Crown & Mitre New Ownership

I’ve had a 30+ year career in hospitality running my own businesses including cafes, bars, hotels, hostels, pubs, restaurants and wine bars all over the world. I currently own the Cork & Bottle wine bar in Leicester Square, London and have a share in the Belgian Monk beer bar in Norwich. I’m a bit of a bon vivant who loves to travel and bring back food and drink experiences found en route. (There may be a bottle of mezcal flavoured by scorpions in the spirits store at the Crown & Mitre!)

I’m a Norfolk boy and was born in the Queen Elizabeth and grew up in the area and have known the Crown & Mitre for years. I’ve always thought it was in a fantastic location by the river and could be a great pub business in the right hands. When I heard it was available I had to put in an offer!

The main bar in the pub is adorned with a huge amount of nautical memorabilia and nick-nacks accumulated over the last 30 years by the previous landlord. There are anchors, compasses, rudders, flags, the foot rest on the bar is an anchor chain and ships in bottles; propellers, rudders, flag poles, pictures and antiquities all over the place. We have kept them all and just had a really good clean and tidy up. The conservatory has a lovely vine that gives grapes which we have kept alive.

We have now got the bar open – we are and always will be primarily a pub. We stock real ales from local breweries, Whatahoot gin and rum from our friends at the Rusty Krab. We have taken our wine knowledge and created a list which is short but has some real crackers on it. Our cocktail list is not your average list and has twists on many of the classics!

We will be introducing food at the end of August, being on the river there will be a strong nod to seafood with so many great local suppliers. It will be more to the gastro end of the spectrum but still feature pub classics like slow cooked Norfolk lamb shank shepherd’s pie. We see Sunday and roasts as being a key part of our business. We always aim to use local suppliers and ingredients whenever we can. Check and follow our socials for sample menu’s and confirmation of when we start serving food!

In the future, we will be looking to invest in the terrace area on the river bank to make it usable more of the year. In 2024, we are going to upgrade the kitchen facilities, toilets and introduce some private dining rooms for hire – all to help make this one of the best pubs in West Norfolk!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have popped in already and shown their support – the comments and feedback have been wonderful – we look forward to serving you for many years to come!