You will never go hungry in Norfolk – it is, after all, home to some of the finest restaurants and gastropubs in the country. From blowout Michelin-starred tasting menus to hearty local dishes, these are the culinary hotspots to have on your radar…
The Gunton Arms, Thorpe Market
You’ll spend as much time looking at the walls as you will savouring the food at this traditional pub. The reason? It’s owned by art dealer Ivor Braka, who has hung his extensive contemporary collection (Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Lucian Freud, Paula Rego…) for all to see. That said, the cooking is top-notch, with co-owner and chef Stuart Tattersall, who trained with Mark Hix, serving robust dishes using local ingredients, the likes of venison from the surrounding park and beef cooked over an open fire. The goose fat roast potatoes are a joy. Afterwards, work it off with a game of pool in the bar or a stroll around the surrounding parkland.
Cromer Road, Thorpe Market, NR11 8TZ theguntonarms.co.uk
Meadowsweet, Holt
If ever there was a Norfolk restaurant that has foodies excited, it’s Meadowsweet, tucked away in a lovingly restored grade II-listed house in the market town of Holt. The intimate dining room is elegant in its simplicity – here, the food does the talking. Chef-patron Greg Anderson masterminds the kitchen, serving an ever-changing multi-course tasting menu, every dish as creative as the next. Choose the wine flight for perfectly matched vintages. The service is spot-on, overseen by Greg’s charming partner Rebecca Williams. This place may be small, but it delivers big. Little wonder it has won a Michelin star.
37 Norwich Road, Holt, NR25 6SA meadowsweetholt.com
The Grain Store, Weybourne
The Grain Store at the not-long-ago-opened hotel The Maltings, Weybourne has already garnered quite a following – and rightly so. The two-floor restaurant is beautifully restored, all brick-and-flint walls, wooden beams and steel girders. Bag a table on the ground floor for a view of the chefs at work in the open kitchen or on the mezzanine for vistas across the pretty garden. Head chef Scott Taylor has devised a menu that focuses on “big, bold food” and local, seasonal ingredients pop up repeatedly, from Cromer Crab to Houghton Hall venison. The Sunday roasts are epic. The wine list includes an excellent wines-by-the-glass section.
The Maltings, The Street, Weybourne, NR25 7SY themaltingsweybourne.com
Sculthorpe Mill, Sculthorpe
This bucolic riverside spot is the brainchild of Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton, siblings of TV food critic and entrepreneur Oliver Peyton, who have transformed the former water mill into a family pub. As you can imagine, the food is on-point. Chefs Dominic Aslett (Gunton Arms) and Elliot Ketley’s (Soho House Group) oversee a menu that’s billed as a love letter to Norfolk’s land and sea. Think fresh fish from local day boat fisherman Willy Ward, Dexter beef and Herdwick Lamb from Heath Farm in Great Massingham, and locally grown veg and salad. Alternatively, order a pint of Wherry and make your way through the more-ish bar snack menu.
Lynn Road, Sculthorpe, Fakenham, NR21 9QG sculthorpemill.uk
The Bell, Brisley
If you were to define the quintessential English country pub, this would be it. Set in the village of Brisley, multi-award-winning The Bell ticks every box. Cosy (dog-friendly) bar with a roaring fire? Tick. Sprawling beer garden with a terrace for alfresco dining? Tick. Though there are several areas in which to wine and dine, the bright, book-lined Garden Room is our favourite. Michelin-trained Herve Stouvenel helms the kitchen, bringing a French twist to hearty homemade classics (Wagyu burger with melted raclette, smoked bacon, brioche bun and fries or Cromer crab and cheddar quiche with new potatoes). The Tuesday steak nights are rightly popular.
The Green, Brisley, NR20 5DW thebrisleybell.co.uk
The White Horse, Brancaster Staithe
The White Horse has a glorious location, set on the North Norfolk coast at Brancaster Staithe with sweeping views across the tidal marsh and out to sea. But that’s not the only reason why TWH was rated in the Top 50 Gastropubs in the country. Fran Hartshorne oversees the kitchen, serving an unpretentious menu with an emphasis on seasonality and local provenance. The seafood sharing platter is quite something – a smorgasbord of Brancaster mussels, Staithe Smokehouse salmon, saffron pickled cockles, dressed Cromer crab and more, best paired with a glass of chilled Norfolk white. The pub’s annual oyster festival is great fun.
Main Road, Brancaster Staithe, PE31 8BY whitehorsebrancaster.co.uk
Benedicts, Norwich
Benedicts is tucked away in the centre of Norwich, on the characterful bar-and-restaurant-lined St Benedicts Street. It is helmed by chef-proprietor Richard Bainbridge (you’ll likely recognise him from Great British Menu), who has been running it with his wife Katya since 2015. It’s a buzzy, unpretentious place, where the welcome is warm and the service attentive. The menu is packed with dishes you want to eat, many raiding the county’s considerable larder. North Norfolk partridge ravioli here and BBQ monkfish tail with Brancaster mussels there. The vegetarian and vegan options are imaginative, and little ones will love the children’s menu.
9 St Benedicts Street, Norwich, NR2 4PE restaurantbenedicts.com
The Nest, Docking
Co-founders Luke Wasserman, Johnnie Crowe and Toby Neill have plenty of restaurant expertise under their belts, with Nest and St. Barts in London. Now they’ve brought their culinary know-how to North Norfolk with The Nest, which sits amidst a 1000-acre farm near King’s Lynn. Big glass windows reward diners with views over a large pond (a great spot for pre-dinner drinks) and the rolling fields. Head chef Grant Cotton leads the line in the open kitchen, with everything made in-house using seasonal British produce, much of it sourced from small-scale farmers and growers in the vicinity (including the wines).
Docking Lodge Farm, Kings Lynn, PE31 8FP nestfarmhouse.co.uk
Socius, Burnham Market
In Latin ‘socius’ means sharing or joining in, which is the premise behind Socius in Burnham Market. The bright, airy two-floor restaurant does a modern British twist on tapas, all the snacks and plates designed to share (though it’s all so delicious you may want to keep them to yourself). Bag a table on the steel-framed mezzanine or on the buzzing ground floor, where you can watch the chefs beavering away in the kitchen. Order a seasonal cocktail, before working your way through the menu, much of it locally sourced. Our advice? Leave room for the signature ‘Socius chocolate bar’ served with salted caramel, crémeux and gelato.
11 Foundry Place, Burnham Market, King’s Lynn, PE31 8LG sociusnorfolk.co.uk
The Neptune, Old Hunstanton
Old Hunstanton is on a stretch of North Norfolk coastline that faces west, which means you get the most incredible sunsets, with fiery hues streaking the sky as far as the eye can see. But that’s not its only claim to fame. The pretty village is also home to The Neptune, an ivy-clad 18th century coaching inn-turned-Michelin-starred restaurant run by husband-and-wife team Kevin and Jacki Mangeolles. This intimate-yet-relaxed restaurant serves serious food – choose the tasting menu or the set-price Dinner Menu (with three choices each for starter, main and dessert). Either way, you’ll be blown away by Kevin’s competent cooking and Jacki’s well-curated wine list.
85 Old Hunstanton Road, Old Hunstanton, PE36 6HZ theneptune.co.uk
The Ingham Swan, Ingham
A couple of miles inland from the coast, The Ingham Swan is run by chef-patron Daniel Smith, who cut his teeth with Michel Roux Jr at Le Gavroche and Galton Blackiston at Morston Hall (he’s also a star of BBC2’s Great British Menu). The gastropub is spread across a series of rooms that speak of the building’s past – exposed brick-and-flint walls, inglenook fireplaces and dark oak beams. It’s delightfully atmospheric. The menus – from a la carte to the seven-course taster to Sunday lunch – are thoughtfully designed and well-executed, tweaked regularly to take into account the seasons and the availability of the high-quality local ingredients.
Sea Palling Road, Ingham, NR12 9AB theinghamswan.co.uk
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