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Detail Pages
The Hero, King's Lynn
Burnham Overy Staithe
Postal town: King's Lynn
PE31 8JE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 4 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Hero
Venturing further along the coast from Wells-next-the-Sea, the Hero, set in the peaceful village of Burnham Overy Staithe was planned as my last stop of the night in Norfolk. However, I very nearly had to employ my reserve pubs in Brancaster Staithe, such was the lack of a welcome here!
This is first and foremost a restaurant these days. We marched inside from the busy car park and patiently waited at the bar. Eventually, a waitress came alongside us and asked us if she could help. So, I placed my drinks order (Wherry & Norfolk Topper are the real ales), only for her to ask if we had reserved a table.
I nearly asked her how I was supposed to book a table, given I would have no idea what time I would reach my 10th pub of the day, but decided that this would be lost on her. Planning a pub crawl in these post-pandemic times is difficult enough with sketchy opening times without having to reserve tables everywhere.
Anyway, regardless of her offer to help, it appeared that the young waitress didn't really want to help. All tables were occupied or about to be occupied (incidentally one near the bar was shown as reserved, but remained unoccupied throughout our visit) and there was nothing she could do. I asked if we could stand at the bar, but apparently they don't really do that any more since Covid!!
Luckily for us, help came in the form of a shortly departing family who overheard our plight and offered us their table as they were about to leave.
It seems that gone are the days when the weary traveller could call in unannounced at a village inn and have a meal with his/her choice of alcoholic refreshment. Many pubs these days have just become fully fledged restaurants that may or may not serve you a decent drink. This is certainly a fine example of this trend.
In terms of our drink order, this was also done restaurant style. A receipt was printed from a till and passed to a barman to prepare the drinks. Clearly not used to having to use listening skills, the barman preceded to drown my wife's spirit order with Coke, despite me asking him to stop on 3 occasions. On the plus side, he did offer to prepare another one and drank the original himself!
A poor show all round.
On 18th February 2022
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2493 recommendations about 2492 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about The Hero
The Hero has only just re-opened after an extensive refurbishment.
It's a traditional building which has been transformed into an identikit Norfolk gastropub with a large dining room, a sterile bar, a rear terrace and some tables at the front.
The menu was uninspiring and the service friendly but what can only politely be described as clueless.
Beers on were a very good Grain 3.1.6 and Woodforde's Wherry.
It's in the right place and is, I believe, owned by an experienced publican, but if the service isn't sorted out quickly then it simply won't last as they're not organised enough to actually sell anything.
Worth a stop if you're passing for the 3.1.6 alone.
On 2nd August 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]