The story
The Black Bull at 44 Main Street, Sedbergh, is a revamped coaching inn serving Modern British food with a clear Asian streak. It holds 2 AA Rosettes for 2026.
Chef Nina Matsunaga cooks here alongside her partner James Ratcliffe, and has launched a restaurant concept called Tsuchi at the inn. The menu leans on local produce. Howgill Hereford beef pie with seasonal greens sits next to crispy Korean beef wrapped in a shiso leaf, and pork belly comes in XO sauce with alliums. To finish, there might be a black-sesame panna cotta with basil oil and sesame cracker.
The pub room is on the left as you enter, with a bar, bright red banquettes, dried flowers and fairy lights. Here you can have Herdwick lamb sandwiches or a Mansergh Hall pork and kimchi stew. To the right, a dog-friendly antechamber leads to a sparser, split-level dining room. On Sundays the kitchen focuses on prime meat from local herds, with sides such as treacle carrots.
The Good Food Guide (2026) gave the drinks list full marks. Local ales share space with unusual soft drinks such as Zingi Bear, an organic ginger switchel. The wine list is diverse and good value, with bottles from Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia.
Recognition
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*Chef Nina Matsunaga has launched a new restaurant concept, Tsuchi, at The Black Bull. Look out for a new review coming soon.* Geographically, Sedbergh is part of the Yorkshire Dales, although it sits on the edge of the Lake District. Something of that dual identity informs the layout of this revamped coaching inn, which accommodates two very different spaces with two very different personalities. To the left as you go in is the cosy, convivial pub room – our preferred spot – complete with a bar, equine paraphernalia, dried flower displays, bright red banquettes and fairy lights strung around the walls. Here you can sup local ales and get welcome sustenance from platters of home-cooked ham and artisan cheese, hot Herdwick lamb sandwiches, maple pea houmous or Mansergh Hall pork and kimchi stew. To the right are the dining areas, the first being a dog-friendly antechamber, the second a sparser, more formal split-level affair. The menu highlights local produce but there’s a noticeable Asian bent to the more ambitious dishes: expect Howgill Hereford beef pie with seasonal greens alongside crispy Korean beef wrapped in a shiso leaf or pork belly in XO sauce with alliums. To finish, there might be an 'extremely savoury’ black-sesame panna cotta with basil oil and shards of sesame cracker. On Sundays, prime meat sourced from local herds is the kitchen's USP, accompanied by sides including treacle carrots. Service is well-meaning, although it seems better suited to the pub side of things than the restaurant. However, the Black Bull’s drinks offer gets full marks, from unusually pleasing ‘softs’ including Zingi Bear (an organic ginger switchel) to fascinating sips from Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia on the diverse, good-value wine list. A new outdoor bar and kitchen facility should add to the Black Bull's all-round appeal.
2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
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