The New Forge in Broadland

We visited here for Sunday lunch for a family members Birthday. To say our experience was awful was an understatement. Our table of 9 arrived on time for our table, it took 25 minutes including us chasing the waiting staff twice for them to take our drinks and food order. The food is basic, the carvery is clearly mostly frozen and my partner had fish and chips and was unable to finish his food due to it being very oily. Our children’s chicken nuggets arrived burnt. Having finished (what we did eat) a gentleman who was clearly a manger, then proceeded to ask us several times how our food was, quickly followed by a rude lady who then approached us and told us we had overstayed our time limit and they needed our table for others. We wouldn’t have minded so much, however at this point we had barely been there for an hour and at no point is there any mention of a time limit. In summary, the staff are useless and rude. The food is terrible and the service is a joke. Avoid and save yourself wasting money here as it ruined what should have been a nice family Birthday meal. This place was terrible from start to finish.

Was here for my birthday meal and all meals where not gdd they need to learn to cook food properly i can cook a hundred times better than this plus we waited ages for these terrible meal would not recommend this to any one save your money people go to mc ds

Food was not a very high in standards at all chips and onion rings were dripping with oil,steak was not cooked as requested,when we got there we order a few drinks a young lad took are drink order even though he was still sorting drinks for other people never waited so long just for a drink.would not come back again so £100 for poor food and poor service for four people,way over priced .

It’s an okay restaurant to go for drinks in and it is very homely and great staff but the food is poor quality my chips where dripping in grease/oil I do not recommend eating here absolutely terrible quality of food.

Chips were absolutely drenched in grease and the chips were just thrown on the plate of my ribs to go soggy in my what they say is bbq sauce but looked and tasted more like water staff were all friendly and it’s a very homely looking put but only good for a drink.

Went here for 1st time tonight, food was excellent, staff were friendly,,atmosphere was very relaxing If we didn't live 2.5 hours away it would definitely be our regular place to go.

My partner & I have become regular customers at the Forge, so we often come here because she likes the Tai food but I usually have a traditional English dish, such as fish & chips, pie etc. However, I'm not happy that a few weeks ago she was served a part frozen cheesecake dessert, that had obviously been put in the microwave to defrost last min, as she said the base was a little warm but in the middle parts still frozen, and it had arrived collasped on her plate so not upright. We didn't complain at the time because we had arrived just before they stopped serving, so the lady who served us seemed like she was getting ready to leave and staff were rushing about, when we had finished eating. I think we were the last customers left in the restaurant by then. So when we returned recently we made a point to mention the issue with her dessert to the same lady who served us before, who apologised and said that she would not have charged us if we said something on the day and it shouldn't have been given to us like that in the first place. We explained the reason to her why we didn’t. Anyway when an older man, owner I believe, came to take our order for our desserts, we mentioned to him about the part frozen cheesecake, which he said he was already told about and it's now sorted. So we both assumed that 'sorted' meant my partner's dessert was going to be free when it came. But to our surprise, when we paid for the bill at the end, we were charged for both desserts, around £6 each, as well as our main meals & soft drinks of course. I am very much disappointed that after complaining about my partners part frozen dessert that she had before, we were still charged full price for the same dessert for her, even though the waitress told us she would not have charge us if we had told her at the time. So why then charge us for her dessert the second time around, after our complaint? Also the portion size arrived smaller than before, which was strange! Unfortunately due to this unpleasant experience and lack of good customer service, we have decided that we probably won't be returning because of the manner in which the owner dealt with our complaint. It's not that we wanted a free main meal, but not to give us a complimentary free dessert to make up for a poor dessert previously, is not good! £6 is hardly breaking the bank! So therefore it shows us they don't value their regular customers here, which is sad!!!!

Lovely go to thai complete meals all on one plate scrumptious

I noticed the parking near the entrance was used by a disabled patron. It however was in a gravel carpark and the lady in question struggled to push her frame over the rough terrain. We opted for the carvery and joined a short queue to get our food. The queue ran through the restaurant tables and I felt slightly uncomfortable standing by other people's tables whilst they ate their food. There was a good selection of food however the parsnips turned out to be all black and inedible and all the goid was only luke warm. There was plenty of meat and the hot gravey saved the day. The service was good, prompt and polite.

Great food, very friendly and good value for money. But the tables were sticky!

Great food, very friendly and good value for money. But the tables were sticky!

Very nice food and restaurant only complaint was the time it took for the food to arrive even though it wasn't particularly busy nearly an hour from ordering .

Very nice food and restaurant only complaint was the time it took for the food to arrive even though it wasn't particularly busy nearly an hour from ordering .

Lovely food, nice options Good prices Clean toilets Ample tables and carpark spaces Lovely staff Recommend to book table beforehand Can be a bit noisy in dining room full

Lovely carvery, good portions, can get a bit busy as so popular. Best to book inadvance

First time here as we are visiting the area. Food was lovely. Service was ok, staff were friendly. Reasonably priced.

As always a delicious meal and good service.

Exceptional service with a smile. Great menu with a variety of options available. Steak and kidney pie with new potatoes and vegetables is delicious. Highly recommended.

We had booked and have been before knowing food was good. When we arrived there were two people at the booking part of the bar...... One seemingly ignored us and walked passed us twice, tge other continued on his phone and mumbled he would be with us shortly... He never was. It was a good 4 minutes before a third member of staff actually asked us about our booking and finally, with a little embarrassment, showed us to our table. As usual the food was fine but we will consider going elsewhere from now on as there are places with good food and good service near Aylsham. A shame.

Fantastic Thai Fusion. I really wanted a Thai meal, but when I saw someone with a 10oz rump steak, I was drawn to it! So much choice. Have had many Thai meals here and they never disappoint. Easy to park and extremely reasonable prices.

Good place for some well priced food, tasty Thai and good carvery.

Visiting family in the area who took me here for a meal. Excellent food, VERY reasonably priced and pleasant, polite and friendly staff

Beautiful Sunday carvery great price. Booked over the phone and got a Excellent table for the family. Fantastic kids play area. Well thought off Toilets spotless. Plenty of seating area and really nice inside. Very impressed. Staff were so friendly Would def like to come back for Thai meal. Had roast beef beautiful. Thank you. We will be back.

Booked and asked for a nice table. Spot on lovely big table in the corner. Perfect for the family. Carvary was excellent. Lovely play area for children well thought of. Toilets were spotless. Staff very friendly and welcoming. . Plenty of seating area and a cosy feel for the evening meals which def would love to try the Thai. Definitely recommend we will be back. Thank you all

Highly recommend the Sunday carvery. Great food, great service and great value for money. I would like to come back to try the Thia food.

Very noisy . We ordered lunch from Thai menue. Mine was just onions, no vegetables and 3 giant prawns that were uneatable. My friends came with only some of the mixed fish. They had to cook/heat the rest and bring it in a separate bowl. Very disappointed and not worth the price. The only good thing was the staff were polite.

We had a wonderful family meal here, 20 people for a Sunday roast and they managed marvellously. The carvery was excellent, no overcooked vegetables here, and a very good selection for the sweet course. Plenty of parking and a good kid's play area.

Delicious food. Our favorite restaurant. We visit it often.

Took the mother in law and Mrs for a evening meal. Fantastic food and service. Definitely be back soon 👍

Quality all around really. They was so so busy. We will certainly/definetly be coming here some more as it is on one of our special routes

Great food and affordable. Highly recommend the Sunday roast.

Lovely staff, although not on the button and an odd menu. Prawn cocktails and chicken satay just confuse me in a starters menu. The Thai dishes that we went for were so lacking in flavour and sorry to say, everything. Ate half of it as we were hungry, but this is not Thai food. Not sure if they have thai staff, as they’re knocking out English meals and a few thai dishes thrown in. Not for me

Drinks were very reasonably priced. Restaurant was busy. We decided to see if we could get some snacks. Not much available. We had nacho with sour cream and guacamole. My friend asked for no sauce and got a plate of nacho. Very disappointed didn’t offer anything else so go with it and it still cost the same for about 10 nachos.

Tim still grafting away had a lovely carvery today served by a really nice young man the staff all work so hard the meal was spot on as usual we had table 6 nice and bright as sun was going down through ajacent window, Thankyou Tim and all the staff at The Forge

Had a Sunday carvery today with good friends, absolutely wonderful food well worth a visit.

Good experience, friendly Staff

We came here for the first time having driven past it many times. The food is excellent and well priced. The service is good and friendly. We'll come again

Staff friendly enough but having eaten at many Thai restaurants I feel that there are better ones in Norfolk, the salad tasted musty and the quality of my starter and main dish was pretty poor, I’ll stick to Thailands in Thorpe, may be a tad more expensive but it’s worth the money.

Food was good. Some parts of the restaurant need some decor improvements as a few patches of damp. Also does the heating have to be so hot. Save energy. The table service could do with some improvement staff not very people friendly and it doesn't do the place justice.

The restaurant was warm and pleasant. Dated decor but not shabby and was clean and well kept. The service in our area of the restaurant was perfect. The let down was the quality of the food. Although fresh ingredients were used it was lacking the quality flavours associated with Thai food. The food seemed to lack spices. A lot of it was greasy and flavourless. The chili dip was very standard and tasted identical to a shop bought sauce. The experience was further let down when the restaurant began to empty of customers the staff begun their own loud entertainment, eventhough there were still diners at some tables. They were shouting across the tables to each other as if the place was empty. We couldn't hear to talk over their loud chatter and banter. I know they have a job to do but to have them shout to each other over the tables while we were sitting down eating was very off-putting. They could have walked over to each other and spoken quietly, and toned down the banter. Although it is nice to try new places I feel there is no reason to return.

Really nice place and good food. Prices are fair

Really good food and excellent value, service was acceptable. My only gripe with the place was that they’ve painted the beautiful old beams orange. Most people wouldn’t notice this I suppose but being a builder that specialises in preserving old buildings it irritated me! I get that the decor is supposed to oriental but there are ways to do that without striping the character out of what was a beautiful building. One day this place will change hands and some poor bugger with some taste is going to have to strip all that paint off. But I suppose to most people this is a minor detail other than that it was a lovely meal.

Excellent food at a very reasonable price

First off ….. Hands up !! We are food snobs 😂 my husband is a chef and we have previously owned our own fine dining restaurant. We ALWAYS eat at Colchester inns , we have done so for 18 + years. So today we had a Carvery at The New Forge ( we courted there 32 years ago when it was The Greens ) We were both really pleasantly impressed!! The service was brilliant 🤩 friendly and quick ( and it was BUSY!!!) The Carvery was lovely too, lots of choices with only the Yorkshire puddings seemingly bought in. The guy on the Carvery was super friendly and tried to oblige all my wishes. We had dessert……. LUSCIOUS ❤️🥰 and to top it all off the young gentleman at the till was just LOVELY ☺️ also it’s AMAZING VALUE FOR MONEY 💰 5* Thank you 🙏 xx

We come here yearly for our work Christmas Party. Tim and his staff are very lovely and the food is very nice.

Once again a fantastic carvery for our group of a dozen. The place was packed to the rafters but the staff were all calm and composed. Generous portions of the meats on offer. All veg from counter was hot and not dried out like some places. Well worth the ride out from Great Yarmouth to fill our bellies. From the bar team to the servers to the chappie with the very sharp knives - faultless... And an extra note, probably the cleanest set of toilets we have used at eateries across Norfolk we've frequented.

1st time at the forge highly recommend the carvery was the best I've had for years service brilliant and atmosphere tremendous well done to all the staff for making g us we8

Awful Xmas special dinner. None of us enjoyed it ! Never go again. It cost. £20 , it wasn't worth £5. Service was ok but the meal 😂

We went there for a Sunday carvery. Price is reasonable. Food was average, but it was enjoyable. Table service for the desert was very slow. There were barking dogs, which did spoil our visit.

We booked for the Sunday carvery a first time. The roast beef was the best I have had large thick slices tender and tasty. The vegetables , yorkshires good also and the gravy beautiful . A huge selection of deserts all at a great price.

Lovely Sunday carvery, great choice of vegetables and the meats are delicious 😋. The staff are great!

Great service from arrival. Shown to table and got drinks immediately. Carvery was abundant with lots of different choices, meat was plentiful and everything was done to perfection and tasted fresh. Staff were very attentive throughout without the feeling of being rushed. The pudding was to die for. Surroundings very beautiful. Overall a very very pleasant lunch with my Daughter. ***** 10/10 will be back for more soon definitely.

Lovely food had both main meal and carvery there and both lovely ,service is great

Nice food, good value. Staff grumpy and rude decor needs attention mould on ceiling needs to be sorted out

The staff are good pleasant. The food was something else it was awful so called Thai more like boiled duck & veg never tasted anything like it. The place was empty for a Friday night say something. The beer was flat either old or dirty pipes

Great food, selection & very affordable.

Had the carvery which was okay served by a young male waiter who was not very attentive had to keep chase him to order the food and when we asked for the dessert menu he never came back with the menu so had to distract another waitress who sorted us instantly. Seems to have lots of OAPs for customers. The place is clean enough and has a large carpark though.

Food is average. We had fish and chips which is okay for £11+. I had a pork sautéed in chilli oil. It was okay, I think for me it's too sweet and not too spicy. My little one had chicken nuggets and it's overcooked. Service is good, the guy who served us I think he's half Brit and half Spanish. He's friendly and approachable. Nice ambience. Nice choices of draft beers and cider. Price is in the middle range.

A table for four was booked Tuesday 10 October 2023 my wife and I had never been before the other couple in our group had.we arrived for 1.0 pm taken to a reserved large round table ask if we would like drinks while waiting for the other family members to arrive. The new forge has a very large dining area and has a pleasant relaxing atmosphere, the toilets are impeccably clean. The other couple arrived thy to were immediately offered drinks after five minutes a very nice waitress came to take our order, I was the only one to have a starter , prawn spring rolls they were on the table within five minutes very very hot and tasty and with plum sauce and a green garnish. My wife and I enjoyed a very delicious plate of lightly batted king prawn balls ( Not Stodgy ) served with rice a sweet chilli sauce hotter than expected but delicious again with a green salad garnish. The other couple enjoyed a Thai chicken green curry they were excellent portions . This was followed by ginger sponge pudding and custard, ice cream, a passion fruit and lemon sorbet and finally a chocolate fudge cake and custard. The food was simply delicious. The staff friendly and jovial the service excellent, the new pub / restaurant is delightful very well worth a visit, I doubt you will be disappointed, all in all outstanding is the best description We will be visiting again in the new year and looking forward to it once again .

Excellent carvery, delicious sweet

Excellent choice of food at very good prices. Would highly recommend

Beware vegans/vegetarians/those with shellfish allergies! We ordered sweetcorn cakes off the vegetarian menu, and after I had eaten some, I asked the server to check if they were vegan (so my vegan daughter could try some). I expected the server to say that they had egg in them. However, the manager came over a few minutes later (while I continued to eat them), and informed me that they contain shellfish in the paste they use: "but only about 1%". Er, no, that's not vegetarian, and most definitely shouldn't be on the vegetarian menu. Plus many people have shellfish allergies. I pointed this out to the manager, who to be fair, seemed to be mortified that his chef had been using this product in a vegetarian dish. One of our party had ordered the green curry, also from the vegetarian menu. The manager came over a short while later to say that this dish also contains shellfish paste!!!! So a warning to those who don't eat shellfish - ask the servers to confirm the ingredients. The staff were very nice, and friendly, but the food took a long time to be served, and was mediocre. We were waiting about 40 minutes for our starters, and about an hour for our main courses, and it wasn't that busy in the pub.

Great place for families, huge play area on a bit contained garden. Really big menu with lots to choose from and very friendly and welcoming staff. Food was ok, good pub food. Would visit again if we are in the area, thank you!

Outstanding serviceand a great playground for the kids. Loads of space inside or out , and great value. The fish was fab and yummy desserts.

Reading some of the reviews I can’t really see how they mark it down .. we went with friends and I can quite honestly say there is no faults, the staff are really friendly and quick to act .. the food was absolutely amazing and probably the best value for money Iv ever ever seen …. We will be back !!

My wife and I were staying up in North Norfolk for a few days. We were looking for somewhere to eat and saw this We didn’t book but the young lady at the counter took us straight to a table took our order for drinks whilst we looked at the menus. We both decided on a Tikka Masala. It was really tasty and very well presented on the plate (arrived quickly too) We both really enjoyed it. We decided on a desserts. My wife had ice cream and I had the sticky toffee pudding. Both were really lovely. Staff were very polite and helpful. We would definitely go back when we are in the area again. Excellent food exceptional service and great value for money.

Excellent food and service. I had the noodles on the Tai menu and my family members had from the English menu and we all enjoyed the dishes. Would recommend a visit.

I wasn't sure what to expect when being seated as the interior felt like a bog standard pub, however the food was really delicious, staff were friendly and food was reasonably priced too. Will definitely go back

Lovely meal, sweet & sour fish. Service was very good and didnt have to wait long. Good on prices.

Always top quality food and great value for money.

Had carvery, very good decent price good beers

Arrived to have a meal @ 5.30 pm on a Thursday apparently they didn't want my business as I hadn't booked ! Really ...early eve... mid week... loads of tables. Wasn't so long ago restaurants were desperate for business now apparently they don't care about turning your business away via a moody looking girl. We won't be back

Attentive staff n lovely atmosphere. My mum, our friend n I have been there on numerous occasions. Our meals have always been lovely. I adore their Thai food and their Sunday lunch is very tasty n good value for money. Does help they serve Aspall on tap!!! Go n enjoy you won't be disappointed.

First time and it was really good food at a really good price. Cheapest beer in a long time 🍺 and service with a smile 😃

First time there ,will be back when in the area again

quality food excellent value brilliant service great location

Really disappointed with the food and service here. We had a selection of meals but none of which were any good. Staff seem very apathetic. When we drew attention to the food issues we didn’t even get a hint of an apology. Decor is tired and tables really sticky.

In a word! Lovely. Go see for yourselves. 😁👍

Have been to The New Forge for lunch a few times, took friends in the evening and was surprised how busy they were. Greeted with friendly smiles from the staff, good choice of beers on tap, extensive menu, Thai or English all at reasonable prices, the rump steak was cooked to perfection plus the Thai meals as well. Would recommend.

Walked in for a drink and something to eat on a Sunday afternoon. They were very accommodating and found us a table. Appeared to be a popular place for locals and there were plenty of people taking in the carvery option. Their main menu was also available so it was good in terms of choice.

Excellent choice of food at affordable prices. Quick, friendly service and the food was very tasty. Would recommend 😋😊.

Love coming here. The food is lovely, plenty of vegetarian options for my girlfriend which is great! Would 100% recommend The Forge to anyone.

Went there tonight with family to celebrate my sons 18th birthday. Table booked for 7pm. We arrived at 10 to 7. Took till 7.30 for our order to be taken. We received it at approximately 8. Then at nearly 9pm we were still waiting for our main. Unfortunately we gave up and got pizza on the way home. We watched other customers come and receive there food before us. The food we did receive wasn't anything special. I ordered the nachos which looked like they were bottom of the bag. The staff seemed disorganised. I will not be going again.

The staff were lovely, the food was good. Good value for money.

Family meal. We hadn't booked. It was busy, but they squeezed us in and made us feel very welcome. Excellant all round

Good food and drinks at good prices. Always hard working family run business you have to admire

Great Sunday Lunch. A bit of a wait at the carvery. Table was incredibly sticky but apparently that's the cleaning product. Pretty good though.

Short of staff not good shame food very good wanted pudding could not wait

Poor service from start to finish. Arrived, waited 5/10 minutes to be seen, waited another 5/10 minutes to be seated. Really disorganised between all the staff. Got seated an the waiter was apologetic about the service. Food was pretty poor, we had a carvery, roast potatoes were the only good thing everything else was tasteless. I wouldn't recommend and i wont go again.

I ordered of the Thai menu, tom yam gai which was nice, main giant king prawns with peppers and onions didn't taste authentic Thai flavours.

The food was ok but nothing special, the waitress was really helpful and pleasant, there was only one other person in the pub watching the football. Won't be rushing back.

Great food and great service great staff.

Easy to find, huge car park, inside was warm and spacious. Food was simple and tasty. Staff friendly and interactive. Will go again

Birthday meal with a table for 4. Restaurant warm and welcoming and staff friendly. All had starters and main and food served well and presented well. Food was hot. Drinks were served promptly even though restaurant busy.

We went as a group for a meal. The service was friendly and attentive. The food was really good, nice portion size and piping hot. For a large place, the acoustics were good, too.

Staff where very helpful and friendly and food and drinks were reasonable prices and very good. Will definitely stop there again for food and drinks.

We called in the restaurant although the food was ok the staff could have been more friendly, and helpful.

I visited with a group of four, all meals were good except mine which didn't tast good and made me quite ill that night

Not very good re allergies. Staff need to be trained up on allergies .

Decided to go for a Thai meal, a mistake! Unfortunately, not the best Thai meal I have ever had. The prawn starter was good and a generous portion. Same cannot be said for the sweet and sour pork, sauce was ok pity about the pork done in batter and the vegetables. Mind you I couldn't fault the rice. Would have probably been best to stick to Pie and chips which looked ok on the adjacent table. Service was good so no complaints there. The decor is dull and old fashioned, needs brightening up.