Author / Sam Bunting

We are delighted to announce that we’ve been names Editor’s Choice 2023 for Restaurant with Rooms by The Good Hotel Guide.

A Lake District-based restaurant with rooms, 1863, has firmly secured its place within the national food scene. Yesterday, Monday 25 September, the young and dynamic team led by Head Chef and Business Partner, Phil Corrie, received a coveted third AA Rosette at a star-studded, AA Hospitality Awards ceremony hosted by Claudia Winkleman, held at London’s iconic Grosvenor House.

From a culinary perspective, this third rosette puts 1863 into the top 10% of restaurants listed in the AA Guide. The AA Rosette scheme has long been established and successfully recognises cooking at different levels nationwide. The success in achieving Rosettes is based on multiple visits to the restaurant by a team of inspectors who have an unrivalled wealth of experience in assessing culinary excellence.

In their report, the AA inspector remarked that:
“Great skill and technique can be seen [in Phil’s cooking]” and “It is wonderful to be able to look back at the journey that [1863 Restaurant] has been on and to see the improvements that have been made over those years. This is a destination dining experience with wonderful provenance used along with accurate timing as well as thought and imagination given to the marriage of flavours.”

This accolade recognises the Ullswater restaurant’s unwavering commitment to delivering an exceptional dining experience that showcases innovative, seasonal cooking served in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The team hope that this achievement will further establish 1863 as a destination for food enthusiasts and travellers from all over the UK and beyond seeking a remarkable dining experience in the Lake District.

On news of the AA announcement, Phil commented:

“I’m not ashamed to admit that I shed a tear or ten at the news that we’d been awarded a third AA rosette. It’s been a tough couple of years, coming through Covid and the inevitable challenges post-Covid presented in terms of staffing and cost of living crisis that has undoubtedly impacted the hospitality sector. But I’m just so proud of what we’re doing here and industry recognition in the form of awards is really very gratifying. The team are all working so hard and pulling together and I think customers see that and appreciate it. This award truly is a testament of passion and dedication of everyone involved, both past and present.”

When asked what 2024 holds, Phil is playing his cards close to his chest. This talented chef and graduate of Kendal College will undoubtedly ‘keep pushing’ – continually striving for better. However, right now, the focus is on the run up to Christmas and winter months ahead.

1863, the award-winning, Ullswater-based restaurant with rooms, is marking 2022 with the start of a new chapter. Head Chef, Phil Corrie, who has been with the business since it first opened in 2016, is stepping up to join owners Mark and Anne Vause, as a business partner.

Thanks to the incredibly hard work and significant investment made by the owners, this plucky little restaurant with rooms has become known for punching above its weight – delighting customers by day, by night, overnight and at home as the pandemic has seen it innovate and evolve with the support of its fans from around the country.

Phil (30) has garnered praise from customers and industry peers from the off. And as this new chapter begins, he’s brimming over with ideas as to how to build on the already considerable success the team has achieved so far.

Phil says:

“I’m absolutely delighted to be stepping up to join Mark and Anne as a business partner. 1863 has been a labour of love for all of us over the last six years. As we move forwards, I look forward to working with and welcoming new and old faces alike – both team members and customers; to reintroducing ‘1863 at Home’ on a permanent basis and to really pushing ourselves to achieve new culinary heights. We’re continually seeking out innovative and exciting suppliers and producers as we strive to create even better experiences for our guests.”

And what of Anne and Mark?  Well, after 14 years of long hours and hard graft creating what was Elm House Guest House and is now 1863, Mark and Anne are taking a step back from the day-to-day running to afford them a better work life balance and free them up to concentrate on plans for further improvements and development of the property.  Fortunately, Phil was the natural choice to entrust the continued growth and success of 1863 to.

Mark commented:

“2022 felt like the right time to make this change. We have several exciting opportunities on the horizon including building new adjacent accommodation that has full planning permission in place. This in turn will allow us to add a ground-floor suite  and expand the main kitchen. With all this in mind, we had no hesitation in offering Phil a well-deserved partnership in the business.  Not only has he been Head Chef since the restaurant opened in 2016, but he has also been General Manager since 2018 and is no stranger to the day-to-day running. We know that with Phil in charge, 1863 has a bright and exciting future.”  

So whilst guests might not see Anne and Mark around as much, they will still be there in the background undertaking everything from serving breakfast to room maintenance, building development and paperwork!

Located in Pooley Bridge, 1863 Restaurant with Rooms has 2AA Rosettes for culinary excellence and are the winners of the 2018 Cumbria Life ‘Readers award’ and the highly-coveted 2019 ‘Taste’ Award in the Cumbria Tourism Awards.

To book a room, a meal by day or night visit www.1863ullswater.co.uk.

The team from 1863, the Ullswater-based restaurant with rooms, are raising a glass to celebrate reopening on Thursday 20 May – its fifth birthday. As restrictions continue to ease, this plucky little restaurant with rooms, known for punching above its weight, reopens to guests by day, by night, overnight and at home as the pandemic has seen it innovate and evolve with the support of its fans from around the country.

Owner, Mark Vause, commented:

“Never in a month of Sundays did I think we’d be marking our fifth birthday by re-opening our business for a third time in 18 months because of a pandemic. But here we are, and we’re absolutely delighted to be able to say that, as we are all too aware that other businesses have not been so fortunate. Now the team’s focus is very much on doing what we do best – welcoming back guests and creating fabulous food.”

And the diary is looking busy. While evening dining and rooms are in high demand until late Summer, 1863 ‘by day’ (Saturdays and Sundays only) has good availability.

Head Chef and General Manager, Phil Corrie commented:

“We simply would not be here without the support of our customers from around Cumbria and indeed the UK. Thanks to them we’ve been able to launch two new initiatives despite lockdown. What lockdown did for us in a positive way was it actually allowed us to really look at the 1863 as a whole, take a step back and see where we could improve and how we could expand previous offerings.”

‘1863 by day’ came first, offering guests the chance to experience 1863 at lunchtime; it’s proved very popular, especially in the summer months as diners take advantage of the venue’s private courtyard garden area.

The November lockdown saw the team trial yet another new model – ‘1863 at home’ – weekly food boxes delivered nationwide. This was a very different model to their usual day-to-day running and took some getting used to at first.

Phil continued:

“Initially we thought this was just a way to engage with customers during lockdown however it turned out a major added benefit was that ‘at home’ really helped us keep our tight-knit team together throughout the more difficult lockdown winter months.”

And it’s become clear that there’s a real desire to see ‘1863 at Home’ continue as a regular offering. To facilitate this, the business has hired two more local people to join the team full-time. With just under two weeks to go until reopening, it’s safe to say the team is ready and raring to go!

Located in Pooley Bridge, 1863 Restaurant with Rooms has 2AA Rosettes for culinary excellence and are the winners of the 2018 Cumbria Life ‘Readers award’ and the highly-coveted 2019 ‘Taste’ Award in the Cumbria Tourism Awards.

To book a room, a meal by day or night or to order an ‘at home’ food box for delivery, visit www.1863ullswater.co.uk.