The Black Boys Hotel & Restaurant in Broadland

Stopped here as the second night of our cycle trip to do the Rebellion Way. The pub couldn't have been any more helpful. They found space for our bikes, food and service was excellent and the price was very reasonable.

Great place fantastic food I had beef and ale suet pudding, which was absolutely fantastic , I had the same meal in a local pub in Bunningham and this was far better, every meal that was served was eaten in its entirety with no complaints. The service could’ve been a little quicker but considering how busy they were it was okay. Will definitely return without a doubt.thank you everyone.

The service was very friendly and efficient. The food was excellent, portion sizes were generous and bacon in the BLT and pork in the hog roast was absolutely mouthwatering, great value for money. Level of cleanliness was very high and thus can’t recommend this enough.

The menu was a good surprise! We had the spicy ribs that included a cucumber salad, along with a local beer. Great ambience, easy to talk and hear others, good service. Highly recommend!

Just had Sunday lunch, fantastic food,fantastic portions, fantastic value and fantastic staff.

Terrible meal, 4 adults ordered starters, waited 40 mins to have our main meal brought out before we had our starters. Waitress didn’t realise we ordered starters, another lengthy wait to have starters arrive cold, on cold plates. We complained. Main meal then arrived again on cold plates, very small portions and just not upto standard. Bill came to £170 for the 4 of us. Very disappointed at such a bad experience. Do not waste your money here it’s dreadful,

Just had a delicious lunch there

Food was 10/10 will be going back

Just had lunch there. Lovely place great food

Delicious food. Quite pricey, but excessive portions, which we struggled to finish. The #1 downside was the smell — which pervaded the bar — that seemed to come from either the gents toilets, the drains or the kitchen. It can’t be that complex to resolve!

So last week spent 3 nights here on my own, Room 104. This is probably the best place I have ever stayed. So never been to Norfolk so wasnt sure what to look forward to, but The Black Boys was a brilliant start This is a beautiful pub off the market place in Alysham, Alysham is lovely 2 cracking bakers and a beautiful butchers shop a great little town. So back to the Black Boys the room was lovely even down to the uneven floor, but cant expect less in a 400+ years building but these made and added to the stay. The bed was comfy and the bathroom facilities were great, hot showers every morning. Now what makes a holiday is great food and this place was it, I didnt have breakfast but 3 dinners, so I had the fiah & chips/Fish pie and a Halibut dish, amazing really high quality and so well cooked. The fish pie was amazing so tasty and the portions are really good too. I must admi I wish I had stayed another night as the steak pudding looked amazing. Finally the staff they were all brilliant and kind and helpful a pure pleasure to deal with, am so looking forward to going ack hopefully very soon. Only one thing I would suggest solo dinners can be shy and 2 of the nights I was put on a table were it was like sitting in the middle of the room with everyone starring, I know they werent but it was uncomfortable. Yews I could have said something but I didnt want to look anward, so please think were your sitting solo dinners, please.

Was an exceptionally busy Sunday with a few booked birthday gatherings present yet food and service were still fantastically prompt and friendly. The food itself was great and arrived in very good time despite the huge demand I assume the kitchen/staff were dealing with.

Fantastic fish and chips are there!

We tried to do dinner the night before - Saturday - as a walk in but no space. We went for breakfast around 10am on the Sunday and we found out why. The quality of ingredients and cooking was very good. Nothing at all to fault and lots to praise. Busy but friendly, efficient service. I can see why it is popular. We will be back when in the area again.

Fantastic, I had beef ribs and my friend had skate wing, amazing meal and so much! Good service, good value, totally spot on!

Fab meal Lovely friendly and polite staff Quick service Clean and tidy Cosy interior Welcoming Fairly well priced food Great selection of beverages

We are always on the look out for new places to dine together and we choose the Black Boys Hotel this month. We were not disappointed! We were shown to a delightful table for four and our drinks arrived pretty quickly. The staff were busy and slow to take our order but, once that had been done, the food arrived in good time and proved to be more than we had anticipated. The meals were enjoyed by us all, as was the dessert menu. The restaurant was busy but not too noisy and the staff were attentive, even when they were being stretched. We will definitely go again!

We popped in for a drink on a lovely sunny day. Sat outside and watched world going by in the market place. Great location with a good atmosphere. Good food and a good selection of drinks also very friendly and helpful staff.

Came with family for lunch . Plenty of it nicely cooked and served Pleasent staff sorry we could eat it all . Clean and tidy inside and outside very friendly

Lovely family run BnB in town centre with yummy home cooked food.

Friendly service with tasty food

Saturday lunch, lovely meal , great service in the marquee. Very swift and great tasting food. Definitely worth a visit.

3 of us had a wonderful lunch today. The fish pie and chilli beef were outstanding with lovely fresh vegetables too. This is our second visit when in Norfolk and won't be our last.thanks to all the lovely staff.

My wife & I enjoyed a drink and a packet of Pipers crisps at a table outside on the pavement in Market Place late afternoon/early evening on Saturday, July 27, 2024. We received friendly, swift service. The bar area inside appeared clean & tidy. We liked the look of the menu but we had already made prior arrangements elsewhere.

Visited midweek for some drinks, friendly staff but service was a bit slow and pub was not the cleanest. Good parking and easy to walk to from the station. Decent selection of drinks, food looked good.

This place had been recommended and so expectations were high. It did not disappoint. Very busy and popular but the service was outstanding. Menu was great, couldn't eat all my choices as my belly isn't big enough but the trio of pork was superb.

Had a wonderful time today in the Marquee, all 6 of us. Plenty of choice in meals. Great service.

Great fresh breakfast and lovely coffee.

Right in the centre of Alysham, it has a small car park around the back for about 10 cars. They have an outside marquee which has enough to cater for about 20 and then the pub / restaurant itself for about another 40 from what I could see. The bar area had a really good atmosphere and was busy but still had the staff available when needed. The menu and drinks has more than enough to cater for all tastes. We ordered the belly pork, which was huge and was on a bed or rice which tasted lovely. The good lady ordered the fish pie and again a very generous size with vegetables. We did notice the Sunday dinners coming out, so we will be going back for a Sunday lunch. Great beer, food and staff.

Service was great and food was tasty but the portion sizes were massive. No one on my table was able to finish their plate and it just feels like the food went to waste. I would recommend sharing or getting small plates!

We stayed here on the second night of doing the Rebellion Way cycle route. Despite the pub being really busy we were seen to straight away, shown to our rooms and then shown where we could store our bikes. After showering we had dinner with the couple we were cycling with and two friends who live locally. Service was amazing and the food and drink was superb. Breakfast in the morning was just as good and we left feeling well rested, well fed and ready to ride back to Thetford. A real cracker of a place to stay. Really good value.

The food here is absolutely delicious, I could not fault any of that at all! Unfortunately we did have a couple of things go wrong, my starter was forgotten and did not get brought out until my friends had finished theirs (it was taken off the bill which I do appreciate), and we also asked for water for all of us which did not turn up for about 20 minutes when I had to ask again, the staff were lovely but just all seemed a little clueless (maybe new staff???) Overall we had a good experience, but I just think the staff need to be trained up a bit better.

Probably the best meal out we have ever had. The sea food platter was superb and good value for money. Breakfast was lovely too.

Another outstanding meal ,great service this is our must visit pub/restaurant to visit when holidaying in Norfolk ,can't recommend highly enough. Large menu and all high quality. 6 people ,3 dogs for lunch

Will be staying here again. Food was great and staff were friendly.

Quite possibly the worst meal I have ever had in a pub/restaurant in my 72 years. Lobster Thermidor, at least thats what it was called. Lobster was an over cooked, dry stiff chewy semblance of what should be something succulent. Served with a strange leek and egg tart, again, over cooked and dry and tastless. A few salad leaves and a bowl of extremely salty and over seasoned chips! A small jug of salty sauce - which I presume to have been the wine sauce? What happened to the cheese crust? Lobster Thermidor, is a dish of lobster meat cooked in a rich wine sauce, stuffed back into a lobster shell, and browned. The sauce is often a mixture of egg yolks and brandy, served with an oven-browned cheese crust, typically Gruyère. Only reason I did not complain at the time as we were with new friends and I did not want to show them up. I quite understand not to expect cordon bleu levels of culinary brilliance from a pub, but, this was bad. Why sell food that is beyond the ability of the staff to prepare? One of the other guests had steak that had to be sent back and replaced with one that was sinewy, they couldn't eat it! Place was noisy, crowded, not a place for a relaxing experience. No, its just a money making scam - should have known better than to expect anything else, should have stuck to scampi and chips, oh wait, dont mention the chips! Won't be a next time.

Very Good food, and enough to Get full+ Stayed at this hotel for 5days, did not find a reason to eat anywhere else, when there was still new things on the menu. Helpfull staff, Good service.

The best roast lunch on Sunday Big serves and very tasty plus the ales and cocktails are spot on cheers🤤🤗

Staff were fantastic , food was great, wonderful selection of beers etc ..definitely be back as soon as possible

Only popped in for breakfast after a long drive. Fantastic meal, great price for the quality of the food items.

Fantastic pub. Staff friendly, pub very clean.The food was well worth the wait, not too long a wait, but definitely fresh.

Visited the pub for Sunday Lunch. Food was good though not outstanding at these prices. Service was excellent and the pub is very well managed. Lovely building and atmosphere in a beautiful location. Ugly American tip process on paying. Historically the pub seems to have been once called the Three Black Boys, which would indicate the name has nothing to do with King Charles, but much more likely named after a painting, slaves or perhaps a period tale. Nearby Blickling Hall had major ties to slavery so perhaps was the source of the original name. I'd suggest pub embrace their name & history and fill the pub with great figures from local black history

Great food in a historical pub. BLT with fries went down a treat real flavour and fresh well prepared bread,meat and salad

Staff were very friendly and polite. Service and quality of the evening and breakfast meals again very good. Only small issue, finding somewhere to park at venue.

Had Sunday lunch here, was staying somewhere else. Fantastic food, big food and drinks menu.Staff very efficient and friendly . Value for money. Will definitely go back here.

Amazing food across this chain’s restaurants and absolutely massive portions! I’m yet to see anyone complete 3 courses here, so I’d say that’s great value for money. Parking is adequate as Aylsham village centre feels a little crowded so it’s good they have their own car park, even though it is little; I’d allow a few minutes extra before your arrival to park just in case. Makes me hungry and wanting an excuse to visit again just writing this!!

So, we stopped in on a family recommendation. The fish and chips are probably the best I’ve had. My wife had the baked crab thermidor and raved over it and the salad. They serve full bottles of wine, a full bar, and soft drinks. The friendly and helpful staff can be a little slow with service, but they make up for it with a smile and cheer.

It's a proper old market square pub with a tempting menu that makes it difficult to choose what to have. They do gluten free bread as well. The staff were extremely pleasant and helpful.

Excellent meal and staff were very helpful

Fantastic place that's always busy. Very clean and tidy up market venue. Food is outstanding more gourmet and posh vs typical pub food. Best food I have had for some time. Service is outstanding, polite and friendly and your made to feel welcome the second you enter. Would highly recommend 👌

Excellent food, fantastic service, good price. We booked a table for 10 very last minute on a Saturday and they managed to squeeze us in provided we could give the table back by a set time. Food was excellent quality and very good portions. Very accommodating to allergies and plenty of drinks available. We wanted deserts but would have overran past the time they needed the table back, however they were very helpful and said they could push it back a bit more to give us time to eat if we wanted. Overall, excellent food and service.

Fascinating place. Great menu selection. Really helpful, friendly staff.

Please make sure to try the food, it's amazing and the staff so friendly.

Lovely place Great atmosphere Great food Huge portions Super tasty Great vibes Even loved the non pc name of the place in these modern times

Delicious food. Excellent service

Amazing fish and chips at a great price.

**Disappointing Mother's Day Experience** I took my wife and our two sons for a Mother's Day celebration the evening before (an 8pm booking as they only had this or 8.30pm left), but, unfortunately, our experience wasn't good. While the food was passable (not the high standard we've experienced here in the past), the lack of coordination in serving our meals was disappointing. After over 45 minutes waiting for our food, the first two dishes, which weren't piping hot, arrived. Then we waited another 5 minutes for one more dish and 5 minutes for the final dish. One of the reasons to go out for a meal is to eat it together, so we waited until all meals were served meaning some already luke warm food was cold. The food itself was okay, and the portions were big, but it was just on par with average pub food and I feel it didn't reflect the prices. To make the experience worse, after finishing our main courses, we eagerly anticipated indulging in some desserts. However, it seemed like all of the servers had disappeared and we waited 20 minutes before finally seeing anyone in the dining area, and flagging them down. When we finally managed to request dessert menus, we were then left waiting indefinitely without any acknowledgment from, or sight of, the staff. Frustrated, and with two boys becoming tired, we reluctantly made the decision to leave without dessert. We had to fight our way to the bar (not because it's busy but because there's nowhere else for people just drinking to sit) to pay. When we told the server who was now behind the bar with all the other servers (they weren't all needed there) why we were leaving without dessert, she just shrugged and said, "we're busy". It's disheartening that what was supposed to be a special occasion ended on such a disappointing note due to the restaurant's lack of attentiveness and organisation. We had hoped for a nice family meal but it was disappointing. I won't be back soon. We're from out of the area but I have made several visits with family and for business. As a result of this experience I'm now thinking of cancelling a booking next week at the sister pub, The Recruiting Sargeant as I'm concerned once-high standards in this chain have slipped.

Today we Ordered 2 x takeaway Sunday roasts. Received no veg, and what was included in the mixed roast consisted of more fat than meat, and what was edible meat was undercooked. We Put more in the bin than we ate which was disappointing at almost £40 for 2 incomplete roast dinners. Previous visits had been decent and having not ordered from here for a few months it was a shame it was such a disappointment as we have had good experiences previously. When we rang and informed the staff we had no veg, they offered us a voucher but eventually refunded 1 main meal.

We dined out at the Black Boys at Aylsham with our granddaughters. The team are always so friendly and welcoming. The food is absolutely amazing and the restaurant is always busy . This is our 2nd visit this week as week took our friends at the beginning of the week and they loved it too .. thank you all , see you again soon

Great Sunday roast. Good choice of beers too. Very happy.

Great atmosphere, nice staff amazing roast dinner.

The accommodation was well presented and clean. The 'pub' was set out like a restaurant in that there was nowhere for the people who were only drinking to sit, meaning everyone was standing around the bar. This made getting served very difficult and there was nowhere to sit or stand without being in the personal space of the diners. At breakfast, it took a while to be seated despite having booked, and it took 40mins for someone to bring our drinks over so we'd actually finished eating before we got a drink. Young waiter was very grumpy. It's a nice place, but I think it needs to decide if wants to be a pub or a restaurant because the current set-up seems a bit shambolic.

Lunch with friends. Excellent choices on the menu. Portion sizes excellent, but go hungry and come back full. Ales were well kept and tasty.

Disappointing. My meal, the suet pudding wasn't cold but wasn't hot either. Trio of venison consists of 1 small sausage, a very small portion of venison cottage pie and a virtually inedible piece of haunch that was overcooked, difficult to cut and almost impossible to chew. At no point did any of the waiting staff ask how our food was, not even at the end of the meal when they could see a large piece of venison left on my husbands plate. Definitely won't be returning which is a shame as the other restaurants in the colchester Inn group serve lovely food. Seems like the Black Boys has let the others down.

This is another great Colchester inn place to eat and drink. We had a flat iron steak with crispy beef and a wrap. Both meals were very tasty, big portions and great value for the size and quality. The service was spotty but they were very very busy.

I have stayed here once and eaten here multiple times. Lovely room and great food always. Thank you

Excellent food, can be noisy at peak times but nice to see a local business doing well

I can't really comment on rooms as we didn't stay however the food is fantastic. Went for Sunday lunch and couldn't fine a thing wrong with it. Meat cooked to perfection, great extras and the gravy was wonderful (and I'm picky about my gravy 🤦‍♀️). Service was friendly and prompt. One of the best roasts in the area. Thank you

Went for dinner and food was great - good sized portion, great service and a friendly welcoming atmosphere

I was thrilled to discover this charming Aylsham pub, a hidden gem boasting ample space. It's a lovely, typical spot for a delightful experience in Aylsham. The atmosphere, and service is second to none.

Excellent food and friendly service, highly recommended,👍⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Love this place. Food is wonderful and well worth the money, staff friendly, helpful and smartly dressed.

Food was fabulous, better than pub grub !!

Celebrated a pre-wedding drinks event here last night. Really dug both the pub and the marquee out back they hosted the event in. Service was great from Abby and her crew the entire the night. Stuck around for food and had the BEST scampi and chips I've had in the UK...proper whole prawns with light batter!

One of my favourite pub to go to staff are great and very helpful

Lovely lunch. Excellent food and good service

Lovely place with friendly attentive staff. Foods was cooked to perfection and they catered for a number of changes to the order without a problem. Highly recommend and will be returning next time we are in Aylsham.

We have visited several times with no problems .. I booked a table today for 5 people as it was my mums birthday and my Husbands birthday .. the table we were originally give had an high chair so they changed that for a chair but the table wasn’t big enough to seat 4 never mind 5 .. I asked to be moved and was told they only had one bigger table we could use for an hour .. with a take it or leave it attitude so I was left with having to find somewhere else to accommodate a family lunch with 2 birthdays .. will we be returning .. NO I won’t which is a shame as the food is excellent .. shame the customer service isn’t at the same level!

What more could you ask for - great food, huge portions, reasonable prices, prompt service, wide range of drinks options. Great find, and the level that other pubs should try to emulate

Visited with family for Sunday lunch, what an amazing place! Food was excellent and staff were so good. It was super busy but staff were all attentive and kind. Can't wait to return. Veggie Sunday roast was delicious and the dessert was incredible.

We had lunch at the pub very busy at 1330. We had booked so seated quickly. Nice selection of beers and ales to choose from. Drinks arrived, and the food order was taken. Service throughout very friendly and efficient. Food all looked nice, very large meat suet pudding full of tasty meat with mash and veg. Large fish and chips and a large portion of scampi and chips. All the food was nice, but the common theme was large portions, so I would be very hungry. Lots of food is going to waste. We were so full there was no room for a desert. Therefore, the pub is losing trade and extra money. We will be back, but the portion size is a bit of putting.

Seriously delicious food, massive portions. I had the gravadlax starter, pictured. Followed by the salmon. Outstanding. No room for dessert unfortunately.

A lovely long weekend spent at the Black Boys. The staff were always friendly, attentive and helpful in this popular Inn and hotel. Our first room was comfortable and sympathetically modelled in this historic building. We also stayed in the Lord Nelson suite which was excellent. The meals we had never failed to impress. As the Black Boys is so popular one evening we ate in the bar area which was noisy but still had a friendly positive vibe. The breakfasts, also popular with non residents, offered a good choice and we're consistently good quality. The Black Boys is in the centre of a bustling market town but with such attentive staff, high quality food and luxuriously comfortable beds you cannot fail to a good time.

Without a doubt the best roast dinner in Norfolk. Always fresh with the best quailty meat and very generous portions. Added to that a great atmosphere and really friendly staff it really is a place I would highly recommend

Friendly staff, comfortable beds, lovely pub / restaurant downstairs - it was fabulous! Wish that we'd been able to stay more than one night, but the food (evening meal and breakfasts) were so delicious, that I might not have fitted through the door! Plan to return!

We ventured out to the Black Boys on recommendation from the owners of Abbey Farm, we had a fab dinnerr, would recommend a visit

Booked this hotel as a last min getaway with my wife and 2 sausage dogs and wanted to stay as close to the beach as possible as due to several bad experiences previously with booking guest houses etc I was wary of what to expect. The pub/hotel is situated right in the middle of Aylsham town with ample free parking available at the rear plus there is an outside area beer tent for food and drinks. On arrival it was very busy in the bar area but we were dealt with very promptly by the manager. We booked the Lord Nelson Suite which was lovely, with all of the amenities needed for a short stay. The room was a little expensive but we were very happy with the quality and comfort we experienced. The room was pretty quiet especially when above the pub with little or no noise. We did not order any food as we had already eaten prior to arrival but the menu did seem pretty expensive for pub food however it did look nice. The only negative aspect of our visit was the price for 1 x night but we are seeing price increases across all accommodation across North Norfolk. Travel - 30 mins drive to Norwich- 25 mins drive to Cromer- 30 mins to Norfolk BroadsAll in all, this is a lovely stay with the rooms being of a high standard. The staff are very friendly and they are also very accommodating with pets. We would definitely recommend this place again. Well done.

Great food and service every time . Those who have nt been you do nt know what you are missing !...Love the place.

Whilst on a mini break with our 3 dogs we fancied a meal out. We were welcomed with open arms and sat at a table in the main bar.When we ordered our food I asked if the pub could do some sausages for the dogs, and surprised when asked if they would like them warm or cold!The food was superb, and generously portioned.The pooches ended up with 2 good quality sausages each which they loved and we weren't rushed. The staff we so welcoming and helpful. A great meal out and I thoroughly recommend a visit here, with or without pooches.

During our stay in Norfolk we visited the Black Boys and the Bucks arms at Blicking, Both were amazing and would thoroughly recommend

Visited with my family after travelling to Alysham in November 2021. The service was ok, nothing to shout about and the food was mediocre. The menu was a double sided A3 page suggesting a large portion is frozen. I had the ribs which were ok, but the sauce was (I believe) microwaved or my meal had sat under the heat lamps for a while. My father had a burger which he said was not great and my mother had the veggie curry. Unfortunately, there was a hair within this meal.The manager (I believe) attended and in fairness, did remove the item from the bill without asking, but not without informing us that nobody in the kitchen had hair that length or colour. I felt that this was a little accusative. However, I do understand. I would recommend the venue for drinks but not food.

The food was ok. Wasn’t fantastic. Over priced. Premises are nice. Free parking. Hair in one of our meals, cost of that meal deducted.

Having a husband who has just had to go gluten free for medical reasons we've found many places don't really cater for this but, the black boys go beyond anywhere else we have been. The manager was so helpful explaining the menu, making sure my husband was happy to order anything as they were happy to change almost any item to suit his needs. The food was excellent. The staff were so busy but were very helpful. Would highly recommend this restaurant if you are gluten free. I must also say this place is 100% better than another of the chains restaurants that basically threw the menu at us and said read it, it has gf on what you can have. Cant wait to go back to the black boys

Our family was seated in the marque as we had our dog with us. No room for starter nor dessert as all mains served were huge.

Despite last minute they managed to fit us in, food was fantastic. Great portions, and all was delicious. Nice fresh fish, and passion fruit martinis.

Food is lovely ..wine is expensive, service was very slow (outside) got bored of waiting for the bill could have walked off but went in and asked to pay

We had visited the Bucks Arms previously and enjoyed the lunch so decided to try the restaurant,The food was very good tasty and nicely served. The menu is extensive catering to all tastes. We shared some crab cakes, which were very good and I had the brisket of beef which was very tender and juicy. We all enjoyed the meal, the portions are large. The staff were friendly and worked hard. I would recommend this restaurant

Really really good food. Ate here twice over the weekend and both occasions the food was unreal. One of the best roasts I’ve ever had eating out. Massively recommend!

Stayed for one night, room was large and comfortable and we had a room at front of the building overlooking the square. We had our dog with us and she enjoyed the view as well! We ate in the restaurant in covered area outside. Food was excellent especially the generously portioned local cod

Took my brother and partner here for lunch. Shocked to find no proper ramp to enable him to get into the pub. We were given what looked like a lump of wood fashioned into a triangle, not only highly unsafe but pretty sure wouldn’t pass inspection. To make matters worse we then discovered no disabled toilet on site for wheelchair users! Waitress told us to use the public disabled toilet in the town. Hospitality is required BY LAW to ensure premises are fully accessible and to supply metal ramp for entrance and exit if there is no level door access. So upset couldn’t even think about leaving a food review. Whole experience ruined it for us. It was a birthday celebration too!