St Olaves Restaurant / Cafe

[chrisdobson45]

In the late 1970's and throughout the 1980's, as a kid, I used to holiday with my parents on the Broads, hiring from Pearson Marine (Reedham), Brister Craft (Brundall & Wroxham), Aston Boats (Beccles) and Harvey Eastwood VIP (Brundall).

Our family (mum, dad & sister) would usually holiday with another family and hired two boats. As we grew up, various friends, girlfriends / boyfriends and then husbands / wives would holiday with us. I've not had any contact with the other family for years, maybe 25 years, and recent family events provided an opportunity for a socially distanced catch up.

Early Broads holidays were the main topic of discussions and the first holiday, in 1977, has prompted a question I'm unable to answer. We hired two boats from Pearson Marine, Golden Arrow, a DC30 which wasn't the yellow of the Hoseason's brochure photo (it was white hull and grey cabin / decks) and Golden Gleam, a 30-odd foot centre cockpit woody. 

Memories suggest we got just about everywhere, apart from Potter Heigham. First night was Oulton Broad and then we headed north via St Olaves, over Breydon Water, eventually spending nights at Acle, Coltishall and Stalham, before heading back south and visiting Beccles, before returning to Reedham. 

Back in 1977, things weren't as sophisticated as they are now and my parents were very much "meat & two veg" sorts. As such, adapting to 1970's pub fayre was a bit of a culture shock for them. Scampi or chicken in a basket was all the rage back then.

The specific question that has me stumped is where we ate when moored at St Olaves. We moored north of the bridge, same side of the river as the Bell Inn. My father and the dad from the other family went into the pub to sample the local offerings and the mums plus four kids, ages 13, 11, 11 & 9 were left with the boats and had a wander to the shop near the bridge, and then walked up the road to the priory remains (I recall being underwhelmed, I was after all 11 at the time).

For our evening meal we crossed the bridge and then, I recall, we turned left in to what appears now to be Johnson Yacht Station, there being a cafe / restaurant in what I recall was a large corrugated iron shed (nissen hut?), filled with formica topped, metal framed tables. I think the servery was a hatch on the wall and the food was very much what my parents were used to, minced beef & onion pie (big square slice from a bigger rectangular pie tin), boiled potatoes, cabbage and gravy. 

Some 43 years later this place has stuck in my mind, and also with the daughter of the other family who was also 11 at the time. What has resulted in this memory is unknown, but maybe the meal stuck out as it was so very different from suppers at the Bridge Inn, Acle, Rising Sun Coltishall and the Glebe, Stalham, which were all something in a basket, and kids were welcome in certain parts of the establishments is eating with parents. I wonder if the Bell Inn welcomed children in the bar at that time?

So, if anyone has any ideas where we ate at St Olaves, I'd be grateful. Another recollection is that the "lady" serving was quite forthright, the choices on the menu were quite restricted ("Is there a choice?" "- yes, you can either have it or not...") and there may have been pennants on the curved wall.... 

 

 

[webntweb]

In August 83 at the end of a fortnight's holiday on an AF42 from Beaver fleet St Olaves, we ate in a pub/restaurant in what looked like a prefabricated building on the left of the road just before what had been the Queen's Head on the banks of the New Cut. I think it was in the boatyard complex and would now be under water in the Marina.

Could it have been here you remember?

[wombat nee blownup]

35 years ago I was called to put a new roof on one of several square chalets that were there. It’s correct it was where the boatyard is now and I believe their office is one of the old chalets. Have no recollection of an eatery though.


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[JennyMorgan]

There was a small holiday chalet park and clubhouse there but it never really got off the ground, not least because it was pretty much always akin to a builders yard and tended to flood. It was eventually taken over by the Bromley Brothers who realised that there was more money to be made by digging a hole, filling it full of water and charging people for the privilege of mooring their boats there. I rather suspect that the holiday park was also too small to sustain the holiday park. 

[JanetAnne]

I reckon you are talking about the Tavern.

Fabulous place and a freehouse so cheap!

[JennyMorgan]

2 hours ago, JanetAnne said:

I reckon you are talking about the Tavern.

Fabulous place and a freehouse so cheap!

Decent people too, on my my route home from work, if I'd gone by car rather than by boat.

[chrisdobson45]

Hmmm, could have been a prefab rather than a Nissen hut affair, it was a long time ago....

[Tobster]

The pub ( Nissan Hut) you are trying to remember was called The Hideaway.


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[AndyTBoater]

The Tavern/ Hideaway was a definite favourite on some (most) of my old boating trips.

Probably because at the age of 14/15 it was one of the few places that would serve unaccompanied people of our age without asking too many questions.

As we were young and usually had little money the delightful barmaid would also serve us what she called "a pint of slops" if we helped collect the empty glasses from around the place. This was basically a mix of all the overspill from the drip trays and probably tasted foul but to us it was

a. Free

b. Alcoholic

I seem to remember it went through a phase of being a bit of a bikers pub for a while. 

[chrisdobson45]

10 hours ago, Tobster said:

The pub ( Nissan Hut) you are trying to remember was called The Hideaway.


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Was it as I remember it (nissen-hut like)? A google search didn’t throw up any photographs

[Tobster]

No it was a single level building, more like a giant chalet.

Probably made of wood as I remember it.

In the late 1980s, At one end there was a vehicle repair garage.


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[JanetAnne]

Young Tobster's memories are a few years behind mine..

In the 70's it was the Tavern. It had a 'marina' behind it which was accessed through the gap on the St Olaves side, the one Anglia Yacht Brokers filled in a few years ago when they moved their entrance to the new cut side.

Alan, the eel fisherman, used to have the corner berth in that marina. He worked at the boatyard out of season and then fished the rest of the year. His boat always had nets full of eels tied round the hull awaiting their fate. He used to borrow our estate car to take them to the east end, not having a car of his own, which meant the car and everything in it used to smell for days!

The house at the end was derelict then. It's cellar used to fill and empty with the tides!

 

[AndyTBoater]

On 29/08/2020 at 10:07, JanetAnne said:

Young Tobster's memories are a few years behind mine..

In the 70's it was the Tavern. It had a 'marina' behind it which was accessed through the gap on the St Olaves side, the one Anglia Yacht Brokers filled in a few years ago when they moved their entrance to the new cut side.

Alan, the eel fisherman, used to have the corner berth in that marina. He worked at the boatyard out of season and then fished the rest of the year. His boat always had nets full of eels tied round the hull awaiting their fate. He used to borrow our estate car to take them to the east end, not having a car of his own, which meant the car and everything in it used to smell for days!

The house at the end was derelict then. It's cellar used to fill and empty with the tides!

 

I remember "Chief". And the eels. He used to us a breakfast of them from time to time.

 

[JanetAnne]

4 hours ago, AndyTBoater said:

I remember "Chief". And the eels. He used to us a breakfast of them from time to time.

 

Was his name Alan Finn or have I dreamt that?

[AndyTBoater]

Just googled Alan Finn and the only post I can find was from someone called Janet Anne on 1st April this year on this very forum.

So no, you didnt dream it - just forgot that you knew it.:)