Next on our little sojourn of Oulton Broad was Broadview, a venue that I hadn’t heard of before and initially I thought that it might be a little too decadent for me if it was more of a wine bar arrangement.
This is the reason for the venue’s name, they overlook Oulton Broad.
This was the best real selection of the day with a national real ale, a more specialist local ale and a traditional local bitter. This surprised and delighted me. The welcome at the bar was friendly and timely, with the whole arrangement feeling inviting. I’m not overly taken by fires, so this compromise of one on a screen is entirely acceptable to me.
This photo makes it look a little more dreary than it actually was, the venue felt comfortable, inviting and homely.
I went for the Brewers Series classic porter from Lacons and it was well-kept, malty, dark and rich. It’s not what I would consider a traditional porter to taste like and it had more caramel and biscuit tastes, but there’s some heritage to the recipe of this and it’s interesting. The older and wiser Julian went for a Figgy’s Brew from Skinner’s Brewery and I’m pleased to report that he thought it was well-kept, malty and pleasant.
We visited in early November and so there was much excitement of the Christmas decorations being put up.
As the venue felt modern and on-trend, I thought that it was a more recent opening, but it has transpired that it has been going for over fifteen years so I have no idea how I hadn’t heard of it. There are regular music events on weekend evenings and food is also served at lunchtimes and in the evenings.
With friendly service, a clean environment, a decent selection of real ales and an inviting atmosphere, this was a really delightful visit and the prices were reasonable. All very lovely.