The Assembly House in Norwich

Took my mother for afternoon tea. The young man who served us didn’t get our drink order right so had to be redone. Afternoon tea arrived and i found a black hair BAKED into my cheese scone. We informed the waiter who wasn’t happy for us to speak to the manager. He took the scone away and didn’t make any effort to rectify things. Due to this we were unable to eat what was left of the meal (just under half). When we came to pay the young man tried to charge me full price. I find this incredibly unacceptable. After discussing the low standards of the kitchen in what is meant to be a high end restaurant he agreed go take £15 off the bill. As we were leaving we noticed kitchen staff wearing hats with their hair hanging out. So it is not surprising this has happened. Overall very disappointed.

We have now been back twice for 'Afternoon Tea' for special occasions. The food and tea menu are always fantastic, with friendly helpful staff and a great setting, in beautiful surroundings. Have also attended functions here, all of which were of a very high standard. The team really know how to put on an event....

Always great service and quality food. Excellent Gluten free options.

We went to the assembly house for breakfast. We ordered the beforenoon tea. A delicious breakfast of your choice with a afternoon tea style stand afterwards designed for breakfast. The atmosphere, history and rooms are incredible. I love the architecture in older buildings. Hidden away in the heart of Norwich, it is absolutely beautiful. Kind and friendly staff. I ordered the egg Benedict with salmon. The best I’ve ever had 10/10. Perfect balance of flavours. Would 100% recommend. The stand had delicious little pastries and cheese scones at the bottom with a chutney. Overall fantastic food, really fresh and great quality. We thought the sizes of food was perfect not too much or too little. We thought the price was spot on too. 100% would recommend going!

We had a lovely stay at the Assembly rooms. The room had excellent amenities, a very comfortable bed and the breakfast was delicious. We’d definitely recommend booking to anyone staying in Norwich.

Lovely place, with so much character! Plus whoever does your social media on Facebook is genius, and absolutely hilarious 😂 definitely making the assembly house known!

Went for light meal. Good value, great service, lovely venue. Thoroughly enjoyed the visit.

I have always wanted to come here as a treat for the themed afternoon teas and haven't always been keen on the menu's but finally I booked the Wizard Of Oz theme. The building is lovely and the staff are great, special mention to Yolande as she went above and beyond! I did feel very squished and squeezed in the room though. My partner had to consistently keep moving to get out the way of the staff and customers. There is a huge tea menu, very impressive, and it's unlimited sandwiches and scones which you don't find in many places at all. The desserts are very sweet and unfortunately some of the scones were not cooked thoroughly. I appreciate getting a good scone isn't the easiest as my family have always said. Lastly the cheese toastie was meant to be warm but of course arrived at the table not so. It is an expensive treat and there are better afternoon tea's out there. But it is the only themed one in the area. I would't go again now I've done it.

Great place lovely afternoon tea , great friendly staff . Lovely room as well for overnight stay

Went for afternoon tea as a birthday treat service was excellent

A superb afternoon tea, which was a really special time with my daughter.

Had a fantastic evening. Our second time at one of these events and already looking for more

Lovely surroundings for birthday lunch with friends. Quite busy later so a little noisy. Friendly and attentive staff. All I all a pleasant experience.

I’ve never been to the assembly house before but I’m very glad I went. Everyone was so polite and friendly and it was very busy. We had the themed afternoon tea which was wizard of oz, it was lovely . I would 100% return for another themed tea.

Visited on Saturday. Sat in their “grand hall” for tea and scones. All staff were helpful and attentive especially Emily who looked after me. Nothing was too much! She also provided me information on booking a bedroom for my 40th Wedding anniversary as I was unsure which room would best suit me and my husband.Will definitely return and bring the grandchildren for afternoon tea!

would definitely recommend to others, everything is included in the price.

Excellent venue, delicious Afternoon tea with a friend for my Birthday treat.

Last minute decision to eat out. Fancied something a bit off the norm so went for the Assembly House. Tasty show stopper sausage roll and skin on fries. The sausage roll was packed with tasty pork with onion marmalade. Fries we nice and crispy. The branded paper everything was served on was a nice touch.

What an incredible night. The service was great. The music was heavenly. The only thing was the room set up sometimes did not allow much movement but that was very minor. Thank you for a lovely night

This is a special treat place for tea. Lovely ambiance and excellent service if a little slow on our second visit. The table was a bit tight for the four of us after ordering wine, tea, water and two afternoon teas for four. But would still go again and recommend to others.

Nothing was too much trouble. A lovely way to celebrate a special occasion.

Brilliant start to finish just excellent

Having checked ahead of time that the latest time for a proper lunch menu choice was 3.30pm and reassured by the phone receptionist that that time would be fine, we were met several times by the comments of the serving staff that last orders were 3.30pm (we arrived very punctually), one of them even checking her watch as if to labour the point that she wanted (in our minds at least) to finish asap and go off duty when we asked for a dessert. The whole meal for the three of us was disappointing and all of us muttering that this is what things have come to these days. My husband had to clear plates to another table when our desserts did come which was incredible as the dirty plates were right under our noses. We had gone to the Assembly House for the Candlelight concert which was fab but another time we wouldn’t bother with thinking of getting a meal there. Our guest said the same.

I’ve been here numerous times before and had excellent experience however this time wasn’t as good. Maybe just a bad day so it won’t put me off going again unless the same happens next time. The food is lovely and the best afternoon tea about. My cutlery , plate and cup was dirty (I didn’t complain I just wiped it all myself and changed my cup with another from a different table but that one was still dirty as well) I found 2 white hairs on my food (again I didn’t complain, I don’t like confrontation) the 2 tables either side of us got asked if they would like more sandwiches and if everything was okay and if they wanted their scones. We did not get asked and my mum ended up going up to ask if we could have our scones and for some more sweetener (which I had asked for at the beginning but was forgotten- not a problem we all forget things) we just felt a little forgotten. We came because it was my mums birthday and usually have a lovely time. We will return but if we have the same experience then we wouldn’t come back , hopefully it was just a bad day.

Had some friends go for befornoon tea they said it was amazing beautiful food and service.... thank you 😊

Absolutely lovely. Did a mother's day treat for our Mum. Excellent service from our waitress and waitor. Looking to do the Easter one soon. Thank you :)

Exceptionally good food.. service was brilliant and waiter was extremely attentive, good was amazing. Had 2 cups of tea and none of this tea bag rubbish. Proper tea leaves with a tea strainer aswell, even had some to take home after.. far to much to eat in one sitting haha.. bit noisy but it was busy and it was mother's day so completely understandable.. very nice meal.. definitely would recommend

Went for an early Mother’s Day meal. Asked to move tables to the main restaurant as we were put in a side room and we were told that we should’ve put this on the booking request… even though we didn’t know there was a side room as we’d never visited before. The food was delicious though but the staff could be more welcoming and attentive.

Lovely food in a beautiful setting with friendly staff

First time for afternoon tea was everything you would hope for and more,highly recommend it for that special afternoon experience.

I would have given 5 stars however it was a birthday celebration and I had asked for maybe a little token gesture such as a candle. I was called to say that was not possible, which I quite understood but they would give both my children a brownie which did not arrive. I did not want to ask as it would have been embarrassing in front of them as they were enjoying it. Sometimes it’s just that continuation of service which makes an experience outstanding. Never the less, the staff were lovely and the surroundings superb.

We attended their Nutcracker themes afternoon tea for Holiday 2023 . I was the perfect way to have a special girls day out! The Tea itself had an offering of varietals . Each compoent of the tea was handcrafted with lots of attention to detail. The service was friendly and attentive. The surroundings are simply stunning, expecially when decorated for special holidays. Tip: parking can be difficult to guarantee so be sure to give yourself an extra 15 mins or so. Also prebooking is a MUST, expecially if you have a large party or want to book tea or during holiday menus. Also splurge for the outdoor domes if you can.

Lovely food, staff are polite and attentive. Lovely experience.

Amazing afternoon tea, friend eats vegetarian and the plates were separate and flavours were fantastic! Couldn't eat it all so took home the scones. Definitely will be back!

A lovely afternoon with friends. Time to chat whilst enjoy cuppa and some nice things to eat. Great venue and very good service from all the staff.

As ever delicious food, plenty of it. Great choice of items given for afternoon tea.

Very lovely afternoon tea!! Just seemed slightly disorganised today!

The Assembly House never ceases to amaze us, its secrets keep exciting us. Today we took a tour of the building and learnt about its colourful history. And what a history! Thank you

Food and atmosphere were amazing. Staff were so friendly and helpful. I am gluten free and nothing was spared. So very impressed

We had a really lovely afternoon, couldn’t fault anything.

Well, we were certainly shocked to find out that the Beforenoon Tea (Breakfast) does not include ANY drinks. When you charge £27.95 per person, plus a 10% "tip" hot beverages should be included. We'll certainly think twice about ever visiting again.

Lovely setting with good service. My son enjoyed the afternoon tea Thank you

Lovely afternoon tea especially liked the Wizard of Oz theme.

Amazing show and would go again

Friendly staff, amazing themed afternoon tea. Lovely time.

Delicious Wizard of Oz afternoon tea was really special. Every element was delightful!

Lovely good Male waiters more friendly and helpful

Wizard of Oz themed afternoon tea was delightful. Lovely selection of savouries and sweets which fitted the theme well. Vegetarian option also available and nice alternatives.

Excellent Afternoon Tea but I put down it was my friends birthday and there was no acknowledgements for this.

We had a lovely lunch as we always do when we go to the Assembly House. My only complaint is that I had looked at the menu online when I booked and there was Sausage & Mash on there and I was so looking forward to having this for my lunch, but when we got there and were ordering our food we were told that Sausage & Mash was not on the menu! I would say that the online menu needs to be up-to-date so diners are not disappointed. Also, I took my OpenTable Diners Cheque and they would not take it as they had never seen one before. This was very annoying as it runs out very soon, I was told to ring the next day to ask about it but when I rang no-one answered the phone.

It was a special birthday treat for a friend. From arriving to leaving the service was excellent, friendly and efficient. The food was amazing and worth the money! We mentioned it was friends birthday and a card and chocolate brownie birthday cake was presented to her. She felt thoroughly spoiled. Thank you for a memorable time.

We went to the Wizard of Oz afternoon tea and it was absolutely delightful - everything was amazing and cakes were so well themed too 🥰

The assembly house was a lovely place to have afternoon tea. Very clean with impeccable service. You are allocated 2 hours for your afternoon tea which was plenty of time. I never felt rushed to eat what was out before the rest was brought to the table. Highly recommended, will go again.

Wonderful treat of before noon afternoon tea. Lovely friendly staff and beautiful room.

Our third visit to the Assembly Rooms, once for a “normal” Restaurant meal and two for Afternoon Tea. All visits have been most agreeable.

The Afternoon Cheese menu was fabulous. Lots of cheese, making this good value for money. The service, decor and ambience cannot be faulted and exactly what I would expect from The Assembly House. My negatives may seem minor, but have prevented awarding 5* for every category. I felt more crackers were required for eating with the copious amount of cheese. We were allocated 3 each - one per cheese type. Double the amount would be more appropriate. I gave them 1 weeks notice for my booking with a dietary allergy of raspberries. I was disappointed that I could not have the sugar mouse as raspberries were part of the recipe. I felt they had enough time to make an alternative. This was a lovely meal out and I would highly recommend the afternoon tea. It will not prevent me from another visit - but please note that there were no substitutions for my food allergies/intolerances.

Sadly my £50 gift voucher was time expired so effectively I couldn't enjoy a meal with friends and family. Given The Assembly Rooms have taken £50 they've delivered nothing. It may be legal but its still wrong to take money and not deliver a service or offer a refund. As you can see from the owners reply no offer of a refund, so I 'll leave you to judge for yourself the mindset behind this business.

Lovely afternoon tea, felt a little crowded with the tables a little to close to each other but that’s my only complaint

As always wonderful food and great service Thank you

The surroundings and staff as always good. Sadly the menu choices were limited focusing on all things afternoon tea which looked lovely. Our choice was fishcakes as the hot dishes offered was so limited. I asked for dressed salad in place of fries. The waitress returned and said the dish came with salad and fries. What came was 2 homemade fishcakes 4 little gem leaves, warm tomato halves and fries. I do not call little gem lettuce a dressed salad. The presentation was basic and an expensive dish. Overall disappointing visit.

So little choice on lunchtime menu, previously we had far more choice so disappointed, the food we did have was good

We had a lovely afternoon tea for my mums 60th. We will definitely come again

One of the best afternoon teas i have ever had! The whole experience was lovely - great atmosphere, staff were brilliant & we loved the food. Will definitly be back and will reccomend to others.

On entering we were treated extremely well and very thoughtfully as we were both using mobility scooters. We were made to feel welcome and not a nuisance. The dietary requirements were dealt with no fuss or bother. The food was amazing very tasty and exceptionally presented. I would fully recommend this as a special treat.

Lovely afternoon tea, very good food, lovely place

Absolutely lovely afternoon for my granddaughters birthday fit the wizard of oz tea . Food was amazing impressed with extra food and drink at no extra cost..very impressed ..thankyou

Great food let down by poor service. Had to find a server when we wanted another drink or our scones and waited 20 minutes for the bill and then a while longer to pay.

Lovely experience, Wizard of Oz themed food was delightful and very tasty. Staff were very pleasant and helpful.

Well our sandwiches were dry, we struggled to get anyones attention to get our scones and more pots of tea. The waitress seemed to be struggling to keep up with the room on her own, only when people started to leave did she come over to ask us if all ok....most of the food had be consumed at that point I feel for nearly £60...we left quite disappointed.

Lovely. Never been anywhere else that has such good service. Prompt and polite, attentive but never over-bearing. Wizard of Oz afternoon tea was delicious. I felt a little odd eating red high heels but they were very tasty!

Took my daughter for lunch. The choices on the children's menu are lovely and very well priced. I very much enjoyed the soup and sandwiches. Our server was incredibly friendly and helpful.

Was a lovely themed tea, most of the staff were very attentive, but not all of them, had to wait a while for someone to even say hello etc once we were seated. I’ve been here before and found the same, it is very variable, however most of the staff were welcoming. The Wizard of Oz tea was delicious and looked amazing. I felt the themed decor was very lacking, there could have been more themed decor in a tasteful manner. Or actually none at all, it looked slightly half hearted. This is rather critical, but feedback may be helpful. Generally a lovely event, which we enjoyed very much.

No I asked for a particular table very bluntly told there is no fireplace in the dining room apart from the room they do walk ins. She looked up my previous booking said I do sit in the dining hall. I turned up and there it is a table by the fireplace in the middle of 2 round tables. Apparently that is table 7, very popular with customers our waitress told us. So the table does exist and the whole experience apart from our waitress who was very kind and extremely helpful.

The themed afternoon tea is the most amazing experience. All the food is delicious and top quality. Absolutely fantastic thank you.

Can't speak too highly of staff, so pleasant, efficient and smiley. Food was plentiful, unlimited drinks. The only tiny criticism I would make is I don't like having a service charge automatically added to the bill although I realise I could refuse to pay it. I prefer to make my own decision about this. I can see why you do it as presumably tips are declining now everyone pays by card.

I took my niece for the Wizard of Oz afternoon tea. It was really good and I would highly recommend it. The food was all fresh and perfectly presented. The staff were lovely and apologised for the wait for our 2nd pot of tea, which wasn't an issue as it was nice not to feel rushed. Just be aware that a 10% service charge is added to the bill.

Me and my daughter went for before noon tea! Absolutely brilliant! Fantastic food great service,lovely staff would highly recommend.

Wasn’t as good as expected. Nice theme but we felt that meant the quality wasn’t as it could be.

Excellent themed afternoon tea The mini toastie particularly was delicious

The whole experience was superb. Staff were polite and helpful throughout and the food was amazing. Would definitely recommend to others. A wonderful experience I will certainly do again.

Everything was superb as usual but we were a little disappointed with the room decoration for the theme The Wizard of Oz, not very imaginative.

We had an absolutely amazing experience with the tea-fizz-stay deal. Beautiful room, delicious food and excellent service. We very much hope to return soon!

Beautiful setting - the attention to detail of the space and the food was superb. Friendly, attentive staff who are obviously proud of what they offer here.

Lovely food. Very attentive staff and a lovely atmosphere to sit and spend time with friends

Beautiful afternoon tea in wizard of oz theme. Plenty of good quality food. Great atmosphere and brilliant staff service.

My soufflé had to be sent back as it was served burnt with sauce evaporated. Lin

The afternoon tea was a very pleasant experience The food was of a high standard with an excellent selection of beverages. The service was excellent and any food intolerance was checked after seating. The lady on the reception desk was friendly and welcoming as were the staff members servicing our table. The ambience was also very good with a reasonable distance between the tables in the Ivory Room.

Fabulous food. A real treat with friends. Would thoroughly recommend the Beforenoon Tea! Staff were very welcoming and attentive.

I think the sandwiches must have been prepared rather early in the day. By the time they were served to us, 3pm, the bread was rather dry. My party of four were so looking forward to our special afternoon tea experience and we were rather disappointed ,considering how much we paid for the privilege.

Great food, very friendly and attentive staff, very clean and a good location, close to the city.

Had afternoon tea. Food quality great as always. Staff very polite and attentive. Lovely setting. Altogether a lovely experience we will repeat.

Lovely venue for an afternoon tea, beautiful setting, excellent service and lovely food. Only minor improvement would be plain scones instead of cheese scones, as after the savoury food it would have been preferable to have a fruit and plain scone. However, the food was delicious.

A themed afternoon tea was lovely. A great choice of teas to try and milk options. A beautiful venue with a long history, would be a great space to stay for a few nights.

Booking was easy, the themed food was creative and imaginative. The savoury sandwiches and rolls were packed with flavour and the scones were delicious. The cakes were a delightful surprise with flavours in every mouthful. Taking home uneaten food was a real bonus.

We loved our afternoon tea at the Assembly Rooms. Even nicer than Betty’s which we always visit when up north. We were provided with a generous selection of dainty savouries, all delicious. Lovely, bright decor and friendly, attentive staff. Will definitely book again and recommend to friends.

Great selection of food, all very fresh , set in a very nice room staff with polite , friendly and helpful staff.

Been a few times now and it is always a very nice treat.

Wow! As usual a fabulous theme, delicious afternoon tea and the most wonderful service. We all enjoyed it.

Absolutely love the Afternoon Tea at the Assembly House

Lovely afternoon tea it was a Xmas present for my mum and father-in -law who really enjoyed their time and afternoon tea with you.Will definitely be coming again in the future Thankyou