Places to eat in Norwich

Find out why people queue out of the door at Brick Pizza, what’s kept Grosvenor Fish Bar in business for over 90 years, why you have to book months in advance for B’nou, how Benedicts has earned its reputation as the cream of the crop, and much, much more about the restaurants in Norfolk on our page dedicated to a few of our favourites.

No.33 Café Bar is right up there vying for the title of Norwich’s number one café, particularly when it comes to pancakes. The portions are huge, they’re delicious and they’ll keep you going right through the day. Their eggs Benedict, and fish finger sandwich are a couple of their other crowd pleasers but in truth, everything on the menu is absolutely delicious. Tea and coffee are cheap but top class; every member of staff is barista trained, and the café stocks a great selection of loose-leaf teas. They’re best enjoyed with one of their sublime homemade cakes – that is, if you have any room left over. Just a word to the wise, No.33 is so popular, there’s often a queue outside, but don’t be put off; it’s well worth the wait.

The coffee coming out of The Little Red Roaster is some of the best in Norfolk. With three locations dotted around the city – one on Grove Road, one on St. Andrews Hill and their original stall in Norwich Market Place – you’re never far from a Little Red Roaster. As well as great coffee, they also offer a lovely selection of croissants, cakes, soups, sarnies, paninis and pastries. It’s our top pick if you’re looking for somewhere convenient to grab a bite to eat or to get your caffeine fix.

However, if you’re wondering where we consider the absolute best for a cup of coffee, that would be Kofra. You can sample their sublime coffee at their ‘mothership’ on Unthank Road in the midst of the Golden Triangle, or in the café of the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, which is less than 15 minutes from our Norwich West hotel. The guys over at Kofra can appear extraordinarily laid back, but don’t let that deceive you; bubbling beneath the surface is a penchant for pursuing the perfect cup of coffee and putting it in the hands of people like you. They carefully source their beans from around the world and try to come up with new ways of plucking that extra ounce of flavour from them. Pay them a visit and try their coffee for yourself; you won’t be disappointed.

Sitting at the top of Elm Hill in the Cathedral Quarter is Storm in a Teacup, one of our favourite places to go for breakfast in Norwich. It’s a quaint corner café that gets flooded with natural light and regularly fills up with hungry locals. The friendly staff offer full table service, so you can sit back and relax while you wait on their delicious sourdough toast, perfect poached eggs, high-quality bacon and sausages, and magnificent homemade cakes.

Alternatively, if you make your way a little further down Elm Hill and dart down a subtly signposted alleyway, you’ll find The Tea House and its lovely little suntrap of a courtyard. In terms of food, it specialises in homemade cakes, soups and sandwiches. The scones are worth a visit on their own. Meanwhile, in terms of drinks, you’ll find one of the finest selections of teas in town.

Those of you with a sweet tooth will also want to hunt down Café Gelato in the shadow of Norwich Castle on Opie Street. It’s by far and away the best gelato in the business. In fact, at the time of writing, it’s perched on top of the list of places to eat in Norwich on TripAdvisor. On a hot day, people queue out of the door and down the street desperate to demolish a few scoops of their ever-changing menu of magnificent gelatos.

As a reward for those of you who have continued reading to this point, here’s the best place for a full English breakfast in Norwich: The Street Café. It’s not flash or pretentious in any way. It’s just a proper, traditional café. What sets it apart from any other greasy spoon is the quality, portions and value of its food. For as long as we can remember, it’s been the people’s choice for a fry-up, and that was even before they started using Archer’s sausages, which emerged victorious in Norwich’s fiercely fought Battle of the Bangers contest. Best of all, for anyone staying at our Norwich City Centre (Duke Street) hotel, The Street Café is just half a mile away, which makes for a convenient pilgrimage to a nigh on perfect full English.