Pubs and Cafés on the Coast If you are considering eating out on the Norfolk Coast on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday lunch- We strongly recommend that you make a reservation at least 7 days in advance.
King William, Sedgeford. (15 minutes walk, 3 minute drive) 01485 571765 Popular with all ages for its good value pub food with regularly changing specials board. Garden with new outdoor dining area.
Booking advisable especially at weekends.
Rose and Crown, Snettisham (5 minute drive) 01485 541382 Very local pub that was once a coaching inn and does excellent food with a local slant and is always very busy throughout the summer. A number of impressive awards hang off the walls. Pub meals and a restaurant menu with specials changing daily. Substantial garden with play area.
Gin Trap, Ringstead (5 minute drive) 01485 525264 Under new ownership and getting a real local following and great reviews for its bar and restaurant menus. Recently added a conservatory and looks to be going from strength to strength, although we have had some grumbles about service lately. Can be very quiet mid-week in winter. Booking advisable. Outside garden.
The Old Bank Café, Snettisham (5 minute drive) 01485 544080 A rather quaint Café Bistro. At night, the whole place is intimately lit by candlelight serving generous portions of tasty rustic food and the best bit is that its a bring your own so you can drink great wine at supermarket prices (if you are really stuck we will get something off the rack for you) Outside tables.
Lifeboat Inn, Thornham (10 minute drive) 01485
512236
Something of a Norfolk Institution, packed with character and local characters, always amazingly busy with a great range of tasty food. Jim, behind the bar, makes the best bloody mary that you will find anywhere on the coast. Close to the beach. Booking advisable on weekends. Outside terrace with play area.
Fishes Café, Burnham Market. (10 minute drive)
01328 738588
Until recently a very upmarket restaurant (Finalists in the Tatler Restaurant Awards) and now relaunched as a Café come Seafood bar. Breakfasts, good all round menu including great seafood imaginatively prepared. Friendly owners used to work for Rick Stein! Open Mon-Sat 9am-8pm and Sundays 9am - 3pm.
Jolly Farmers, North Creake (10 minute drive) 01328 738185 Small local pub that has an engaging blend of drinkers and diners. Good home cooked bar snacks that rely heavily on local produce. Lovely warm fire in winter with a rustic and comfortable setting. Can be very quiet mid-week off-season. Booking advisable at weekends.
The Orange Tree, Thornham (10 minute drive) 01485 512213 Trendy and upmarket Norfolk pub with sometimes younger clientele and appealing menu, very popular and close to the beach. Almost at the top of the ‘tree’ in terms of local pub chic. Large outside gardens with play area. Booking advisable.
The Crown, East Rudham. (10 minute drive) 01485 528530 Latest venture from local celebrity chef Chris Coubrough and already causing a stir. Extremely comfortable pub opened in the summer of 2008, the menu features reasonably priced traditional favourites often delivered with a modern twist. Early booking advisable.
The Lodge, Old Hunstanton. (10 minute drive) 01485 532896 Under new Management since 2007 and now transformed into a light and airy more metropolitan style bar with a dining area that serves simple and affordable bar snacks. Can be very quiet mid-week in winter. Close to Old Hunstanton beach so busy in the summer. Outside garden.
Deepdale Café, Burnham Deepdale (10 minute drive) 01485 211055 Upmarket Café format with great breakfasts and lunches with a menu that goes from posh to practical - very popular with the sailing crowd. Booking at weekends advisable.
The Ostrich, South Creake (15 minute drive) 01328 823320 A new acquisition from the same guys as at the R&C at Harpley and getting a strong following. Larger with a comfortable mix of drinkers and diners and a tasty menu. No garden.
Rose and Crown, Harpley (20 minute drive) 01485 520577 Great food but more of a restaurant format (and now with equivalent pricing) than just a local pub. Comprehensive menu also with great steaks and wines. Very popular with locals. Booking essential. Small garden.
The Dabbling Duck, Great Massingham. (25 minute drive) 01485 520827 Popular with locals for both drinking and dining with a menu that relies heavily on Norfolk suppliers. Booking advisable. Large outside garden with play area.
The Nelson, Burnham Thorpe (20 minute drive) 01328 738241 In the village where Nelson was born with stone flagged floors and original wooden settles. Menu features local produce, meat, fish and seafood. Many Nelson paintings, books & memorabilia on display and for sale. Booking on weekends advisable. Local specialty – a drink called Nelson’s blood.
Jolly Sailors, Brancaster Staithe (10 minute drive) 01485 210314 Once a real Norfolk stalwart which has been generally crowded out by fresh local favourites over the last decade. Still can draw a lunch-time crowd on fine summer days can be very quiet in winter.
French’s Fish & Chips (25 minute drive) 10 the Quay, Wells-Next-Sea. Open Midday to 10.30pm All summer. Remember how Fish & Chips used to taste when you were a child? They still do at French’s award-winning chippy - they have been frying away since 1923. Sit on the quay at sunset and watch the fishing boats come in as you eat them – perfect!
Wiveton Bell, Wiverton, Nr Blakeney (35 minute drive) 01263 740101 A bit further afield but a good bet for lunch especially if you go out to see the seals. Best Food Pub 2007 by the EDP, a smart eighteenth century pub with a very good menu with changing specials and reliance on local fish and produce. Booking advisable.
The Moorings, High Street, Blakeney (40 minute drive) 01263 740054 Well worth a visit if you are exploring this quarter of Norfolk and want somewhere to stop off for dinner prior to returning to Magazine. Restaurant/Cafe format that prides itself on delivering fresh simple honest food - fantastic local fish, shellfish, game in season, delicious meat and vegetarian dishes, dreamy puddings, and a well chosen wine list.
