Lynford Hall Country House - Breckland

Oh dear oh dear. This Hotels restaurant came recommended and is a truly a delightful building with a Certificate of Excellence sticker in the entrance hall, however, as a party of three we waited 45 minutes from being seated for three main meals and only received these following a complaint to the Receptionist. Three meals eventually arrived. The first was not as ordered having vegetables instead of salary and the scallops were barely warm let alone seared without butter, the second had only partially cooked potatoes, solid to the core and my own steak was rare rather than medium as ordered, however, having waited so long, I couldn't wait further. The reason for the delay provided was suggested as a large party in another part of the Hotel....we counted only seven cars in their car parks...humm! In fairness, we were not charged for the meal containing the under cooked potatoes and we were advised that the kitchen had been made aware of your disappointment..again humm! Not what we had hoped for nor expected sadly.

Today i took my Family (who i havent seen in a year who had travelled up from Eastbourne) to Lynford Hall for a pre booked High Tea. We were shown into the dark dingy bar with Radio 2 blaring out. A table cloth and cutlery then appeared. We were asked tea of coffee, not what tea's or coffee's were available. Tea arrived, no bone china. A grey slate appeared with cheap white bread sandwhich's which were filled with old ropey chicken, salami, dry ham and a mushy mixture of tinned tuna and olives. All the sandwhich's were pilled on top of one another in a jumble. Not asked what sandwhich's would we like, any allergies, likes or dislikes etc. Next to the sandwhich's on the board where the smallest Mr Kipling sponge fingers had been cut into three square with an extra bit, dried out chocolate sponge fingers (which no one ate), the scones were ok but the cream was in the smallest pot in the world with two teaspoons of cream which was warm and runny. Same size pot of cheap jam. This was for four scones!!! I did ask for a cheese sandwich. Three fingers of a cheese sandwhich was brought considerably some time later. I was expecting to be seated I the restaurant over looking the gardens, table already laid, bone china, customer service and a High tea! I would not recommend going here waste of money and time. I have had some very good fun experiences having an afternoon tea and this was the worst ever

Living locally, visited this place a few times for occasions such as birthdays , anniversaries etc. Have always been greeted by friendly staff and made to feel welcome. Menu is great and something to suit everyone, overall great food and atmosphere.

The restaurant has a lovely atmosphere with stunning views of the beautiful gardens. Unfortunately, the food we had for lunch on the terrace was disappointing and lacked flavor. It was reasonably priced and would be suitable for children, but overall, the food did not match the impressive setting.

We were told that dinner would start at 7 pm, so we came down at 6.50 pm and were asked to wait at the bar to be seated at our table. However, we were not seated until 7.45 pm, nearly an hour later. Throughout the meal, I had to keep my coat on because the dining area was still cold. The service was terrible, with only 3 waiters serving 30 couples and carrying only 2 meals at a time to each table. As someone who worked as a waitress for over 40 years, I couldn't believe that the hotel didn't use service trays to serve multiple meals at once. The meal itself was underwhelming, and we left feeling unsatisfied. My husband and I have decided that we will not be returning to Lynford Hall for any special occasions or regular visits, and we will be informing our friends about the poor service we experienced.