Subject: Chesters by the River, Skelwith Author: Cecilia Campbell Date: 2/14/2010 Body: RATING Total 21 Great atmosphere 4 Home cooked fresh food 5 Plenty of flavour 5 Good value for money 4 Service with a smile 3 Telephone: 015394 34711 www.chestersbytheriver.co.uk Original review: Feb 6, 2010 for lunch. Chester's by the River is in one of the nicest locations of any restaurant we've visited in Cumbria. It sits right by the river Brathay, and has a great big wooden over-hanging deck with outdoor seating, which is hard to beat for an al fresco lunch of afternoon coffee or tea. It was a bit cold to sit outside when we went, but the inside is  cosy too, with big windows overlooking the river. Chesters calls itself a café, and service is pub style, where you order at the counter and get served at your table. However, the menu is much beyond what you'd expect from a café. The menu is simply printed on plain paper, which in my book is a good sign, as it makes me assume it gets changed a lot. Plus there are a few specials each day. On the day we were there the menu included things like Butternut squash and blue cheese quiche with warm potato salad, Venison curry, basmati rice and naan bread, Baked buffalo mozzarella and Parma ham, tomato, olive and rocket salad and Smoked haddock, black pudding, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. All pretty mouth watering stuff, and all under a tenner. There are a few wines by the glass, and a number more by the bottle. I had a duck and white bean cassoulet, which was lovely and flavourful, with bacon and sage – and super tender duck. Martin had a lamb burger with pickles, coleslaw and chips. Fantastic – finally a burger with a salad that holds its own; the coleslaw was colourful (red cabbage) and really tasty with apple and proper seasoning and no raw onion. I'd recommend Chester's to anyone who is looking for a good place for lunch. Nice to come across a chef who's decided to do something a bit different!   Cancel