Pizza
International
Take-out
Cafe at Skelwith Bridge turned vegetarian Easter 2016. Serves vegan pizzas, mains, pastries as well as salad options. Also has a gift shop on site (non-food). Open Mon-Sun 09:00-16:00.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
-
Skelwith Bridge, Near Ambleside, Skelwith Bridge, England, LA22 9NJ
-
Loading...
-
- Outdoor seating
- Accepts credit cards
-
-
Last update on 14 May 2024 by BeeSmith
Update business info -
Are you the owner?
Claim this business -
Added by VeganLauraL on 03 Aug 2016
-
-
92 Reviews
First Review by VeganLauraL
Tastetesters
Points +239
Perfect in every way - Edit
An amazing menu with no trumpeting about its being all vegan. Great pasties and cakes, loaded fries, fritters and salads. Love it
Read morePros: Masses of choice, Everything delicious, Take your own tableware or use recyclable
Cons: Very popular
Guest
pvw1970
Points +138
Still excellent! - Edit
Been visiting for a few years now. I don’t mind the change to seated take-away as the food is FANTASTIC and varied. Some people have complained about the changes to service and the switch to serving food in takeaway packaging. This is due to chronic shortages of manpower in the area due to Brexit and covid. These changes do not matter at all as all that’s important is that Chesters keeps serving really great food! Please support this amazing vegan/vegetarian Lakeland institution!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-01-05
Pros: Really tasty choice of food, pastries and drinks , Lovely atmosphere and friendly staff. , Great spot for hiking.
Cons: Honestly I cannot fault the place.
Guest
Loveveganfood
Points +36
Amazing not only for Vegans - Edit
Lovely little place, food delicious highly recommended. So nice to find healthy vegan food. Staff so helpful and friendly, customer service could not fault. We should all try and support little independent businesses where possible if we don’t then we won’t have places like these.
Read morePros: Excellent food, Good portion/value for money, Friendly staff
Guest
ChubbyVegan
Points +43
Worth a drive to find! - Edit
Stunning food in beautiful surroundings.
Read moreAll the food is vegetarian and vegan and absolutely delicious.
Pros: Lots of vegan options, Amazing selection , Utterly delicious
Cons: Pricey but worth it so not really a con
Guest
prez
Points +862
Don’t go anywhere else - Edit
The loveliest view of the river and all-vegan pastries!
Read moreGuest
ktmoralee
Points +43
Serve Dairy milk and cream without any notification - Edit
Sadly no notices in this place (a favourite of mine in Lakes) offering non dairy milk alternatives. There is even a Vegan sticker on the Dairy Milk machine - which had a carton of Oatly stood next to it!
Read moreI only realised dairy milk used in drinks as default when my sister saw staff filling the dairy milk outlet machine. When I raised the issue I suggested that a notice be placed at the till saying “oat milk available” as a prompt to request this. This was agreed as a good idea by the owner - but did not happen over the following 3 days. Owner claimed they did not advertise as vegan 🌱 only the “baked products” This is disingenuous as I trawled Instagram and found posts with #vegan without pictures of baked products. Please respect vegans and advertise that your default is dairy milk/cream/butter - so that we can make informed choices and requests.
Totally disappointed in lack of respect.
Pros: Lots baked vegan options
Cons: Use dairy milk/cream/butter as default , Not transparent in use of dairy
Guest
LG123
Points +306
Vegan paradise - Edit
Didn’t realise that everything was vegan at first - we were totally blown away when we found out (including the non-vegans). We had the burrito, vegan steak and ale pasty, toasted Rueben, vegan sausage roll, tiffin, cookie, another cake I can’t remember the name of - all absolutely incredible. The choice is excellent, don’t think I’ve come across a vegan spread like it (and I live in London). It’s takeaway-style food, but they have tables where you can sit and eat in. The café is in a very pretty location, so great place to sit for a bit. Lovely coffee too (they do have cow’s milk, so need to specify if you want something else). They also have a beautiful shop on site. 100% worth a visit if you’re in the area, vegan or not!
Read morePros: So many vegan options, Pretty location , Fair price
Cons: I don’t live nearby
Guest
Edwould
Points +33
Food is amazing - Edit
Amazing food , by the river. Really tasty sausage roles
Read moreMostly vegan - offers cow milk for coffee
Pros: Sandwiches , Pastries , Good coffee
Cons: M
Guest
ElyG
Points +216
My favourite place in the Lakes - Edit
Chesters is amazing. Not much is labelled vegan (which is why I think they get so busy), so I have to ask every time if what I want is vegan and every time they say “yea, everything is vegan”.
Read moreThis is my favourite place to get a pain au chocolat, croissant and a coffee after camping in the fells, and the baguettes are great to take up with you for your hikes.
If you sit on the deck outside by the river, you’ll almost certainly get a visit from a bold robin after your crumbs.
I had the best curry I’ve ever had here. It was out of this world.
⚠️Remember your keepcup (and Tupperware) since they only serve in takeaway cups and boxes.
Updated from previous review on 2022-08-13
Pros: Everything is vegan?, Rare vegan croissants and pain au chocolat, Too many to list
Cons: Gets busy
Guest
ehm34
Points +229
The best cakes! - Edit
I went with a group of non vegans and all were so impressed with the quality of the cakes (all vegan!)
Read morePros: So many choices , Delicious cakes
Guest
healthie.veggie
Points +1999
Now all vegan! - Edit
Couldn’t ask for a nicer place to find in the lakes! The pastries were amazing and the staff were lovely. They’ve really nicely decorated the place. I’m recommend coming here if you’re up in the lakes!
Read moreGuest
Dave912
Points +96
Top spot! - Edit
Absolutely lovely food, and everything vegan! We ate there twice in two days. Pies lovely, focaccia lovely, chickpea sandwich also lovely! And we took salads home for later.
Read morePros: All vegan, all lovely!
Cons: Kitchen not fully functioning but…
Guest
SarahAddy
Points +82
Would give 10 stars!! - Edit
Amazing location, which makes this place VERY busy. Managed to get a table inside, still with a lovely view.
Read moreCouldnt see the word 'vegan' on any cakes but couldnt believe it when I got to the till and asked, to be told 'theyre all vegan' Wow! So many choices. I obviously had to buy two!
Savoury options too. I had the steak and ale slice, a millionaires slice and a brownie.
All great, but the millionaires slice was insane 🤤🥰
Pros: All cakes were vegan, Lovely location, Friendly staff
Cons: Does get busy
Guest
MicheleParks
Points +126
Awesome - Edit
Choice and loads of it! Vegan cakes and pastries as far as the eye can see. Operating as a takeaway at the moment due to staff shortages and it works. We had aloo gobi, steak in ale and sausage roll pastries and the Bakewell tart all fabulous. Non vegan preferred the aloo gobi pasty! Only problem was choosing then remembering what I had chosen. Those focaccia will have to wait till next time. You can sit right by the river on the terrace, watch for the rare dippers. The gift shop is hysterically over priced but lovely 🌱❤️
Read moreGuest
RabbitLorna
Points +49
Nice little cafe - Edit
All food appears to be fully vegan now, but menu is limited compared to the Happy Cow description. The pasties and cakes were nice, and the cakes were all big slices.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2022-04-27
Pros: Appears to be all vegan now, Huge cakes
Cons: No hot food, Limited menu
Guest
Vegannet
Points +367
MASSIVE PIES & CAKES - Edit
we've been visiting Chester's for a few years now on our Lake District holidays. The Bakery (take away side) is fully vegan and does an incredible selection of cakes and pastries as well as huuuuuge pies and healthy and interesting salad bowls. The quality is exceptional (baked on the premises) and portions generous. Seems a bit pricey at first glance but you definitely get what you pay for.... One happy Vegannet!!!
Read moreAlso have their own outdoor seating area to munch on your food in comfort.😄
Pros: Bakery is totally vegan, Quality produce, Vast selection of cakes
Cons: A little expensive (£4.50 for a pasty)but worth it
Guest
VictoriaGreenhalgh
Points +42
Always good food - Edit
Chesters always has amazing food and yummy cakes and scones. All their food is vegan or can easily be made vegan (and has been for a few years)
Read moreI particularly like their fresh flatbreads, hearty salads, cakes and blueberry scone! Always visit every time I’m in the Lakes.
Would give five stars if they got rid of the one dairy pizza and dairy milk for drinks!
Updated from previous review on 2022-02-18
Pros: All the menu is vegan or can be made vegan, Vegan scones (sweet and savoury), Eat in by the river, or takeaway
Cons: Long queues, but worth it
Guest
Fattyted
Points +3530
Queues too long but vegan takeaway options great - Edit
We wanted to eat-in but it was a busy time so in the end we gave up and bought take-away to eat outside in the cold January weather. The vegan options were great. Salads expensive but delicious. Pastries extremely nice.
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Beautiful setting, Delicious vegan food
Cons: Overpriced, Too small so never enough indoor seating
Guest
Veganolive1
Points +4591
Vegan Options Are Scrumptious - Edit
Visited Chesters with friends for lunch after a long walk. Had to wait but the food is definitely worth it.
Read moreThe menu is 99% vegan with just two pizzas with dairy cheese which can be swapped for vegan cheese. Ordered a roast parsnip & miso pizza, smoked chimichurri cauliflower pizza, sweet potato & lentil stew, mac n cheese and two portions of chips. We ordered various drinks including an oat hot chocolate which was to die for according to our friend.
The food was fantastic, the sourdough pizza base was top notch and my cauliflower pizza with a garlic tahini cream, almonds and chilli was amazing I demolished every morsel.
I love Chesters the food is scrumptious and that's why it's always so busy so there is always a wait. Highly recommended.
Updated from previous review on 2022-01-23
Pros: Vegan options, Vegan cakes, Vegan wines
Guest
Rridley81
Points +158
The BEST! - Edit
We went to the take away cafe and everything is vegan; sausage rolls, doughnuts, scones - everything!! They have an amazing choice of snacks and drinks and the staff were lovely. I cannot recommend this place enough, even if there is a queue it is worth the wait. Even our non-vegan friends loved it!!!!
Read morePros: Todo vegano
Guest
BelBurn
Points +20
High quality take away - delicious - Edit
Chesters has a fabulous take-away which is all vegan (you can ask for non vegan butter with your scone). It has pies, focaccia, cakes, croissants, loaves of bread to buy, freshly made scones even doughnuts. The choice for this vegan is always a challenge as it is so rare. Seating outside - with hot and cold drinks available. Long queues at peak lunch time but it is always worth the wait.
Read morePros: Range of vegan food, Quality of food , Great location
Cons: Have to wait at busy times , Not the cheapest
Guest
MattRooke
Points +408
Pies! - Edit
The takeaway is fully vegan. So great to find a selection of vegan pies, and a huge cake range. Tend to buy a lot when I go!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2021-07-29
Guest
J&J
Points +84
A nice surprise - Edit
We went here not knowing it was fully vegan, so we’re very excited when the menu came to our table. Everything we had was really nice, the chips especially. The service was slightly chaotic but we went at a busy time so it was understandable. The staff were friendly but seemed to not like each other which was a bit uncomfortable. Despite all that I would definitely go again because the food is so good!
Read moreWe went in June 2021 and we’re told it had only recently gone fully vegan and I’m not sure the website had been updated at that time. As I said we were surprised to find out it was all vegan.
We were too full for dessert but took home a vegan brownie and bakewell slice, both were really good (and huge!)
Pros: Amazing food , Lots of options inc ‘junk food’ and lighter bits , Amazing cakes
Cons: A bit chaotic at peak time
Guest
Saldowning
Points +29
Fabulous Food - Edit
Great healthy menu, 95% of options are vegan. Highly recommend. The Chesters take-away next door is great for cakes, their vegan donuts are amazing. Absolutely loved Chesters!!
Read moreGuest
VelillaDeOswestry
Points +3520
Limited breakfast menu - Edit
The location was nice but we were a bit disappointed with the breakfast menu. They only had sweet things and most of them pastries were pastries. Also we thought the staff were a bit disorganized.
Read moreGuest
livingtheveggielife
Points +1727
Such a good lunch!!! - Edit
Had a vegan hot dog here with all the trimmings in a wood fired sourdough roll and chips. It was amazing. Granted we had to queue for an hour but it was worth it. The cafe is pretty much vegan but dairy is served on pizzas (which you can make vegan) and I think they have cow's milk if you have omnis in your group. Kind of pricey but for a treat it's okay. It's in a popular tourist area.
Read moreAlso a takeaway attached with pastries and cakes.
Pros: Mostly vegan, Quirky menu, Friendly staff
Cons: Slightly pricey, mains £10-13
Guest
HayleyBee
Points +436
Amazing food and setting - Edit
Chesters is in a gorgeous location right by the river and with the sounds of running water. The food was delicious and so many vegan options. All the cakes are vegan too. Good prices and lovely decor inside and out. Would recommend!
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options, Good Covid safety , Delicious food
Guest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 34648 times.