The Yan

The Lake District is well-fed, but proper restaurants serving simple, straightforward cooking are surprisingly hard to find. All the more reason, then, to treasure The Yan at Broadrayne (to give the place its full name), which goes the extra mile on food, service and surroundings.

The 17th-century family farm is now largely converted into holiday accommodation, while the Yan (billed as a ‘bistro with beds’) is up an easy-to-miss track off the main road from Grasmere to Keswick. It is a welcoming prospect on all fronts. The dining room overlooks the fells of Helm Crag and Dunmail Raise, though the vibe feels more Scandi chic than Lakeland cosy, not least because all the hard surfaces hewn from natural materials can make acoustics noisy – that and the fact that it's busy almost all the time, including breakfast.

Herdwick lamb from the surrounding fields appears in several guises: as a rib with Cajun-spiced sweetcorn purée; minted and wrapped in cured ham with a pea mash; and, best of all, the signature shepherd’s pie, in which the meat (slowly braised to fall-apart tenderness) is topped with gorgeously smooth and soft cheesy mash. Generously filled fish pie is the other staple, while thoughtful vegetarian options include a cheese, tomato and spring onion risotto topped with pickled radish, broad beans, asparagus and toasted seeds.

There is always a great deal on the plate, which is perhaps the only downside: huge portions are likely to mean having to forego either a starter (say, the house pea and mint houmous with tortilla bread) or dessert (perhaps an excellent sticky toffee pudding with locally made Three Hills Gelato). The other drawback is that unless you’re staying over, someone is likely to be driving – although the non-alcoholic spritzes, made with a changing roster of homemade fruit cordials, are every bit as good as the on-trend cocktails and short global wine list.