Was the family-owned free house pub and restaurant up to scratch?
Food
We spent rather a long-time faffing around trying to make a decision about what to order – the reason? There was too much choice! A restaurant menu was joined by a 'tapas' menu, large specials board and various other 'light bites'.
Eventually we settled on a shared starter of twice baked goats' cheese soufflé with tomato dressing and Parmesan crisp – it was a showstopper of a starter but lacked the Parmesan crisp, instead it flaunted mere slivers of Parmesan.
The soufflé itself was warm, and held its shape for the five seconds it took us to annihilate it – something we did with great enthusiasm.
Fluffy, light with a hint of goat's cheese on the palate, it meshed fabulously with the accompanying chopped tomato sauce. Sad it had come to an end, we moved on to our mains.
The Woodforde's beer battered cod fillet with chunky chips, marrow fat mushy peas and tartare sauce was humongous; the fish was almost bigger than the plate.
One thing that can definitely not be criticised here is portion size – seriously, they could win an award on quantity alone. Fortunately, they aren't scrimping on quality either.
Cutting through the light, crispy batter revealed flakes of white, lucent cod. A stack of chips piled high beneath it gave it a sizeable run for its money, being everything you could want from a potato - a crackly coat of skin gave way to a plump velvety interior.
Next up, the equally large red onion, fennel and chilli tart tatin with buttered new potatoes, balsamic oil, salad leaves, radish and pesto, turned out to be an unbilled red onion and leek tart tatin – no fennel insight, but a welcome substitution as I am yet to come across a use of fennel that doesn't make my taste buds recoil.
The dish looked beautiful with bright colours popping off the plate, and the tart fitted the plate in made-to-measure perfection.
With thin, flaky layers of soft pastry, red onion was few and far between but nice when it made an appearance, the main filling of leek was fresh, luscious, and not too chewy. The pesto seemed to be homemade. Although simple, the combination of all the elements on a fork together was impressive – seriously yummy.
We had originally been eyeing the clotted cream rice pudding with poached cherry, kirsch compote and toasted almonds but after such generous portions we could not eat another morsel – a well-advised decision as our waitress told us desserts are giant too.
Drinks
Well stocked bar but driving meant no alcohol was consumed, just coffee.
Ambience
The interior didn't blow me away but it was attractive enough. The main dining area has high ceilings, well-separated tables and good natural lighting. There is a huge garden which would be great in the warmer months and the front of the pub is very cosy with a fire and sofas.
Service
Both waitresses were friendly, humorous and gave all-round excellent service.
Loos
Nicely decorated and clean.
Parking
There is a large car park onsite, although I'd imagine in the summer months it could be hard to grab a space.
Location
On Wroxham Road, Rackheath.
Price
You get a whole lot of bang for your buck. Mains were averagely priced between £10 and £14.
Highlight
The portion size!
In summary
Scrumptious! For reasons unbeknown to me I wasn't expecting much, but the execution of every element was spot on and I loved it.
This is an independent review.
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