Knickerbocker Glory
The County

The County

The County Hotel, NE46 1PS, Northumberland, United Kingdom

Steak • Pasta • European • Bar-lounge


"My wife and I have been to the County Kitchen a few times for their Sunday Carvery. So why, you may ask have I only given the County Kitchen 3 stars and entitled my review as lacks consistency? Well the title does say it all, it isn 't that the food and service and surroundings are bad its just that as a complete package it...........lacks consistency. Perhaps I should explain rather than repeating myself Our table was crammed in with others in the small conservatory/veranda area. It felt cramped as we were against a pillar and so close to at least 6 other diners that it felt uncomfortable and unwelcoming, especially as the rest of the restaurant was empty. Moving on to our food. We opted for starters, followed by the carvery. My wife 's starter crab haddock fishcake, with chive hollandaise was presented nicely and according to her very nice but lacked flavour . Mine was pork belly terrine and chutney my comments mirror those of my wife 's. Lacked seasoning and flavour, but looked nice. I echo Greg Wallace 's thoughts on Masterchef the other day..... ...would rather have something that tastes good rather than a dish that just looks pretty... Now the carvery you have a choice of at 3 roast meats plus vegetables and if you feeling really hungry there isn 't a limit to the number of times you can go back. But for most appetites 1 visit is enough. Being a little greedy I had a couple of slices of port with yummily crisp crackling) and some beef. The carver described the beef as medium rare my preference) but it was more like medium to well done so it was a bit tough and chewy shame as it looked a fantastic joint of beef). That finally put an end to our meal, we paid our bill £59.95 incl bottle of wine, and starters) and left. I have to say that this hasn 't been our experience on other occasions, so perhaps its was just an off day. Will we go back? Probably, but we won 't be rushing back. Its not a bad place, it just.....lacks consistency!"

The Assembly House

The Assembly House

Theatre Street Norwich, Norfolk NR2 1RQ, NR2 1RG, United Kingdom

Pubs • Beer • Wine • Casual


"Went for Beauty and The Beast afternoon tea yesterday. Utterly stunning building and the room we were sat in was decorated beautifully. The service from start to finish was lovely although we did have to flag someone down anytime we needed something as we were not approached at all for more drinks or if we wanted our scones. The sandwiches were lovely and cut perfectly if not a little bland. The chicken roll was lovely and the toastie was nice but would benefit from stronger cheese as it didn’t really taste of anything. The scones were perfect and some of the best I’ve ever eaten. The sausage rolls were amazing as were the little tart and salmon mousse. The cakes very much let it all down. The blueberry cake tasted of nothing and seemed greasy. The macaron again tasted of very little and the red food colouring stained everything it touched. The lemon cake was nice but the icing was awful and it seemed to be made from margarine rather than actual butter. The chocolate mousse was lovely if not a little strong for the children. Both the savoury and sweet biscuits were out of this world. Our biggest complaint is that 4 of us were squeezed into a small table. We really struggled for space. I couldn’t drink my tea and had to hand back my pot of tea as we simply didn’t have space for it. We felt incredibly cramped. It would of been nice to have some music in line with the themed afternoon tea playing too perhaps?"