No.Twenty9

Dinner was one of the best meals I’ve had in ages, and the friendly service made it even better. We had a view into the kitchen, so we could see the care and passion going into the food. I’ll come back when I’m in Norfolk in March.

UPDATE AFTER THE RESTAURANT REPLIED: The restaurant’s replies to my review and others show how rude the service can be. As I said before, the menu never mentioned pancetta, and the waitress didn’t realise there was meat in the dish either. I wasn’t asking for a free meal, but some goodwill would have been fair. Save your money and go somewhere else. Rude, inconsiderate service. I’m pescatarian and ordered cod with bean cassoulet, not knowing it contained pancetta. When we pointed this out, the waitress also thought it was meat-free until someone showed her a piece. I didn’t want to make a fuss, so I ate the cod and was given boiled vegetables instead. For a £30 meal, that was a poor replacement and I was still hungry. We raised it at the end and asked whether anything could be done. I didn’t expect the whole meal to be free, just some acknowledgement. Instead, the waitress showed us a Google search for “cassoulet” and suggested we should have known it included meat, even though she hadn’t known herself. It left us feeling awkward and as if we were to blame. Nobody asked about allergies or dietary needs. I think it’s reasonable to expect a fish dish to suit a pescatarian unless the menu says otherwise. People avoid pork for many reasons, and since many would choose something else if they knew it contained pork, the menu should make that clear. I wouldn’t recommend the restaurant to friends or family visiting the area. We emailed the pub after our visit and still haven’t had a reply. I hope they take this feedback into account so others aren’t left hungry after paying £30.

The sole was raw and mushy, so I sent it back. They said a replacement would take about ten minutes, but the rest of the table had finished by the time it was ready. I eventually told them not to bring it. There wasn’t an apology, and staff were reluctant to take the dish off the bill. The waitress stood with colleagues laughing and giving us snide looks. It felt rude and uncomfortable, and the whole experience was deeply disappointing. I won’t be back.

We’ve been loyal customers for years, but after this we won’t return. On Sunday we spent £175 on dinner for three, then cancelled a Tuesday booking on Monday morning because of a family illness. We gave 36 hours’ notice, but he charged us £75 and wouldn’t reconsider. It felt like a short-term money grab. That same day, The Hoste Arms let us cancel our Monday booking with ten hours’ notice and didn’t charge a fee. We’ll take our future custom to The Hoste and Socius. In reply to the owner’s aggressive response: we’ve visited your restaurant more than ten times, so please get your facts straight. The family illness you said we made up was my elderly parent. We needed to get home a day early to take our turn caring for them. We could only come to you the night before because The Hoste kindly released us from our booking without a charge. Your restaurant was half empty on Sunday, so we doubt you were fully booked the next day. You took an aggressive line over the cancellation policy and then hung up on me. Good luck with the thriving business, and I hope more mugs come your way.