The Forest Side

From the outside, Forest Side imposes, stamping no-nonsense Victorian authority onto a steep fellside near Grasmere. Step inside, however, and you’re fast-forwarded to the present day. There are respectful memories of history in the shape of lofty ceilings, preserved architectural details and tweed-waistcoated waiters, but the setting is fresh and contemporary. Rough-hewn tables are simply decorated, so too the white walls and vast windows. Seats are comfortable, and floors classily bare, but chintz-free style comes at the expense of sound-absorbing softness so it can be a little noisy. Perhaps that is all the better to focus on Paul Leonard’s fine cooking, which delivers an experience that for one recent diner was ‘breathtaking’, for another ‘truly A-class’. Portions are restrained, presentation is precise, the value for money of a four-course lunch (plus extras) undeniable. Warm brioche, thyme-flecked and oomphed with a Marmite glaze, is irresistible, while the standout of the three snacks is toasted brioche with truffled cream cheese and smoked eel. Vigour continues. Whipped raw-milk Cumbrian goat's cheese – Ingot, from Holker Farm Dairy– comes with confit and crisp Jerusalem artichoke, fresh apple and toasted yeast crumb; it’s followed by a savoury little rockpool of lightly aerated buttermilk/mussel sauce from which peep mussels, ribbons of pickled cuttlefish and smoked roe. This being the game season, a small but tenderly roasted breast of local partridge makes a distinguished main course. Its juices are the base for a glorious sauce, its leg is a mini-meatball, and the flavours are amplified by hen of the woods flecked with crisp onions, as well as the belting umami of cep purée. A pretty dessert is all about the cherry – puréed, frozen into a sorbet, set into a glistening crimson gel, its sweetness balanced by a mild cheese panna cotta and salted granola. A sugar-doused doughnut – cherry-filled, of course – provides the playful accompaniment. The forward-thinking wine list champions natural and biodynamic bottles from less familiar vineyards, so the sommelier's excellent advice might steer you towards a rounded but fresh Grüner Veltliner from Austrian makers Martin and Anna Arndorfer, or the earthy welly of a Thracian Mavrud that works a treat with the partridge. Both are offered by the glass on a line-up that packs interest into 125ml pours from £9.