There’s a new food game in town – and its location may just surprise you.
Workington Golf Club has long been one of the destinations in West Cumbria for big family events and functions – but new stewards Tom McMaster and Beki Bowes want to make sure it becomes a destination dining spot as well.
Cumbria Crack was invited to sample the menu and the idea was we’d rock up and choose an evening meal then share our thoughts. It didn’t quite work out that way as our hunger got the better of us and we arrived at around 11am.
It was absolutely in our favour though as we were presented with an array of dishes to sample. The table groaned under the weight of them and it was a good job we were hungry.
Choosing our table was easy – we simply had to overlook the 18th hole and the breath-taking surrounding views of the course added a little something to the experience.
We soon began to critique the golfers too – despite the only experience we have of golf is via a games console.
Clubhouse Kitchen is the new name for the business – and my goodness, what a kitchen.
Tom and Beki used to run the Drovers Rest Inn near Carlisle and a couple of their menu favourites there have been transplanted to Workington Golf Club.
Frickles – deep fried gherkins – are my new love and my husband has fallen hook, line and sinker for the truffle dumplings. Both are worth the trip alone.
This is a cut above pub food that manages to retain that comfort food vibe. Portions are generous.
Practically everything is made in-house – from the bread to the sausages, via their own smoked salmon (only on the evening menu, but that dish found its way on to our table too).
The smoked salmon was tender and delicate – this was fish cured with care.
Tom trained under an award-winning sausage maker and brings that care to his hot dog that is carried like a king towards us.
Husband said it fails as a hotdog as there is no way you could pick up this monster in a single hand – but concedes it is worth the sacrifice.
Smothered in cheese and bacon, it deserves respect. There’s also a fried gherkin bonus on there too.
And because Tom makes the sausage in-house, there’s no filler or rusk – making it gluten friendly.
Made to a traditional Cumberland recipe (I know, there’s hundreds if not thousands of them), it is a different texture to what you find elsewhere and delivers that good peppery punch you should be looking for.
Let’s talk bao buns. Bao buns at a golf club? It made no sense to me.
But these aren’t your supermarket claggy weird slightly-synthetic tasting ones. Oh no. Fluffy, light buns chock full of delicate and sticky honey, soy and ginger glazed belly pork. Not sure I’ve tasted anything like this made in West Cumbria and would gladly take up golf every day to have this for my lunch.
Then there’s the pancakes. Reading ‘pickle pancakes’ on a menu may not get a lot of people’s juices going, but my goodness these were great.
I’ve already declared my allegiance to the pickle, but the combo of properly melted cheese oozing from the fluffy pancake with the chance of the odd cubed gherkin popping onto your fork – it was joyous.
All this deliciousness has made us determined to return for an evening meal and if you’re looking for a new place to try, we couldn’t recommend it highly enough.
Talking to a friend, they also recommend giving the Sunday lunch a whirl too.
Clubhouse Kitchen has changed my perception of golf club eating – Tom, second chef Matty and the team would love to welcome you to see if they can wow you too.
