Brummells Seafood Restaurant, Norwich

This is our third visit to Brummells and the food and service were both

wonderful again. Flavours were outstanding and portion sizes more than

adequate with both our first two courses. Puddings were good too, I can

thoroughly recommend the Stewed Pear with Pear Parfait.

Thank you Mr Brummell for another great night. Best restaurant in Norfolk>

Promising start, real fire, leather armchairs, friendly welcome.... But ... No atmosphere, only one other couple eating, on a Friday night. Food very disappointing. On asking what the vegetables were, was told 'steamed'... Mussels nothing special, and mains very underwhelming... Will not be going back.

Recently visited Brummells for the first time, although I live in Norwich I commute to London three times a week for work, thus I have not had the chance to experience Brummells before. An experience is just what it, was, I will firmly put Brummells into my favourite box. The atmosphere is second to none, romantic and relaxing, but not mushy, good for business meetings as well as for that special occasion with partner or friends.

I found the service to be courteous and professional, lots of restaurants greet you with the touchstone smile, but few deliver expertise and efficiency, a trait to be admired at Brummells.

The food I found to be excellent, well deserving of it's two rosettes, nothing fancy, good fresh fish simply prepared.

I enjoyed the smoked salmon starter and attention to detail included a chilled plate, I followed this with a large skate wing in black butter the fish was moist and succulent and served with a generous array of vegetables, simply steamed and al-dente just as I like them. My partner selected the scallops, she was in her element, they were lightly seared and served with a pomegranate chutney, delicious. She deviated from fish with the main course and had venison steaks, tender and well partnered with a sweet and sour sauce.

We both went for cheese not being great sweet eaters, it was nice to see a trolley offering a good selection at room temperature, I have not found many restaurants outside London that offer this, essential though if you want cheese at it's best. A super wine list is offered, something for everyone I think, I love good white Burgundy and these abound.

Some may think Brummells expensive, I found it remarkable value, but the I am use to London prices.

Divine, delicious, delightful. There probably aren ' t enough adjectives to describe Brummells excellence.

As students, my fiance and I had eaten at Brummels and even though we now live in Bournemouth, surrounded by good fish restaurants, we had never forgotten the great fish and atmosphere at Brummels. On a recent visit eight years on from our first visit to the restaurant and celebrating our ten year anniversary since we first met, we thought of no better place to renew our acquaintance at than Brummels.

How bitterly disappointed we were to be. When we arrived, we were greeted by someone who appeared to be a chef, owing to his food stained chef's outfit. We were shown to the cosy leather chairs by the fire and presented with the menu while we enjoyed pre-dinner drinks. On perusing the menu, the food seemed bland there was a lack of choice of fish combinations which didn't appear to be local. The only exceptional thing was the prices. I was astounded at how much the establishment was expecting for the swordfish starter at £9 and the Halibut main course at £22. These were at the cheaper end of the menu.

My fiance ordered the Loch Fyne Salmon for starter, which when it arrived was still too cold from the fridge to bring out its full flavours. When the main courses arrived we once again felt let down by what was placed in front of us. Over done Halibut, very under done sprouts (along with mushy courgettes) and plain potatoes with no accompanying butter.

On the plus side, the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc we ordered to accompany our meal was a very good bottle. This wasn't the house white as according to a staff member, all the other whites were 'a lot' better!

After feeling rushed through our dinner and being served in what I can only describe as a seemingly moody manner, the piece de resistance was the dessert menu. Fresh strawberries with black pepper; being December I can't think of anywhere that grows Strawberries and certainly not in Norfolk! After the main course we decided to quit while we were behind and left.

Brummels turns thirty next year and I wonder if it will still be there much after then, especially given the numbers who were dining there, I didn't need more than one hand to count the rest of the clientele on our visit. When I dine at a premium restaurant I expect a premium experience and good quality food. This place in its heyday was all this but now I feel it shows itself as a washed up tired memory of its former self. RIP Brummels of Norwich. You will be missed

Brummells is simply the best restaurant in Norfolk. The food is out of this world, I am a great fish lover and I'm spoiled here. The service is formal and attentive, the way in my opinion it should be. The atmosphere is romantic and relaxed, great for private meetings.

Having eaten at many up market seafood restaurants and being advised that Brummels is Norwich's Best Seafood Restaurant my Fiancee and I reserved a table here last night and were looking forward to some great local seafood. Well, it is enough to say we were extremely disappointed. It is overpriced, unimaginative with the food some of which is poorly prepared. Looking at the reviews on this site and after being there I now understand why the last review was posted well over a year ago!

The restaurant itself is very pretty, cosy and romantic. It feels different from the many other restaurants in Norwich with an eclectic mix of nick nacks scattered around the place, including an assortment of champagne bags and boxes stuck to the ceiling. It fools you into believing you may be on a good thing with its ambiance so building you up for an even greater fall!

As we came in we were ushered to a comfortable couch to have an appertiser and choose our meals. Upon asking what fish was from the local area we were advised that the Oysters, Skate and Lobster were the only local produce. This did surprise us a little as we had thought that being so close the coast would have allowed the restaurant to serve very fresh local caught fish, but then again what do we know.

For entr e I ordered the six native oysters in the half shell natural over ice

and my fiance the seared king scallops with mixed leaf salad and pomegranate chutney. I must say I have never seen oysters quite so larger, they were almost intimidating, but other than that were very fresh and creamy. The scallops which I also tried were were interesting and not bad although quite boring and were lacking in flavour.

Then the mains arrived the skate and lobster. The skate was once again ridiculously enormous and was done in black butter. Flavour wise it was extremely boring and with a only a side salad to accompany tasted a little like fish and chips without the chips and lots of lemon and for £19 ridiculously expensive. Very disappointing - go to the local chippy instead of having this dish is all I can say. The lobster in garlic sauce on the other hand was a small lobster (£29) with the texture reminding me of the sole of my runners. It was absolutely abmismal so was left to be collected with the plates. Upon telling the waitress how bad the lobster was, she nervously looked around and told us she would let the kitchen know. We never heard another thing and to add insult to injury were charged for the lobster which hadn't been eaten.

Along with this with only one waitress available In the restaurant and the wine being kept some distance from the table mid way through the meal I had to resort to getting up, walking over to the wine, removing it from the wine cooler and keeping it on the table, otherwise a I thought I may have died from thirst.

Considering the meal including a small plate of 3 cheeses, 1 coffee, and drinks was £200 the food was awful and if this is Norwich's best seafood restaurant then I must say that Norwich just does not know how to do seafood. I strongly urge people to stay well away from this over price restaurant. Anyway, I think the news is already out, as there were only 8 people (including ourselves) in the place on a Saturday night, which in itself should have warned us!

Norwich has a wealth of many different styles of eateries, from cheap and cheerful to expensive and sumptuous. Along Magdalen Street, a little way past the cathedral and the Maid's Head Hotel is Brummell's Seafood Restaurant, which is definitely in the expensive and sumptuous range.

The frontage is simple and discreet, with the entrance tucked along the side and accessed down a small alleyway, with a small but elegant courtyard. On entering the restaurant you are greeted, usually, by the owner himself, and settled into a snug lounge area with small tables, and in winter an open fire. Over an aperitif enjoy the luxury as you peruse the wonderful menu and wine list. Your biggest problem will be selecting form the delicious range of food on offer. The main emphasis is on seafood, but there is also meat, and of course vegetarians are amply catered for.

After choosing, you are left to relax as your food is prepared, and then any unfinished drinks are taken to your table in the main restaurant.

The restaurant is beautiful, with the expected crisp table linen, glistening glasses and polished cutlery. The room is small, intimate and cosy, without feeling overcrowded, as the owner will not book in too many people at once. The walls abound with paintings, knick knacks and objet d'arts. In fact, there is so much to look at, from farm implements, to unsurprisingly, fish paintings, that should you be unfortunate enough to have a dull dinner companion, there is enough to look at and to spark conversation.

On our last visit we indulged ourselves and really pushed the boat out. To start with we had baby octopus in red wine, and its own ink, and seafood pancakes with cheese and a green aniseed sauce. Both were delicious. The pancakes were small, soft and rich, and they melted in my mouth. The baby octopus was adorably cute (as long as you aren't squeamish of course)! Again, quite a rich starter, but as the portions are small this does not ruin your appetite for the main course. After the starters a small complimentary sorbet arrived to cleanse our palate in preparation for the focal event of the evening.

For the main meal my partner had the top of the range seafood platter, and what sight it was to behold; every type of seafood you could wish for, from oysters to lobster and assorted cold fish served on a bed of ice and garnished with salad. At thirty-five pounds it was definitely not cheap, but for a special night out it is just perfect. The seafood is all extremely fresh, and prepared and laid out beautifully. Each mouthful is sublime! I opted for skate wing with blackened butter (a luscious large portion of skate drizzled in a nutty black butter). The fish peeled away from the bone, just as it should, and tasted fresh and clean.

To accompany our meals we had one portion of salad and one of fresh vegetables. The salad was an abundance of crisp produce, and the vegetables were a selection of just cooked baby corn, mange tout, and new potatoes that still had that slight crunch that I like. Nothing lets a good meal down more than overcooked soggy vegetables, in my opinion.

The portions are good-sized, and they are large enough to satisfy the hungriest of appetites, but not so overwhelming or stodgy that we couldn't fit a small desert in. I chose strawberries with black pepper. Now when I first read this I didn't honestly believe anyone would really put pepper on strawberries, but it's true! My dish of strawberries arrived with a light peppering of black pepper (sorry), and to my surprise the combination of the two tastes was excellent, and it melded well with the meringue and sweetness of the Chantilly cream. My partner had the amaretto chocolate mousse. Again, something I would not normally choose as I don't really like amaretto, but I enjoyed the small taste I was allowed, so much so, that I almost wished I had chosen it too. It is a small serving, but nobody, not even a dedicated chocoholic like myself could eat much of it, as it is so divinely rich.

We have been to Brummell's a few times over the years, and we have never once been let down. Perfectly cosy and warm for cold winter nights with the curtains drawn across the large windows and cooler, but still with the intimacy it is renowned for on summer nights. The patron, is an excellent host! He is attentive to each guests every need, yet not at all intrusive. At times he may seem a little dour when compared to some other waiters and owners we have encountered, but he is quite possibly one of our favourite restaurant owners, and after a leisurely dinner we often sit and chat with him at the bar.

I can definitely recommend Brummell's if you like seafood, as the range on offer is superb; just look at the website to see their ample menus: www.brummells.co.uk. One word of warning. If you do decide to visit, this is not a cheap night out! On one occasion we managed to spend over two hundred pounds in one night. Admittedly, we really pulled no punches and indulged in the most expensive foods, some very fine wine, including a sumptuously sweet dessert wine, liqueur coffees and brandies at the bar. But, for an exceptional night out it really was worth every single penny. Luckily we had just enough money on us for a cab home. After all, at the end of such a magnificent night out the last thing we felt like doing was walking anywhere.