The Swan Hotel Restaurant in South Norfolk

Second stay here had a nice time, & nice food.

Lovely people. Great food put on for funeral.

Wouldn’t recommend the carvery, Booked for 10 of us, we all had Yorkshire puddings that was rock hard, veg not cooked. However the roast potatoes were nice. Wouldn’t go back.

Dreadful. Skin on chips were the worst chips I've ever eaten - soggy, starchy lumps of limp porato (tip - if using 'fresh' potatoes then wash, parboil and leave to cool to remove the excess water and starch then fry sufficiently long enough to cook them properly and crisp them a bit. That's the most basic thing ever). Pate was served on cheap sliced bread. Plaice was a tiny fillet barely noticeable inside the batter (which was excellent though to be fair) and the frozen peas had been briefly boiled and slung on the cold plate. They were cold. The large burger was left half eaten as it was awful. The pork schnitzel was tougher than the table and couldn't actually be cut for an attempt to be made at eating it. The lasagnas were apparently ok. Ok not really being what was expected for that price of course. Service was pleasant but the wait was ridiculous - I've been served quicker in France.

We went to the Gillingham Swan for our Sunday lunch recently and found the experience very poor. The customer service was dreadful with nobody seemingly knowing what to do or how to do it. We approached the carvery serving area and were completely ignored by the chef and some of the other staff. Finally, we were given our vegetarian 'roast meat replacement' which was a lasagne! Who eats lasagne (which was basically sloppy pasta in tomato sauce) with the their roast potatoes and vegetables? The quality was low. the service dreadful and the price on the high side. Avoid if you want to be treated with respect and want a good meal.

Walked from hippersons boatyard about 10 to 15 minutes well worth it. Food excellent, enough for two really, service excellent and friendly staff. Value for money. When we are back will definitely visit again.

Visited for a Carvery Lunch on Sunday. Quality was probably the best in a long while. Could benefit from a family area.

Local pub for us. Quirky interior and well kept outdoor space. August bank holiday beer fest is legendary!

Great rooms very cosy and delicious food for great portions.

Went in for a pint , very nice Sat outside but the smell of cig ash was a put of The outside decking needs sweeping often

Lovely food in charming surroundings. Will definitely go again.

Welcoming interior. Pleasant, helpful staff. Good food, large portions at reasonable prices. Plenty of parking. Would advise booking ahead.

I've been staying at the Swan for a few years now and the service never alters food is well above any standard great price and plenty of it

Discovered this pub whilst out on a cycling ride, it's a absolutely lovely pub, served by happy friendly staff, food looked amazing so definitely coming back again when I'm not on the bike.

Totally amazed at friendliness and value for money. Was recommended by boat yard in Beccles and went twice for dinner. Astonishing food for the money. Thank you

Had a lovely time here, two adults and a dog. Honeymoon suite cozy and comfortable, spotlessly clean. The staff were friendly,the food was extremely tasty and good value. Great walks. Would not hesitate in revisiting. Can highly recommend The Swan Motel

Had a beautiful carvery there, was pretty busy and had to queue in line to be served, food was plentiful and tasty..would definitely return

Lovely place, had carvery really good 👍 Lovely gardens to sit in.

Immaculate rooms, nice quiet location and nice big breakfasts

Beautiful meal ! Excellent chef! Friendly and wonderful atmosphere. Will definitely be back. Chris front of house- perfect. Thank you.

I've been to the swan a few times and the experience is always a positive one. The food is really good value for money, very generous portions and good flavour. The staff are usually really friendly, a couple of them in particular really stand out for great customer service. Service on our recent visit was generally a little slow, especially for the main to come out, but it didn't bother us too much.

Rooms and restaurant are good. Food rich and tasty.

This is a great place to send a night or two - very clean, very comfortable and the breakfast is AMAZING. Staff are lovely - friendly and efficient.

Friendly staff, nice garden and plenty of parking. Adnams on tap. The rooms were cheap, so good value for money (I've stayed at similar for much more money), but these are basic rooms. The mattress was old and damaged by people sitting on the edge of the bed. No biscuits! The bathroom was tiny but I had a lovely hot shower. The Sunday carvery was busy, so clearly popular with locals, but was fairly average. Meat was tender, but the potatoes were terrible and the veg was very soft. Have also attended a function there. The buffet was terrible, stodgy dry sandwiches and cash and carry sausage rolls and scotch eggs. Not a single fresh/green thing! For a family-friendly venue I was shocked to be told (and shown) there are pictures of half naked women in the men's toilet... It's 2024. Grow up!!

A family lunch for eight of us. The swan has always been brill but not this time. I think they may have changed the chef as the meals were not of usual standard. The sauté potatoes and chips were very oily. Guess we’ll try somewhere else in future which is a pity.

Been there with my wife 4 times now as we both like it there , food is very good ...... service is good but could be better ..... it was my wife's birthday today so trested her to a meal there along with my step daughter, the lady who took our mains order was OK but could have been better.

Group of ladies out for a meal & a chat, should have been 7 of us but 1 forgot! Clean differently decorated pub & staff seemed friendly but very busy as a few large groups had booked, all wanting to be feed at the same time. We we're surprised the place was so busy on a Wednesday evening but pleased to see a thriving local pub. Food arrived in a reasonable amount of time considering the kitchen was busy. Very generous portions, most piping hot, nice to have it served on warm plates as it keeps the food hotter for longer. Everyone virtually cleared their plates & the two top'taste' meals that two of the group had, were the spinach roulade & the hunters chicken . Chicken supreme sauce was tasty but unfortunately chicken a little dry,over pan fried. Also salad on plate was dressed with some kind of oil that made it very greasy & inedible. All in all an enjoyable evening. Thankyou

Excellent service by Chris and the food was brilliant. Looking forward in going back again soon. Regards Mike and Jacky

Staff were great but the food was very poor, vegetables cold, potatoes swimming in grease and ages in between courses. Have wanted to go there for some time but would not return.

Had one of the best roast dinner in Suffolk. And I have been to quite a few . Great location staff are brilliant. Dinners from 12 am to about 7pm in the evening on Sunday . Very clean toilets alway mean clean kitchen. Well done all

Had a lovely lunch today. Pleasant welcoming staff. Friendly, polite. The meals were really nice. Fresh veg, Lamb Shanks. The desserts are amazing. Great presentation. Definitely recommend. Will return. Thank you.

A lovely pub, the restaurant was lovely, food was delicious and the staff were very attentive , looking after our large table very well ☺

The Swan is slipping downhill it seems. The lasagne I had was so greasy I couldn't eat it. The first thing i did was spoon the grease off the top into a napkin. The sauce on top had split into curds and grease. The salad had an oily dressing all over it that I didn't want on, but wasn't given the option. It's left me feeling still hungry, but nauseous, every cloud eh? Nobody came to check if things were okay or if we wanted any more drinks. We had to wait over an hour for below standard food and the place wasn't busy at all. In difficult times it's important that places do better. We won't return again.

Our car broke down near by. The staff at the swan were extremely helpful and friendly. They were fully booked but still cooked my children a bowl chips (which were yummy) and made us hot drinks. They checked in on us also, even though they were busy. Will definitely go back.

We went last night for a family birthday meal, we got there early, booking was for 6-6.15, grandson and son playing pool, waitress came over to say she wanted us sat down and ordered by 6 as she was busy!! It was 5.40 we were still waiting for rest of party to arrive. She then came over again at 5.55 asking us to take our seats as we could order our meals before the others arrived. They got there at 6 and before they could even take their coats off she was asking them to order. Meal was ok we did not have a sweet we weren't sure we had the time!!!!!!! None of us plan to return we all felt totally rushed. We had hoped for a relaxing family Birthday meal definitely not what happened. Your staff need to learn about customer care and service. My advice is don't go here if you want a relaxing evening meal.

Some meals now and then were edible but 3 in 5 needed cooking more. The building is clean well kept and beautiful but in UK there’s a saying the customer is always right, if staff are aggressive and tell lies about patron as it has of late that establishment will perish without patrons to keep it going.

We're not local to the area and stumbled across the swan motel. We all had the Sunday carvery which was amazing it tasty really home made which is rare for a carvery, but it all tasted fresh and was hot. Its the best roast we've ever had,better than any Toby carvery that we've been to. I highly recommend.

What a lovely place. The staff are friendly and very helpful. We were there for a private function which they catered for with plenty of freshly made food and choices plus catered for any specific dietary requirements too. We couldn't have had a more pleasant experience and would highly recommend. 10/10

Went as a family today for Sunday dinner and was greated bye the landlord which was nice .Staff took use to are table .Excellent service from all staff.Food was all fresh and hot and well presented on the carvery. Nothing was to much trouble as we had ages from 6 years old to 84 years old .We all felt relaxed and wanted ,not rushed in anyway .Lovely memory to have off a Sunday meal with the family .Thank You all at the Swan hope to see you in the future.

Popped in for a drink on Christmas Eve, stood at the bar waiting to get served while a bloke and female were chatting at the back, finally got served after a few mins, only made worse by then noticing the land lord was sitting chatting and drinking to his friends this side of the bar. Would have been nice if he had made an effort to serve us or even call his staff to serve us. He then sat there with his foot up on a bar stool. Guy behind the bar then proceeded to turn the music up with us sitting underneath the speaker. We like to support local pubs but I will be spending my money in local pubs that have decent staff and landlords.

Lost my father last week who lived in a Kessingland carehome. Living in Northampron and trying to sort things out I phoned up the Swan to enqire about wakes. Told me they do but in public bar Gave me cost of buffet with or without cake obviously having so much to do and remember asked if they could email me all the details, was told curtly i have just given you that information,, and dont have time as now going in busy resteraunt. Very rude and abrupt so wont be taking my family and friends there approx 40 persons. Phoned Livingstones in Kessingland who were so polite,courteous, and even though told me of various costings,were not phased by my request for email confirming costs address etc. Very poor customer service from the Swan

One of the best carvery restaurants around. Stunned at the variety of meats (beef, pork, gammon, chicken & lamb) and vegetables with "proper roasties". The food is fresh and hot. Plenty of gravy and sauces. Plenty of parking, a friendly welcome, well stocked bar . The restaurant tables are well placed with plenty of room between tables. Offers fantastic value for money especially at this quality. As there are no reservations, best avoid peak times as you may have to wait a while. Unlike other carveries around the first plates served offer the same variety and choice as those at the end of the day.We Customer photos do not do it justice !!

Fantastic meal, (lots of it), great servers & lovely surroundings. What more can I say? Reasonably priced & loads of parking. Massive thumbs up all round.

Lovely atmosphere. Outstanding evening meal. Friendly place to go and feel welcome . Had a great evening.

Well what can I say other than excellent food amazing if your hungry you won't be when you leave quality amazing service excellent very freindly been few times over last couple years came back tonight as here on hoilday was our wedding anniversary what great place to spend it thank you will definitely be back

The food here is really good. I'm not being derogatory when I say it is basic, home cooked snap. That is a compliment. Nothing fancy or pretentious. Sadly, the service was littered with basic mistakes, wrong thing arriving, missing items and forgotten drinks. However, these were very quickly rectified politely and complimentary drinks given. We all make mistakes and things were sorted. Would recommend.

Had a fabulous meal as usual and the service by the staff was second to none And the food was first class

It was my wife’s birthday and she said that the swan was her choice for our celebratory meal. Our meal was just brill. I had a lovely piece of cod with all of the trimmings and a good salad. We have been here a few times recently and the food and service is always first class. Well done to everyone who looked after us. We will return.

We had our beloved Dad’s wake at the Gillingham Swan and the service we received was outstanding. The presentation and the quality of the home made food was truly exceptional and we would recommend to anyone.

Our family went to the swan to celebrate our daughters birthday. It was a brilliant meal which we all enjoyed. Will definitely return in the future.

Very disappointed! Rude staff. Ignored when we walked in, too busy standing behind bar chatting with other staff & joking while on their phones. Brought out the wrong meals, I was told ‘I don’t get things wrong!’ Was looking forward to an end of month treat. Miss the blonde lady

Wonderful!!! We stayed at the Swan Gillingham for a few days and could not fault it. The room was spotless and comfortable, roomy and well stocked with tea and coffee supplies. We ate in for several meals including Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner over or stay,...

Four of us went here for our lunch.Quite an extensive menu so we had plenty of choice. I had the fried cod with saute potatoes and it was first class. All of our meals were an excellent portion size and well cooked. The lady who...

Went to the Swann with Family members service and food superb will definitely make a return visit when next in locality

Decided to visit the Swan for the first time and we were delighted at the good service and food. The Swan is definitely on the visit again list.

Seriously DELICIOUS food. Really good value for money. Big platefuls of food 🤤 Staff were really friendly & attentive, thank you Tanya for your lovely service 🌟

Visited this restaurant today at 1.15pm. Yes this was off speck, but we did not expect to be treated verbally the way we were. The huge sign outside the place clearly stated open between 12 - 3pm so our hopes were high. We waited close...

A 2 night stay was quite enough. The room was over priced. The bathroom was freezing. The towels smelt of stale food. No drinking glasses. The lighting was dreadful. Not a place I would recommend to stay. The food, however was good, although no breakfast...

We went on Sunday about 4pm, it was still extremely busy. No problems getting a table. The meat of beef and pork was tender and delicious. Great selection of vegetables all well cooked. The staff were efficient and helpful. It is probably one of the...

Our first visit with friends that had been before. FABULOUS Staff, Food, Venue all excellent. The Beer Battered Haddock & Cod, EXCELLENT. Adult eating Childs portion of Lasagne (as regular portion they had had before was too much) The Hunters Chicken was SUPERB (my Husbands...

Daughter took us to this brilliant restaurant near Beccles. Everything about the Swan was good. Our food was quickly cooked and brought to our table. The portion sizes were excellent. The staff were friendly but unobtrusive. The restaurant had a nice decor and was very...

We ate at The Swan last evening and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. There were several choices the menu that we fancied so will be back. The food was the best we have had for ka long time. All the staff were very friendly. Service was...

We booked a table here over two months ago for ten people to enjoy a roast on a Sunday we then two weeks prior to going confirmed our table and for what time the staff took down our name but no contact number To our...

We lunched as a family group of six today. Our food was of a high standard . I enjoyed their Hunters Chicken (again) with great chips and a good rhubarb crumble. We have lunched here about three times over the past six months and will...

I support a gentleman with Downs Syndrome on a Monday and it is a 4 hour visit to take him out for lunch to give his elderly mother a break, he always jokes about going for a pint when I ask him where he wants...

We had a lovely lunch today. Had a warm welcome from the staff and John. The pork in cider was delicious according to my husband and I had my normal chicken in leek and Stilton sauce. Great value for money, just over £34 for three...

I recently visited on Saturday when Tanya and Megan was working and I was so impressed, so friendly, caring and even sat and had a chat with us! Came in on the Sunday as well was greeted by Tanya and Megan again, lovely food! Was...

Extremely helpful team, very friendly and happy for our little dog to sit in the bar! Our food was delicious and good value for money. They even gave the dog dinner! The best pub restaurant in the area! We will be back again soon

Lovely place. First time going here for some food with my little boy and our friends. The staff are fantastic even drying my boy stop when he dropped his drink down it. The food is great. Not too pricey either.

We had lunch which was well cooked, good quality ingredients and great value. One pt lager, one pt beer, one fish , peas and chips and one chicken in stilton and leek sauce, chips and salad, £30.80. It is not our local but certainly wish...

We had a meal there on 6/1/22. The food was very nice and the service was good. However we had asked for a table in a warm area as it was a very cold day. We were shown into a room that had a very...

We stayed here for 3 nights,wished we had booked for longer,great rooms,staff and food excellent we couldn’t fault anything,Jon and your staff big thank you,see you next year in August.

This use to be my favourite place to eat out, and the food is still absolutely delicious however on visiting today the staff were miserable and didn't seem to want to have any kind of conversation and we were presented with soup spoons to eat...

We booked a table for 10 for lunch. The meals were superb and the service was very good. We all agreed that we had made the right choice for our gathering. Thoroughly recommend this venue and will definitely return on our next visit to Beccles....

First off we were kept waiting a long time. The whole restaurant was grubby & disgustingly filthy, not good considering they should be abiding by Covid regulations. Soggy chips, soggy salad and rock hard scampi. We will not be re visiting !!!

I was really disappointed with the cleanliness of this bar. In current times to receive a glass with lipstick around the rim I felt showed low standards of cleanliness and when saying that the glass was dirty to be told that they are washed in...

We often go to the Gillingham Swan and as yet we have never been disappointed. Went last Saturday evening. Was warned at the time of our booking that there was be a football match later that evening, which was considerate of them, but we knew...

I really like coming here and I know there's always good enjoyable food to be had. There's plenty of choice for a light bite or something more and the dessert menu has plenty of options. I'll be back!

This place has got to be the worst place I've ever been! Where do I start . Firstly we booked a table for our family as it was my wife's birthday. Upon arrival we were told that they didn't know where they were going to...

Went out this Saturday lunchtime for lunch. The food was of good quality as normal, well cooked and not overpriced. Husband had one of the specials of the day, home cooked turkey and ham pie and I had my normal chicken in leek and Stilton...

Just finished our takeaway Sunday roast. It was delicious, good choice of roast meats, fresh beautifully cooked vegetables, a real plateful, excellent value and so easy, just drive up, place your order and it’s brought to your car!! Why bother cooking at home?!! We’ll be...

Very disappointed with the food. Have been to this establishment before and never been let down until Saturday evening. My sisters and I wanted a lovely meal out together after so long. So looked for somewhere “nice” to eat. It took forever to get served our food, when it finally came it was disgusting!!! No meat in my lasagna and it was swimming in FAT!! The chips were brown and soggy and the peas looked like they came out of a tin. I told the manager and all he did was tried to justify the fact that they always used frozen peas !! If they were in fact frozen peas they had been sitting around for a very long tome or reheated repeatedly. When I went to pay the manager showed me a picture of “Frozen Peas” , was that supposed to make me feel better? NO we will not be going back again and a few people I have spoken to this weekend have also told me of similar bad experiences they have had.

Popped in here for Sunday lunch today and it was fabulous. One of the best cooked Sunday roast I have had in a while. Portions very generous. Pleasant staff.

Booked a table a few days before on arrival the car park was jam packed which i thought was not a good sign on arrival into the pub there were people standing about and at the bar no social distancing at all went to the bar to tell them we had a table booked to be told there were no tables available as the weather was bad so they had given our table to soneone who was supposed to be sitting outside not really acceptable as we had booked a table they stated they were setting up more tables in the bar but we felt that we would be sitting on top of other people which in the current situation was not something we wanted to do and there would alao have been over an hour for food why take so many bookings and make yourself to stretched we didnt stay obviously

Great food, service, atomsphere and very friendly staff. Worth a visit and haven't been disappointed

No consent of walking into our room, opened door without knocking and started having an go at me and my partner for having our TV on. Opened door and walked in. Not happy at all. Won’t be coming back.

Both had different things, my husband pork in cider and myself chicken in breadcrumbs. Both were excellently cooked. My husband likes the vegetables at the Swan as they are not overcooked. I had an excellent glass of real ale, very fruity. Staff are always friendly and helpful. Two lunches, two pints - £29. They do 10% off main meals for OAPs but we can never be bothered as the food is always reasonably priced. Never had a disappointed meal. Lovely atmosphere in the pub.

I called the swan to ask if there was any chance I could get a takeaway carvery to take to my father who had been unwell. Turns out it was something they did regularly for customers. I could either take a plate in or borrow one of theirs. The staff were super friendly and the the chef even wrapped it up for me. The food looked lovely just a shame I couldn't stay but Dad was chuffed to receive it. I have eaten there before and know the carvery was lovely, highly recommend and great value for money.

Last night I enjoyed a lovely Christmas meal, next to home, probably the best Christmas dinner I have ever had! This is restaurant quality food at the “local pub” ( However price is more pub than restaurant!)If you haven’t already booked a Christmas meal, or you have the inclination to sample another then I highly recommend giving the Swan a call. I think the Christmas meal needs to be pre-booked so please check ahead of your visit and also as testament to the quality and growing reputation of this establishment I suggest booking ahead anyway. A lovely atmosphere too with Christmas decorations all around, a real pleasure to eat here!

Popped in for lunch, what a wonderful experience. Simple but amazing menu with beautiful home made food. We chose the pate one of each (mackerel and chicken livers) but was so nice we had to have another. Welcoming friendly staff just couldn't think of going anywhere else for lunch/light dinner on our next visit to Beccles.

Visited for dinner with friends. Didn’t know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised. Fantastic food and great value for money! Will be back again soon.

Had lunch here today (Saturday) with one of my sisters. I am coeliac and therefore eat Gluten Free. This restaurant has quite a lot of choice for coeliacs - today I had a Hunters Chicken and my sister had rack of lamb - both were actually GF. Both of us had huge plates of food which was really, really tasty and I had to leave some because I was just so full. We will certainly visit the Swan Hotel Restaurant (which we called the Gillingham Swan) on a regular basis for our catch up meals.

First time. Been fishing and thought me and me brother would call in for a pint and a bite to eat before we went home great ale. And the food was brilliant prawn baguette was amazing served on a bed of salad and a few crisps had a nice game of pool and darts better than fishing lol thanks Bev for making us welcome will visit again soon well done to all the staff a wonderful place so glad we popped in

Recently discovered the carvery here,we have been twice now,very nice,good selection of veg,delicious meat,generous portions.will be a regular for us now!

Dropped by after hearing about the music and beer festival, the place is lovely, staff really friendly and the service great, it was packed with people enjoying the weekend and have to say although it was busy we never waited in line for very long for anything!! The beer and music were fantastic, and judging by what I saw of the facilities it looked amazingWell worth a visit

a lovely gem of a place, we were there for the sunny bank holiday weekend beer festival and it couldnt be faulted. a truly welcoming atmosphere and the nicest garden. beer, bands and burgers but all better than average, the band, Walkway were pretty impressive, the beer, I am told, was a great selection and the burgers were to die for, proper beef and the salad was a picture. staff couldnt have been more courteous even though they were run off their feet all day. we hadnt been there for 20 years but wont be leaving it that long before we go back.

A group of friends had a mid week lunch after a long walk. I had the special of crispy chicken, salad, coleslaw and fries for £11.50. Full of flavours. All well cooked. The chicken, fries and coleslaw are homemade. Made welcome by the staff. The drinks and food are reasonably priced. Some of my friends had sandwiches which came with salad and crisp, they all said there sandwiches were very good and reasonably priced.

My bil & sil suggested meeting here. We hadn't booked waited a while for a table, but we had already decided when we were sat what we were having and it seemed like ages until the order was taken then it was about 40-50 mins until meal arrived (seated about 7.15 finished 9ish without desserts). Food though was lovely (veg lasagna, hunters chicken, sausage onion gravy, fish n chips).

We were out on a cycle ride with friends and decided to call into Gillingham Swan for a spot of lunch. Even though we had not pre-booked they were still able to accommodate the four of us but we were told that as it was a Sunday only the carvery was on the menu. This was fine with and we not disappointed. A good selection of perfectly cooked meats with plenty of well cooked vegetables, all nice and hot. We all enjoyed our meals, the staff were very pleasant, professional and looked after us perfectly. We will definitely return to The Swan again and highly recommend this establishment.

Went here with friends today for lunch. The boys had white bait followed with mixed grill extremely genourous portion and delicious looking. Us girls had pan fried chicken in leek an stilton sauce absolutely scrumptious 💕