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The best restaurants in Norfolk
Norfolk is one of the UK’s foodiest counties and home to some amazing restaurants – a place where homegrown produce, freshly caught seafood and locally reared meat take centre stage in pubs, restaurants and cafés. Here, you’ll find Cromer crab, brilliant cheeses, and wonderful microbreweries. These are our favourite places to sample Norfolk’s best bites.
Gunton Arms
The stylish Gunton Arms is set on the edge of the 1000-acre Gunton Park estate, and the roaming deer herds set the scene for the rich and atmospheric bar and restaurant inside; in the Elk Room, with flagstone floors, leather banquettes and walls hung with antlers, the main event is an open fire where steaks, ribs and chops are cooked. Under executive chef Stuart Tattersall (who worked with Mark Hix before decamping to Norfolk) the menu here is hearty, traditional and delicious; venison from the estate figures strongly on the menu with stews and sausages, but so too does other local meat – South Creake pork belly with Bramley apple and pea shoots, or juicy ribs of Blickling beef with goose fat potatoes, or the local Cromer crab simply served with chilli, garlic and coriander and pasta. The fruits of a newly developed walled garden are already appearing on the menu, including a silky buttermilk pudding with rhubarb. There are also 16 cosy and elegant rooms designed by the late Robert Kime (as well as more recently added coach house rooms), so that you can collapse right after you’ve polished off an epic lunch or dinner. The Gunton Arms takes a top spot on any best restaurants in Norfolk list.
Address: Cromer Road, Thorpe Market, Norwich NR11 8TZ
Website: theguntonarms.co.uk
The Maltings Weybourne
The two-storey grain store at this restaurant-with-rooms was once an industrial building, and the interior nods to that with bare floorboards, flint walls and a louvred window, all contrasted with a lively open kitchen. Just like this cavernous space, the cooking here, led by head chef Scott Taylor, is confident and contemporary, with a strong focus on excellent local produce from land and sea – even the side of salad leaves or greens is named after the local areas they were grown. Dinner could start with a plate of Brancaster oysters, Cromer Crab tacos, or Brancaster Staithe smoked salmon – make sure you order a plate of the moreish hash browns with pecorino and garlic aioli. Mains include crowd-pleasing sharing platters of Norfolk fish, 50-day aged Norfolk rib of beef or, when in season, Houghton Hall venison.
Address: The Street, Weybourne, NR25 7SY
Website: themaltingsweybourne.com
No. 1 Cromer
No. 1 Cromer sits right on the seafront of the Victorian seaside town, and there is a choice of a diner-style restaurant and slightly more experimental seafood in the upstairs restaurant. Whichever you choose, there is a focus on locally caught seafood and produce here (co-owner Spencer Grey can trace his family’s fishing heritage back to 1842). Opened in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston, expect some of the most delicious fish and chips and homemade sauces. Upstairs, choose from Maldon oysters, tempura prawns, Cromer crab soufflé, followed by Sole Meunière with King’s Lynn brown shrimp and samphire and local cheeses. Enduringly popular, it’s also a hit with food writer Diana Henry. There’s also a small takeaway shop.
