Crown at Great Ellingham — Restaurant in Breckland District

Went as a small group with family for my sister’s birthday. None of us had been before but after reading good reviews decided to try it. This has to be one of the worst levels of service any of us had received. Had booked a table a week in advance and had a wait to be shown to it. Once shown to the table we were abandoned. It was obvious once we came in that the owner preferred to serve her regular customers and we as outsiders weren’t welcome. Tables that came in after us that clearly knew the owner had their orders taken before us. When finally we had our order taken we were informed there were no childrens menu so they’d have to eat off the adults menu - okay, not ideal, luckily an option on the menu our son would eat - and were interrupted several times when trying to ask for what we wanted. It couldn’t be clearer how little she wanted to serve us. Then had another massive wait for food, nearly 45 minutes for starters. After this wait the owner came out and informed us, loudly, that one of the staff members dealing with starters had left them in the lurch and had to go home as she had a sick daughter, and did we still want to wait?? Well we had already been waiting for a long time so we said yes but I realise now she was trying to get us to leave! Food came and was ok, nothing special, though the lamb mains were so full of fat there was very little edible meat. Three of the meals were missing items listed on the menu they said they came with. When finally we went to pay she questioned if we’d had any extra drinks - no as couldn’t get the service even if we had wanted them - and questioned if we had paid for our drinks at the start (which we had). She didn’t believe us and very loudly called out to hunt down the poor girl who served us at the start (who I might add was the nicest member of staff we encountered!) to make sure we had paid! We are a very quiet group but perhaps our faces didn’t fit for this pub. Such a shame as a wonderful location and quite close by but with the management as it is we won’t return...

Looks good on the surface, modern 'local' pub with fancy menu but ultimately fails to deliver on promises. Visited The Crown whilst on holiday in the area, chosen based on reviews but have to say it was very average. My wife is gluten intolerant and we asked if the had any GF bread as we wanted the antipasti as a starter but only if they had bread my wife could eat, they said they thought they had some so we went ahead and ordered. The antipasti arrived at the table and then they apologised for not having any GF bread... Sorry but you should have said before you brought the starter! Ordered lamb cutlets as the main but the chef over cooked them :-( really disappointed as we made a point of asking the owner if the lamb was good...... Service, well not much good to shout about there either, we had finished our meal before we were asked if everything was OK, then after the plates were cleared we were not asked if we would like a desert.... This may sound like a moan and I make no bones about it it is a moaning review, it could easily with a bit of effort been good to great but it wasn't and we didn't get the impression there were bothered when we told the owner on our way out. Sorry but take it from a couple that enjoys eating good food in nice places you need to buck up! And if for one min you don't think we know what we are on about my wife works in front of house tending bar and waiting on in one of the best 'local' country pubs you will find in the UK. The Farmers Arms,...

The food was lovely. HOWEVER... there was an extremely loud party in the room next door which made speaking to one another very difficult. My mother had made the booking. The chap she spoke to had mentioned a party but as they were talking about the restaurant, mum had assumed he meant a party of eaters and not an actual party with a DJ etc. Anyway, we ate and dealt with the noise, all was fine.

THEN the my mum said to the lady who cleared our table that she was a bit disappointed that it hadn't been made clear about the 'party'. The lady went away and the man, who mum had spoken to on the phone appeared, apparently to apologise for the mix up. However, rather than an "im ever so sorry about that" or similar, we were confronted by one of the most dismissive and rude people I have ever come across who works in a pub/ restaurant. He was making excuses like "I'd actually tried to pht you off" and "I did tell you that a party was on". He finished off by walking away saying "Well perhaps you ought to have paid more attention!"

At this point we walked out. This was completely unacceptable behaviour. Even if you feel the customer is wrong, to speak in that manner to paying customers is beyond belief! He doesn't care but we shall NEVER be going back.

I feel bad as the other staff were very nice but I have never been spoken to like that in a restaurant and he should be ashamed! He has ruined my mothers birthday!

AVOID...