Restaurant Review - The Golden Fleece, Ruleholme, Cumbria

My friend and I wanted to try somewhere we had not been to for our meal out so we chose The Golden

Photo from The Golden Fleece Website

Fleece at Ruleholme near Carlisle in Cumbria.

It is a traditional country inn, with natural stone walls and wood beams. It has a nice outside area with tables and benches which would be lovely to sit at in good weather. Inside there is a bar, a small lounge where you are seated prior to your meal to peruse the menu and nibble on warm party sausages, toasted bread with a lovely pate and crisps. it was different and a nice touch.  I was pleased to see that this was a restaurant where you could get those small bottles of Prosecco, ideal if you are driving.

The eating area consisted of a few small rooms, with large tables (with old maps of Cumbria on them) and plenty of space between them ensuring lots of privacy. It felt cosy and comfortable. There was some bread and butter and a bottle of water on the table when we were seated.

I chose the Fleece burger, made from rump steak, topped with goat's cheese and red onion marmalade, onion rings, thick cut chips and garlic mayo. The meal was presented on a wooden platter. The onion rings were the biggest I've ever seen and lovely and crispy. The burger was tasty and juicy as were the chips and the portions generous..

My friend chose the gammon with pineapple, fried egg, and chunky chips. The pineapple was fresh and the slice of gammon huge and it was served on a granite slab. Like me she was very happy with her meal.

We were quite full as the portions were generous and could only manage ice cream for dessert. I had a scoop each of raspberry pavlova, chocolate and vanilla.  It came in a large cone sitting in a cone-shaped glass with a little container in which there was a small amount of sprinkles, chocolate pieces, hundreds and thousands and fizzing angel dust. The ice cream was very creamy and went down easily.

Our bill came in a little wooden chest accompanied by two decadently delicious chocolates. The service was friendly and efficient, and the food was served quickly. It cost us just over £40 for two alcoholic drinks, two mains and two desserts. Not cheap, but not over expensive either for what we had. We'll definitely be going back and if you want a pleasant atmosphere with good food try it, you won't be disappointed.