Some Lake District hotels are about the walking; the Forest Side is about the table. It occupies a Victorian Gothic mansion set back in 43 acres of woodland and gardens near Grasmere, and while the house and setting are lovely, the reason it ranks among the region's best is a Michelin-starred kitchen that has made it a destination for food. This is a restaurant with rooms in the truest sense, where dinner is the event and the bedroom is the reward, and it does that as well as anywhere in Cumbria.
Is The Forest Side worth it?
For a food-led special occasion, absolutely, and it is one of the top places to stay in the Lake District for exactly that. The case is the kitchen and the whole experience around it: a Michelin star under chef Paul Leonard, tasting menus shaped by a Victorian kitchen garden and by foraging in the surrounding landscape, a handsome Gothic house with 20 individual rooms, and 43 acres of woodland to walk off dinner. The hotel even holds a Michelin Key for its rooms. The honest counterpoint is that this is a restaurant with rooms, so it is intimate and dining-centric rather than a full resort with a spa and pool, and the experience, and the price, are built around a serious dinner. For a couple who books hotels for the food, that is the appeal.
Where is The Forest Side?
The hotel sits just outside Grasmere, in the heart of the central Lake District in Cumbria, tucked into its own wooded grounds off the Keswick road. Grasmere is Wordsworth country, one of the prettiest villages in the Lakes, with Rydal Water and the surrounding fells a short distance away, so you have some of England's best walking on the doorstep along with the literary heritage of the area. The location is peaceful and green, set back from the road in its 43 acres, which gives it a private, retreat-like feel while keeping Grasmere and Ambleside close. It is a driving destination in the Lakes, so plan on a car for the walks and the wider region.
What are the rooms like?
Characterful and comfortable, pitched between the old and the new. The 20 rooms split the difference between the crisp, contemporary style of the restaurant and the well-preserved antique atmosphere of the Victorian house, so you get period character, high ceilings and original details, softened with modern comfort and quiet good taste. In-room comforts are described as subtle but substantial, the kind of understated quality that suits a rooms-and-restaurant retreat. Because it is a historic house, rooms vary in size and outlook, from cozier rooms to more generous ones with garden or fell views, so it is worth choosing your category, but the whole is designed to send you happily to bed after a long dinner.
What is the food like?
This is the reason to come. The restaurant holds a Michelin star under chef Paul Leonard and works in seasonal tasting menus, four or eight courses at dinner and four or six at lunch, each built around what the landscape and the garden are giving. Ingredient provenance is central: much of the produce comes from the property's own Victorian kitchen garden or from local suppliers, and the team forages in the surrounding woods and fells, so the menus taste distinctly of this place and this time of year. Many guests book a stay-and-dine package that pairs the room with the tasting menu and a full Cumbrian breakfast, which is the natural way to experience it and often the best value.
Best for a foodie special occasion
A Michelin-starred tasting menu, a Gothic house, and woodland grounds make this a top choice for an anniversary or celebration built around dinner. Book a stay-and-dine package, take a fell walk in the afternoon, and let the evening at the table be the centerpiece.
Best for a romantic Lake District retreat
The intimate scale, the setting in 43 private acres near Grasmere, and the quality of the rooms and food make it a romantic escape. Pair the dinner with the walking country of Grasmere and Rydal for a classic, indulgent Lakes weekend.
When should you book, and what will it cost?
The Lake District is busiest in summer and over holidays, and a Michelin-starred restaurant with only 20 rooms books up well ahead for weekends year-round, so reserve early, especially for a Saturday or a special date. Because the experience is built around dinner, the best-value way to stay is a stay-and-dine package that bundles the tasting menu, the room, and breakfast, rather than booking each separately. Midweek and shoulder-season stays are quieter and can offer more availability. This is a premium, dining-led retreat rather than a budget base, so approach it as a one- or two-night indulgence built around the table, and it delivers on that promise.
Honest trade-offs
- It is a restaurant with rooms, so it is dining-led and intimate rather than a full resort with a spa, pool, or extensive facilities.
- The experience and price are built around a serious tasting menu, so it suits guests who want that, less so those looking for a simple overnight base.
- As a Victorian house, rooms vary in size and outlook, so it is worth choosing your category deliberately.
- With only 20 rooms and a Michelin kitchen, weekends and special dates book far ahead, so plan early.
Practical information
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is The Forest Side?
Just outside the village of Grasmere in the central Lake District, Cumbria, set back in 43 acres of woodland and gardens, close to Grasmere and Rydal and the walking country made famous by Wordsworth.
Does The Forest Side have a Michelin star?
Yes. The restaurant holds a Michelin star under chef Paul Leonard, serving seasonal tasting menus built around produce from the hotel's own Victorian kitchen garden, local suppliers, and foraging. The hotel also holds a Michelin Key for its rooms.
How many rooms does The Forest Side have?
20 rooms that blend crisp modern design with the antique character of the Victorian Gothic house. It is an intimate restaurant with rooms rather than a large hotel.
Is The Forest Side a hotel or a restaurant?
Both, but the dining is central. It is a restaurant with rooms, where a Michelin-starred dinner is the heart of the experience, and many guests book a stay-and-dine package that includes dinner, the room, and a full Cumbrian breakfast.
What is the food like at The Forest Side?
Seasonal, ingredient-led tasting menus of four to eight courses at dinner, shaped by the surrounding landscape, with much of the produce grown in the property's Victorian kitchen garden or foraged nearby. Michelin-starred lunches are also served on select days.
Is The Forest Side good for a special-occasion stay?
Yes. The Michelin-starred dining, the Victorian Gothic house, the woodland setting, and the intimate scale make it one of the Lake District's top choices for a romantic or celebratory foodie escape.