Restaurant in Cartmel, United Kingdom
L'Enclume's flavour without the formality.
Rogan & Co holds a Michelin Star and an OAD Casual Europe top-110 ranking, delivering Simon Rogan's farm-direct produce philosophy in a relaxed Cartmel cottage setting. It's the sensible alternative to L'Enclume when you want the same sourcing rigour without the full tasting menu format. Book four to six weeks out minimum — availability is tighter than the casual atmosphere suggests.
If your first visit to Rogan & Co convinced you that Simon Rogan's relaxed Cartmel outpost punches well above its casual billing, a return trip will confirm it. The kitchen's commitment to produce from the L'Enclume stable's Our Farm development in the Cartmel Valley remains the defining thread across visits, and the menu keeps evolving around that same philosophy: clean flavours, restraint, and ingredients given space to land. Coming back with context makes the whole experience sharper — you'll clock how each dish is structured around a single main ingredient rather than building towards a theatrical finish. That's the point, and it rewards attention.
The flavour profile at Rogan & Co sits in a specific register: precise, quietly fermented, umami-forward without being heavy. Snacks set the tone — a Parmesan sablé with artichoke cream reads richer than it sounds, while a mushroom and truffle duxelles croquette delivers a clean hit of depth. From there, dishes like smoked eel with caramelised potato terrine and a buttermilk and mussel sauce split with dill oil show the kitchen's preference for contrast over accumulation. The tartness of fermented cucumber or pickled radish appears across multiple courses, cutting through richer elements and keeping the palate interested across a long menu. Mains lean on Lake District produce: hake grilled precisely and served with spinach in miso butter, or St Brides chicken stuffed with hen of the woods mousse. Desserts swing nostalgic , a vanilla rice pudding served in a wooden bowl with blackcurrant sorbet, fresh blackberries, and toasted macadamia nuts is the kind of thing that sounds modest and lands memorably. Sticky toffee pudding madeleines with coffee are a deliberate nod to Cartmel's most famous export.
The wine list skews natural and is priced accessibly at the lower end, with 125ml pours available throughout. The cocktail list incorporates spirits infused with Our Farm produce , a woodruff Old Fashioned is the kind of thing worth ordering on a second visit when you already know what to expect from the food.
Rogan & Co sits in a cottage on Devonshire Square in the centre of Cartmel, beside a stream, with dark wood beams and open fires. The room has white walls, Lakeland photography, and simply laid tables. Nothing about the space is trying to impress you , which is deliberate. This is the more accessible end of what Simon Rogan does in the village. For the full tasting menu experience with multi-course precision and a longer room, L'Enclume two minutes away is the higher-stakes option. Rogan & Co is where you go when you want the same sourcing rigour and kitchen intelligence in a format that doesn't require a full evening's commitment or a special-occasion price point. Service reflects this: head chef Tom Reeves runs a kitchen that produces technically careful food without demanding ceremony from the dining room.
Getting a table here is harder than the relaxed atmosphere suggests. Reservations: Book a minimum of four to six weeks out for weekends; weekend lunch in particular fills quickly given the volume of visitors using Cartmel as a day or overnight trip from Manchester, Leeds, or the wider Lakes. Midweek lunch on Wednesday through Friday offers slightly more flexibility, but this is a Michelin-starred restaurant in a village that pulls destination diners , don't assume availability. Hours: Closed Monday and Sunday; lunch service runs 12PM–1:30PM Wednesday through Saturday; dinner runs 6PM–9PM Tuesday through Saturday. Budget: ££££ pricing puts this in the same bracket as London destination dining, which means the food needs to justify the journey cost on leading of the bill. On current evidence, it does. Dress: No formal dress code; smart casual fits the room. Getting there: Cartmel is a small village in the southern Lake District; driving is the practical option for most visitors. See our full Cartmel restaurants guide for broader trip-planning context, or our Cartmel hotels guide if you're making a night of it.
Rogan & Co holds a Michelin Star (2024) and a Google rating of 4.8 from 595 reviews. On the Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe list, it ranked #109 in 2025, #111 in 2024, and #144 in 2023 , a steady upward trajectory over three years. That OAD ranking matters here: it places Rogan & Co among the continent's better casual fine-dining options, which is a meaningfully different credential than a star alone. Stars reward technical cooking; OAD rankings reflect how well a restaurant works as an experience. Both signals pointing in the same direction is a good sign. For context on what else operates at this level in the broader region, see Moor Hall in Aughton, which similarly combines sourcing ambition with a setting outside a major city.
This is not a venue where takeout or delivery is part of the offer, and the food wouldn't make the case for it even if it were. Dishes here are structured around textural contrast , dill oil split through a butter sauce, dehydrated chicken skin as a foil for soft mousse, fermented elements balanced against freshly cooked components. That architecture doesn't survive a journey in a box. If the question is whether the food travels well, the honest answer is no, and that's not a weakness: it's a reason to make the trip. The experience is entirely dine-in, and it's designed that way. If you're planning a trip to the southern Lakes and want to build a day around the village, Cartmel's bars, wineries, and experiences are worth combining into the same visit.
Rogan & Co works leading for: diners who've already done L'Enclume and want the same ingredient story in a shorter format; couples or pairs looking for a destination lunch rather than a full tasting menu evening; and anyone who finds London's ££££ restaurant format increasingly hard to justify when the same money spent in Cartmel includes the village, the drive through the fells, and a kitchen this focused on what's growing nearby. For solo diners, the relaxed service style makes this a comfortable option; the room doesn't have the counter-dining format of an omakase bar, but the atmosphere is open enough that solo visitors won't feel conspicuous. Groups larger than four should check in at booking about table configuration , the cottage setting means space isn't unlimited. For other destination restaurants operating at a comparable level in rural or small-town settings outside London, see Hand and Flowers in Marlow, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, or Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton.
Yes, for what it is. At ££££, you're paying for Michelin-starred cooking anchored in farm-direct produce in a deliberately relaxed setting. The OAD Casual Europe #109 ranking (2025) reflects that this isn't just technically good food , it works as an experience. The comparison that matters: L'Enclume sits at a higher price point with a longer tasting menu format; Rogan & Co gives you the same sourcing philosophy at a more accessible spend. If Modern British cooking at this level of ingredient focus is what you're after, the value is there.
Four to six weeks minimum for weekends. This is a Michelin-starred restaurant in a small village that draws destination diners from across the north of England and beyond , availability is tighter than the casual setting implies. Midweek lunch slots open up more frequently, but even those go quickly during peak Lake District season (spring through autumn). Book as early as you can and treat any shorter-notice availability as a fortunate cancellation.
Lunch is the better call for most visitors. The 12PM–1:30PM window sits naturally within a day trip to Cartmel, and the format suits the relaxed, daytime feel of the village. Dinner runs Tuesday through Saturday (6PM–9PM), which works well if you're staying overnight in the area. The food offer doesn't change significantly between services, so the decision comes down to how you've structured your trip rather than any material difference in what the kitchen produces.
The menu at Rogan & Co runs through multiple courses and reflects the kitchen's produce-led approach in full. Given the Michelin Star and OAD ranking, the technical standard is documented. If you want the full expression of what Simon Rogan's team does with Our Farm produce in a relaxed setting, it's the right format. If you want a longer, more formal tasting experience, L'Enclume is the appropriate step up. The two venues serve different versions of the same philosophy.
Yes, provided the occasion suits the setting. The atmosphere is warm and considered rather than formal or ceremonial , open fires, dark beams, simply laid tables. It's better for a birthday dinner or anniversary where the meal is the event than for anything requiring theatrical service or private-dining grandeur. For a more formal special occasion in the same quality tier, consider Midsummer House or Restaurant Andrew Fairlie.
It works. The relaxed service style and cottage atmosphere make solo dining comfortable , this isn't the kind of room where a single diner draws attention. It's not a counter-format restaurant, so you'll be at a table rather than watching the kitchen, but the experience doesn't lose much for a solo visitor. Midweek lunch is the most comfortable slot for solo dining logistically.
Small groups of two to four are well-suited to the format. Larger parties should check directly at the time of booking , the cottage setting limits table configurations, and the 1:30PM lunch cut-off means extended group bookings may be tight for a midday service. Evening dinner slots give more time. For groups with specific needs, contact the restaurant at the point of reservation rather than assuming flexibility.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogan & C0 | ££££ | Hard | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Cartmel for this tier.
Rogan & Co is a small cottage restaurant in the centre of Cartmel, which limits group capacity. It suits pairs and tables of four well; larger parties should check the venue's official channels to check availability. It is not a venue where a group of eight will feel comfortable without prior arrangement, and the intimate room means noise travels.
At ££££ with a Michelin Star and a top-111 OAD Casual Europe ranking in 2024, the value case is solid — particularly because the format is shorter and more relaxed than L'Enclume at a lower price point. You get the same Our Farm provenance and the same precision with ingredients, without the full tasting-menu commitment. For the Lake District, that combination is hard to match.
Book four to six weeks out for weekend tables; Friday and Saturday lunch slots go fast given the limited weekly hours. The restaurant is closed Monday and Sunday, which compresses demand into five services. Last-minute availability exists occasionally mid-week, but do not rely on it for a trip built around this meal.
The relaxed, neighbourhood feel of the room makes solo dining more comfortable here than at a formal tasting-menu venue, but Rogan & Co does not operate a dedicated counter or bar seat in the way that solo-optimised restaurants do. Solo diners will be seated at a table, which works fine; the service style is described as warm and confident rather than stiff.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
