The Last Zebra
📍 0.8 miles from Brunton Park
About this Pub
Why it's great for Matchdays
Listed in an away-fans travel guide for Carlisle United, The Last Zebra is a city-centre spot that works well pre-match. It’s a short walk from Carlisle railway station, making it convenient for travelling supporters. Food is served all day (with a current menu), so groups can get proper meals before heading to Brunton Park. Beer-wise, CAMRA/WhatPub notes a regular local cask (Loweswater Gold) and Untappd activity shows a rotating line-up of modern craft breweries, giving fans varied choices. Together, the central location, confirmed all-day food, and solid cask/craft selection make it a practical meet-up for away supporters before the game.
Recent Fan Reviews
Lovely restaurant. The funky décor and all the natural daylight already make it feel nice, but what really surprised us was the food. Places with a “world kitchen” casual menu and affordable prices usually end up being just… okay. Nothing terrible, but often a bit bland and forgettable. This one genuinely impressed us. It’s not super experimental, but everything we tried was really appetising and well executed. We had the Café de Paris steak and the tofu mushroom noodles, and it was honestly refreshing to see dishes like that on a casual restaurant menu, and done properly. You could tell real effort went into the plating as well as the flavour. Service was also great. The waitresses were incredibly friendly and the food came out quickly.
Underwhelming is what I can describe on the food we received. Having been to the Last Zebra on a number of occasions before Covid Lockdown, I was looking forward to having a meal here as the food has always been excellent before. So we were seated from a very polite member of staff, staff are excellent here, and we were told to find a table to seat, I liked this as we sat at our choice in a area that we wanted to be. We were given menus and asked what we wanted to drink, selections of drinks available is exceptional but on the dear side but still affordable, the menu was small, not much available but if your going to have a small menu, make sure the food is top notch. I ordered the chicken burger, asked my fries to be swapped for salt and pepper fries which they did at a extra cost but I was happy to pay that, my other half had the fish and I went for salt pickled onion rings as a extra. We didn’t have to wait for the food long and when it arrived, it was okay, definitely not Last Zebra standard that I had before. My partner fish was good, sauce was tasty but his potatoes were cold like they just come out the fridge and the seasonal veg that came with it was non existence, their just was not enough food to fill a person up, my burger was overcooked, the chicken was dry, my salt and pepper fries was frozen fries with a bit of seasoning, chopped chillies and onions thrown together, if your starving salt and pepper fries in such a small menu, make sure they are the best. The pickled onion rings was a good taste but the oil on them was just off putting, my plate where the onion rings was placed was covered in oil, I had to use my napkin to soak up the oil from my plate and to drain the oil on the onion rings. Overall the menu was small, food was rubbish but the service was good. I definitely had better food before and I would say. I had better food in Wetherspoons, very disappointed.
Good place with friendly staff and the food looked good and was in very large portions but there were some questionable choices made on the cheeseburger that meant I couldn't finish it. There was so much sauce it altered the texture of the meat to that of a paste. The salad was the extra flavourful rocket which is overpowering on a burger. The bun was chewy instead of a consistency which matches the burger patty. The meat was somehow both dry and moist but not in the same areas. I suppose this is expected from a steak burger though. They were close to being good but at £18 for the plate I gotta be honest it wasn't worth that. I would have thought it ok if it was a spoons.
Dropped in for lunch whilst in Carlisle briefly as wanted to go somewhere ‘independent’ and not part of a big chain. The staff were very attentive and efficient, prices fair and ambience relaxed and tasteful. The food was full of flavour and in particular the North Indian Lamb main was out of this world. The last time I tasted a dish with such authentic and genuine Indian flavours was when I was in India a decade ago.
The food here tasted great! Also a nice place for drinks. I would go back if I was in the city again