The Schelly in Ambleside wins Michelin praise for relaxed Lakeland cooking

Ambleside has long been a favourite stop for walkers in need of a good meal, and one of the town's most talked-about tables sits just upstairs from another. The Schelly occupies the floor above The Old Stamp House on Church Street, and it has quickly built a reputation of its own.

The restaurant is run by brothers Ryan and Craig Blackburn, the team behind The Old Stamp House, which holds a Michelin star. The division of labour is simple and familiar to anyone who has eaten downstairs: Ryan leads the kitchen while Craig looks after the dining room and the guests who fill it.

Where The Old Stamp House is a destination for a special occasion, The Schelly was conceived as a more relaxed sibling. Its name nods to the schelly, a rare freshwater whitefish found in only a handful of Lakeland waters, and that sense of place runs right through the cooking.

Michelin inspectors noticed. At the Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland awards in February 2025, The Schelly was awarded a Bib Gourmand, the distinction the guide reserves for restaurants offering good food at a fair price. Local magazine The Herdwick celebrated the news as a win for Cumbrian dining, and in October 2025 the guide returned to Ambleside to feature the restaurant as its Bib of the Month.

The menu reads like a tour of the surrounding fells and farms. Michelin's listing singles out a shoulder of Herdwick hogget, the slow-grown lamb of the Lake District's hardy native sheep, and finishes on a playful note with sticky toffee madeleines, a wink to one of Cumbria's best-loved puddings.

The guide places the restaurant at its ££ price level, which is a large part of the appeal. It offers a way to taste the Blackburn brothers' cooking without the formality of a tasting menu, making it as suitable for a weeknight supper after a day on the hills as for a planned evening out.

For Ambleside, the arrival of a second acclaimed restaurant under the same roof is a quiet vote of confidence. It shows that a small Lakeland town can support ambitious, locally rooted cooking at more than one level, and that visitors and residents alike are hungry for it.

The Schelly sits on Church Street in the centre of Ambleside, a short walk from the town's shops and car parks. It is worth checking the restaurant's current arrangements for walk-ins and reservations before you set off, particularly at busy times of year.