Sandringham Restaurant — Restaurant in King's Lynn and West Norfolk

Date of Visit: Saturday, 5th April 2025

We don’t usually leave 2-star reviews, but this experience unfortunately warranted it—and the second star is only for the ambience. The venue itself is undeniably charming; it has that quintessential British countryside feel, and we had high hopes based on that first impression. However, what followed was a sequence of service and management failures so significant, we ended up walking out—something we’ve never done before.

We first enquired about a table around 1pm and were told there would be a wait, which we took as a positive sign. It’s usually a good indication when a place is busy. We returned at 2pm and were seated fairly quickly. We were told what items were out of stock before ordering—not ideal, but we appreciated the transparency.

The menu prices were on the higher end, but this wasn’t surprising given the location and captive audience. We placed our order: a burger and chicken tenders, and were told the tenders would take 20 minutes (cooked to order). No mention was made about the burger. We also ordered two bottled drinks—nothing elaborate.

Thirty minutes passed with no sign of food or drinks. Staff appeared to be doing “busy work”—repeatedly wiping down already-clean tables rather than attending to waiting guests. Two elderly ladies at the table next to us had to get up and chase someone down just to ask about their tea. Their drinks arrived ten minutes later. Ours followed soon after—bottles that should’ve been a two-minute job.

At this point we’d been seated for 40 minutes with only drinks on the table. Then we were told our food order wasn’t possible due to stock issues. I changed my order from a burger to a salad. The table next to us was asked to change their order not once, but twice—and after the third attempt, they simply left.

Another 20 minutes went by. My pregnant wife, now struggling with her blood sugar levels, was feeling faint. The elderly ladies finally received their food—just a scotch egg and salad. Over an hour for that.

Here’s the real kicker: we overheard a staff member explaining that the restaurant "seats people, takes their order, then batch cooks for the whole restaurant." Meaning: if you order early, you’re waiting the longest. If that’s true, it’s one of the most backwards and inefficient kitchen systems we’ve ever encountered.

That was our sign to leave. I was prepared to walk out quietly, but my wife kindly informed the staff that we were going. You’re welcome for the heads-up.

We later learned that nearly the entire restaurant had to be comped by management around 3pm. If you’re reading this, you already know what went wrong. And while we sympathize with busy days, this wasn’t just a rough shift—it was a failure in leadership, kitchen logistics, and guest care.

It’s a real shame, because the place itself has promise. But no atmosphere can make up for an experience that leaves people walking out hungry, frustrated, and...

This restaurant is terrible. There is no order to the way it works, and when I went seemed to be in chaos. The food took extremely long too arrive, and was dismal when it did. For instance, there is a cheese sharing platter on the menu, priced at about £15. When it arrived it contained barely enough food for one person. The cheese had sweated, the meats were old and dry and the presentation was terrible. My brother had beans on toast, and this took 45 mins to arrive. When it did, it took the waiters a further 30 mins to get him a knife and fork, by which time it was cold. (By the way, the restaurant was more or less empty, so there was no excuse for the timing). I got the cheeseburger, but when it arrived, (after more than 90 mins), it was a let down. The meat was over-seasoned, and there was one slice of tasteless cheese. Keep in mind, that this cost over £12. For comparison, I would have gotten better at McDonalds. Finally, the menu lies. It claims to have "fresh lemonade", but you clearly see the waiters get out a small bottle of cheap lemonade (that would cost maybe £1.50 in Tesco) pour it into a glass and add some ice. This costs £5.95 by the way.

All in all, don't go here. The food is way overpriced, disgusting and poorly cooked and presented. The service is miserable, and the whole atmosphere is dull. Instead, go to the lovely café next door, which is absolutely lovely, and has a very large selection of nice cakes at reasonable prices, as well as some sandwiches. Or, better if, just...

Went into a restaurant on the 27th of Dec at about 3.00pm Restaurant was empty completely empty apart from 6 others. Butt as there was 10 adults and 3 children we had to wait over 25 minutes for them to arrange tables to takes us. All we wanted was hot drinks and cake. Was hardly any cake left as they have been extremely busy. Staff were very accommodating though appeared to be short staffed. Had very long wait for drinks and what cakes were left over.

Restaurant 2-3 years ago was 10 times better before major changes. Was so much easier,(especially with hungry children) Just turned up, walked in, and grab free tables and que up to order my own food and they would bring things to the table. In those days I would eat more regularly here. Now it's a once a year visit to a restaurant. We have parking season ticket and still come to park regularly (2-3 times a month). But avoid trying to eat and drink here. Just over priced, Not particularly excellent food. Much nicer places to spend your money in the west Norfolk area and along coast.

Sandringham Appears to be catering for tourists rather than trying to meet local people needs who use the park regularly. Trouble is when it winter and you have children and a gran in a wheel chair you can't always use out side coffee places, as it you need to sometime shelter from the wind and...