After spending over a year trying to avoid economy bangers and ridiculous egg situations on my search for the ultimate fry up I am still hungry for more. Having eaten breakfast it is now time for lunch, Sunday roast to be precise. Join me as I try out different roast dinners, I will be trying everything from civilised restaurant's to rowdy pubs and supermarket cafe's to stack it high carverys. It's a difficult job but someone has to do it so join me on my search for roast dinner perfection!

Saturday 6 February 2016

The Murderers Cafe/Bar - Norwich

2 - 8 Timberhill
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 3LB

Sunday roast available from midday till 3.45pm



I've spent many hours drinking in The Murderers over the years.



This side of the pub is the cafe bar, we headed inside in search of a Sunday roast.



Our luck was in!



It's a very traditional pub that has remained the same for decades.



The cafe bar area is quite peaceful and relaxing with plenty of natural light flooding in.



I usually go for a Guinness with a roast dinner but still suffering from a hangover I opted for a glass of coke instead.



The ketchup bottle looked like it had seen some topping up action.



The roast beef dinner took me right back to the 1970's.



The beef was quite chewy but reasonably tasty.



 The roast potatoes tasted nice enough.




A fairly basic veg selection.




The Yorkshire pudding tasted very cakey, it was incredibly filling.




There wasn't a veggie roast on offer here but they were happy to swap the meat for a veggie burger, it wasn't ideal but it was the best offer we'd had all day so we took it!



It was a wet and grey Sunday afternoon, we decided to head into the city to for a Sunday roast. We had planned to go to The Reindeer on Dereham Road but they were fully booked, instead we headed to Temple Bar but it was the same story there too. We were cold, wet and determined so we tried The Coach and horses on Bethel Street but they were closed. The Walnut Tree Shades didn't serve a Sunday roast and The Woolpack had only nut roast left. It was just at the point of giving up that my wife suggested we tried The Murderers on Timber Hill... 

Upon entering - Having spent many afternoons drinking in The Murderers in the past I still remembered it well so it was quite nice to see as we entered that nothing at all had changed in over 10 years! The interior is very traditional with thick wooden tables, exposed brickwork and heaps of character. There are menus on each of the numbered tables, place your order and pay at the bar giving them your table number. The food is brought over when its ready along with cutlery and sauces. It's a nice relaxing environment with background music being played at just the right level which means you can easily chat over your lunch without having to shout. 8/10

Service - We were welcomed with a smile and the lady serving us did all she could to accomodate us. There wasn't a veggie roast on the menu but she told us that a veggie burger could be added instead of the meat. Not the most exciting of veggie options but having trekked around Norwich looking for somewhere to eat we were glad to have finally found somewhere so we decided to stay. The chap who brought the food over was really friendly too, he offered us sauces and later returned to check everything was ok. 9/10

Type of roast - Ready served 

Meats available - Beef 


Contents - Roast beef, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. 5/10

Vegetable portions - 3 roast potatoes and a reasonable serving of vegetables are already served on the plate. 6/10

Presentation - Just like the pub it was served in this roast dinner looked traditional, no stacked meats and served on a plate rather than a plank. 7/10

The food - The roast beef was well done and slightly chewy, it tasted ok though. The roast potatoes looked a bit like the frozen variety (I'm not sure if they were or not) but they tasted nice so I was happy enough. The Yorkshire pudding was dense in texture, it tasted very cakey and was incredibly filling, I quite enjoyed it though. The vegetables were fairly standard with a reasonable texture and quite nice taste. 5/10

Gravy and sauces - A nice rich gravy which was served over the food. There may have been horseradish sauce too, I forgot to ask. 7/10

Veggie option - No, they were happy to serve the roast without meat or with a veggie burger though. 

Value for money - £8.95 seemed like a fair enough price. 5/10

Overall - On a day when we thought it was impossible to ever find somewhere in Norwich to go for a Sunday roast The Murderers made it happen for us. It was a lovely place to sit and eat and the staff were really friendly and helpful. The food was quite tasty but with so many great roasts being served across the city this one didn't really stand out from the crowd. 6.5/10

 

4 comments:

  1. Very back to the 70s, meat looks very chewy, nothing wrong with the veg though.

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  2. Have you been to Temple Bar for the Sunday roast? We went Sunday and I was genuinely astonished at how good it was for a ten quid pub meal.

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    Replies
    1. We attempted it before arriving here but it there were no free tables. I've been for the Temple Bar breakfast, I'll try again for the roast at somepoint though.

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