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Restaurants
Ambleside
Town Centre
The Priest Hole
The Priest Hole Reviews

The Priest Hole

British, European, Drinks

Dishes priced around£13

Photo of restaurant The Priest Hole in Town Centre, Ambleside

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Reviews of The Priest Hole (198)

Read what people think about The Priest Hole. All restaurant reviews are written by verified Quandoo diners. Learn more about The Priest Hole before you go by getting tips and ratings from other restaurant-goers. With real-life reviews, you can see what other diners loved about The Priest Hole and book a table with confidence!

5.2/6

198 reviews

5.2/6

198 reviews

Food:Outstanding
Atmosphere:Excellent
Service:Excellent
Value for money:Great value
Waiting time:Exceptionally Good
Noise levels:Very pleasant
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Most recent
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New"Very good"
5/6
Peter T.8 hours ago · 1 review

Good food. Much better than the typical tourist resort fare you expect in a place like Ambleside.

New"Excellent"
6/6
Tom T.2 days ago · 1 review

Easy to book. Easy to find. Speedy and jovial service. And the food was plentiful and delicious. We had fabulous steak pies and a medium steak both of which were delightful. Watch out for the enormous onion rings. No room for dessert on this occasion. A fine bottle of Shiraz was enjoyed.

New"Awful"
1/6
Michael S.3 days ago · 1 review

A restaurant that had run out of everything. Did not inform us in advance, took at least 30 minutes after our arrival to inform us. Could have at least phoned to tell us. Totally unacceptable

New"Average"
3/6
Debbie R.3 days ago · 1 review

We have been before and the Sunday roast was amazing but on this occasion it was Luke warm we waited quite a while between starter and main and we were so hungry we ate it anyway

New"Good"
4/6
Chrissie H.3 days ago · 1 review

Good food. Not amazing, a little overpriced. Nice atmosphere, welcoming staff

New"Very good"
5/6
Lyn B.4 days ago · 1 review

First visit to the Priest Hole. Will return. Staff were friendly and hard working as it was very busy. Food arrived looking very appetizing. We all had a wonderful meal. Thank you

New"Average"
3/6
Brian J.6 days ago · 2 reviews

Food good, service poor had to go to the serving counter to order drinks as no one checking with wether we required them

New"Good"
4/6
Brian L.6 days ago · 1 review

we have booked here many times over the years but was a little dissapointed this time as we arrived on the dot at 6pm like your guidline asks but after we were given a table we had to wait over 20 mins before we recived a drink and that is only because i went to the bar to ask for service ,our poor table attendent was rushed off her feet as it was busy for a weekday evening it would be better if more staff had been on but overall the food was very good when it arrived.

New"Good"
4/6
David C.13 days ago · 1 review

My friends were a little dull and it had rained all day like that abba song

New"Excellent"
6/6
Ian M.13 days ago · 1 review

Me and my wife both had the steak and with that a free bottle of red, followed by to sweets great food & service.

"Very good"
5/6
Gary C.14 days ago · 1 review

Great service highly recommend, food was very tasty will return

"Average"
3/6
ROGER H.16 days ago · 1 review

The service was good, but the Sunday Lunch very disappointing.

"Very good"
5/6
Linda K.16 days ago · 2 reviews

Pie night for the 6 of us and it was all well cooked, generous portions and very tasty! Service was friendly and unfussy, everyone knew what they were doing.

"Very good"
5/6
Wendy R.16 days ago · 1 review

The food was delicious and the environment was lovely, good service.

"Excellent"
6/6
Dan M.16 days ago · 1 review

As always, a fabulous atmosphere, with delicious food and wonderful service.

"Very good"
5/6
Margaret H.16 days ago · 1 review

A lovely evening with great food. Service was good and I would recommend. We will return next time we are in the Lakes.

"Very good"
5/6
Geoffrey B.16 days ago · 1 review

Very Nice visit but the table was close to the door and so it was rather cold. Would have rather been elsewhere in the restaurant. Large table near to us were rather noisy which rather spoiled the valentines atmosphere

"Excellent"
6/6
Tryfan P.16 days ago · 1 review

Great food and good service - Sunday dinners are amazing

"Good"
4/6
David J.16 days ago · 1 review

Unfriendly and disinterested staff. We were given the wrong bill and when the correct one was brought it was placed on our table with the waitress just saying “ corrected”. We have been to this restaurant in the past but will not be returning.

"Excellent"
6/6
Simon M.16 days ago · 1 review

Lovely food, portions are quite big so be careful how much you order. Highly recommend the game casserole.

"Very good"
5/6
Marc W.16 days ago · 1 review

Always love visiting the priesthole, the food and service is fantastic .

"Good"
4/6
Clare W.a month ago · 1 review

I needed to eat low-fat, as I indicated in the note on the booking. However, the staff hadn't read it, and were pretty hopeless at finding a low-fat way of delivering the food. In the end, after 30 minutes of much graceless incomprehension from the waitress as to what constitutes "low fat" or why it was necessary and distress for me, I was offered a haddock without the batter and chunky chips with garden peas. Fortunately, this did not trigger the health issues that were the reason I need to eat low-fat right now. I think it was poor that they couldn't just boil some new potatoes to leave the butter out on another option on the menu that would have been ideal. There was no way for me to eat a dessert - no low-fat options at all. We've been to The Priest Hole many times over the last 22 years, often for Valentine's Day (as it was where we went on our first!) and this was the worst experience we've had. Gluten-free and vegetarian/vegan options are offered, but other dietary constraints are inadequately considered.

"Excellent"
6/6
Janice M.a month ago · 1 review

Lovely staff and food was amazing. 🤩 Booked on line so easy .

"Not good "
2/6
Gail T.2 months ago · 1 review

we had been looking forward to our meal however were very disappointed with it. The starters were good however i had steak which was full of sinew and i couldnt chew it. It was even difficult to cut! My husband had steak and ale pie which was quite dry. I was offered another steak however i declined as we had finished our meal by then.The staff were very apologetic and knocked the price of the steak off the bill. We also found the restaurant a little cold.

"Very good"
5/6
Drummond M.2 months ago · 2 reviews

Great choice of menu, all lovely and reasonably priced, excellent

"Good"
4/6
Barry C.2 months ago · 5 reviews

Food as ever mostly good, however one of us had the venison and it was difficult to cut and every mouthful chewy. meal was replaced but it meant one of us was eating alone

"Not good "
2/6
Mike G.2 months ago · 1 review

The food was a mix of reheated leftovers either from an earlier sitting. The only meat left was impossible to cut even with a steak knife. Won't be going back because it was a lot worse than we visited a few years earlier.

"Very good"
5/6
Angela T.3 months ago · 1 review

NYE nice evening, staff lovely and friendly. Would return. Thanks

"Very good"
5/6
Lisa G.3 months ago · 1 review

Lovely menu choices, great food and good service. Definitely worth a visit.

"Good"
4/6
Brigid M.3 months ago · 1 review

Lovely steak pie portions very good for walkers. Fab sticky toffer

"Excellent"
6/6
Stewart G.4 months ago · 1 review

Our first visit to The Priest Hole was brilliant no problems excellent food,drinks and service will definitely be going back.

"Very good"
5/6
Anita F.4 months ago · 2 reviews

Food, service and staff were very good, would definitely return

"Excellent"
6/6
Jeffrey G.4 months ago · 3 reviews

I booked my table a couple of days ago to make sure I got it. We had a really nice meal with lovely attentive but not in your face service! 😊👍👍

"Excellent"
6/6
John S.4 months ago · 1 review

Had a great Sunday lunch and the staff were so friendly and welcoming

"Very good"
5/6
Caroline W.4 months ago · 1 review

Lovely welcoming place. Attentive staff who have good banter. Food really nice. Only downside is they have no cellar so there are no draught drinks available if that's what you like. Will definitely be back next time we are in Ambleside.

"Good"
4/6
Roz A.4 months ago · 1 review

Our Friend had the lamb but there was only 6 pieces of lamb, which to be fair he said was delicious but was clearly insufficient for a main meal. We all loved Katie, who is credit to you and brilliant as front of house. The other 3 in the party loved their meals. We will be back but will be careful what we order.

"Very good"
5/6
Mark A.4 months ago · 1 review

Lovely food and atmosphere. Great friendly service , would recommend a visit.

"Average"
3/6
Karl G.4 months ago · 1 review

Food wasn't as good as we'd thought it would be, it was heavy and rich. We bought expensive items on the menu and wished we hadn't, we wish we'd stuck with the classics which were cheaper, and probably would have been better.

"Very good"
5/6
Debbie C.4 months ago · 1 review

Great food, good service, nice friendly staff and lovely atmosphere.

"Average"
3/6
Gary B.4 months ago · 5 reviews

Looked forward to our visit as always , but Sunday dinner wasn’t the best. Yorkshire pudding wasn’t good at all and roast potatoes were bad. I don’t know if this was a one off… The 2 other meals we ordered were good.

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