The Jolly Sailors in King's Lynn and West Norfolk

SIL ordered a gluten free curry as they said it would come without the popadom after explaining it’s a very serious Gluten ALLERGY not just an intolerance. When it arrived it had the popadom on top of the curry. Asked the waitress if it was GF and she said she would double check with the chef and she returned saying it was. SIL ate some of the curry and waitress then rushed back out saying that it wasn’t GF and to stop eating it! After ruining a family meal with six adults and a child, one free soft drink was offered as an ‘apology’. The Jolly Sailors has extremely poor communication between staff, gross negligence towards their customers allergy needs and needs to be held accountable for the health risks they place upon the customer.

My husband and I went for mg birthday meal as we have always had lovely meals at the Jolly Sailors. I had the steak which was cooked to perfection medium as i like it served with salad and skinny fries and as i didn’t want pepper sauce they added coleslaw. My husband had the chicken curry we’d much he thoroughly enjoyed followed my treacle pudding and custard which was homemade and a very large portion so i bought my home with me as i couldn’t eat it all and i couldn’t bare to waste it. unfortunately as we had a early booking the restaurant was empty apart from ourselves so there was not a lot of atmosphere. I do think they could do a bit more extensive menu as there wasn’t a huge amount of choice. Everything was lovely as always. Will return on the next family celebration.

Pub has great character and staff were friendly and efficient BUT vegan burger option came without a burger bun (when this was queried with the waitress she went to check with the chef and she came back and said it was because the bun contained yeast). As yeast is a fungi and perfectly acceptable to vegans, I think a little staff training might be in order. My son did n’t want to embarrass the waitress so we let it go. I’ve ordered lots of vegan burgers in pubs for my son in the past and it has never come without a bun! Yes some bread might not be vegan if it contains egg or dairy, but vegan bread is n’t hard to come by.

We used to come here regularly but haven't been for a few years. Sadly, things have changed for the worse and we won't be going back. The dining room was noisy and so cold that my partner even put her coat back on. We arrived 15 mins early for our table, thinking we'd have a leisurely drink first, but the service was so brisk (and not always friendly) that we were back out in the car park within 40 minutes. It was a sprint and not at all relaxing. The menu featured a lot less of the smoked food that we'd gone for, but the pulled pork burger was delicious. Chips were nice but ordinary, as was the coleslaw. Bun - I didn't eat mine because it looked so 'plastic'.

Friendly staff, reasonably priced food, beer is good. My partner doesn’t eat big portions and always has the child’s portion which they are happy to give him. Sunday roasts are great value. Pizzas are very good too. Always a great atmosphere.

Lovely pizza and great beer with super friendly service . One of our favourite places to have a casual dinner on the Norfolk coast

We have been here before a few times and have always enjoyed our experience. Today was terrible and it was quite sad as this was one of our favourite places along the coast to eat. The waitress sat us at a table and we were left for quite a while. No one came by to take a drinks order. Its only when I said aloud we will have to find somewhere else to eat in a minute that a man seated near us speaking to a woman on a laptop got up and asked if we would like to order. We asked if we could have a kids menu as we weren't given one and a gluten free menu which there wasn't one, there were "options" for gluten free food and almost no completely gluten free meals. The man was polite and went to the bar and sent a waitress back to our table with the kids menu. We were left for a little while longer before a different waitress asked if we were ready to order food, but we hadn't even got drinks. She took our drinks order, bought them over and apologised it took so long. When it came to putting in our food order a different waitress clearly thought her memory was better than a pen and paper. We ordered fish and chips, gluten free fish and chips, an extra portion of chunky chips and a kids chicken tenders with beans. She memorised it and put it onto the computer then left. Rule number 1 of being a waitress, always write your orders down, regardless if you think you have a good memory or not for this very reason. When our meal arrived the fish and chips were fine although there were so few chips we were grateful that my fiance he had ordered extra chips. My partner ate it and said it was fine. The kids meal came with garden peas not beans - my toddler hates peas at the minute so she didn't eat any of them, just pushed them around the plate and onto the floor. My gluten free meal came with a very sorry looking piece of white fish that tasted like it had been frozen, microwaved and then put in the oven for a few minutes (I am not saying this is how it was prepared but it certainly looked and tasted this way) and my mushy peas were stone cold. The alternative to the delicious looking and sounding beer batter on the fish for us gluten free peeps is no batter at all. Now I do alot of baking at home which is gluten free and all it takes to make the batter is simple to make, gluten self raising free flour, gluten free beer, baking powder...nothing too extravagant and something I am able to achieve at home, also something you can make in small batches for the day with minimal waste or cost to the business. My white fish (I'm not sure it was cod) also had alot of bones in it in the piece I tried to eat. And we got no extra chips! I ate almost nothing of my meal (see my picture - this is how it was returned to the kitchen) and let my fiance and child enjoy their food whilst I checked my emails. When the waitress came and asked if everything was OK I told her no, and explained exactly what was wrong. She was so polite and apologised and told me she would inform the chef, which I believe she did. When she came back to clear the plates she told me she had taken the kids meal and my meal off the bill which was greatly appreciated, although we would have paid for the kids meal happily as she ate a reasonable portion of the chicken and chips. The waitress then offered a free pudding to me which although was a very kind offer I declined as I wasn't there for free food, just good food and I wanted to leave and get some food from elsewhere that I knew would be OK and that I could actually eat. I'm not sure if we had a bad time because it was past the lunchtime rush and they were having what sounded to be a rave in the kitchen and the standards had slipped or we were just really unfortunate but we will strongly consider other options before returning to this place in future. Its such a shame because we have never had bad food from here before and actually rated it quite highly on sites previously. I cannot fault the courtesy and politeness of the waitress we dealt with the most, she did a great job and was very considerate. She genuinely seemed disappointed and tried to correct the problems which is always gratefully appreciated.

We had a great meal. The dining room was a little cHilly but it was February! There was a great atmosphere in the bar and the local cider was great

Once again a lovely few meals and evenings spent here.Great service by all the staff as usual. Always come here if we are in Norfolk.

Popped in for lunch after a long walk on Brancaster beach to receive a warm welcome. Traditional pizza, cooked to order and fresh Brancaster mussels hit the spot perfectly. Check out the gents, ingenious use of old beer barrels.

We enjoyed two lovely evening meals in this relaxed pub with a nice atmosphere and helpful staff. On one evening we left a hostelry in nearby Thornham due to poor service… and were delighted to receive a warm welcome and good food at this establishment. The two pizzas we ordered on the second visit were absolutely perfect…. generous size, delicious toppings and crispy bases….. the best we’ve ever had !

How sad no mussels even though in season this is a favourite place for us as a treat after walking the dogs but no mussels which brings scthr kain reason we go to his place Bought my mussels on the way home and cooked them for myself

Stopped by for a meal after a day's walking on the coastal path. Fish & chips came in a lovely light batter, and the beef & bone marrow burger was meaty and delicious. Add in a couple of pints of good local ale and the result was a great pub meal. If you're opting for the sponge pudding for dessert, make sure you have room - it's not a small portion...

Pizza that arrived wasn’t what was ordered had to check with another server if it was gluten free . Was offered to cook another but that would have meant us eating at different times the server who took our order didn’t come over so had to ask someone else it was changed on the bill but very disappointed and won’t be in a hurry to return .

Great venue and good food particularly for children. Staff are excellent and seem to enjoy their work. Jenna was particularly helpful

Relaxed, friendly experience with great tasting food and good value. Children’s meals are a decent size as well. Everything was really fresh. All the staff are really lovely too - win win!

Huge and tasty pizzas. The moules were also spot on. Good selection of drinks. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Would recommend.

Amazing food! A great atmosphere- staff were very warm and friendly. Would 100% recommend and would love to go back. (Also dog friendly)

Lovely food in one of our favourite locations and great value for money. The squid and mussels were lovely. We will be back!

We visited four times in the week we were in Norfolk. This included the Shantymen festival weekend. Food and service as good as ever and no complaints there at all. One small niggle though. The pub was extremely busy and came indoors to escape the rain and as there were a lot of tables empty we just sat down without thinking. Female member of staff was over to us at lightning speed asking if we had booked. It would be great idea if when you are holding these events if you put reserved signs on the tables so at least then people won't just come and and sit down. Also witness a young guy being told off for sitting at the wrong table as it was reserved. He said that he was told at the bar it was ok to sit there.

Always a great atmosphere. Lovely beer and food. Great staff . Open fire on winter evenings. Restaurant and bars and large garden with garden room with TVs. Cannot fault this place. Very busy on school holidays. Best to book

The worst roast diner my two friends and I have ever had. Two of us had roast beef, which arrived swimming in a sea of instant gravy. The beef was cut into thin scraps. You couldn't really make out what vegetables were on the plate. I could see parsnips and carrots and asked if there would be any green vegetables. I was told there should have been cabbage and they bought that separately. It was yellow, overcooked and inedible. We paid extra for cauliflower cheese, which was also inedible and looked like warmed up cauliflower with a bit of grated cheese on top. We sent back the roast beef because it was so spoiled by the gravy. It was replaced with a plate each with a huge jug of the instant gravy on the side! Our friend ordered the roast pork and was given a vegetarian dish in error. This was replaced but the roast pork was no better than the beef. The staff were kind and helpful and could see how unhappy we were. We have taken this up, by email, with the owners, who apologised for the wrong dish but would not accept our criticism of the quality of the food. There are some fantastic places to eat where we live and this company has a good reputation for food in its other venue. What is worrying is that the group has taken on our local pub - which used to serve good quality and generous home cooked food. I really hope it is better than the food served at The Jolly Sailors but am sceptical after tis experience and the response to our complaint.

We enjoyed our meal very much. The food was well presented and enjoyable. Being dog friendly in the restaurant was a big plus for us

Great find. We went in for a drink and booked for food the next day. Went in with the family and had a great meal. Staff are really friendly. Very reasonable pricing.

The food was lovely. Fish n chips and gammon and chips. Service quick, food fresh and piping hot. Service with a smile too. Strange table, not very wide.

Just what I wanted proper pub food at reasonable price. Far too many pubs in the area have gone to far with the fancy food and fancy prices! Jolly Sailors has a traditional atmosphere ,warm, friendly ,tiled floors ,fires - just like it has been...

Excellent pub! Always a great place to go for food and drink. Lovely atmosphere. Tonight we were served by a girl called Jenna...I asked her name as she was so good I wanted to write a review! She was really helpful and friendly. Staff like...

A cosy and traditional village pub with open fire. Stopped off for fish & chips which were good. Good menu choice. Friendly staff.

We stopped for lunch at this unspoilt pub and enjoyed very tasty food at a fair price. The sea bass dish was yummy and the chicken curry a very generous portion. The staff are very friendly and helpful and the pub is spotless. We look...

Lovely unspoilt pub with a nice atmosphere. We enjoyed three courses, sharing starters and main. I had the mussels and they were delicious, good size portion and extra bread was provided when we asked albeit a little slow., they were very busy though. We ate...

Highly recommended. Excellent food and service. Fresh high quality food. Will go back again. Lovely staff very welcoming.

An easy to find unspoilt traditional public house with good wholesome food, with good service at reasonable prices and easy off street parking.

Visited twice - Friday & Sunday. Table drinks service very slow. Curry excellent. Fish & chips average - a bit greasy & a lot of batter vs fish Sunday menu lacking in the evening- no roasts available & no meat on the alternative menu. Brancaster...

Great food, great atmosphere, great service and very dog friendly. Would recommend and we will definitely visit again when we are back in the area.

Had a lovely late lunch and a few drinks here. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Very dog friendly. The food was delicious. We had prawns, garlic bread starters and gammon, spag bol mains. Really delicious. Highly recommend. We will definitely return.

We always love the Jolly Sailors we have been visiting here for many years and can honestly say the pub is pretty consistent in dishing up tasty meals. We visited yesterday Sunday 24th September and had booked online a couple of hours earlier as we...

We visited four times in the week we were in Norfolk. This included the Shantymen festival weekend. Food and service as good as ever and no complaints there at all. One small niggle though. The pub was extremely busy and came indoors to escape the...

Ordered the chicken wings from the specials.£9.50 for 4 small wings is not value for money.This is unusual for the Jolly Sailors and I left my feedback.

After a lovely Coastal Walk we looked forward to refreshments at the Jolly Sailor. Dogs were welcomed too. Lovely staff. Food was great too

Ventured out to Jollys a bit earlier this year (we only tend to visit in winter to avoid those pesky tourists) but we hadn't been out for a meal for quite sometime so we headed for our fav place! My fiancé LOVED his food as...

Gorgeous home cooked food, lovely staff and a great outdoor area with a kids play area, an icecream hut and outdoor bar too! The best kids menu we’ve seen whilst in Norfolk - my 5 year old loved the tomato pasta and 7 year old...

Amazing menu, dog friendly, childrens play area, lots of seats indoor and outdoors including an outside ice cream and bar so no big queues inside. All staff were friendly and Tom in particular was very helpful with all our questions and never stopped smiling. Would...

Great pizzas, delicious beer. Very friendly staff. Great selection of beers too. I always feel so relaxed here. Plenty of seating areas in different areas throughout the pub. Great for a relaxing meal and some great drinks.

Went for lunch, what a lovely, friendly pub with great food! So nice to have a truely family and dog friendly place that has such lovely food at reasonable prices.

Needed somewhere for a late family lunch for 7 people, one of whom is gluten intolerant. Having eaten here many times before it was an easy choice. Tried to book online but no tables available at the time we wanted, but my daughter said 'ring...

During our Summer holiday to Norfolk, we (yet again) made a visit to The Jolly Sailor - and we were not any less impressed than our previous visits. As always, the food was very strong. The salt and pepper squid have a delicious flavour and...

visiting this area on holiday and booked for our first night staff were very pleasant on arrival food and were very tasty and no complaints from us i ordered the fish & chips which were very nice as was the scampi & chips we booked...

We’ve enjoyed many a meals here with out a complaint, but on this occasion we have left feeling disappointed. We had nachos for starters, which turned out burnt and way too much toppings to tortilla chips ( and for £9.50 over priced) Our mains had...

We had 2 lovely dinners last week at Jolly Sailors. The menu clearly marks what can be made gluten free/vegan and I enjoyed a gluten free pizza with vegan cheese and it was lovely! Staff very friendly and servce very quick. Also lovely little.play area...

Great place, dog friendly, fabulous pizzas, huge and very tasty, friendly staff, definitely worth a visit

We arrived on time for our booking but had a very short wait for the table. We ordered a varied selection of food including pizza, burger, fish and pasta. The food is superb but the wait is immense…we had to wait an hour for the...

Great pub offering an excellent menu with daily specials. Service was first class and we had a really good lunch. Highlight was the prawn and chorizo spaghetti on the specials menu. One of the tastiest meals I’ve had in ages and the prices were realistic...

Our son has allergies to peanuts, tree nuts,egg and sesame and he carries an epipen.The staff were amazing with us. Nothing was too much bother. They offered him an alternative so that he could have his choice with slit changes. he cleared the plate! we...

Arrived to organised chaos, lots of dirty or empty tables yet told everything was booked. Took ages to get drinks at the bar and the staff seemed clueless. Food good once it arrived.

Not great service, extremely noisy and the pulled pork burger was exceptionally salty. Was thinking of going to the Lifeboat Inn at Thornham instead

We have spent the last couple of summers holidaying in North Norfolk and, to be fair, our visit to The Jolly Sailors was disappointing. There are some terrific places to eat and drink in Norfolk - some within a short walking distance of this pub...

Thank you to your superb team who helped us on Saturday with an exceptionally difficult personal situation. Your team were so professional and kind and handled a very difficult situation with true empathy. Special thanks to your Duty Manager, Emma and Connor. By empowering your...

Called in for a drink, and ended up having a snack too. Both were very good. Staff are very friendly, table are clean (we sat outside, but the tables were still serviced very quickly). I would happily try a meal there - the food leaving...

Had their curry and squid, top tier food 100% recommend would go again if I lived here but I’m only here for the holidays! Lovely pub and lovely beer garden. 10/10 food slaps. Jolly sailors slayed xx

A good pub for a family meal, with a nice atmosphere and plenty of eating location choice.... a formal doning room, the bar, a covered enclosed annex area with living vines across the inside of the corrugated plastic ceiling, and a good sized beer garden...

We went as a family of five (plus dog) on the first night of our holiday in Norfolk for dinner. Service was fast & friendly. The food was good and enjoyable. We liked it so much we went back for drinks the next day.

Family friendly pub with large beer garden. Can book table inside but tables outside are first come first served. Great menu and choice for kids plus specials. Food delicious

Booked a table for a Sunday lunch here and was excited to have a roast as promised on the website.. sadly they do not do it anymore which was dissapointing. But once I got over that I wasnt going to get a sunday roast the...

Food was good, staff friendly but the dogs were an issue for us. A few customers had dogs with them, this is not in itself a problem but the barking was. It spoilt our evening

Our favourite pub. We were back in Norfolk last week and eat here numerous times. Food and service always very good. Staff excellent and very welcoming. We did feel that maybe they were trying to reduce portion sizes a bit but maybe that was just...

Visited at the end of half term for lunch, jolly sailors is always the children’s favourite pub lunch! Staff were friendly, sat outside to enjoy the sunshine/playground so went in to order at the bar. Flexible as ever, daughter wanted sweet potato fries and the...

It was part of the reason we booked, but we were really pleased with how kid-friendly this restaurant was. Our nephew was so excited about the big play area and his colouring set, and there was plenty of space for our baby and pushchair too....

stopped off for lunch whilst walking past, pizzas were great and they even did gluten free bases! Staff were very friendly and super helpful. Very quick service. Lovely beer garden, dog friendly. So nice that we visited the day after for drinks.

We have been coming to Jolly Sailors for more than 10 years and we were left disappointed on this occasion. We waited for someone to take our order but there were no staff in the restaurant so I eventually ordered at the bar - no...

We visit Norfolk around 5 times per year and always visit the Jolly sailors once or twice per visit. This time our visit was so disappointing! The service was poor! We sat for ages without anyone taking our order and in the end I had...

Once again a superb meal and service at the jolly sailors. Harry, the pizza chef is exceptional as the pizzas are delicious. The service from Matt and his whole team was super attentive to all our needs. We highly recommend this establishment. Thank you so...

It's a great pub with decent beer, including some from the Brancaster brewery. The food is good pub fayre and also specializes in pizzas. Warm welcome from the staff. We've been here a few times over the last 20 years when in the area, and...

Lovely food , great value , friendly staff and the added enjoyment of the local Shanty men entertaining us. Well worth a visit

We had a very good meal here. There was plenty of room. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food tasted good. There was a good range of things on the menu. We had the Sunday roast - it was huge!

Visited the Jolley Sailors three times on our visit to Norfolk. The staff were very welcoming. Plenty of choice of drinks. We ate twice there, choices for vegetarians all at reasonable prices. Even the dog got a little biscuit each visit. It looked child friendly...

What a little gem of a pub. Service was exceptional and food was delicious. Highly recommend as a place for lunch. Dog friendly and walking distance to he beach.

Enjoyed a lunch with family was nice to have gluten free options will be returning soon to sample some more of the menu as it looked lovely .

Always good here, never disappointed. Enjoyed the salt and pepper squid again, and a couple of pizzas washed down with a couple of great beers. For a quick, no nonsense meal this is the place. Perfect Thank you

Food was good and wine fine but unfortunately having asked for water more than once the request was totally ignored. So marked down to 4 stars. A fun night with the Sea Shanties band playing.

Lovely friendly staff and tasty food. The pizzas are homemade and delicious. My husband had the mussels which he enjoyed. Our dogs for a warm welcome and lots of treats.

Good parking, Very clean inside. Nice menus and very friendly staff. Meals very good. The four of us will go there again.

We live locally to the Jolly and decided to book a late afternoon Sunday lunch as a great way to end the weekend The roast mains were absolutely outstanding Melt in the mouth beef and deliciously tender chicken, roasties to die for, huge Yorkshire pudding...

Enjoyed a roast dinner today, however for the cost of £18.50 for roast beef plus £3.50 extra for a position of cauliflower cheese I felt the portions could have been a bit more generous.

After a long morning of walking along the beaches, we made the “obligatory” visit to The Jolly Sailor (we go on every holiday). As always, we were not disappointed. Firstly, the service was exceptional, the staff are consistently friendly, and in spite of a fairly...

Sad to visit the Jolly Sailors to see large TV screens . Sunday menu is a reduced menu. We have been eating here for years I think we will look for alternative place .

We had a very enjoyable evening being entertained by Nelson's Shantymen. A warm greeting, great table service, an excellent salad and pizza washed down with a local brew. Thank you.

Sunday roast beef was delicious, lean tasty beef, gravy and Yorkshire puddings like your nanny used to make for the family, vegetables cooked to perfection 👌would recommend the food and the service.

A very friendly pub, warm and welcoming by friendly staff and an open log fire! Great food and choice of local ales. Good honest home cooked meals again using local produce.

Called in 19th Jan mid afternoon as we wanted to try the muscles that you claim they are fantastic. As we are muscle eaters …we were very disappointed as they were tasteless and regretted our choice . Where was the garlic could not taste a...

Lovely pub, dog friendly, good beer, friendly atmosphere. We really enjoyed having a few beers here. Food is supposed to be good (and definitely looked good) though we didn’t try it ourselves.

The best mussels around by far. Great service Caitlin, Matt and Kieran made it super special. Birthdays don’t get much better than this. Thanks team Jolly xx

Had a thoroughly enjoyable late afternoon meal in the Jolly Sailors today. Managed to get a table on a busy Bank Holiday 👍 Good Menu 👍 Reasonably priced 👍 Great service.....thank you particularly to Kieron 👍 Shared Salt and Pepper Squid with Garlic Mayo to...

Lovely pub great food great service. We came in from a very wet walk on New Year’s Eve and despite being really busy found a table and all ate small mussels with bread and chips. Nice to go to a proper pub in North Norfolk...

Even though we are not local, we love visiting Brancaster and so have been to The Jolly Sailors three times in the last four weeks. Today was the best with six of us. Half of us had the Sunday lunch, which was cooked to perfection....

I bloody love this place. Port in a storm, safe harbour, child friendly, dog friendly, everyone friendly. I always prefer it in winter because you walk in to that roaring fire and it’s always full of jolly people taking jolly refuge from the cold. We...

Visited for Saturday Lunch and pre booked Sunday lunch. Four of us without a booking on the Saturday but not a problem. Table service was superb and we enjoyed pizzas & a salad. Excellent Neck Oil, if a little pricey! Sunday Lunch was pre-booked and...

We went to the Jolly Sailors to watch the England V USA match- the food was delicious, the drinks served quickly and competently and nothing was too much trouble for Simon and his team- highly recommend a visit- there aren’t many places where you can...

We have a meal here every year on holiday, and a bit disappointed this time. It still retains it’s family and dog friendly, traditional pub and unpretentious feel, so a nice change from most gastro pubs in the area, but why has the pricing crept...

Like a previous reviewer I don't get why this pub is so popular. We mostly chose it because it was close to where we were based and our host recommended it as a good place to eat with kids because of its play area. The...

A quick call to check they were dog friendly (yes) and they had a table (only 1 non-reservable table left) The place was packed at around 6pm on the Tuesday of half term but the staff were so friendly and happily moved a chair so...