The Wig & Pen - Norwich

6 St Martin's Palace Plain

Norwich

NR3 1RN

Sunday roast served between 12.00pm & 4.00pm

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The Wig & Pen can be found a few minutes walk away from Tombland on St Martin's Palace Plain.

 There is a large outside seating area.

Large parasols will keep the sun out of your eyes whilst eating.

Inside is very traditional.

Quite expensive but worth it as the food here is great.

I am going to have to try the breakfast soon, sounds great!!

An order number is given when placing your order.

I am not a fan of sachets but they were happy to bring more over as you always need at least 4 each!

This is how my roast beef dinner arrived, plenty of potatoes and 2 large yorkshire puddings.

The veg and gravy arrived separately, 2 servings for 3 dinners. There was plenty but shouldn't it have been 3 servings for 3 dinners?

The roast beef dinner with veg added to the plate.

The beef was nicely cooked although I personally prefer it a bit rarer.

The roast potatoes were lovely but could have done with being a bit crispier.

The veg was tasty but a bit undercooked.

The yorkshire puddings were spot on.

This was the hazelnut and thyme nut roast with a redcurrant gravy, it tasted great!

With my last roast inspection being over 6 months ago I wondered if this blog would ever get updated again! A quiet weekend resulted in a free Sunday and an opportunity to go out for a roast dinner. We didn't fancy going too far so it was a toss up between The Adam & Eve and The Wig & Pen. The Wig & Pen was a bit closer and we had heard they served a decent roast dinner so we decided to go there..

Upon entering - Inside the pub is very traditional with wooden tables and chairs, exposed beams and various beer related memorabilia on display. Outside there is a large seating area with parasols which is perfect in the warmer weather. There is a bar in the centre of the pub with menus displaying roast dinners available, place your order and pay at the bar. You will be given an order number to place on your table and the staff will bring cutlery, sauces and when it is ready, your food. 8/10

Service - The staff working here were friendly, helpful and extremely efficient. They were more than happy to serve one dinner with extra roast potatoes and yorkshire puddings with vegetables to a vegetarian who wasn't keen on nut roast. Extra ketchup was bought to us when we requested it and they asked if we would like any horseradish sauce for the beef. During the meal they popped over to check everything was ok. 9/10

Type of roast - Ready served with shared vegetables and extra gravy.

Meats available - Topside of beef or leg of lamb. 

Contents - Roast beef and horseradish sauce, roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and gravy. 7/10

Vegetable portions - 2 bowls of vegetables between 3 people, I bet if one person ordered a roast dinner they would get their own bowl! This happens frequently when eating a roast dinner out somewhere and has always niggled me somewhat. That said though there was a decent amount of veg to go round but a more varied selection would have been nice, some parsnips or peas maybe? There was 5 large roast potatoes on my plate and 2 large yorkshire puddings, this I was happy about! 7/10

Presentation - The meat, roast potatoes and yorkshire puddings were layed out on the plate really nicely in a sea of rich gravy. The vegetables and gravy boat were also presented well. 8/10

The food - The roast beef was medium cooked with a great texture and flavour. The yorkshire puddings were spot on with a slightly crispy outer edge and soft inside. The roast potatoes were fantastic, fluffy inside with a nicely browned outside, a bit more crispiness would have been nice though. The carrrots, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage all tasted great but were slightly undercooked. 7/10

Gravy & sauces - The gravy was thick and full of flavour, 2 gravy boats docked at our table ensuring there was plenty to go round the 3 of us. Horseradish sauce was bought to the table    in a small pot, it was just the right amount and seemed like a fairly standard horseradish sauce. Ketchup was served in sachets, I am not too keen on sachets as they contain so little and take ages to open when you are adding at least 4 to your dinner. 7/10

Veggie option - Hazelnut and thyme nut roast with a redcurrant gravy with roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings and vegetable selection for £8.95. I tried some and it tasted really good, the redcurrant gravy was amazing! 

Value for money - My roast beef dinner cost £8.95 and was a good size leaving me feel really full up. 7/10

Overall - Great food in a lovely environment and good service too. It would have been nice to have seen a chicken or pork option but I have a feeling the roast options change from week to week.  The price here is a bit higher than other places but the quality is high and the portions are big. Definitely worth visiting if you are looking for a great roast diner in the city. 7.5