North Norfolk
Garden Kitchen Cafe

Garden Kitchen Cafe

Hoveton Hall Estate, North Norfolk, United Kingdom

Cafés • Vegan • Coffee • British


"Booking was no trouble and parking was easy and well signed. Entrance fee was as expected. On arrival at the cafe we had to queue next to a sign that said the cafe was closed for a private party. It wasn't but it was facing the queue so appeared to be relevant although out of date. When we were seated it became obvious that we would have to queue again to order food, in the billowing and potent stench of the meaty barbecue for a good 15 minutes. As vegetarians this was not ideal but my mother, who is not vegetarian also found it almost unbearable too. When we reached the front of the queue the order was taken and then there was an odd arrangement where we had to wait to the side of the queue for drinks and then take a buzzer for the food. This strategy resulted in a long wait to order and an unfortunate safety issue for staff coming in and out of the kitchen who had to navigate the edge of a granite table, a queue of people and carry piles of plates. There was potential for something serious to go wrong at some stage but not our concern of course. There followed a lengthy wait for food. From being seated to the buzzer going off was an hour and we were not told of a delay on food on ordering. When the meals arrived, they were average with the flatbread being reheated from an earlier point in the day, very chewy and hard. We ordered 2 meals the same which arrived with quite different ingredients. The children's activity packs included with entry were brilliant to be honest and it was these that saved the day after such a long wait for food. The 2 tables next to us needed clearing and were not tended to until near the end of our meal. It was busy but not full to capacity at the time. I would recommend visiting hoveton hall, but it would be tricky to recommend the cafe unless the ordering and preparation system was reviewed. Will visit next year to see if anything has changed."

The Pheasant

The Pheasant

Coast Road, NR25 7EG, North Norfolk, United Kingdom

Cafés • Steak • Dining • British


"We stayed at The Pheasant for a few days, the room wasn’t ready so we waited in the bar area. The reception staff member was very welcoming. The room was clean. The service at the hotel wasn’t great, we only ate in the hotel for one night and the food was okay but not quite what I had expected and menu wasn’t vast. One night we had been out for a meal at a friends house and arrived back at the hotel around 10.15pm, we thought we would grab a drink from the bar, there was no one at the bar but then a member of staff appeared and started mopping the floor she told us the bar was closed which we couldn’t believe. We asked if we could order drinks, she went and found the bar tender who seemed very grumpy that we wanted a drink quite a contrast in behaviour to the cheerful chap he was on the day we arrived. We did get a drink along with the glare. Not wanting to sound ageist but the hotel seems to appeal to the elder generation. Breakfast service was again very slow and someone on the table next to ours complained because their breakfast was cold and he said it looked as though someone had thrown it on the plate, the choice of breakfasts was pretty good. The hotel looks a little tired in places and we found the mattress way too soft for our liking and we didn’t sleep well, but some people may like a soft mattress. While I appreciate the hospitality industry is having problems recruiting staff and staff work long hours we felt the standard of the hotel and service could have been better for a 4 star hotel."