Review of Caley Hall Hotel, Old Hunstanton: Homemade, fresh food including ‘best nut roast in West Norfolk’ make this restaurant a firm favourite
A Sunday roast always used to be an occasional treat for me but it’s become more regular since becoming part of my partner’s family.
I’ve never known a group of people to love a roast so much and I’ve been more than happy to get on board with that.
One of their frequent weekend haunts is Caley Hall Hotel in Old Hunstanton, which I must admit, I was unaware of until fairly recently. So when Sunday came along, the decision was made to book a table for lunchtime.
Caley Hall, which describes itself as a family-run, luxury hotel, with a restaurant, bar and lounge, dates back to the 17th century when it was a farmhouse.
The beautiful historic building, which can be found off of the A149 Old Hunstanton Road, is attached to a more modern one, and it certainly had a festive feeling, with fairy lights adorning the outside and a Christmas tree and coastal-themed decorations brightening up the interior.
We were shown to our table which was ideal for the seven of us - my partner Lee, his parents Gina and Bernie, his niece Georgie, his two sons and I.
What is lovely about Caley Hall is that it is dog-friendly, so it was a treat to see some cute four-legged friends accompanying their owners for their Sunday meals.
With the family being fairly familiar with the menu, and me being vegan, it didn’t take us too long to decide what we wanted.
But first, we ordered some drinks - Lee chose an alcohol-free Heineken (£3.50), Bernie opted for a Woodforde’s Adder Cider (£5), while Gina had an orange juice and lemonade (£7.25), I picked an Appletiser (£5.50), Georgie chose a J20 (£4.60), and the kids had a fruit shoot (£3.25) and a glass of milk (£1).
The drinks were lovely and refreshing, but definitely on the pricier side - it is unusual for a soft drink to be more expensive than an alcoholic one.
Going straight into mains, I had the vegan nut roast and Bernie had a vegetarian nut roast (both £17), while Lee had the roast turkey (£19), Gina had the roast turkey with the trimmings of the beef roast (£19) and Georgie had the normal roast sirloin of beef (£23).
The boys had the kids’ tomato pasta with garlic bread and cheese (£7.50) and the 4oz cheeseburger with fries (£9).
Starting with the youngest first, the kids really enjoyed their meals and unusually for them, finished most of their portions, which can only be a good thing!
Lee’s roast turkey came with roast potatoes, chestnut stuffing, a pig in blanket, seasonal vegetables and turkey gravy.
He said the turkey was “delicious”, the stuffing was his favourite part, and that he was happy to have had his first Brussels sprouts of the festive season. He described it all as “well cooked” and said the meal left him feeling Christmassy.
“It was moist and far from dry, and had crispy parsnips, a delicious pig in blanket and chestnut stuffing - which was one of the best parts as it was absolutely lush,” he added.
Georgie’s beef and Gina’s turkey were accompanied by carrot puree, cauliflower cheese, broccoli, cabbage, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and pan gravy.
They both said their dishes were lovely, also cooked well and that they were happy to have cauliflower cheese with their roasts, which is their absolute favourite.
As for Bernie, he said his veggie nut roast - which came with carrot puree, cauliflower cheese, broccoli, cabbage, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and pan gravy - was “clearly homemade” and the “best you can get in a restaurant in West Norfolk”.
“It’s not the biggest portions but everything was presented in a lovely way and tasted perfect, all washed down with a pint of delicious Adder cider,” he added.
I also thought the nut roast was really tasty and full of flavour thanks to the layers of different nuts, fruit and vegetables packed inside.
The greens were fresh, but my only gripes were I wish the roast potatoes had been crispier, and - as Jeremy said in his review of The Swan Inn in South Wootton last week - that the vegan option had replacements for the things I couldn’t have (the Yorkshire and the cauliflower cheese) or was slightly cheaper as there was less on my plate.
Most of us still had room for dessert, with the boys having a scoop of ice cream each (£2.50 each), Georgie had the kids’ brownie with chocolate sauce (£7.50) and a scoop of vanilla ice cream (£2.50), while Lee and I both had the apple and winterberry crumble (£9.50).
Lee had his with cream and mine came with vegan vanilla ice cream. Gina ordered a mince pie (£1) with a pot of tea (£3).
The crumble was nice and, although it was not a huge portion, there was enough for it to be filling.
It was very fruity and a little bitter which I like for a crumble, while the crumble topping was really tasty - I could’ve happily eaten that by itself.
The other desserts also went down well, with everyone happy with their choices.
Our total bill came to £179.60, so it’s fair to say that it was at the more expensive end of the scale, working out to around £26 each. If we were to take away the boys’ two meals, it would work out to more like £30 per person for the adults’ meals, and just over £12.50 each for the kids.
We did feel that £30 per person - while fairly expensive - wasn’t exorbitant considering how much food we had and that we left with full and satisfied tummies. It probably goes without saying that there will be a return visit in the fairly near future!
Ratings out of five:
Food: It was lovely, well cooked and a lot of it tasted homemade. ****
Drink: There was a good selection but it was on the pricier side. The fact that there were local options is always a plus. ****
Decor: A homely, friendly feeling with Christmas decorations and nice, local touches. *****
Staff: Everyone we encountered was friendly and helpful. ****
Price: It was definitely on the more expensive end of the scale but we really enjoyed our meals. ***