Review of The Rose & Crown in Snettisham: Historic village pub was perfect venue for a Sunday roast

After an action-packed weekend, my family could think of little aside from a Sunday roast – and we were treated to one of the highest quality.

With lofty expectations, we headed to The Rose & Crown in Snettisham with rumbling bellies after a nice walk along Heacham Beach.

My mum, dad and brother Andrew were paying me a visit from Scotland, and will likely still have been full to the brim when they arrived back home after eating this lunch.

Being on the ball as I always am, I had forgotten to book a table in advance – but despite the restaurant being full to the brim, there was plenty of space for us to enjoy our meal in the lovely outdoor area.

With three large Pepsi Max’s and a latte in hand, we placed an order for three Sunday roasts – two with roast Norfolk beef, one with pork – and a large portion of fish and chips (£17) for me.

The roast plates, coming in at £18.50 each, were full to the brim with duck fat roast potatoes, braised red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, Savoy cabbage and garden peas.

Perhaps the visual standout, however, were the large Yorkshire puddings, which my mum fittingly described as “giant”. I was particularly jealous of those.

My dad’s pork, meanwhile, was made all the better by its crispy, crackling outer layer, which we couldn’t resist tucking into after he left some of the fat untouched (“the body’s a temple, son”).

My brother struggled to choose his favourite part of the meal, saying it was all “equally as good” – although he did praise the roast potatoes in particular, which were crunchy on the outside and fluffy inside.

Not to be outdone, my plate of battered haddock was no minnow – the fish more than covered the delicious chunky chips and was coated in a delicious, crispy batter.

My mushy peas had a nice minty taste to them, and the tartare sauce was a real highlight. Sometimes restaurants don’t give you enough of it, but at The Rose & Crown every chip and forkful of fish could be coated in it without a fear of running out.

The historic pub, which is extremely cosy inside, was a lovely setting for this Sunday outing. There was plenty in the outside area to keep youngsters entertained, while I imagine the ‘Beach Hut Bar’ and ‘Garden Kitchen’ prove popular during the summer months.

It’s not cheap, but didn’t cost anything more than we expected before visiting – £86 for four large meals and four drinks is on the pricey side, but the food is high enough in quality to justify that.

Staff were all friendly enough, and from what we could see the clientele were as well, making this the perfect venue for a much-needed Sunday roast.

Ratings out of five:

Food: *****

Drink: ****

Decor: *****

Staff: ****

Price: ***