Horse And Groom — Restaurant in North Norfolk

Visited Sunday 29th May 2022, Absolutely dreadful , we walked in to find a young girl behind the bar on her phone, she looked up but didn't even speak let alone greet us , just went back to her phone, A few mins later another young girl came down from top of pub and said can I help ? We asked for a table she said sit where you like and order at the bar , we looked at the menu and choose 2 Sunday lunch meals , 1 ham ,egg, with hand cut chips, and 1 Katsu chicken burger . All food took about 20 mins to come out , apart from my sons ham , eggs he was left waiting with no explanation for a further 6/7 mins after ours . The Sunday lunch was absolutely dreadful , a tiny pre frozen Yorkshire pudding , mushed veg which was either completely overcooked or had been warmed up from a previous serving , the gravy was really salty and greasy and the roast potatoes I'd guess were aunt Bessie's, the katsu burger was okay but bread cake was hard and dried out , the fries were 75% bruised ir black and looked to be not fresh but frozen , the ham ,eggs and hand cut fries were dreadful , the cheapest thinnest ham I've ever seen, and the hand cut chips were once again bruised or black frozen fries not hand cut as described on the menu . No service check was done throughout our meal, and at the end the girl came to take the plates 2 still loaded with fries and said everything okay? I said actually no the food was well below standard and cheap and mainly frozen not fresh, and the fries were bruised/black , the hand cut chips were frozen fries too, she said sorry I will tell the chef , at that she walked into the kitchen, came back out 5 mibs later walked straight passed us and never even commented further on the meals we had complained about, she just walked off. We pre paid for our meal and maybe this alone should of enlightened us to the meal been below the quality we would of expected in a village pub , most restaurants make sure bills are done post service to make sure customers are happy . The staffs Customer service is way below average ,the staff have a couldn't care less attitude to wether there are customers or not, they most certainly SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED PHONES behind the bar in elsewhere in the restaurant ,when they are ment to be working , the chefs need retraining , and the management need to step in now, and either get a manager in who can turn this place around, or be there themselves, if it Continues the way it is doing , then this pub will be gone by this...

Had lunch with family here on Easter Monday. It's a beautiful pub outside and in, and we've enjoyed meals here in the past under the previous management - it's great to see the pub renamed as the Horse and Groom. Upon arrival we were asked whether we had booked (we hadn't), and warned that there might be a bit of a wait, although we decided to risk it as the place was only about a quarter full. This turned out to be a mistake. There appeared to be just one rather harassed lady tending to the bar and the tables: it took ages to even get seated at one of the many empty tables, another long wait to get a drink, another long wait to order, and it was over an hour before our food arrived. There were no soft mixers on tap, and so we ordered tiny and expensive glass bottles of coke and lemonade for the designated drivers. We had asked for one burger without burger sauce, but it came with it anyway - lucky this wasn't an allergy issue, and we scraped it off rather than wait for a replacement. We asked for the steak in our ciabiatta to be cooked medium, and it arrived rare and un-rested, with the bread soaked in bright pink blood. This was replaced upon request. Chips with the burger were greasy and undercooked in parts. After leaving, we also discovered that we'd been charged the price of a full pint for a half pint of cider. If you're just ordering drinks, or have the patience of saint and don't mind sending your food back at least once, then give it a go. Overall though, it felt like we were an imposition on the busy staff, and there are plenty of other places to go with better food and...

The Horse and Groom is under new management and they are clearly trying to make this a venue that offers a little more than standard pub fare. The menu offers lots with a nod to expected dishes but the odd twist to lift it. We had the duck bonbons and smoked salmon to start and the cod loin and chicken for main. All were good, and with a few minor tweaks would be excellent, broccoli was over done with the chicken for example. The duck starter in particular was a winner. The cheese board was large and very filling, the brownie was nice, but again just needed a bit more to lift it to the standard I'm sure the team ate working towards. I've given 5 stars because given they only opened in this guise a couple of weeks ago I think it's a fair rating (and I can't give 4.5!!). We will be going back and if you'l live anywhere local or are visiting the area and looking for something that isn't the massive portions of another local mainstay or the feel of a hotel restaurant then this is worth a go - one to support as they build a...