Foodie Finds: The Drunken Duck (Near Ambleside in the Lake District)

If you have the pluck, to pluck a duck from the extensive menu at The Drunken Duck, then lotsa luck, because whatever you choose, your taste buds will think that they have died and gone to heaven, even as your eyes peruse the menu. Not only is the food all locally sourced, fresh and succulent, but "The Duck" also has its own micro-brewery which produces award winning ales and lagers, as well as a wine list second to none with superb wines from the old and the New World and luscious ‘Pudding wines’, to please every pocket and palate.  Then garnish all of that with a bunch of super-enthusiastic staff who all have an interest in the business and know both their food and beverages, and you have the recipe as to why "The Duck" is arguably the Lake District's finest 'laid-back' eating establishment.

 

Drunken Duck

 

"Are you booked in anywhere for dinner?" asked our friendly lady at The Lake House. "We have a reservation at The Drunken Duck" I replied, and immediately there came that discrete, serene smile that has "good choice" written all over it, a sort of "welcome to the club" that the knowing give just to let you know that they know.  "Oh, you will enjoy it," she said glowing, "but best take a taxi as it can be hard to find and it only has a very small sign." Now I liked that immediately, a place where the food and not the signage did the talking. "Just follow your nose," she said with a grin, “you can't miss it!"

Now The Drunken Duck states that it is located "at Barngates, a cross-roads above Ambleside" and indeed when you look at the olde mappe which adorns "The Duck's" own blurb you will find it "At an altitude of 425 feet, west of Black Crag, North of Field Head Ho, can be seen from Hawkshead Hill" the sort of instructions that only the SAS can follow!  Indeed, when we first saw "The Duck" it looked like many other pubs from the outside, nay, even plainer! But don't be fooled because it is like an oyster, plain on the outside, but full of goodness inside. In the drilling rain, we did not see the claimed view of Lake Windermere, but the moment we stepped into the low-ceilinged bar with our good friends, it was snug, warm with hilarity, and welcoming in the way that only the British can do these things. From the ceiling beams hung clusters of hops to give it a ‘lived-in’ feeling. And it was full of patrons, another good sign.

The Drunken Duck
The Drunken Duck Inn and Restaurant

Now according to legend, in Victorian times, the Inn's landlady found the resident ducks stretched out on the roadway and concluding that they had recently expired and were still good for the pot, grabbed an unfortunate and started plucking. "Ouch" said the startled specimen, "I am not dead, but merely drunk!"  One of the beer barrels had apparently slipped its hoops and the liquid had flowed into the customary feeding ditch. Ergo, The Drunken Duck, and the name stuck. “The Duck” has been in the same family since the 1970’s and two members still work at the Inn.

From the dozen ales, I chose a Red Bull Terrier, which is a locally brewed, superbly malty ale, and has nothing to do with those people that produce very fast racing cars. My wife, being Antipodean, chose a New Zealand white wine, but wisely, our English friends "drank local." Menus were offered in the bar and a veritable thespian spelled out each item in such succulent detail, that my tongue moved of its own volition, moistening my lips in anticipation. The menu gave ample choice of beast, fish, fowl or vegetarian, both for entrée and as a main course, and was in descriptive plain English without the effete 'under-notes' so often full of blather about how the portion is 'created and served'. How about Pan-fried breast of duck, spiced red cabbage confit potato, wilted spinach carrot puree, roasted shallots and pan jus or what about Braised belly pork and black pudding, boulangere potatoes, wilted baby gem lettuce, Calvados apples and Calvados sauce and afterwards maybe Crème broulee, braised rhubarb and shortbread? What was pleasing was that on the reverse side of the menu, there was a full list of the suppliers to "The Duck" as well as their contact details. For "The Duck", the buck stops here!

In good time, we were called to our table, small but elegant and nicely laid out with demure crockery and fine silverware from Sheffield. There is a more relaxed "Pub grub" type seating place off the bar used by Fell walkers and happenstance visitors alike, and then a more cultured, dinner ambiance  in a couple of house-type rooms, where dining is more of an intimate nature, cosy not crowded. The service was impeccable, timely and surreptitiously done with our glasses being refilled without the feeling that they wanted to move us on to the next bottle.  Plates were warm on arrival and the little loaf of home-made bread, was both crusty and flavoursome in the manner of the 'old days'. There was plenty of time for talk between courses, to taste the wine and drink in the atmosphere.

The food presentation was a feast for the eyes, which instantly messaged the anxious palate. Three of us started with a delicately flavoured stuffed artichoke (egg on top optional) with cheese, tomato and onion to enhance the flavour while my wife had the Leek and Spring Onion Tart in a pastry that was both light and complimented the vegetable base. My wife’s Pork dish looked, and tasted most flavoursome with potatoes dauphinoise and a fine bed of greens with Balsamic vinegar and oil on the side, while I had a rare fillet of beef topped with molten Stilton cheese, potato gratinee, and seated on a bed of lightly stewed celery and mushroom. It all tasted as good as it looked and the beef was indeed beautifully rare – somewhat of a rarity in many restaurants that serve it on the medium side of rare on often ‘cook out’ the flavour. 

 

ArtichokeLeek TartBeef and Stilton                                                                                     
Artichoke                                  Leek Tart                              Beef and Stilton

One of our friends had the duck which came nicely pink and moist and the other, the Gnocchi which was light and tasty with a delicate but not dominating fresh pesto sauce.  “The Duck” also prides itself on its fresh seafood with trout from nearby tarns (small lakes) and a selection of “sustainable line caught fish, hand dived scallops, clams and North Atlantic smoked salmon

Afterwards we shared a selection of delectable local cheeses which came with a marvellously complementary quince paste and with our coffee and large pot of herbal tea, there was a fine and adequate array of chocolates and jelly slices. Ports, a dram and a good Armagnac were served in the informality of the bar area.  The toilet facilities were clean and spacious and there was just enough of a verandah to give shelter from the rain for that nowadays increasingly rare breed of diner who still likes to light up after the meal! The Inn has more rooms than you will find in the game of Cluedo, and wiser souls than we, had booked in for the evening as well. Then again, in such a fine atmosphere, waiting for the taxi while the rain came down, was no great ordeal.

 

 

Drunken Duck Clientele

Satisfied, and fortified, Drunken Duck clientele

 

 

Drunken Duck Staff

Some of the excellent staff at The Drunken Duck
Phillip Dawson, Christen Rengers, Kat Stifler, Alissa Kleinnyenhuis

 

The Drunken Duck Inn provides excellent food in an unpretentious atmosphere, yet has all the hallmarks of fine dining. It deserves its huge reputation. The staff are like fine food and drink mechanics for you have an instant confidence in that they know all about what they are presenting, and their prior descriptions of our dishes were spot on when the said dishes arrived at our table.  The steak was rare, the lamb was pink, the sauces were subtle and not over-powering, the presentation was as though it had been prepared by Salvador Dali rather than Titan, avant-garde but not the full Jackson Pollack! It all made for a most enjoyable and memorable evening. And next time we will come back, and definitely pluck that duck … and stay the night! 

(A three course meal for four people, together with a number of pre and post dinner drinks and two bottles of wine with the meal and gratuities, came to just over GBP200.  Starters are between GBP 5 and 11, Mains GBP 17 to 25, Puddings GBP 6.50 to 7.50. Room rates range from GBP 95 (two people sharing a Standard Room, mid-week) to GBP 275 for a Garden Room (Monday to Sunday).

The Drunken Duck can be found on
drunkenduckinn.co.uk

 

 

Winfred Peppinck is the Tales of the Traveling Editor at Wandering Educators

 

 

All photos courtesy and copyright Winfred Peppinck

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