Review of The Ostrich at Castle Acre: Historic village pub offers array of delicious dishes using fresh produce

Walking up to The Ostrich pub in Castle Acre on a soggy Saturday evening, with its light fixtures illuminating its historic architecture and the windows slightly steamed up, it looked like the quintessential British pub you might see on a postcard.

We had no preconceptions of this pub – which dates back to the 16th century – but this was a very warm welcome and you could imagine villagers in years gone by seeking similar refuge from the elements in this beautiful building.

My partner Shane and I had booked a table earlier in the day, but we probably could have got away without doing so as it was not full to the rafters when we arrived at the admittedly reasonably early time of 6.30pm.

I found The Ostrich to be cosy and understated in its decor – which is not a bad thing. I particularly liked that there were pumpkins dotted around for the spooky season, and the beams gave you an inkling as to the history of the building.

It was not long till our friendly waitress was asking us what we wanted to drink – and with there not being a drinks menu, I rushed my decision and chose a pint of Coke (£2.50).

Shane went up to the bar to peruse the selection, opting for a pint of Moon Gazer Pintail – an ale by Norfolk Brewhouse (£4.95).

What was immediately a plus point for The Ostrich was that I noticed multiple vegan or ‘vegan available’ options in both the small plates and mains sections of the menu.

I was drawn to the sticky corn ribs with chilli jam (£6) from the small plates section, and Shane liked the look of the smoked garlic wild mushrooms on toasted ciabatta (£8.50), which we ordered as starters.

Both dishes arrived impressively quickly, and they were really appetising to look at, although Shane’s garlic mushrooms were presented in a way that neither of us had expected.

We had pictured the mushrooms being on top of the bread with a drizzle of sauce, but it was a big bowl of sauce and the ciabatta on the side.

Shane said the sauce was nice and creamy, but he couldn’t taste much of the garlic.

Meanwhile, I got stuck into my corn ribs. They were something a bit different – delicious and fresh with the chilli jam adding a zingy, spicy kick.

On to the main course, Shane was torn between the local calves livers (£17) and the pan fried chicken supreme (£19) but ended up going for the latter, while I had a choice of a plant-based burger (£17) or the vegan version of the Thai curry (£17) – I also went for the latter.

The pan fried chicken supreme was served with lemon thyme, fondant potato, creamed kale leeks and chorizo.

Shane said that, in hindsight, having had the creamy mushrooms, he should have picked the calves livers as the chicken supreme was also quite creamy.

However, he said the chicken was “perfectly cooked and well seasoned”, the fondant potato was “beautiful” and it was “altogether a decent dish”.

As for my Thai curry – it was without a doubt my highlight of the night.

It was served with Romanesco broccoli and sweet potato, sticky mango and coconut rice, and Thai crackers.

The curry was really fragrant and had a slightly different flavour to any I’d previously had – and yet, the taste was undoubtedly that of a Thai curry.

The vegetables were beautifully cooked and worked so well with the flavours of the curry. I would absolutely choose this again if I returned to The Ostrich.

And although there were some nice-sounding desserts on the menu, we didn’t have room left after our two courses.

The total bill came to £58.45 – £29.23 each for two courses and a drink, which was pretty reasonable for the quality and portion sizes.

We really enjoyed our evening at The Ostrich, and if we were to visit the nearby tourist attractions of Castle Acre Priory, Bailey Gate and Castle Acre Castle ruins in the future, we would be sure to stop in again.

Ratings out of five:

Food: Really tasty dishes using fresh produce – and a good number of vegan options too. ****

Drink: Had I not rushed myself into making a decision, I might have sampled more of the excellent selection. ****

Decor: On the simpler side of things but with some lovely touches showing off the pub’s history. ****

Staff: Friendly, helpful and efficient. ****

Price: Not extortionate or cheap, but about right for what we had. ****