No Twenty9 — Restaurant in King's Lynn and West Norfolk

We booked a reservation for the 30th of December 2022 for an Evening meal. As is the usual response to the many bad reviews regarding the attitude of the Manager and No29’s usual flippant response to Reviews- ‘Let’s start with the facts’. We booked some 6 months in advance for our meal and noted on the Website that we had 2 dogs on our reservation, the team on arrival stated that we could not be seated as we did not state dogs on our reservation (it is clear the website failed to pull through the detail on the booking) We said we would be happy to wait for a table, this is when we were confronted by the Manager for the Evening -Rachel. She said, ‘it’s up to you but, we cannot guarantee anything’. ‘You should have put it on the reservation’ in an extremely abrupt and unfriendly manner. Given the issues that would unfold during the evening which we will detail further in this review, it is clear this woman is out of her depth, has limited problem-solving skills and has people skills to match. This obviously means that any issues remain unresolved and the attitude she conveys becomes unpleasant, argumentative, and not at all helpful. It is clear this lady has been over-promoted, and we have been fortunate that in each of the 5 years we have dined we have never seen her on duty. Sadly, the previous experienced Waiter has left, he was outstanding and clearly the dining experience has deteriorated since his departure. We have previously left excellent reviews from prior years and were extremely surprised how staff skills had fallen.

So, we were told that ‘if a table came free, we would be next in line’.

We waited diligently for 30 minutes in the bar area next to an empty table. and as tables came free, despite saying we would be next… drinkers from the bar were subsequently allowed to be seated, with a poor young member of bar staff given no support or direction from the Manager. After watching the debacle unfold, we asked to speak to the Manager. She appeared with a look of thunder after being disturbed and said these people are ‘dining’ and have ‘properly booked’ inferring we had not done so and were really not wanted now we had no table; this was not the case as no food order was taken. When asked what solutions were available to the problems, we were abruptly told ‘you can wait, and I will not guarantee you a table or the other alternative is you can go’. We also had a breakfast booking for the new year, we were subsequently told, ‘you know what we will cancel that as well.’ Really giving us no option to dine on either occasion. Things happen in business and problems arise, but this was clearly a challenge too far for the Manager. We dine in a substantial number of high-end restaurants every year and have done so for many years. This is our worst experience to date.

The Manager then ran to the kitchen, whilst we waited for payment. After waiting 5 minutes, with no payment taken, I went to find the manager in the restaurant. At this point she was laughing with young staff in a very dominant and childish manner. I asked who was taking payment for drinks, it was then that a young member of the team was subsequently ushered forward to take payment. The Manager then started pointing at us having then returned to the bar area with her neck rocking forward-back and shouting for all customers to hear take your large dogs with you!! This part of the experience was extremely sad and unecessary, it was disappointing to see an out of their depth employee falling apart.

As parting shot after we asked if the owner was present before we left, she screamed ‘No and don’t worry Tim will back me up’. Whilst also shouting an inaudible sentence ‘see Door, there’s Door, we have sign’. We have not spoken to Tim yet, but it’s clear he allows this well documented behaviour to remain unchecked (see other terrible reviews re Service in 2022) as he would not want to lose his Chef who it appears is in some way related to...

My wife and I spent three nights at No. Twenty9 for our 20th anniversary. This was our first time staying at No. Twenty9 and we were not left disappointed by the experience. The owner and his staff gave us a very warm welcome and nothing was to much trouble for Dan, Kaitlin, and all the staff .They were very friendly and happy to answer any questions or queries we had. We were booked into the Newman room, which oozed sophistication, style and class. The roll top bath at the top of the spiral staircase and an on-suite wet room is certainly indulgent. In our room we were left a complimentary tot of rum, ice bucket and gin which I thought was a lovely touch. The attention to detail at No. Twenty9 is second to none, ensuring your stay is comfortable and relaxing. Your dog will also be pampered too as No. Twenty9 is a dog friendly establishment which caters for your furry friend also. The courtyard and gardens are spacious and stunning with the capacity for BBQ's and stone oven baked pizza's during the summer. For a short break, No. Twenty9 ticks all the right boxes as far as we are concerned, it was everything and more than we expected. The location is perfect and just adds to the experience, with Wells Next the Sea and Holkham only a five to ten minute drive away.The food was outstanding, beautifully presented and cannot be faulted in anyway with an imaginative and seasonal menu available. The seafood grill is a must for seafood lovers as are the Brancaster local oysters. The 'fruit pig' black pudding at breakfast is excellent and is one of the best I've had. I'm normally not a desert person, however the white chocolate Namalaka was superb and I highly recommend you try it, in my opinion the perfect ending to any meal. My wife and I would like to thank the owner Tim and Katya and all his staff for a fantastic three days that we shall always remember with great fondness. We will...

In response to your comments!!! I did not say I hope everyone got covid I said I hope there is not a rise in your area as then if you do let everyone come in with it then you will have no one to feed. A lot of lives have been lost due to covid and even though we are 5 years later does not mean those that are vulnerable cannot be affected!! Your response of the word pathetic sums up your views!! I have also been horrified to see the way in which you respond to your comments by telling one of your customers to go to specsavers and shouting at another disabled man. It kind of highlights what kind of person you are. Not sure where you got your hospitality training! You’re a nasty, ignorant person who really needs to take a look in the mirror on how you treat others! I feel very sorry for you!!

We booked a table and unfortunately after booking the table fell unwell and found out that we had Covid. As I did not want to spread this around to potential vulnerable customers I cancelled the table within plenty of time to be charged with a cancellation fee of £50.00. I even called to state the situation but the man was extremely rude. I work in the events industry myself and feel that this is very harsh and therefore would 💯 not visit or spend any money in this establishment. I would completely understand if it was for a large table however we were simply 2 people. She your 5 star reviews for your food don’t match you...