Leading food critic Giles Coren has written a gleaming report of his trip to a Norfolk restaurant for his latest review in The Sunday Times.
Mr Coren visited The Duck Inn in Stanhoe, in west Norfolk, while on holiday in the county with his family and was impressed with both the service and quality of the food.
They sat in the Garden Room, which he described as a “cute, modern, open-sided barn, giving onto a lovely garden of apple trees and bright flowers”, and he praised the staff for how they handled the new social distancing guidelines.
He heaped praise on the restaurant and said the cooking was “properly good and the service swift and understanding” and the flatbreads, hummus and tzatziki went down particularly well with his children.
His highlights included “really good lamb kofta” and he said the roast sirloin of beef, from Arthur Howell’s Butcher’s in Norfolk, was “deliciously deep red”.
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This isn’t the first time that The Duck Inn, run by couple Ben and Sarah Handley, has been recognised nationally as it was named in The Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list in 2019.
In the review, Mr Coren also describes his trip to The White Horse in Brancaster and The Blue Bell in Langham.
Mr Coren, who also presents BBC series Amazing Hotels – Life Beyond The Lobby with chef Monica Galetti, wrote: “I am glad that all three of these places are open and doing good business. But I’m not afraid to say that I am gladdest of all about the Duck Inn.”
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Ben Handley, chef patron at The Duck Inn, said: “It’s my birthday today and this review is the greatest present I could have had from our staff because this review is for them.
“Giles Coren is one of the most highly regarded food writers in the country and has the ability to strike fear into the hearts of chefs and restaurant owners around the world.
“We couldn’t be prouder that he enjoyed our first Sunday service with his family in our Garden Room under glorious Norfolk sunshine.“
The Duck Inn is open from Wednesday to Sunday and is part of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme (Wednesdays only) - book by calling 01485 518330.
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