauce (Image: Sarah French)

The tart fruitiness of Blackberry Puree and Granny Smith Apple Sorbet drew me to the Vanilla & Blackberry Cheesecake. Speckled with vanilla seeds and sitting on a biscuit crumb, it was more cheese than cake, a mercifully not-too-sweet version of this classic.

Lemon Tart and Crème Brûlée would please most, as would the Chocolate Fondant with Baileys Custard had there been any left (this was their last night before the break so we forgave them) – maybe the Christmas guests had got through all the Baileys.

Listed as “local” (I wasn’t sure about that), cheeses included Crook Blue, Owd Yonner and Golden Cross.

A few pence over £50 per head, it was excellent value and a thoroughly enjoyable dinner of really well cooked, quality ingredients served unpretentiously by a demob happy crew.

We set off for home content, our feet rested, the calorie loss from our exertions restored and agreeing we would walk a long way to eat there again.

The Bistro serves both lunch and dinner seven days from 12.30pm-2pm and 6pm-9pm. Book online at storrshall.com or call 01539 447111