Apple Pie Eating House

This cosy little café is definitely a must visit in Ambleside! Situated right in the middle of the village it was next door to the apple pie bed and breakfast where we had spent the weekend.
I ordered a full English breakfast and a pot of tea — both of which were served quickly and did not disappoint. It’s a very busy café too! So make sure you get there early if you want a table.

Amazing Apple pie, very good coffee. I can’t speak to the rest of the menu, but the spiced apple pie is divine. Perfect for an afternoon snack. Also the staff are lovely, very attentive.

I really like this place, with a very wide range of pastries, cakes and some hot food too. This is a well established business in the heart of Ambleside that is incredibly popular with cyclists, walkers and tourists to the area in general.
Ever since I was young I would go here and buy a vanilla slice. I don’t think they have changed the recipe since then as it always brings back memories whenever I go back.
The only reason i give this 3 and not 4 stars is because of the price. I completely understand why they set the prices the way they are. But as I used to live in this area for 20+ years, I didn’t go here as often as I would have wanted to as I was competing with tourists.
I hope this review doesn’t put you of. If you are visiting the area I would check this place out!

Absolutely packed at mid-​afternoon, as a rainy day in the Lakes District equals a LOT of people milling around town looking for things to do. Had only a short wait to be seated, and the staff — and there were a boatload there — appears to make it a priority to try to take your order pretty much immediately. I noted that that practice didn’t seem to please a woman who had just sat down and whose partner had headed to the restroom/​toilet. I ordered the «local blend» tea to begin with, and give myself some time to decide what to get from the massive menu. Alas, when I selected one of the daily specials, it was already sold out for the day! I switched to an order of a Cornish pasty and a dessert of the spiced version of their famed apple pie (to follow the meal).
The pasty was HUGE, and was quite good, and infinitely better than the lame and generally tasteless side salad with which it came. I ate about two-​thirds of it to save room for that apple pie. Alas, the waitress I started with seemed to have disappeared, and nobody came back to check on me until the remainder of the tea from the original small pot and the hot water refill was nearly gone and quite cool. Annoyed, I canceled the pie and got the check, which they do digitally via a device each of the wait staff carry around.
Having read some of the other reviews, it sounds like service issues are not uncommon. It’s a true shame, as the menu was impressive and the goodies looked good. Bummed.

Was a little bit weird having apple pie with ice cream for breakfast, but it was WORTH it. Let’s just say I have a passion for apple pie, and this restaurant fulfilled it. The filling and pasty was just soft enough, and not too sharp or sweet. You could get it spicy with sultanas and ice cream or fresh cream. There weren’t any huge chunks of hard apple which I loved.
Hot chocolate was also excellent and service was great. At the front you could take away various delicious looking pastries and buns. Definitely worth a visit!

A lovely place to stumble upon when wandering around Ambleside, but does suffer somewhat from a café extending too rapidly for its own good.
The front is lovely and quaint, with a bay window displaying pies and hot cross buns as big as your face, the exterior nicely paved and in a little sun trap, but the back? The back is quite poorly carpeted, with plastic wooden chairs and tables a little bit too close together. I was drawn in by the front but put off by the back.
The waiting staff were super friendly but not focused on their own individual areas — we were asked 3 or 4 times by different people before actually wanting to put our order in. I went for a diet coke, yawn, and a mediterranean toastie — toasted roll topped with creamy goats cheese, roasted peppers and courgette, and a healthy dose of pesto. It was simple but delicious and kept me full for the rest of the afternoon. My companions had the leek and potato soup, jacket with beans, and a wedge of cheese&onion pie, all of which looked lovely and suited each individual taste.
At the end of the meal it took a while for the staff to bring the bill, presumably because of the lack of communication/​organisation among them, but I wont hold it against them too much — it was busy and noone comes to Ambleside un-​relaxed.
Shame we didn’t have room for the apple pie but I’ll add it to my list.

Lovely café, loads of goodies to sink your teeth into, and it is all very affordable. After a day of walking, my colleague and I decided we needed tea and cakes. I remembered this café and suggested it.
When we arrived, the first thing you are greeted by is a large display of cakes and pastries. If you are taking away, you order at the display. If you are wanting to sit in, you proceed further back, where a staff member will lead you to the back room where there are loads of seats. The staff member who helped us was very helpful and I noticed they were very efficient as well, with little hand-​held, digital tablets to register your order. I noticed he also did something with napkins on the table… I believe to show staff what orders had been taken.
My colleague ordered a scone with jam and cream. I opted to try something new and go with a Chorley Cake… mostly because my colleague was having trouble describing it to me. Shortly after placing my order, one of the staff members returned to say that they were out of the Chorley Cake, so I opted for the Apple Pie. When you order the apple pie you have a couple different options: plain apple or one with raisins and sultanas, hot or cold, ice cream or cream… I love that! You can have it just the way you want! I ordered a hot plain apple pie with cream.
The pie is more of a square bar, but it was delicious. The pastry was my favourite part because it was a a bit soft and I really liked that. It was almost like cake, but not quite. I had a look at the display on the way out (as if I had not had enough) and everything just looked wonderful… caramel donuts especially ;). So after your hike up Mt. Everest (perhaps Loughrigg to the locals), stop in, warm up, and fill your belly with comfort food.

The service was very slow and unfriendly in here. I think the fact they have wee signs on the table telling you that if you haven’t been served talk to a member of staff, suggests this is a frequent issue. We waited 15 minutes for our order (for two coffees) to be taken. There were lots of staff on and the café wasn’t full. We then had to wait another 15 minutes for the coffees to arrive. All in all a 30 minute wait.
On the plus side the coffees were nice and they do have free wifi, so not all bad.

Popped in here to get some cakes to take out.
WOW is all I can say about it. We bought them to take home for the family. I got eclairs, chorley cake, eccles cake, caramel doughnuts and vanilla slices. (7.50 for 6 cakes)
All of them without exception were absolutely fantastic.
The café itself looked really nice too.

A great place to stop for either a quick coffee and cake or lunch. There is a good selection to choose from and the service is decent. It can be very busy though.
I have to recommend the Bath Buns. Take some away with you for a treat, they are big, moist and delicious.

This delightful little café has been around for over 30 years, situated on one of the main streets in Ambleside, a 2 min walk from the carpark, so its not very hard to miss.
There are a lot of little cafes and bakeries within a very small area in this little town in Cumbria, all offering what they say is the best in hot chocolates, pastries, sandwiches & more substantial fair for weary walkers.
So, why stop at the Apple Pie then? Well for one thing, you have the option of take out, so you could grab yourself a sandwich before heading down to the lake, there is also ample indoor seating and a lovely outdoor patio to the side for a more relaxed break and even free wifi.
There is also a small deli selling my favourite brand of tea — Teapigs and also stock delicacies such as tipsy strawberry and champagne jam and special real ale chutney.
There is a wide range of sandwiches, soups and chili, but the speciality here is the bakery, with scones, teacakes, carrot cake and of course their famous Apple Pie (hence the name of the café) and the most delicious fell top gingerbread made with chunks of stemmed ginger, delicious!

Please visit here when you go to Ambleside, it sells the most delicious cake and pastries. They do sell other snacks and savoury pastries as well as sandwiches. It’s a pleasant place to have a coffee and a snack. The only down side is it gets very busy.
Staff seem to be friendy enough but do get over wrought as it can be hectic depending on when you go

This is the nicest place in ambleside They do some great baked goods here to take away sausage rolls savoury pies and rich apple pies. Downstairs there is also a place to eat in the hot chocolate with baileys here is lovely with a slice of pie

This is one of the places I go for a well earned cake on the occasions I manage a long walk: worth treating yourself. They also do soup and sandwiches if you are feeling really hungry.