Henrock’s Spring Terrace pop-up at Linthwaite House, Windermere

On a sunny spring Saturday afternoon, I headed to Henrock’s Spring Terrace pop-up restaurant on the terrace at Linthwaite house. Created especially for April & May 2021, whilst we can only eat outside here in England, Simon Rogan and his team have created such a special and intimate dining experience, whilst still being COVID safe.

It’s safe to say I was super excited to be going to Henrock. I’m a huge Great British Menu fan and last year, Tom Barnes, who is the executive chef for Simon Rogan’s Lake District Restaurants, got to the banquet. Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve been for an kind of fancy meal, so to be overlooking Lake Windermere, in the sunshine, was a real treat.

You find Linthwaite house tucked down a narrow country lane, as you climb out of Windermere. As you drive in, you can see a little glimpse of the canopy terrace, and it’s safe to say there were some bubbles of excitement as we entered. 

Being shown to your table, you can’t help but be amazed by the gorgeous birds eye view of Lake Windermere. I’ve lived in Cumbria my whole life, but the viewpoint you have at Henrock really is a magical one. You feel like you’re tucked in the fells, in your own private painting.

And as we were asked if we wanted still or sparkling water, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in the Off Menu Dream Restaurant!

HENROCK’S SPRING TERRACE POP-UP MENU

When you first look at Henrock’s menu, you might consider it a slightly overpriced sandwich menu.

But you are oh so wrong if you’re thinking that. The menu is comfort food but elevated and definitely not you’re average sandwich!

Whilst the menu is small, its hard to choose what to have because every single dish sounded amazing. From Korean BBQ Pork, which I was told was a firm staff favourite, to chilli hot dogs to Fried Chicken and Waffles (which my mum had, and I can confirm tasted amazing).

However, I opted for the beef short rib bagel with fried pickles, black garlic and aged cheddar. It’s been two days since I ate this and I’m still salivating over it because it was divine and 100% the best bagel I’ve ever had.

The beef short rib with black garlic was so rich and flavoursome and just melted in your mouth. When you got the cheddar with it, it made my mouth tingle with joy. Yes, it was that good.

I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect with the fried pickle (which seems silly) but they were crispy and light onion rings and added a nice crunch to the dish. 

For sides, we went for sweet potato fries and the Farm House Greens. They were great sweet potato fries, nice and crispy, but the star of the sides for me were the farmhouse greens – which surprised me.

When they arrived, the leafy greens looked pleasant enough with crispy garlic mixed in, but the real surprise was when I took my first mouthful and the flavour explosion of basil and garlic was amazing. They were fresh, light and oh so flavoursome and I’ll definitely be incorporating basil pesto into my veggies more when I’m cooking. 

A side that I would have loved to have tried was the bone marrow mac and cheese. I saw it go out to a few different tables and it looked and smelled delicious.

And now for dessert, which I was very excited about. There were only two choices, ice cream or a chocolate brownie. As a dessert girl, I went for the chocolate brownie which came with honeycomb, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

The dish looked amazing, and tasted great. But I wouldn’t say it was the best brownie I’ve ever had. It was tasty and gooey but there was something missing, and I can’t put my finger on what. Maybe it was because the main dish was so good, it was hard to live up to. 

Having said that, I did enjoy it a lot!

DRINKS AT HENROCK, LINTHWAITE HOUSE

I’m not a drinker, so I apprecate anywhere that has a really good mocktail menu. And both the cocktail and mocktail menus at Henrock’s Spring Terrace Pop-up were pretty epic.

I opted for the Bunny Sour which was Carrot, Orange, Maple Syrup, Egg White and Fever Tree Ginger Beer. It was sweet with a citrus kick and I could’ve drank it all day.

OVERALL VERDICT

I can’t recommend Henrock’s Spring Terrace pop-up at Linthwaite House enough.

The staff were lovely, helpful and went that extra mile every time. The view was stunning, and there were blankets and hot water bottles to help battle the cold (luckily it was a nice day when I went!). The main meal is one of the best things I’ve eaten, and I don’t say that lightly. 

What, on the face of it, looks like an overpriced sandwich menu is actually a relatively affordable yet fancy meal out. For two people, having a cocktail, main, side, pudding and coffee each was £60.00. 

Whilst the pop-up is no longer open, the main restaurant is! You can book here, and find the menu here. It’s safe to say, I’m ready to eat here again because the pop up was brilliant.