Nostalgic reasons for a meal at The Golden Lion Hotel in Hunstanton

jeremy.ransome@iliffepublishing.co.uk

Published: 06:00, 14 August 2023

| Updated: 11:25, 14 August 2023

Even though I’ve got nostalgic family ties to the Golden Lion in Hunstanton, I’ve only ever popped in for a drink on a couple of occasions and never until now eaten there.

Every time I visit the town, though, I've looked over at the hotel fondly, remembering my late dad’s tales of drinking there in the Sixties and also being aware that my Granny worked in the office there too for many years.

So on our most recent visit to Sunny Hunny, on realising it is also dog-friendly, my wife Josi, German Spitz Riley and I decided to round off a nice day on the coast with a meal there.

On entering, we chatted to a lovely receptionist who made a fuss of Riley before directing us to the bar, where the very friendly barman was also enamoured with our little fluffball – it’s not just about dogs being allowed for us owners, it’s extra special when they are really welcomed.

We had our drinks in the main bar, which was busy and bustling, before taking my pint of Shed Head pale ale (£4.70) and Josi’s medium Sauvignon Blanc (£4.95) into the restaurant area. It was not particularly busy for 5pm on a Sunday, although a group of Ipswich supporters watching their team beat Sunderland on the TV made up for that!

For starters, I chose one of the specials – spring rolls with salad and a chilli sauce (£4.95) and it was just as lovely as I expected. Josi went for mozzarella sticks, also with salad, and a tomato sauce (also £4.95), and enjoyed them too. There was a decent selection of other starters and small plates too.

I was going to plump for the nut roast as my main course, but Sunday lunch is not served so late in the day, so I went for chickpea, sweet potato and spinach curry, served with basmati rice and naan bread (£11.95). It was delicate, tasty and delicious.

Josi chose pan-seared sea bass with caper butter, new potatoes and buttered vegetables (£12.95). She said this tasted extremely fresh and the crispy skin was gorgeous. There was a good range of other mains, including steaks, classics, burgers and pizzas.

Although the food was lovely, the portions were not too large and we had plenty of room for desserts. My New York cheesecake and cream (£4.95) wasn’t the best I’ve ever had but perfectly nice. Josi enjoyed her apple pie with ice cream (also £4.95).

We really enjoyed our visit to this historic, yet still vibrant, hotel and so did Riley. We’ll definitely eat there again.