The main dining room at Nest Farmhouse, with a huge window looking out to the countryside as far as the eye can see.
What can you tell us about Nest Farmhouse?
It's a restaurant with rooms in Norfolk which, as the name suggests, is set on the grounds of a farm (one with over 100 acres).
And it's related to the Nest restaurant?
Yes, it's from the same team behind Nest in Shoreditch as well as Restaurant St Barts in the City - Luke Wasserman, Johnnie Crowe and Toby Neill. Apparently, they were approached by a diner at St Barts who asked them if they wanted to build a restaurant on his Norfolk farm. After double-checking that he was actually being serious, plans were made and they converted what was an old barn into a lovely-looking restaurant with five rooms attached.
The main building - with the restaurant and bar on the ground floor and rooms on the top floor.
Where is it?
It's in Docking, just a little bit farther than King's Lynn and fairly close to Sandringham (we did ask but apparently they haven't had any royal visitors yet). Travelling there by car is probably your best bet, as it's a half-hour journey from the nearest train station (King's Lynn). If you're coming from London, it's about a three-hour car journey, so you'll definitely want to pair your visit with an overnight stay (and maybe a foodie pit-stop on the way).
What are the rooms like?
There are five rooms in total, at the moment, all above the main restaurant itself, with four of them having large balconies looking over the countryside. It's relatively flat in the surrounding area so you can see a long way. The beds are comfortable and the decor is classic, enhanced with vintage furniture while also still feeling very current. The rooms, even our twin room which was one of the smallest, are all very big and comfortable.
The twin room at Nest Farmhouse. Although it doesn't have a balcony, it's still a very big room (with a seating area too).
Before heading to the restaurant, is there a bar?
Absolutely, there's a large bar area here, which is perfect for relaxing with a pre-dinner drink. On top of that, on a decent day (which it very much wasn't on the windswept and rainsoaked day when we visited) there's also the option of either having a drink on the terrace or down by the lake. That looks like a great idea, particularly if you want to get a sense of the surroundings.
As for the drinks, the cocktails are all classics, often with their own spin:
Two of the cocktails on offer - the Farmhouse Martini, which features in-house pickled sea fennel (£14) and the Spiced English Negroni (£14). The latter comes in a little pre-mix bottle.
Onto the food - what can we expect?
Realistically, if you've come all this way, it's mainly for the restaurant, although the calm of the surrounding area really adds to the whole ambience. If you're looking to get away from the bustle of the city and be guaranteed a great meal too, this is a great option.
Given the location, there's a big focus on local and seasonal, with an emphasis on getting produce from small-scale farmers and growers close by. In charge of the menu is head chef Grant Cotton, who has worked at the group's London restaurants but also happens to be a Norfolk local boy - so he's the perfect person to head up the kitchen here. They're also big on making things in-house - something which really shines through in the cured meats we had at the bar:
Two snacks to get going - their own cured "duck ham" and local padron peppers from West Lexham. As with the ones we had from the south coast at Sesta recently, local padrons are very much on the spicier side.
As for the main meal, it's a three-course affair with generous portions. Particularly suitable for the autumnal weather when we visited, there's a real touch of comfort food about the offering. Here's a taste of what we had:
Herdwick lamb faggot, BBW aubergine and Jerusalem artichoke (£14) - A perfect warming autumnal starter.
Salad of roasted squash, radicchio, Binham Blue and pumpkin seeds (£10) - vegetarians are well served by this menu.
Crispy salt-aged duck leg, bean and vegetable cassoulet, prunes (£25)
The pie of the week, in this case chicken, leek and mushroom (£20). We love a pie any day of the week frankly, and this was excellent.
We have to give a special mention to the wonderful mash (£5) and their BBQ sweetheart cabbage with a gentlemen's relish butter (£5). As for desserts, make sure you at least hold space back for the incredibly fresh doughnuts below:
Doughnuts with pumpkin caramel and nutmeg custard (£10) - delivered fresh and warm for dipping into some custard.
Earl Grey creme brulee (£8) - if this is on you'll want to order it.
Anything else to mention?
There's a very good value set menu too - with two courses for £25 and three for £30. On our visit, this included the salad, duck and doughnuts above, so it's an excellent deal.
And what about breakfast?
The benefit of staying over is that there's an incredibly good cooked breakfast in the morning. There is the option of a plate of farmhouse cures (including ham, trout and cheese) or French toast, but you really want to go with the below:
Farmhouse brekky, with Mangalitza pork sausage, in-house made black pudding, home spiced beans (these are very good), fried farm egg and their own homemade milk bread.
What's in the surrounding area?
Nearby village Bircham is good if you fancy popping out for a coffee at the lovely Bircham Stores. There's also the nearby Burn Valley vineyard which does regular wine tastings throughout the year.
And what else is planned for the farm?
They're only just beginning. They're in the planning stages for expanding, with a few more rooms and a deli coming at some point next year.
Overall thoughts
The restaurant group has a couple of winners in town with Nest and St Barts. Now they have another excellent restaurant in the country. Nest Farmhouse is a lovely combination of a welcoming restaurant and bar with great rooms supported by a talented team in the kitchen. It's well worth coming out here for either a day or weekend getaway, using it as a base to explore the countryside, while being kept very well-fed.
More about Nest Farmhouse
Where is it? Fakenham Rd, Docking, King's Lynn PE31 8PX
How much are rooms? Rooms are £250-£275 a night, including breakfast. There are two dog-friendly rooms.
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram
Hot Dinners stayed as guests of Nest Farmhouse. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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