Lion Inn - Thurne.

[Graham47]

I have just seen the certificate awarded to the Lion Inn Thurne  for winner of Pub of The Year 2019, by East Norfolk Camera.

[NorfolkNog]

Very well deserved IMHO and good call by my CAMRA colleagues 

[Aboattime]

Totally agree, very well deserved. Graham have you been into the Lion since its been refurbished ?  Regards Kevin 

[Graham47]

Kevin. No not yet but up on 13th to 20th so hoping to try it then. Are you about that week?

[Chelsea14Ian]

It's a great pub,Rick and he's team have done a good job,in turning the pub around  from what it was.

[Aboattime]

Graham were back on the boat for Easter. the first day will be spent cleaning etc  We have booked a mooring and table at the New Inn Easter Friday 19th, be good to see you for a beer and catch up if possible ? Ill be interested to know what you think of The Lion,we like it and our friends said it was there favourite of all the pubs that we visited[and we went to most of them !!] Best wishes Kevin

[SPEEDTRIPLE]

Never been in there as we usually use it as a stop off to go into Ramblers gift shop to see Liz, then off to either Potter H or Womack Staithe for the night.

[Chelsea14Ian]

2 hours ago, Aboattime said:

Graham were back on the boat for Easter. the first day will be spent cleaning etc  We have booked a mooring and table at the New Inn Easter Friday 19th, be good to see you for a beer and catch up if possible ? Ill be interested to know what you think of The Lion,we like it and our friends said it was there favourite of all the pubs that we visited[and we went to most of them !!] Best wishes Kevin

The New Inn another great pub,we even though based at Brundall. Call In out of season by car.Was there for lunch end of Feb.

[RickWhiteHorse]

thanks guys!

[andyg]

We ate here Friday evening just gone, I'm a big fan of both the lion and white horse, but unfortunately our meal wasn't great tbh. 4 out of the 5 main meals weren't upto the standard I've come to expect. Both my sister and me had probably the worst tartar sauce I've ever tasted our scampi had been over cooked aswell my brothers pie was clearly over cooked. Such a shame as I had talked the food up so felt a bit guilty. We visited the white horse Sunday night and the girls decide not to eat once they found out it was part of the same company. Such a shame after so many positive experiences I'd enjoyed on previous visits. Il put it down to a bad day in the kitchen so to speak. It hasn't put me off and we will try again next time we are afloat. 

[Meantime]

What did the staff say when you aired your disappointment with them over the quality of the meal. I guess every place is entitled to a bad day, but it's how they handle your complaint that really matters.

[Aboattime]

23 minutes ago, andyg said:

We ate here Friday evening just gone, I'm a big fan of both the lion and white horse, but unfortunately our meal wasn't great tbh. 4 out of the 5 main meals weren't upto the standard I've come to expect. Both my sister and me had probably the worst tartar sauce I've ever tasted our scampi had been over cooked aswell my brothers pie was clearly over cooked. Such a shame as I had talked the food up so felt a bit guilty. We visited the white horse Sunday night and the girls decide not to eat once they found out it was part of the same company. Such a shame after so many positive experiences I'd enjoyed on previous visits. Il put it down to a bad day in the kitchen so to speak. It hasn't put me off and we will try again next time we are afloat. 

Ive always been a champion of the Lion,but have to say that the last 2 times we have eaten there the meals have been average at best.Such a shame but hopefully they will get there act together.

[Mouldy]

27 minutes ago, Aboattime said:

Ive always been a champion of the Lion,but have to say that the last 2 times we have eaten there the meals have been average at best.Such a shame but hopefully they will get there act together.

We too have been big fans of The Lion, since it was taken over, but were disappointed on our last visit back in March, when we went by car to have a meal with friends who were on holiday on their boat at the time.  It wasn’t ‘bad’ and not worthy of comment to the management, but not to the standard that we’d been used to previously.  To be honest, it’s not the first time I’ve heard similar comments this year.  Perhaps, like many other establishments in the hospitality sector, difficulties employing the right staff have been responsible for the apparent drop in standards, but was enough to dissuade me from visiting again during our two breaks on the northern rivers this year and it’s not in our plan for our forthcoming trip either.

I hope that normal service resumes soon.  As finances become tighter, people will vote with their feet and take their custom and hard earned money to where they know that their expectations will be fulfilled.

[BuffaloBill]

We visited both The Lion and The White Horse last week and found

the meals to be very good and the staff too.

[andyg]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBill said:

We visited both The Lion and The White Horse last week and found

the meals to be very good and the staff too.

I was surprised to be honest, the staff were as good as they normally are. I put it down to a bad day. I'm not one for complaining unless I absolutely have to. I'm not put off and I will re visit again. 

[BrundallNavy]

We don’t go to the White Horse after 3 visits and disappointed meals the chips were dripping in oil and tasted burnt, we visited the Lion but again the food was average.  There are much better riverside establishments that now benefit from my hard earned. 
 

I do think the lack of decent staff has been a big problem for lots of venues this year, one particular pub has been advertising  for a chef for at least 4 months and the quality is showing as it was one of our favourites. 
 

 

[Cheesey69]

Big time staff problem all around. 
Near where I work we have an assortment of eateries that are suffering. 
Those smaller units  are fighting rising costs and becoming uncompetitive. 
whereas, the middling places are cutting opening times because they can not attract enough staff.
Only the chains seem to doing well.  
Hell of a circle. You need to attract staff so you have to put your prices up for better wages, that on top of rising running costs makes the food too expensive 
 

[Bikertov]

It's not just hospitality that is currently suffering from staff shortages and issues - many sectors are.

I know in my company, we are struggling to find good staff for a fair salary - pay expectations are running very high, but the quality of the staff asking for it are not ...

[ExSurveyor]

I do find it strange that people don't find the service / food that bad that they don't raise it with the manager yet they feel strongly enough to raise it here.

Direct customer feedback always helps any business, social media complaints don't and in a lot of cases do damage.

Surely it is better to ask directly why the problem is happening.

[Meantime]

17 minutes ago, ExSurveyor said:

Direct customer feedback always helps any business, social media complaints don't and in a lot of cases do damage.

Surely it is better to ask directly why the problem is happening.

I couldn't agree more. A local Indian restaurant where I live had for years been consistently good then we noticed standards start to slip. We complained and were offered a discount off our meal. We declined the discount and explained that we were complaining not to receive a discount, but because we wanted it to go back to how it was. The next few visits the food was much improved, but then the standard slipped again. We again bought it to their attention and again were offered a discount which again we refused. For a while the food was good again, but the next time the standards started to slip we voted with our feet and went elsewhere. At no point did we feel inclined to take the discount offered, we are not professional complainers, nor did we feel the need to air our views on social media. We really wanted to carry on using the establishment, providing it could provide service and food to the standard we had got used to.

By all means complain on social media, IF you've spoken to the management and not had your complaint listened to or handled properly, but otherwise it is unfair on the business. Rick is a member here and may get around to seeing the reviews here, but currently he is probably unaware and therefore unable to take action to improve things.

[Mouldy]

49 minutes ago, ExSurveyor said:

I do find it strange that people don't find the service / food that bad that they don't raise it with the manager yet they feel strongly enough to raise it here.

Direct customer feedback always helps any business, social media complaints don't and in a lot of cases do damage.

Surely it is better to ask directly why the problem is happening.

I didn’t raise it with them at the time, because it wasn’t bad, just not up to their usual high standards.  It appears that it wasn’t an isolated case, as I’ve read several posts on social media and review sites that seem to indicate that six months later, my experience wasn’t an isolated ‘off’ evening.  The sister pub at Neatishead appears to be generally being better reviewed of late, which does lead me to wonder if there has been a change of management.

We do intend to visit The White Horse when we’re next on the northern rivers, as long as we can safely negotiate Ludham Bridge.  It will be interesting to see how it compares.

[CeePee1952]

We used the Lion twice during our week on the Broads last year and found both the service and food to be excellent.  The current economic climate will have had an impact on most businesses, especially the hospitality industry.  We're on the Broads again from 15th Sep for a week but due to us wanting to cross Breydon on the Sunday morning (all things being equal), we will only be visiting the Lion on the evening before we hand the boat back. I'm sure the food and service will be ok.

Chris

[andyg]

5 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

I didn’t raise it with them at the time, because it wasn’t bad, just not up to their usual high standards.  It appears that it wasn’t an isolated case, as I’ve read several posts on social media and review sites that seem to indicate that six months later, my experience wasn’t an isolated ‘off’ evening.  The sister pub at Neatishead appears to be generally being better reviewed of late, which does lead me to wonder if there has been a change of management.

We do intend to visit The White Horse when we’re next on the northern rivers, as long as we can safely negotiate Ludham Bridge.  It will be interesting to see how it compares.

Exactly, in my experience eating at the lion, what we had Friday night most definitely isn't the norm. The service was absolutely fine. I wouldn't complain over a bit of tasteless tartar sauce and over cooked ( to my liking) scampi. I know Rick sets high standards. Hence I will return. 

[Mouldy]

1 hour ago, CeePee1952 said:

We used the Lion twice during our week on the Broads last year and found both the service and food to be excellent.  The current economic climate will have had an impact on most businesses, especially the hospitality industry.  We're on the Broads again from 15th Sep for a week but due to us wanting to cross Breydon on the Sunday morning (all things being equal), we will only be visiting the Lion on the evening before we hand the boat back. I'm sure the food and service will be ok.

Chris

I’ve visited the Lion several times over the past two or three years, since Ricky took it over and have always been pleased with the whole experience, but the occasion in March fell short of what I’ve come to expect.  As I said, the food wasn’t bad, just not of the high standards that were previously set.

At the time, I thought it was just an isolated time, but there have been too many reports expressing the same since, that I am led to wonder if staffing issues are to blame.  I hope that, if there is a problem, that it’s resolved soon, but I have to confess that food at The Kings Arms (Ludham) and The White Horse (Upton) have given me cause to think more about where my favourite places to eat are now.

[Jbx5]

2 hours ago, ExSurveyor said:

I do find it strange that people don't find the service / food that bad that they don't raise it with the manager yet they feel strongly enough to raise it here.

Direct customer feedback always helps any business, social media complaints don't and in a lot of cases do damage.

Surely it is better to ask directly why the problem is happening.

Complaint raised to management the last time we visited the white horse but my email was ignored! Not been since.

John