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Best Local Restaurant
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The Gin Trap Inn

Norfolk, Ringstead - Modern British - Pub with rooms - £££

Revitalised pub with rooms serving robustly flavoured food

Overall Rating: Good

Uniqueness:Does the establishment stand out in the context of the local area? Good

Deliciousness:How delicious is the food? Very Good

Warmth:How warm is the service and the hospitality in general? Good

Strength of recommendation:How enthusiastically and widely would you recommend the establishment? Good

A couple of miles inland from the coast, this 17th-century pub with rooms has long served as a refuge from Norfolk's seaside kerfuffle. But it wasn’t until 2023 that its food started attracting widespread attention with the arrival of chef-patron Gareth Rayner and his robustly flavoured, skilfully balanced cooking. Note the two brutal-looking gin-trap snares on the whitewashed exterior en route to the dimly lit bar with its healthy choice of local real ales. Also note the blackboard bar menu, which might dissuade you from venturing further with its offer of smoked cod’s roe with pickles and fried potatoes or steak tartare and beef-fat toast. Alternatively, trade up to the restaurant for a roster of equally enticing, seasonally changing dishes at serious prices. Sit in a light conservatory, the more traditional dining room (replete with oil paintings) or the heated outdoor courtyard. A little serving of pork broth with pickled vegetables (offered gratis) might precede...

A couple of miles inland from the coast, this 17th-century pub with rooms has long served as a refuge from Norfolk's seaside kerfuffle. But it wasn’t until 2023 that its food started attracting widespread attention with the arrival of chef-patron Gareth Rayner and his robustly flavoured, skilfully balanced cooking.

Note the two brutal-looking gin-trap snares on the whitewashed exterior en route to the dimly lit bar with its healthy choice of local real ales. Also note the blackboard bar menu, which might dissuade you from venturing further with its offer of smoked cod’s roe with pickles and fried potatoes or steak tartare and beef-fat toast. Alternatively, trade up to the restaurant for a roster of equally enticing, seasonally changing dishes at serious prices. Sit in a light conservatory, the more traditional dining room (replete with oil paintings) or the heated outdoor courtyard.

A little serving of pork broth with pickled vegetables (offered gratis) might precede a glorious celebration of Cromer crab featuring an emulsion of the strongly flavoured brown meat matched with pickled turnip, miso butter and a delectable warm crumpet. We also liked a punchy little assembly of tender stewed pig’s cheek with smoked bacon, grated Old Winchester cheese and fresh peas.

Main courses ranging from lamb rump (juicy, pink, tender) given a North African edge with spiced aubergine and merguez-like sausage to succulent Cornish hake with beurre blanc and crunchy spring vegetables also indicated an assured hand in the kitchen – textures, flavours and colours in harmony. Ditto our dessert of forced rhubarb and custard millefeuille: an eye-catching composition contrasting deep-pink rhubarb sorbet with light-green pistachio cream. Service is willing (if occasionally unpractised), while a 60-strong French-accented wine list is supplemented by more than 100 gins, giving an entirely new meaning to the term 'gin trap'.

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VENUE DETAILS

6 High Street
Ringstead
Norfolk
PE36 5JUGB

01485 525264

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OTHER INFORMATION

Accommodation, Separate bar, Wheelchair access, Parking, Credit card required

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