Sour Nook Inn - Carlisle

We absolutely adore this restaurant. The beer is superbly maintained, the atmosphere is dog-friendly, the food is delicious and reasonably priced, and the owners are great to chat with. We have never had a bad meal here, but if we did, we are confident the staff would have rectified it. The steak is the best we have ever had, and we highly recommend the Sunday Roast.

I travel for a living, so after a while eating out becomes boring and distasteful (pun intended :o) This trip we traveled to Carlisle and the Lake Country for a true vacation. Some relaxation, sightseeing, and rub shoulders with the locals. Readers should note that the Sour Nook Inn location is *not* in Carlisle proper. It is on route B5305, 4 miles south of Rosley, Wigton CA7 8BZ. We passed the Sour Nook Inn on our way south on B5305 to Penrith for a daily tour and having passed it, decided to try it out for dinner on our way back. First thing US travelers may notice is the easy access into, and out of, a large car parking area. We were greeted by Alison, one of the owners, who was behind the bar. Her husband, Ian, and co owner, was in the kitchen preparing for the evening's meals. We try to experience local fare, so we ordered two Haystacks Ales. A great draft. They had just opened and there was no else there so we got to chatting with Alison about the pub, its origins, etc. We eventually came round to order. I ordered the burger. My wife ordered the Gammon with pineapple. Ian delivered both meals to the table professionally and with little fanfare. The meals were excellent! And actually, too much food for one sitting. Ian packaged up the left overs in a take away container. After we had eaten, we had the opportunity to chat with both Alison Ian in a relaxing, often laughter filled banter. Complete with story telling and shared experiences. Comparing notes and perspectives on our two countries. After a while, other, regular patrons began to arrive. We felt as welcome with them there as we had with just Alison Ian. Given its origins and refurbishment that Alison Ian have put into it, the Sour Nook Inn is a relatively modern looking pub. However – it was the pub atmosphere, drink, food, and experience that we were looking for. And found. For those readers counting costs: our tab for the two meals, two pints, and a take away desert was £29.00 Long story short – we’ll be going back to the Sour Nook Inn before we leave for home. If for nothing else, to find out why they named it the “Sour Nook Inn”

We couldnt decide between the castle inn keswick or the sour nook and decided on the sour nook, what a BIG mistake for our easter sunday lunch!!! We both had starters and small lunch, unsure about soup but it did taste ok, edges of roll were hard, partners garlic mushrooms were frozen breaded, The roast sunday lunch consists of frozen roast potatoes, Sliced supermarket meat, frozen yorkshires and veg may have been fresh but unsure, the gravy was obviously granuals and very watery as it wasnt made from stock. starters 4.50 and 4.00 only choice of 2 and meal was awful but we were so starving we had to eat what we could stomach. Meals 9.95 or 6.95 for a small and very glad only ordered a small as value was disgusting when taking into consideration it is £14 at the castle inn for 2 courses and everything is fresh and good portions. Im utterly mortified i spent that on this meal today as it would have cost me about £8 to do in total at home and half an hour tops with goods from iceland to sort myself. My fault was i should have refused the meal when it arrived as i could see what it was straight away, disgusted with the quality and quantity for prices. Sorry but im really psst off now!!!

We have driven past the Sour Nook Inn several times and have always talked about stopping in for a meal. Finally, today was the day. We called ahead to book a table, and when we arrived we were warmly greeted, seated, and informed that they were serving Sunday roast. We ordered our drinks and meals and waited. The drinks arrived quickly, followed shortly by the food. We all ordered the roast beef, which was delicious. My only complaint is that I only received three huge slices, but I have a big appetite - others might call me greedy! I finished off with an apple crumble for dessert, which was also delicious. Overall, the food, service, and atmosphere were excellent. Thank you very much, I will definitely be back!

The 'basics ' are dealt with capably at sour nook. Alison faultlessly managed drink food order, ably supported by Ian. The interior decor was typically ' English pub 'with nice curtains lighting. The exterior of the pub grounds would benefit from attention, to draw in attract more custom... Service was considerate timely. Our group comprised of 2 vegans who had multibean chilli with half n half (chips +rice) followed by home made brownie dairy free ice cream. Good selection of ciders local beers.