A dish for all tastes and decor to match at Carlisle's The Last Zebra

On an always busy Saturday night, The Last Zebra is one of several restaurants in the city that you’d expect to be packed.

Luckily, my dining partner and I secured a table at 7.45pm after scouring the internet for a table anywhere.

I’ve never been to the Lowther Street restaurant, which serves fare for all tastes in a quirky, modern setting, and from its outset, it has never really appealed to me due to it appearing a bit too glitzy and dressed for the ‘gram.

We were seated immediately upon entering on time and handed several menus – one for draught; one for cocktails, wine and spirits; one for food, and; a plant-based menu.

The Last Zebra has clearly great attention to detail in décor and music, with tapestries, animal skins, and accessories adorning the walls.

The view to the back with the huge bar and effervescent lighting makes you feel like you’re on holiday on some tropical island if you don’t look out the window towards Lowther and Devonshire Street.

It’s also apparent on the menus, which at first offer a bewildering number of seemingly random and jumbled options, with a throw everything at the wall and see what sticks approach, but on further inspection are crafted with the clientele in mind – picky and difficult to please younger groups and couples with a small to medium budget.

Featured are dishes ranging from salads, burgers, steaks, fish, gyros, curry, noodles, kebabs, nachos, and more.

The hefty draught menu provides light lagers, bold wheat beers, and crafty creations, while the cocktail menu pleases most palates and keeps the party atmosphere in full swing.

We opted to have a quick meal before going out on the town rather than stay for a full three courses, and we satisfyingly stayed under budget.

The order:

• Pan-seared fillet of salmon, with garlic and herb crushed potatoes, wilted greens, and white wine cream and crayfish sauce - £16.50.
• Parmesan chicken rigatoni – £15.50.
• Blue Moon (pint) - £5.75.
• Raspberry Ripple Daiquiri - £9.25.
  • Total - £47.00

We had enough time for drinks and conversation before a large fillet of salmon arrived, with a good sear and plenty of potatoes, along with the indulgent chicken parmesan, with a side of rigatoni marinara.

To the table was served a truly catch-of-the-day-sized large fillet with enough sides to satiate one's hunger tenfold, and the servers were kind to respect the request for extra lemon wedges.

Salmon fillet (Image: Ollie Rawlinson)

The chicken was superb, the perfect comfort food made to a professional level, crispy batter, well-seasoned sauce with fresh basil, and the pasta wasn’t overcooked.

Chicken parmesan (Image: Ollie Rawlinson)

The cocktail came frozen which can sometimes mean it’s not as flavoursome or boozy, and often simply crushed ice, but The Last Zebra knew what they were doing, and it provided a strong, sweet, and tangy drink with the texture of sorbet.

Blue Moon (left) and Raspberry Ripple Daiquiri (Image: Ollie Rawlinson)

As chance patrons we were delighted with our meal and the service of the staff was excellent – The Last Zebra hasn’t seen the last of us yet!