Hoste Arms, Norfolk

The Hoste Arms has a Michelin Bib so it seemed a good choice for dinner on Saturday night in Norfolk with Laura, Jaimee and Natalie. 

To start I had a local Cromer crab served with pink grapefruit, avocado salsa and cucumber noodles. Very nice, and this is an unfair comparison, but it wasn't as good as Pollen Street Social's Dorset crab!

For main course, I had the sesame crusted fillet of sea bass, chilli spiced potatoes, bok choi, bean sprout & cashew nut stir fry, with coriander & spring onion dressing. I enjoyed it. I don't often have asian flavours so it was a nice change and the dressing didn't overpower the fish.

And for pudding I had an iced lemon parfait with raspberry dust, served with raspberry sorbet and two sweet little raspberry and white chocolate macaroons. It was packed with lemony punch and more than large enough to share.

The Hoste is a good pub with its menu featuring lots of fresh seafood, a good wine list and friendly, efficient service. I ordered quite well but there were a couple of disappointing dishes on the table. Natalie didn't love her salmon and tiger prawn main, and Jaimee's espresso creme brûlée was far too overpowering (the dessert chef might have a sweeter tooth than me!). There are lots of different rooms in what is actually a large pub but the individual rooms feel small and intimate.

If you ever happen to be on the north Norfolk coast then I would recommend going.

Cromer crab

Lemon parfait

Sorry about the very yellow photographs. I am slowly working on my food photography skills!