No 99, Preston

Marked as closed

This village pub on the main Diss-Thetford road was, in effect, my local for a week as we stayed in the Old Post Office Cottage opposite. The exterior is spectacularly clad in ivy that turns a deep red at this time of the year making the pub a real eye opener to passers by. The interior is divided into a main bar with a screened off darts area, small booth for DJ and separate pool room. There are plenty of beams, pillars and stripped brickwork but not all original as the building has clearly been given a modern makeover at some point. The bar is dominated by a large inglenook fireplace with wood burning stove. The area to the right of the entrance is more geared for diners although the only menu we saw was a fairly basic lunchtime menu. The beers were not particularly exciting; the ubiquitous Green King IPA, Abbott and Adnams with Bass making an appearance as the guest beer. Quality of the beer was decent enough although a group of locals seem to be permanently attached to the area in front of the bar and it felt quite intrusive trying to order. Fridays are to be avoided unless you are into Elvis impersonator style entertainment but overall the pub is fine and worth a stop for. I was however rather irked by being refused service at 10.30 one night despite their website stating they are open until 11.30 during the week and midnight at weekends. From my cottage window I could see the regulars still happily knocking them back an hour and half after I was told they were supposedly shut. Obviously one rule for locals and one for the rest.

The No 99 is now a takeaway [admin note: marked as closed 17/02/2010]