Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

It is no coincidence that Norfolk has more than its fair share of top of the range restaurants and places where they eat, to paraphrase the Prayer Book. There is just something subtly different about the county that reflects in so many ways, and the provision, preparation and serving of largely unpretentious but superb quality food says much about Norfolk itself.

Hunstanton, blessed with the title of the driest place in Britain, is naturally a place of sunshine, good cheer, fine golf, magnificent land and seascapes in a county that has impeccable credentials in antiquity. Sunny Hunny as it is affectionately called, has been mercifully by-passed by rail, road and air in any major way over the centuries, as has most of the rest of Norfolk, making Heacham Manor a haven of peace and sanity.

Accommodation at the Manor is an exercise in the way things should be done, with an enviable variety to suit all tastes. The eponymous Manor Suite has all the luxury of the other de-luxe four poster rooms, but with added space and a spacious bay window from which the gardens, drive and pond are part of the view as you relax in the sofa with a glass of something. Well equipped bathrooms en suite carry more than a whiff of the fresh lavender oil harvested close by from the purple fields of Heacham, and fluffy towels, wonderfully welcoming beds and all the little things that count, make all the rooms special.

Which brings us to The Mulberry Restaurant at Heacham Manor, though that is built in the local Carr stone, sitting prettily with its tall decorated chimneys and large welcoming windows, the restaurant is actually sited in a conservatory attached to it. Behind the scenes Head chef Neil Rutland and French pastry chef Fabien see to it that standards are set and kept, both constantly on the lookout to improve and learn.

The menu is alive with local names and sources, and guests are impressed to find that their sirloin steak is cut from the Queen's special reserve beef at the nearby Sandringham Estate, served with potato and gruyère pie,red onion roasted with garlic and thyme, garlic roast button mushrooms and a blue cheese sauce made from Mrs Temple's award winning Binham Blue, created in the Stilton style.

That king of dishes, roast lemon sole, supplied by Cole's of Kings Lynn who also look after the royal household at Sandringham, is served on the bone with courgette ribbons, lemon and Norfolk cockle butter, caper berries and a char grilled lime wedge. The Manor has its own vegetable garden and it is there that the beetroot which provides the relish to go with sauté Holkham Estate pigeon breast is grown.

The name of Arthur Howells, the widely respected butcher from nearby Wells-next-the-Sea provides such delicacies as warm smoked sweet cure bacon lardons to go in a bacon poached egg salad, and fine Norfolk bred pork. From a star-studded cast of desserts I would commend the mille feuille, made from fine English berries supplied by Coldham Fruit of Wisbech, stacked with Chantilly cream and layered with fine puff pastry sheets, served with shredded fresh mint. As for the selection of English cheeses, served with sliced Marsala poached figs I try hard to remain the objective observer and escape by saying 'just go there'.

A wine list that combines relative brevity with an uncommonly good relationship with the menu offers towards 30 wines that gallop around the world to give more or less everyone a chance. Few exceed the £30 mark and several are by the glass. Guy Saget tops the list with a good white Burgundy whilst a Palesa Pinotage demonstrates the sort of reds that are coming from South Africa these days at prices which wine for wine run rings round some of the European bids. Lanson Black Label leads the champagnes.

Like everything else at Heacham Manor, their Website is in good taste and informs lucidly and with a quiet discretion.

The north east corner of Norfolk yields wonderful surprises not least of which is pubs like The Rose and Crown, with their ancient form, their hints of smuggling and other mildly nefarious activity, and remoteness from the less pleasant aspects of everyday life.

All this, together with many of the decidedly more pleasant 21st century benefits adds up to a place to cherish and enjoy.

You can, of course, stay at The Rose and Crown, and one of the best reasons for doing so is to enjoy to the full the delights of the table and cellar, even if part of the cellar has been converted into a very cosy place in which to eat. But my money would be on the dining room with its warm décor, low ceiling and general air of undemanding informality. The menu draws on surrounding produce and Thornham oysters sit well with local game and seafood. A starter of parmesan crumpet with duck livers and oranges makes an attractive starter, or whole sardines with a black pudding fritter and chorizo oil. For main courses choose from a wide variety of dishes including game pie with black cabbage and garlic mash, crispy salmon with warm peach and a mussel and kale salad, or an open flamed ribeye steak with horseradish butter and some thoroughly sinful fries. Their Caesar salad with lemon and black pepper chicken, bacon, anchovies and croutes is renowned.

For the puddings you may well be injured in the rush for the caramelised banana pancakes with mascarpone, in which case the citrus parfait with raspberry and tarragon syrup makes a sound alternative. A well-stocked cellar, decent local beers and cheerful service all adds up to an evening to recall with pleasure, particularly as the prices are reasonable to the point of disbelief.

There is a certain commonality between New England and North Norfolk. This is well illustrated in Old Hunstanton where The Neptune offers English coastal tradition in large measure, with white clapboard walls, scale model boats, Lloyd Loom sofas and chairs, pictures of things coastal, all backed up with a roaring fire, fresh flowers, wooden polished floors and modern British food.

Ha! I hear you say, I wondered when you were getting round to that. Well, we are not but Chef Kevin Mangeolles most certainly is, and he is often not looking far for his sources, in fact his carbon footprints are commendably minute and the restaurant has also been awarded 3 AA rosettes.

The menu could open with beetroot risotto and salmon, walnuts and black pepper cream or grilled mackerel, crab salad and compressed watermelon, before going on to Gressingham duck breast with praline, butternut squash puree and dauphine potatoes, or plaice, Thornham mussels, squid, fresh peas and chicken jus.

Venezuelan chocolate mousse is served with liquorice blueberries, but for sheer perfection go for the lemon vanilla custard with lemon grass ice cream and vanilla lemonade.

Without doubt this is total relaxation in a part of England that exudes a very special sort of appeal.

I first came upon the17th century Gin Trap Inn when walking the 53 mile Peddar's Way one glorious spring. We were on our last leg, though perhaps that should read 'legs' for we had but one mile to cover before reaching the end, at Holme.

In the circumstances we felt entitled to assume the mantle of the pilgrims who must have preceded us over the last hundreds of years, though many of them without the benefit of the warm welcome we received at this comfortable and unpretentious hostelry.

The décor is heavily loaded with gintraps, and non-smokers will be intrigued to hear that their dining room is especially favoured, but sadly no longer with its splendid collection of suspended chamber pots.

The food is traditional and unashamedly British, with such menu items as homemade steak and kidney pie, local sausages, Norfolk pie and one of the best Ploughman's lunches I've ever encountered. Expect to encounter the local oysters, mussels and samphire.

This, of course, is Nelson country so it will come as no surprise to hear that Nelson's Revenge is a frequent guest beer. However the possibility of a French flavour in the beer is discounted by a handy wine list which has the real thing to offer.

Accommodation is very much an option with double rooms from £70.