The Gunton Arms — Restaurant in North Norfolk

I’d been looking forward to visiting after hearing amazing reviews and we were really lucky to get a dinner reservation after being added to the waiting list on the day. Everything about the evening felt special, luxe and memorable. We arrived at sunset and watched the deer crossing the park which set the tone for the whole night. The fires were lit and the lighting inside made it feel cosy and glowing and we were made to feel very welcome throughout. We ate the spicy pumpkin soup which was deliciously deep in flavour, with the beetroot and blue cheese and pickled walnut salad and we also ordered the crispy cod cheeks. Everything was perfectly cooked and balanced and the quality of the ingredients spoke for itself. For mains we ordered sea trout which had the most incredible crackling, with cockles and sea vegetables and I swapped new potatoes for the goose fat roasties which were excellent and the pork steak which was rich and flavoursome and so moist. On the side we had the cavolo nero and heritage carrots which were buttery and sweet. Our kids had the roast chicken (which has its own gravy boat which went down extremely well) and the perfectly balanced tomato pasta - which were both fantastic value for kids main meals and so tasty. For pudding we had the creamy salted caramel ice cream which came with a crunchy buttery shortbread biscuit, the Norfolk treacle tart with clotted cream. The absolute star of the show was the cherry and pistachio cheesecake, which was really superb. The soft sweetness of the cheesecake was elevated even further by the sour/sweet/slightly bitter boozy(?)soaked cherries in a coulis that were arranged around the edge, which I’m still thinking about today. The service was excellent, friendly and knowledgable and we were even offered some tailored recommendations and tweaks which helped make our experience feel personalised. The bramble cocktail was also an excellent addition to the evening. Thank you for giving our family such a gorgeous evening, I can’t wait to come back, stay in one of the rooms and try more...

lovely location and quirky ambiance. We had what appeared to be their best room, the Barn House suite at £330.00 for the Monday night, which included their full breakfast. Provided tour of room, bar and restaurant when arrived, very helpful :-) Our suite was lovely and warm on arrival and oozed top end fittings and decor, including tea & coffee facilities, a huge lush marble ensuite bath and shower room, but there were no slippers or fluffy dressing gowns included, no sure why not as always a nice touch :-/ As it was our wedding anniversary we opted for evening meal 'with all the trimmings'. No Harveys Bristol cream as a pre dinner drink option, just saying :-/ My wife was dairy and tomato intolerant and they catered quite well for this, offering clear info on menu with 'can haves and cannot haves', but the puddings were limited to slow gin jelly or sorbets, which was disappointing as we had informed them in advance! My wife was looking forward to perhaps a dairy free chocolate mousse, so easy to make! Service very good, helpful, timely and not hurried. Nice touch from chef with 'Happy Anniversary' around pudding plate with chocolate sauce!! Evening meal came in at just over £215.00 including drinks and 12.5% service charge. So full cost was approx £545.00 all in. Had a very quiet and comfortable sleep in the 6 foot bed followed by the full breakfast in restaurant, the 5 minute walk was fresh and welcoming, glad there was rain! The breakfast was lovely, but a little limited as my wife's allergies had not been passed on from the night before and she couldn't have toast for example as bread contained milk and there was not dairy free spread, such as Vitilite or Flora :-/ Overall, great choice for our anniversary bash, but need more attention to detail. Reasonable value for money for top end experience, but there are others nearby offering similar, For example, Congham Hall, suites available for around £550.00 with dinner,...

If you love fine dining, great atmosphere and quirky decor, then this is the place for you. Set in beautiful countryside woods with wild deer herds roaming the surrounding fields, you can watch the herds from the windows of the dining rooms. There will be venison served, so if you're not a fan of the gastronomic results of herd management then don't worry there are plenty of other options. The menu is varied and although not huge, it does offer a good range of choice, from sea food to venison, blue fillet steak to vegan. There is a comprehensive wine list and some specialty beers available. In the' bar' area there is an open flame fire/grill which is used to cook on by the chef, these choices are amazing! With the plus side of you being able to watch your food being cooked, if sat in that area. I have never had a bad, or even mediocre meal there, it has always been fabulous, and I've been several times, weekdays for lunch, weekends again for lunch and evening meals. All great experiences. They are dog friendly as long as well behaved and kept on a leash (see deer comment!!!). Same applies for children.... JOKING!! I have mainly sat in the first dining area, but this room has some eclectic art work. You may wish to say you have children in your group as the said art work is of an erotic nature, its not offensive but could generate some awkward questions! There are also sculptures on the way to the toilets that caused my friends huge amusement and shocked my mother. Say no more! But, get past those hiccups and just enjoy a fabulous meal, we'll worth a visit, highly recommended and money extremely well...