Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: UK

Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 6 and Ruby’s

This is the sixth week of our plan to eat at every food stall at Norwich market this year.

Once again, I was unsure what to expect in terms of the quality of this venue but the menu looked suitably enticing. They sell burgers, BLTs, toasties, pastries and hot rolls, with the pricing being towards the lower end of the scale. The service was friendly and welcoming with the stall being busy when we were there, although the wait time was minimal. I was pleased to note that they took cards and I went for the burger at £3.50 and the sausage roll at £1.30.

Nathan went for the BLT and this looked very decent (the BLT, not Nathan). I’m reluctant to orders BLTs as I’m fussy with bacon and it’s not worth the hassle opening it up to remove the fat, but it wouldn’t have been a problem here as they were using proper bacon and serving it crispy just as I like it. For £3 this was good value for money and it exceeded Nathan’s expectations which is always a bonus.

My burger, which I had gone for without cheese. This was much better than my expectations, it was served in a large bun, it was a meaty and juicy burger with salad adding texture and onions adding extra flavour. I was suitably impressed, they could have taken short cuts with the BLT and burger, but they didn’t and they were clearly keen to ensure that the food actually had a depth of flavour and taste.

The sausage roll was warmed up for me and it tasted OK, nothing exceptional, but for the price it seemed perfectly reasonable.

This is one of the stalls that I would come back to, I liked the friendly staff, the efficient service, the freshness of the food and most importantly of all, it tasted decent and was keenly priced. For a cafe set-up, I can see why this stall has clearly attracted itself some regular customers, I was suitably surprised and delighted. There’s some background to why the stall has the name it does at https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/obituaries/20994618.tributes-ruby-butcher-founded-popular-rubys-tea-stall-norwich-market/.

March 14, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Feast (Permanently Closed)

This was part of our plan to eat at every food stall at Norwich market this year, but unfortunately the unit closed in January 2023. It sold burgers, hot dogs, dirty fries and the like, with the photos making the food look quite impressive. The Norwich market web-site is out-of-date and is showing it as still open and it’s not to be confused (as we momentarily were) with Indian Feast which is next door to where it was located.

March 14, 2023
King’s Lynn – The Wenns Chop & Ale House

NB – I’ve revisited this rather lovely venue as I wanted to try the food.

One of the advantages of the Good Beer Guide is that pubs listed in it can genuinely get more trade from that entry, not least myself today in the Wenns Chop & Ale House in King’s Lynn. I did wonder whether it would have a restaurant vibe, but it was genuinely welcoming to me when I wandered in asking for half a pint. Indeed, their web-site really doesn’t address this issue, it’s very much all about their hotel and restaurant with the chop reference also hiding that their menu is quite broad.

The Wenns name is its historic name, although more recently it was rebranded to be Goldings. Its closure was controversial with allegations of staff not being paid, but regardless of whatever happened there, it seems better now that it has restored its former name. It’s in an historic part of King’s Lynn, opposite the church, a few minutes walk from the town centre.

Just the two real ales on at the moment, but they’re both local and I very much like the Small Town Hero from Three Blind Mice, which I’ve had before. It’s not an extensive selection, but it’s an entirely reasonable offering.

The Three Blind Mice beer, which was reasonably priced and tasting as I hoped for, so all was well there. The reasonably priced element is important here, as if they were excessive with their pricing for the beer than I imagine it might have failed to satisfy the local members of CAMRA. I also understand that they have a happy hour taking place between 16:00 and 19:00 on Mondays to Thursdays, with £1 off the price of a pint.

This was a comfortable and inviting pub, with the staff members being friendly and engaging. I like the informality and the food that was being served looked well presented and of a decent quality. It’s perhaps an unusual entry into the Good Beer Guide, but I’m pleased that it’s in the book as I would have likely otherwise overlooked it whilst meandering around the town.

March 10, 2023
Norwich – Bell Hotel

I haven’t written much about this JD Wetherspoon pub in Norwich, but since it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide I had better do so for completeness. It feels a long time ago now, but the above photo is from when the Bell Hotel was closed during lockdown, days I’m very much glad are in the past. This has been a hospitality venue in some form since 1485 and has been an important coaching inn over the centuries, but despite its name it hasn’t been a hotel for decades. JD Wetherspoon acquired the property in the 1990s and it was one of their first acquisitions outside of London, likely saving it from demolition. A few years ago there was a major expansion to the pub (and here are some photos of that, since I got to get a free meal and drink as part of their soft opening) which brought a former part of the hotel back into usage that had recently been used as offices by a bank.

And a little bit of history from the front of the pub. There’s a photo taken in 1938 by George Plunkett of the pub which is one of my favourites that he took, it’s a very different city today but the Bell is relatively untouched. As an aside, that balcony type structure has been removed from the front of the pub now, but in a photo from 1954 a bit is still remaining. I’m not sure if some of it fell off or something, but I’m quite intrigued by it.

This photo from 1936 interests me, I hadn’t realised that the hotel was previously in two bits. What is now the entrance to the lower bar was the entrance to the garages, along with its petrol pump, with that gap having now been filled in.

These are the only two old photos I’ve seen of inside of the Bell, with this old advert being on the JD Wetherspoon web-site.

This photo is from Norwich Heritage (I can’t link directly as it’s an image in a gallery) and shows The Bell before the tramways required the building to the left to be demolished.

I’ve many photos of the food here, but here’s once from 2017 when they still sold the pastrami bagel, which I think is one of the best things that they’ve sold.

The mushy peas are slightly splodged on, but I’m sure it tasted delicious.

And a breakfast from when they used to be more affordable, as there have been a series of price increases over recent months making everything more expensive.

Back to the beer and away from the food, there are usually seven or eight real ales available on a regularly changing basis. I’ve never had any issues with the beer here, it’s always well kept and at the appropriate temperature. At the time of writing they’ve got eight real ales on, with three of those being their staples of Greene King Ruddles, Sharp’s Doom Bar and Greene King Abbot Ale. They’ve currently also got Adnams Ghost Ship, Beartown Bearskinful, Brains Rev James Original, Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing and Woodford’s Phoenix IPA.

This was one of my favourites that they had on a few weeks ago, the Red Herring from Green Jack Brewing in Lowestoft and it’s a Rauchbier.

The pub is relatively well reviewed and I think it’s the busiest of the JD Wetherspoon outlets in the city. Looking through the reviews:

“This used to be my favourite Wetherspoon restaurant in the city until yesterday when I came in with my family for a meal and I was welcomed by a living SNAIL on my bbq chicken pizza”.

That sounds exciting to be fair, I’ve never been served a snail in any JD Wetherspoon pub.

“After 22 years of not eating any animals, I was served chicken nuggets today at The Bell Hotel instead of quorn nuggets. I’ve never had quorn nuggets in Weatherspoon before and I have not eaten chicken for 22 years, so I have not realised what happened until the mistake was discovered after I have eaten some of the meal.”

That is far from ideal, although I have often been served the wrong meal in this chain, so I’m not entirely surprised. The mistakes that they make with my order don’t have the same impact as this customer.

“No wonder the owner wants European staff, they don’t understand the negative comments”.

Oh good, a bit of hatred and piffle thrown into the mix.

“I asked for a double jack and coke with no ice the guy put ice ion not a big issue but instead of making another one Jim I think he was called just put his hand in the drink picked the ice out and then gave it back to me what the hell and during a pandemic”

I’d like to think that this isn’t true.

“Ok if you are a non-smoker. 13 tables to choose from, 4 if you smoke. WOKE PUB”

Of all the pubs that is ‘woke’, it’s not ones operated by Tim Martin. Unfortunately, the chain decided to scrap their social media presence a few years ago, so none of these reviews are ever replied to.

Anyway, I digress. It’s a perfectly well managed pub from my experiences and there’s a choice of bars with a smaller one downstairs and the main one upstairs. There’s plenty of real ale and also craft beer, I suspect it’ll be remaining in the Good Beer Guide for some time to come.

March 9, 2023
Norwich – Coach and Horses (Bethel Street)

Working on my list of Good Beer Guide pubs that I’ve visited, I have been to the Coach and Horses in Bethel Street (not to be confused with the one on Thorpe Road which is also in the Good Beer Guide) many times before but for the purposes of this post I thought I’d visit again. It’s important to be professional with these things…. As a pre-warning, it is a Greene King pub, but as a spoiler, I’d say that it’s as good as a Greene King pub is going to be.

Seven real ales available, which is impressive by any measure and there was a wide choice of different beer styles.

The selection of real ales required two photos and as evidenced here, there was a real cider available as well. One problem with many Greene King pubs is that they sell one or two beers from their own brewery, including Greene King IPA, which don’t exactly surprise and delight. However, here there is an effort to source beers from local breweries with only two Greene King beers.

Given the pouring rain outside at the time, I went for a darker option which was half a pint of the Winter Porter from the Panther Brewery from Reepham. It was well-kept, at the appropriate chilled temperature and it had some chocolate notes which I approved of.

The service was personable and engaging, this felt a well-run pub with an inviting and warm atmosphere. It was surprisingly busy for a rainy afternoon, with perhaps six or so of the tables being occupied. They offer a tapas menu, which I’ve eaten from before and has been of a decent quality in the past and the prices for food and drink are moderate. It’s a very busy pub for pre-theatre drinks as the Theatre Royal is just around the corner, with plenty of lunchtime customers as well. The reviews on-line for the pub are excellent with few negativity from visitors.

I’ve sometimes seen Greene King pubs listed in the Good Beer Guide and I’ve struggled a little to wonder why. The situation at this pub is different given the wide range of ales and I also trust the CAMRA members in Norwich not to let any venues into the book which aren’t of a decent standard. There are some other little highlights in this pub as well, not least the bar billiards table which is always a positive in any venue. For those who need them there is also wi-fi and there are plenty of plug sockets to ensure devices can be kept fully charged. I can happily comment that this seems a well deserved entry into the Good Beer Guide.

March 9, 2023
Norwich – Brick Pizza

Brick Pizza was established in 2015 and this is a handy off-shoot of my planning to eat at every food stall at Norwich market this year, as it’s not on the market itself but it overlooks it. To take the photo above I was standing in between two stalls, so this restaurant can get an honorary mention on my market post. Anyway, this is a long-standing pizza outlet that I’ve never managed to get around to going to before, with Richard fortunately not needing much persuasion to come along. The photo doesn’t really show that it was starting to snow relatively hard when we left the restaurant and the temperature was dipping somewhat.

Brick offers takeaway pizzas or there’s space for about 20 people inside, but it’s quite compact with four main tables and some higher seats overlooking the market. There was a fair turnover of customers during our visit to the restaurant even on a cold and snowy Wednesday evening. This part of the city is much busier during the day when the market and shops are open, with Brick being open from 12.00 until 22.00 on Tuesdays to Saturdays.

The pizza menu and orders are taken at the counter. The server was conversational and personable, the atmosphere inviting and informal. There was no loud music blaring out damaging the ambience and I liked how the welcome was always warm and immediate.

The drinks and sides menu.

I went for the Dynamite pizza which had salami, nduja sausage and chillies. I like the leopard spots and the toppings were generous, although for a pizza with the name that it has I did think that it could give a bit more heat. But still agreeable and prepared quickly in the wood-fired oven, it did have a depth of taste to it. The beer is Bitburger Premium Pils that they have on draft which was mediocre, but it’s only a small venue so it’s probably a reasonable choice as installing Funky Fluid and their exotic sours might seem a little out of place.

Richard wanted a decadent treat and went for the Emiliano which has toppings of Gorgonzola, mushrooms, rosemary and Norfolk ham. He seemed to be entirely satisfied with his choice, although he did say it wasn’t quite as rich in Gorgonzola as some previous similar pizzas he’s had. I was quite pleased at that, I’m not hugely keen on the small of Gorgonzola.

I liked it here, decent food, a friendly welcome, a clean environment and that sort of laid-back vibe that I like. For those who don’t want to visit in person, they do delivery and also sell frozen pizzas which are available at a number of food stockists across Norfolk and Suffolk. All very lovely.

March 8, 2023
Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 5 and Henry’s Hog Roast

This is the fifth week of our plan to eat at every food stall at Norwich market this year.

WEEK 5 : Henry’s Hog Roast

If I’m being honest, I did have some doubts about whether I’d enjoy the food here as I’m quite picky with pork in terms of fatty bits, although Nathan was much more excited about the whole arrangement. We had a bit of a wait in the queue as the customer in front ordered four pork rolls, but the owner was efficient at preparing them and it gave us some time to look at the food. Nathan listened in, as he’s like that, to the conversation the owner was having with them in front and his plans for the future. The welcome given to us was friendly and informal, it felt an inviting place with an owner who didn’t want to take life too seriously.

I think at busier times there might be a wider choice of meats, but it was best to try the food that the stall is known for. That food is pork served in a choice of roll with apple sauce, crackling and stuffing. The signage probably isn’t going to win any design awards, but it’s a market and it’s clear what they’re selling. Everything was clear and organised, with Nathan being right in saying that the owner has some decent knife skills.

There was a generous amount of pork and I was delighted, given how bloody picky I am, that the owner was careful to remove any fatty pieces before serving. I was relieved at this policy, the pork was tender and tasty and I didn’t have to pick any bits of fat out. I don’t like crackling, but Nathan excitedly had my bit which was included in the roll. It would be easy to fill this roll up with fatty and skinny bits, but the owner didn’t do that and so I was suitably impressed. Nathan took much longer to eat his roll than me, but I can add that he enjoyed it and was reminded of the many times that he’s visited in the past.

The roll costs £5 and I think that’s reasonable given the quality and quantity of the pork, as it can’t be cheap to buy these joints of meat in. It must also be a little difficult trying to ascertain how much meat to have prepared, although I assume that challenge becomes easier with experience. The stall accepts cash and cards, with the owner having a laid-back approach which came across to me as personable and welcoming. Nathan, who is a social butterfly, was busy socialising with him which was handy as it saved me doing it. All told, I would visit here again, it surpassed my expectations and that does explain why there was quite a queue forming behind us. Another recommended stall to eat at and I’m pleased to have tried it. For anyone who fancies a pork and crackling roll when they’re in Norwich, they could do far worse than come here.

March 7, 2023
Norfolk Church and the 1934 Visitors Book Still in Use

On a visit to a number of churches this afternoon I signed the visitors book and then realised it went all the way back to 1934. Not only that, but they’re still only half way through the book so at current rate it should last until the end of this century. I’m bemused, but pleased, that no harm has ever come to this book and it’s still in decent shape. Long may it continue……

March 5, 2023
2023 Lisbon Trip (Day One – Wizz Air from Luton to Lisbon)

Before I start writing about my flight, I have to mention the enormous common sense shown by Steve. Using his initiative and experience in the car industry he had managed to acquire Bev a stick at Lisbon Airport. This seemed a good idea at the time, although we heard Bev stomping around with the stick clacking about for the entire weekend. We were very tolerant though of course.

That was my flight, the Wizz Air W4493 18:30 to Lisbon. I was slightly nervous here as it was 17:44 and it was saying that the gate would be shown at 17:40 and my experience from BA is that when the time is reached it means there’s some kind of problem. Fortunately, a few minutes later the gate was announced.

We were departing from Gate 26 and the airport has a lot of these gates downstairs to give them extra space. Some of the gates are a bit of a walk from the main terminal, this one was only around five minutes.

I managed to be third in the non-priority queue which gave me no benefits at all.

Well, other than I got a seat in the non-priority section after they had checked my passport.

The whole arrangement was efficient and well thought through, I liked the professionalism of Wizz Air here. It’s not glamorous, but I like knowing where I’m supposed to wait and they do make it clear. Wizz Air work their planes hard, this was the fifth of six sectors that the A320 was making that day. It’s aircraft G-WUKF which they’ve been operating since March 2018, their fleet is generally all modern and I feel they’re a very safe operator. Their customer service reputation is somewhat all over the place, but that is true for many budget airlines and I’ve never experienced any negative issues with them.

I didn’t get fortunate with the seat Gods insomuch as I got randomly allocated a middle seat, but all was well and there was sufficient space. The crew are much more ruthless in terms of timing than with BA, they want backpacks under the seats and larger cabin bags in the overheads as quickly as possible. I appreciated that efficiency, it meant that we landed in Lisbon on time with the flight taking just over two hours and thirty minutes.

The flight wasn’t too bad in terms of being sold stuff, as Ryanair traditionally go a little over the top. There were a couple of food and drink runs with the trolley and I think a call for duty free, but for much of the time they dimmed the lights perhaps in the hope of sedating the passengers. The aircraft was clean, the pilot making the announcements sounded competent and the crew were all friendly. Bearing in mind that this flight cost me £11, I can say that I received decent value for money.

One thing that I’ve never really understood about so many passengers is their rush to leave the aircraft. They’ll get up before the seatbelt lights are off, they’ll barge others and then push their way onto the coach that took us to the terminal in Lisbon. I don’t mean every passenger of course, but a good number and that’s been on every flight I’ve ever been on. I have no idea why some people seem so much in a rush at this point of their journey.

The reason I don’t understand it is that everyone then just meanders around so slowly to get to the border control desks. If you want to rush, my aviation top tip is just dither about on the aircraft and then walk quickly when in the terminal as you can just walk around everyone or use the stairs when others use the escalators. I know that not everyone can walk quickly, but for those that can it means getting to the border control desk ahead of everyone else and that’s what happened to me. I’ve digressed again though in my airport observations, but passengers so often seem stressed and hurried when disembarking. As an aside, after I navigated the extensive queueing system the border guard had a smile and it was good to be back in Portugal, my second time in the country and my first in Lisbon.

Here’s Lisbon airport terminal and all I had to do for the evening was walk thirty minutes to the hotel as I wasn’t going to pay €5 for the shuttle bus. I’m not made of money and I was conscious that the train from London had cost £2.90 (£1.45 after delay repay), the flight was £11 and so paying nearly £5 for a five minute shuttle was not good value.

Finally, all four of our little brigade were safely in Lisbon, but we were missing Gordon already who couldn’t come for reasons unknown, mostly ones we made up.

March 2, 2023
2023 Lisbon Trip (Day One – Getting to Luton Airport)

There was little to report from the other three over in Stansted Airport, but Bev was enjoying being pushed about and thought after her two meals in the JD Wetherspoon outlet that she’d have a Pret to wash it all down.

Whilst Bev was being treated like a celebrity, I’d completed my visit to the White Horse in Luton and I’ve written about that separately.

I didn’t realise that the bastion of journalism that is the Sunday Express has left Luton. Or, perhaps their sign just fell off.

It’s about a 40 minute walk to the airport from the town centre, but I managed to get lost and ended up meandering randomly around, although at least that means I saw more Luton streets than I could ever want to ever again. The reason that I mention this is that I walked by Luton Airport Parkway railway station and they’re near to opening the Luton DART, which has been in testing before passengers can use it from 10 March 2023. Some people have been more fortunate, King Charles III got to have a little ride on the DART last December.

There’s currently a shuttle bus to the airport from the railway station, or it’s around a 15 minute walk. I must admit to being quite astounded that they’re planning to charge £4.90 for this three minute journey on the DART and I can’t quite imagine many more expensive railway journeys for the distance travelled. The costs of construction are ludicrous, it was meant to cost £225 million and has gone soaring over £300 million already and judging by the local newspapers there are some slightly annoyed residents wondering where this money has gone. In the future, any ticket to Luton Airport Parkway will now include the cost of using the DART, but this raises the odd situation that I paid only £2.90 for my ticket from London St Pancras to Luton last week and so they’ll have to charge a fair chunk more for passengers who aren’t going as far (the parkway station is before Luton if travelling from London).

Anyway, I doubt I’ll ever use the DART as it seems completely unaffordable and as I won’t have any luggage, children or other things slowing me down, I’d rather just walk for 15 minutes. Maybe if Bev flies from Luton the matter might be different though.

After getting only slightly lost en route, the promised uplands of London Luton Airport appeared on the horizon. It’s a functional airport, but it struggles to cope with the number of passengers that it’s getting and it’s not really a sufficiently large terminal. To be fair, they want to change matters by expanding the current terminal and building an entirely new one as well. That would see an increase in passenger numbers from 18 million a year which they currently get to a new limit of 32 million. They’re already the fifth largest airport in the UK by passenger numbers and if they want to increase they’ll have to build that new terminal.

Inspired by Bev, I used my coffee subscription and charged my devices at the landside outlet of Pret. And, yes, I am getting onto writing about Lisbon very soon now. The screens were showing that my Wizz Air flight was going to be on time and just as I getting ready to go through security I heard that the others had landed in Lisbon. Leaving them just with one problem, they needed to find Bev a stick.

March 2, 2023