The Assembly House, Norwich

The Assembly House in Norwich stands rather proud in the centre of town just next door to Chapelfield Shopping Centre and down the road from Norwich Theatre Royal.
A building has been on this site since the mid-1200's when it was originally home to a hospital, however the house which we see today dates back to 1754 when it was designed as a 'House of Assemblies' for the gentry of Norwich holding various dinners, dances, meetings and concerts. For this reason the interior is extremely grand, and perfectly suited to weddings which frequently happen within its' walls.

Dining Room in The Assembly House

We decided to try the pre-theatre menu - served 5 - 6.30pm  (£20 per person for three courses, and a carafe of house wine) and our hopes were high - we tried 'The Pigs' in Edgefield a while back, a pub owned by the same people, and absolutely loved it!

Upon arriving we were shown to our table, and the waiters were accomodating, knowledgable about the menu (which is always a plus) and friendly throughout our whole visit. I opted for Pressed Norfolk Ham Hock with spiced bramley apple chutney, and my mum went for the warm smoked mackerel salad with roasted peppers.


Ham Hock and Apple Chutney

Smoked Mackerel Salad and Peppers

Warm crusty bread was bought to our table first which was really tasty, and definitely a welcome extra seen as my really quite large portion of ham hock came with only one piece of melba toast! The hock was delicious though, and the salty meat went really well with the sweet apple chutney. My mother assured me that her salad was really light, fresh and tasty, however (as I feel is sometimes the case) there was quite a lot of rocket which seemed quite unnecessary.

Pork with mustard mash and greens

For main course I think I made a bit of a duff choice in that I opted for the pork, which came with mustard mash, green veggies and (the same) apple chutney! Duhhh! However the flavours were classic so you couldn't really go wrong, the pork was cooked perfectly, and I do love creamed cabbage! One small negative (and it may just have been that i'd already had it on my starter - so it was my own fault) was that the dish was lovely without the chutney, and this was very sweet so overpowered the flavour of the meat.

Chicken Breast, Bubble and Squeak, red wine, bacon and mushroom sauce.

My mum had the chicken dish (see above) which looked and smelt lovely! The sauce was rich and was teeming with the flavours of Burgundy, which suited the roast carrots and parsnips very well. To top it off, it was served on lovely rosti style bubble and squeak, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle! She was very happy to say the least!

We finished our meal off with a vanilla panna cotta and raspberry coulis, and a rich chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Tart and Ice Cream

The chocolate tart was very rich - as the descriptive name on the menu suggested! However I'd have liked the chocci filling to be a little softer due to the fact the cold ice cream made it quite hard to break into! Nevertheless it definitely did what it said on the tin, and I polished off the lot!

Panna cotta and Raspberry Coulis

I do love a panna cotta! And this was a very good one! Creamy, and just enough 'gloop-i-ness' to make it smooth and silky when you put it into your mouth. The raspberry coulis which was on top was sharp, and matched the sweetness of the vanilla perfectly. The only thing which could have propelled this dish into real greatness would have been come sort of crunch...something like a shortbread biscuit or tuille would have been wonderful!

Just a final word about the wine (a carafe was included in our set menu price), there was a selection of red, white and rose (which was nice, as rose is so often not included). We decided upon the white, and for a house wine it was definitely drink-able so that's definitely worth bearing in mind! Also worth noting is that you get a carafe, so I'd say this works out as slightly more than a large glass - making this menu excellent value in my opinion!

So to conclude, The Assembly House is a gorgeous period building, with decor and grandeur to match. The food was great, nothing spectacular, but certainly worth a visit, and i'll definitely be recommending this menu to any norwich-goer wanting an early dinner, coupled with excellent service and tasty, classic dishes.