The Smokehouse Ormesby — Restaurant in Great Yarmouth

April 2025 - Visited here last night and was thoroughly impressed! Ordered the strawberry cheesecake milkshake and I must admit I had reservations about how good this would be, I suspected this may only be actually be a strawberry milkshake and no cheesecake as most restaurants don't make milkshakes that well and charge so much for them, but when it arrived and I tasted it, I was blown away by how amazing it was!!! It was so thick and creamy, had biscuit pieces in and really tasted like strawberry cheesecake so I think they do genuinely put cheesecake in it. Was very pleased with that. Then the mains came out and the ribs were absolutely excellent, really soft and had a lovely flavour. Excellent portion size too, a full rack of ribs with fries, 3 onion rings, corn cob and coleslaw for £22 which was excellent value! Great service from the staff and loved the inside and outside décor of American themed cars and other pieces. A really great ending to our mini holiday!

August 2025 - Visited here on an incredibly busy Thursday evening (due to a weekly bike meet) but the service and food was on top form. We were served by a waitress called Ellie-May who was fantastic and is a credit to the team! She was very helpful, very attentive and seemed above average in comparison to most hospitality staff. She read of all our order back to us to make sure everything was correct and was extremely accomodating with my friend making several swaps/changes to his meal - nothing was too much trouble. Even though she wasn't too sure how to calculate this on the tablet for our order/bill, she didn't just say it couldn't be done, instead she used her initiative and asked a supervisor/manager, who was also a lovely lady. Ellie-May made conversation with us and made the experience better. Food wise everything was excellent quality and so flavoursome. All 5 of us enjoyed the food and the ribs especially were a big hit. We tried the texas bloomin onion appetizer, which was quite unique, however it was incredibly salty and would have been better without all the salt. The strawberry cheesecake milkshakes were outstanding! I had this last time and had recommended, so all 5 of us had one and we were all incredibly impressed - I really hope they don't stop doing these or start cheaping out on the ingredients by no longer putting the cheesecake in as this is really what sets this apart from other milkshakes!

I also really like the set up of how they communicate everything via walkie talkies/ear pieces, it means they are able to ask other colleagues things without having to go find someone, and they have certain people working in certain areas (i.e some staff just make up milkshakes, some staff just work on the bar, some staff just bring out food, some staff just take orders/payment) This seems a really effective way to do business and the whole place seems to run really smoothly...

We spotted this place on the way to our holiday nearby and as soon as I saw it I just had to book a table. So on wed 27th August we went along. There were 6 of us, 2 adults and 4 kids. As soon as we drove into the grounds we were very excited, what a beautiful building the restaurant is in and the general upkeep of the grounds were very well maintained. We managed to park easily enough. As soon as we walked into the reception area I knew we were in for a treat. The nice lady on reception was very polite and welcoming and quickly escorted us to our table upstairs. The decor inside is second to none, I myself was like a kid in a sweet shop looking around at all the models and signage around the place. We sat down and the very nice server by the name of Kian I think came over after about 4-5 min to take drinks orders. The drinks arrived in good time. We were then given around 5-10 min to look at the menu, and what a menu it is! The kids chose off the kids menu pretty quickly going with steaks, a hot dog and mac n cheese. My wife went with the hunters chicken and I decided after a while to go with the 20 oz pork tomahawk. The food came out after around 15-20 min and we all couldn't believe our eyes. Everything looked perfect and as we started eating we quickly found that it tasted just as good as it looked. The portions were very generous and my kids (who are usually very fussy) were all very happy. My wife was very impressed with her meal but not being a big eater, she unfortunately couldn't finish all of hers. I on the other hand absolutely tore though my meal and it was probably the best pork chop I've ever had the pleasure to eat. After dinner we ordered desserts, kids and wife all went with ice cream sundaes and they loved them. I went with the strawberry shake and it was lovely. The only negative was that we had one spoon to few for the desserts but that's being really nitpicky and we managed. Typical really that we've found our new favourite restaurant and its nearly 3 hours from where we live otherwise we'd be back every month. Alas it'll have to wait until next year, or if I can talk the wife into it for my birthday in November. Fantastic experience and can't wait to return. Many thanks to all the staff for making us feel welcome and providing us with quality food at a...

Was really looking forward to trying this place but found it stressful from the minute we arrived. It took ages to even park as the car park was clogged with taxis picking people up after the band was cancelled and cars parked everywhere - so we had to abandon the car up the road and walk back. We arrived 15 minutes early and were told to wait at the bar, only to be asked four times in five minutes if we were eating and waiting to be seated. The whole place felt chaotic, with people everywhere and no clear system. Staff repeatedly talking in to two way radios giving a running commentary on which table had paid, been cleared, was ready etc.

Eventually, we were shown upstairs to a cramped room on a small table for 2 even though there was a clean/empty table for 4 right next to it which they seated another couple at 5 minutes later. My Coke was flat so asked for it to be changed, but got another one that was just as bad and an excuse that the pump needed changing. Food arrived about 30 minutes later but my beef brisket was dreadful: over half of it was pure fat and the other half tough as old boots - I’m not sure it was even brisket. The corn and garlic bread were also soggy, and the mash was watery. Easily the worst brisket I’ve ever been served. My partner enjoyed his burger and fries, but even then the bacon was overly fatty. Had a young girl come in twice, stand right next to us, and give a full account of every table in the room over the two way radio - all very odd.

When staff asked how everything was, I mentioned the brisket. One member of staff apologised and cleared the plates, and about 10 minutes later another came over to apologise again, admitting it was a poor cut and “not usually that bad.” Oddly, instead of removing the brisket from the bill, they just took off the garlic bread at £5!

To be fair, the staff themselves were polite and friendly, and the venue has a cool vibe. But the food was a major let-down, the parking was a nightmare, and the whole experience felt rushed, chaotic, and badly organised. Wouldn’t come back as felt it a complete...