Cromer Restaurant Guide

“A north Norfolk staple” from brilliant chef Galton Blackiston of Morston Hall fame – with the choice of “great traditional fish ’n’ chips” (“the best we’ve ever eaten”) downstairs, or upstairs a “fabulous fish restaurant with a great range of freshly cooked local seafood” accompanied by “lovely views overlooking Cromer beach and out to sea”. “Deservedly very popular with families, you will need to book at high season”.

“Interesting art” (from the likes of Tracey Emin, Lucian Freud and Damian Hirst) is par for the course at art dealer Ivor Braka’s foodie getaway – launched in 2011, and no stranger to ‘Top 50’ UK gastropub lists. The stately home sits on a 1,000-acre deer park, with ex-Hix alumni Stuart & Simone Tattersall overseeing a vigorous menu spanning the Gunton’s own venison plus seafood, mussels and crab caught in nearby Cromer. A few reports of “slightly complacent” service of late, but even cynics “could not fault the food and setting”.

“An unpretentious, well-run pub: long may it never change!” – “informal, laid-back but efficient staff”, “good gastropub food” and a “cosy ambience” make a meal here “a thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable experience”, with “the option for outside eating overlooking the salt marshes in better weather”.

“A triumph!” – “Exquisite food, meticulously prepared and as stunning to look at as it is to taste”, all alongside “delightfully attentive but unpretentious service and interesting wines too”, are the key strengths of Greg Anderson and Rebecca Williams’s “exceptional” three-year-old. “We loved Rebecca and Greg when they were at Morston Hall, and their talents truly shine in their own restaurant”. “Greg has a lightness of touch that many chefs don’t achieve” and “working out of a small kitchen, he uses local produce wherever possible to produce delightful food. He is ably partnered by Rebecca, who charmingly runs the three delightful rooms and front of house as well as being an excellent sommelier. The wine flight that she organises is a delicious adventure every time”. Most reporters also like the “minimalist” decor, and think “it’s a great touch having the cutlery cunningly concealed in a drawer in the table”. A large number of top gastronomic experiences are reported here. “We will definitely be back next time we’re in Norfolk”.

This village boozer-with-rooms par excellence overlooking the green was taken over by the Chestnut Group in 2022. While there are those for whom the “favourite” pitstop “has actually been improved since the takeover” and is now a “top-end gastropub”, there are also critics, for whom “the change of ownership has led to a diminution of standards”.

2021 Review: Fans are “happy to report the continued success and popularity of owner Desmond’s venture on the north Norfolk coast” – lionised in a BBC TV series, and combining “really good freshly cooked” farm food with “lots of outside space to run around in”.

“Superb locally sourced seafood” is the highlight of the menu at this family-run operation founded by Angela Long and her late husband Richard, which has a “carefully built and locally supported reputation over many years” – “value for money and a great attention to detail is a special combination” that “attracts both locals and the many visitors to the North Norfolk coast”.

2021 Review: “Relaxed, friendly” and a “brilliant pub”, just along the coast from Blakeney, which was taken over by old school friends in 2011, and swiftly given a retro, nautical refurb’; the “delicious menu” takes in local north Norfolk catch and game.

2021 Review: “An excellent breakfast” is the top tip at Hannah Springham and Andrew Jones’s good-looking, Georgian restaurant with rooms: sibling to Norwich’s Farmyard. For other occasions, feedback on its straightforward, brasserie-style fare (fish pie, côte de boeuf, burger) is still too limited for a rating.

“Wonderful crab and lobster” and “beautifully cooked, really fresh fish” are on the menu at this 19th-century former brick kiln in a “great setting on the cliff overlooking the sea”, which was converted into a restaurant 10 years ago by local traditional fisherman Richard Matthews and his wife Alison.

Art dealer Ivor Branka’s spin-off to the nearby Gunton Arms is certainly “doing something slightly different in this part of Norfolk” at this “fun” venture opposite Gunton station, from the boudoir-esque top bar with excellent cocktails (and an MO of “extremely comfortable loucheness”, as an impressed Jay Rayner put it in his March 2024 review) down to the restaurant specialising in Spanish tapas, on which reports range from “reliable but not special” to “faultless”.