To my shame, my knowledge of our local historic homes is woefully lacking.

Holker Hall aside, I have rarely ventured across the thresholds of the south Cumbria’s stately, open-to-the-public gems.

So a couple of weeks ago I decided to make amends by visiting Levens Hall’s new café, Levens Kitchen.

I had arranged to meet my sister for lunch, joining the throngs of visitors flocking in through the entrance gates to this beautiful place, famed among other things for its stunning topiary.

Bypassing the delights of the hall and gardens, we (along with a wasp who decided to remain with us for the duration) joined the queue for lunch in the café, which is a lovely, in-keeping new build conveniently placed for the car park.

The place was packed – not surprisingly – and doing a roaring lunchtime trade; but we were seated mercifully quickly, in the main body of the light and airy cafe. It’s very stylish, of the moment and with a pleasant ambience.

Decent acoustics, too, considering the hard surfaces and vaulted ceilings. From out table, we could look out to the pretty courtyard al fresco dining area, which was also full with lunchtime customers.

The menu is what I would describe as Lakeland hipster.

Locally sourced – indeed, from the Levens estate - meat and herbs, along with lots of sourdough-based brunch and lunch dishes (all the pizzas are on sourdough), including such delights as an open crushed bean burrito, beetroot tortilla, roasted sweet potato, hispi cabbage, chipotle mayonnaise and coriander costing 8.5 (yes, it’s one of those achingly trendy places that doesn’t do £-signs).

I opted for a pastrami sandwich with mustard, pickles, sour cabbage, cheese and rocket (£7), with a side order of fries (£2.90), while Nicola, who is a regular here, chose her favourite hot smoked salmon Caesar salad with croutons and a soft-boiled egg, costing £6.50 for the small version or £11 for the larger.

Both our dishes were gluten free (all dietary requirements are admirably catered for here), although neither of us is gluten intolerant.

Top marks for the food. Beautifully fresh, well-presented and quality ingredients. Nicola’s salad was a bowl of delight and great value for £6.50.

My sandwich and fries were spot on and as good as you’d find in any New York deli, packed with pastrami and pickles and far too much to get through.

Luckily, it came in very nice Levens Hall packaging, so I wrapped half up, stowed it in my handbag and had it for supper later on.

Nicola and I tucked in to a frankly divine courgette and lemon cake for pudding, which was the best piece of citrus-based confectionery I’ve sampled since a memorable Portuguese orange cake partaken of in Reid’s Hotel in Madeira. The Levens Kitchen pastry chef certainly knows what they are doing.

With drinks, our luscious lunch came to under £30 which was good value for the quality of food, the charming surroundings and the ambience. Very pleasant staff too.

A lovely, Levens lunch all round. I have recommended it to a number of friends since, it was so delightful. I’ll certainly be paying a return visit.

And I may even break the habit of a lifetime and take a tour of the house at the same time.

Ratings

Food 4.5

Atmosphere 4.5

Value 4.5

Service 4.5

Pros

Stylish surroundings

Fabulous ingredients

Cons

Be prepared to queue for a table