If you are familiar with cult movie The Trip, starring the hilarious Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon (it is one of my favorite road trip movies ever), then L'Enclume will certainly ring a bell. As I was planning my summer vacation to the Lake District in England, I felt the urge to go there and check it out for myself.

Located in the cute village of Cartmel, by Grange-over-Sands, L'Enclume, run by critically acclaimed chef Simon Rogan, is known as one of the most sophisticated and innovative restaurants in the UK. After a few stressful moments spent on narrow paths where you need to park in a hurry on the roadside as soon as you spot a car driving full speed towards you (and remember to drive on the left side of the road), we finally entered the minimalist, mid-century / Asian inspired dining room.

For lunch, there is a GBP 45 set menu which gave us a wonderful glimpse into the restaurant's original dishes. You will see with the posted pictures that the dishes were absolutely gorgeous - real works of art. In terms of taste, very sophisticated obviously (I had the best sweetbreads ever), sometimes a little awkward (not a big fan of the anise taste in the dessert), but overall an amazing experience.