Unfortunately, our visit to the Duke's Head for an afternoon tea experience wasn't quite what we were hoping for. On arrival, we were greeted by a sign asking to "wait to be seated" and wait we did for 15 mins before a member of the restaurant staff appeared. This would have been understandable had there been a busy service in progress, but there were fewer than 4 other tables occupied. On eventually being shown to a table, by someone anything other than what you could describe as a "Maître D", we were given menus, signalling that it was clear that it was not obvious that we had booked for afternoon tea, which was equally demonstrated by the waiter not being able to find our reservation initially. Our afternoon tea was eventually served to us and for the most part the food was satisfactory, albeit the shortbread sweets were soggy, rather than crisp and the tea had tipped over to the point of stewed. At no point during our service, did anyone check if all was in order or if we required anything, as for practically the duration of our visit there were barely any staff present. Other tables were also left unattended and had to actively seek out staff in order to place their order. At a mid-point during our service, a moderate sized party of guests arrived for their booking and without any tables being previously arranged to accommodate the number of guests, their tables and chairs were very clumsily dragged and thrown around noisily, without any elegance, ruining what little atmosphere that existed in the restaurant. At the close of our service and on the request to settle our bill, again, I had to be asked our booking name, as our entry could not be found. Following a further 15-20 minutes of waiting for the bill to materialise and expecting to be billed as part of the hotel's promotion of 2 for 1 afternoon tea (as booked in advance), this caused further confusion and another 15 mins passed, before we were ushered down towards the main reception area for investigation. At reception, during the course of the conversation, we were either told that our booking couldn't be found or we was given conflicting information. As there was no reference to the promotion on the booking, I was asked if I could supply the booking reference/email, to which I did. However, as the promotion was not listed on the confirmation, this was completely dismissed and we were told that we were being billed for the full amount. In addition, it was insinuated that it was my error, as I was unable to produce any proof or voucher code (of which there was not one, as it was a direct booking on the hotel's website). I explained that all I received was what the hotel had issued me in confirmation of the booking. At this point, we were told that the promotion was in August and the system shouldn't have allowed us to book our selected date, which I didn't feel was our error. Later in the conversation, we were then told that there hadn't been a 2 for 1 promotion since February. Lastly, we were told that it was likely that there was a 20% discount saving, but we didn't receive this either. The whole conversation was awash with arbitrary decisions and ambiguous stories. Consequently, the staff were completely dismissive and were only interested in us paying the full amount, which is what we were forced to do. During all of the above pitiful exchange, we were witness to a couple who were locked out of their accommodation and were left waiting to gain entry and another dining couple were also complaining that they had not received their meals as promised. A member of the restaurant staff who was actually trying to make amends was asking what I assumed to be the duty manager, if he could just bill them for what they had received and provide them with a good-will gesture soft drink, to which he replied, "no, don't say anything to them, I will speak to them, as they need to pay the full price". Sadly, these examples perfectly epitomised that the hotel was not adequately staffed and there
JoTheLegend
Great service, fabulous food. Spanish platter for a starter was delicious. Large portions. Try the cocktails as they are really lovely too.
Ian Mason
Had an excellent stay at the hotel. The food was superb and the staff was very friendly and helpful and welcomingWould recommend a stay here, and you will not regret ot
win task
Just beautiful interior. Just passing by then thought let’s try it so stopped for a coffee. Amazing atmosphere inside. As long as venue is beautiful so their staff. Helpful, attentive n know what u like. Btw had great time. Enjoyed my coffee, walked around n made my move out. I’m sure they’ll b superb destination to stay as hotel n food will b good too as coffee.
Mickey Clark
Lovely venue, only stopped for a coffee which was also nice!
Matt
Great food and even better service, our server Mark has a fantastic personality and really made our night.
Ágnes Papp
Just superb, Mark and Mackenzie were very helpful, lovely, and attentive in the bar and restaurant.
Steve Manning
Decent food but service was slow
Clair Keller
Had beautiful 2 course meal melt in the mouth food
GaryJamesBell
I recently booked a table for 2 at Turners restaurant at the Dukes Head Hotel. We was greeted at reception and shown by our server into the restaurant which was tastefully decorated for the Christmas season. Our visit was on a Monday evening so the restaurant was pretty quiet which was to be expected. Our waiter Mark was very attentive and made us feel comfortable. The food was brought to us in a well timed and very well presented fashion and tasted delicious. There was nothing to fault. They also have a very good drinks selection which we chose from the varied options for wine. I have lived in Kings Lynn for some years now and have never been to Turners, something I regret not having done before now as it was a very lovely evening. Something I shall do again very soon and will definitely bring other family and friends with me.
Pleasant tasteful décor and tables well spaced out. Nice touch is the pure linen serviettes. Looks like plenty of choice on the menu but they appear to have a supply problem and run out of some of the choices and once its gone its gone. We had the last of the crab which was excellent and very well presented. Service is good and the staff mostly helpful and pleasant. For us the only down side was that the restaurant seems to have a fly problem but then most of the restaurants we went into in King’s Lynn appeared to have the same problem. Reservations are recommended during busy holiday periods especially at weekends.
Sardanapale
I'm as turned off as you are by reviewers who tell you all about what THEY were doing at a place ("Night out with the girls", "Dad's 60th birthday", etc.) rather than about the place itself. This entry may read like one of those at first, but it's not. The preamble IS relevant. Bear with me if you can. We had booked a room at the Duke's Head, a hotel in King's Lynn. Looking around for a place to eat, I saw that viamichelin, the website of the celebrated guidebook, recommended the restaurant of that very hotel. What Michelin says is worth quoting at length: "Turners Restaurant uses locally-sourced ingredients to put an inventive spin on traditional British fare (...) A King’s Lynn dining destination of distinction, the Dukes Head brings Norfolk’s plentiful produce to your table with flair. Our talented chefs know exactly where to find the season’s best, working with local suppliers every day to source the freshest and finest ingredients, and, paired with the perfect vintage, they taste even better." At this point, you're probably thinking what I initially thought: this was obviously cooked up by the publicity department of the hotel chain in question (note: "OUR talented chefs...") But something in me said: surely Michelin doesn't do fake write-ups; they may have borrowed a few words of corporate bilge from a PR trainee at Surya Hotels, but a real person, perhaps some heavily accented gastronome, must have gone there. I was wrong. Or rather, I was right the first time. I'm not blaming the fine people at Turner's. They don't pretend to provide anything else than standard pub fare at standard pub prices, or not much more. Our starters were characteristically tasteless - the only departure from your local Wetherspoon was the uncooked noodles that oddly adorned the asparagus and poached egg. My lamb came with the usual potatoes and peas spiced up with BBQ ketchup. The French pinot noir was indifferent, but at £25 a bottle it didn't masquerade as vintage stuff. The service showed the same refreshingly lack of pretension. Smiling behind her facemask, the waitress greeted us with a friendly: "How you guys doing?" Again, we're not blaming Turner's. But we blame Michelin for misleading us into believing that we were in for a special treat. The next night we went to Nando's across the street: it was predictably cheap and cheerful. And the starters did come with uncooked noodles.
chrisW5923ZI
We visited here for an evening meal. The food was great, pigeon breast, curried parsnip soup, plaice and fish and chips. However, I found the lounge type seats uncomfortable as I prefer to sit more upright when eating a meal. Pre-dinner drinks were slow to arrive and when I asked the waitress where they were she told me they were short-staffed (they weren't - there were two serving staff on and very few customers) and that they had to "travel" a long way to the bar. A simple acknowledgment and apology that we had been waiting would have been better. The drinks arrived shortly after, followed by the food just a minute later. Whilst courteous, both servers had an annoying habit of asking "have we decided on our starters", "have we finished out meals", "have we chosen our dessert". I would recommend the food but I won't be eating here again because of the above issues.
LoSDiner
We had a reservation in the main restaurant but when we saw their was only one table occupied we decided to have the meal in the bar instead which was marginally busier. I had Scallops to begin with which were cooked perfectly, however, the accompanying Bombay potato was a bit bland to my taste. My main of lamb rump was cooked well although I thought quite a small piece of meat for the price. The sour cream mash was OK but nothing special and the char grilled courgette really didn't have any snoky charred flavour at all. The guy who served the wine just put the wine on the table and didn't even remove the screw top, let alone ask me to try it! Probably deserved 3 and a half stars but you can't give that on here!
Unfortunately, our visit to the Duke's Head for an afternoon tea experience wasn't quite what we were hoping for. On arrival, we were greeted by a sign asking to "wait to be seated" and wait we did for 15 mins before a member of the restaurant staff appeared. This would have been understandable had there been a busy service in progress, but there were fewer than 4 other tables occupied. On eventually being shown to a table, by someone anything other than what you could describe as a "Maître D", we were given menus, signalling that it was clear that it was not obvious that we had booked for afternoon tea, which was equally demonstrated by the waiter not being able to find our reservation initially. Our afternoon tea was eventually served to us and for the most part the food was satisfactory, albeit the shortbread sweets were soggy, rather than crisp and the tea had tipped over to the point of stewed. At no point during our service, did anyone check if all was in order or if we required anything, as for practically the duration of our visit there were barely any staff present. Other tables were also left unattended and had to actively seek out staff in order to place their order. At a mid-point during our service, a moderate sized party of guests arrived for their booking and without any tables being previously arranged to accommodate the number of guests, their tables and chairs were very clumsily dragged and thrown around noisily, without any elegance, ruining what little atmosphere that existed in the restaurant. At the close of our service and on the request to settle our bill, again, I had to be asked our booking name, as our entry could not be found. Following a further 15-20 minutes of waiting for the bill to materialise and expecting to be billed as part of the hotel's promotion of 2 for 1 afternoon tea (as booked in advance), this caused further confusion and another 15 mins passed, before we were ushered down towards the main reception area for investigation. At reception, during the course of the conversation, we were either told that our booking couldn't be found or we was given conflicting information. As there was no reference to the promotion on the booking, I was asked if I could supply the booking reference/email, to which I did. However, as the promotion was not listed on the confirmation, this was completely dismissed and we were told that we were being billed for the full amount. In addition, it was insinuated that it was my error, as I was unable to produce any proof or voucher code (of which there was not one, as it was a direct booking on the hotel's website). I explained that all I received was what the hotel had issued me in confirmation of the booking. At this point, we were told that the promotion was in August and the system shouldn't have allowed us to book our selected date, which I didn't feel was our error. Later in the conversation, we were then told that there hadn't been a 2 for 1 promotion since February. Lastly, we were told that it was likely that there was a 20% discount saving, but we didn't receive this either. The whole conversation was awash with arbitrary decisions and ambiguous stories. Consequently, the staff were completely dismissive and were only interested in us paying the full amount, which is what we were forced to do. During all of the above pitiful exchange, we were witness to a couple who were locked out of their accommodation and were left waiting to gain entry and another dining couple were also complaining that they had not received their meals as promised. A member of the restaurant staff who was actually trying to make amends was asking what I assumed to be the duty manager, if he could just bill them for what they had received and provide them with a good-will gesture soft drink, to which he replied, "no, don't say anything to them, I will speak to them, as they need to pay the full price". Sadly, these examples perfectly epitomised that the hotel was not adequately staffed and there
Great service, fabulous food. Spanish platter for a starter was delicious. Large portions. Try the cocktails as they are really lovely too.
Had an excellent stay at the hotel. The food was superb and the staff was very friendly and helpful and welcomingWould recommend a stay here, and you will not regret ot
Just beautiful interior. Just passing by then thought let’s try it so stopped for a coffee. Amazing atmosphere inside. As long as venue is beautiful so their staff. Helpful, attentive n know what u like. Btw had great time. Enjoyed my coffee, walked around n made my move out. I’m sure they’ll b superb destination to stay as hotel n food will b good too as coffee.
Lovely venue, only stopped for a coffee which was also nice!
Great food and even better service, our server Mark has a fantastic personality and really made our night.
Just superb, Mark and Mackenzie were very helpful, lovely, and attentive in the bar and restaurant.
Decent food but service was slow
Had beautiful 2 course meal melt in the mouth food
I recently booked a table for 2 at Turners restaurant at the Dukes Head Hotel. We was greeted at reception and shown by our server into the restaurant which was tastefully decorated for the Christmas season. Our visit was on a Monday evening so the restaurant was pretty quiet which was to be expected. Our waiter Mark was very attentive and made us feel comfortable. The food was brought to us in a well timed and very well presented fashion and tasted delicious. There was nothing to fault. They also have a very good drinks selection which we chose from the varied options for wine. I have lived in Kings Lynn for some years now and have never been to Turners, something I regret not having done before now as it was a very lovely evening. Something I shall do again very soon and will definitely bring other family and friends with me.
Restaurantji Recommends
Pleasant tasteful décor and tables well spaced out. Nice touch is the pure linen serviettes. Looks like plenty of choice on the menu but they appear to have a supply problem and run out of some of the choices and once its gone its gone. We had the last of the crab which was excellent and very well presented. Service is good and the staff mostly helpful and pleasant. For us the only down side was that the restaurant seems to have a fly problem but then most of the restaurants we went into in King’s Lynn appeared to have the same problem. Reservations are recommended during busy holiday periods especially at weekends.
I'm as turned off as you are by reviewers who tell you all about what THEY were doing at a place ("Night out with the girls", "Dad's 60th birthday", etc.) rather than about the place itself. This entry may read like one of those at first, but it's not. The preamble IS relevant. Bear with me if you can. We had booked a room at the Duke's Head, a hotel in King's Lynn. Looking around for a place to eat, I saw that viamichelin, the website of the celebrated guidebook, recommended the restaurant of that very hotel. What Michelin says is worth quoting at length: "Turners Restaurant uses locally-sourced ingredients to put an inventive spin on traditional British fare (...) A King’s Lynn dining destination of distinction, the Dukes Head brings Norfolk’s plentiful produce to your table with flair. Our talented chefs know exactly where to find the season’s best, working with local suppliers every day to source the freshest and finest ingredients, and, paired with the perfect vintage, they taste even better." At this point, you're probably thinking what I initially thought: this was obviously cooked up by the publicity department of the hotel chain in question (note: "OUR talented chefs...") But something in me said: surely Michelin doesn't do fake write-ups; they may have borrowed a few words of corporate bilge from a PR trainee at Surya Hotels, but a real person, perhaps some heavily accented gastronome, must have gone there. I was wrong. Or rather, I was right the first time. I'm not blaming the fine people at Turner's. They don't pretend to provide anything else than standard pub fare at standard pub prices, or not much more. Our starters were characteristically tasteless - the only departure from your local Wetherspoon was the uncooked noodles that oddly adorned the asparagus and poached egg. My lamb came with the usual potatoes and peas spiced up with BBQ ketchup. The French pinot noir was indifferent, but at £25 a bottle it didn't masquerade as vintage stuff. The service showed the same refreshingly lack of pretension. Smiling behind her facemask, the waitress greeted us with a friendly: "How you guys doing?" Again, we're not blaming Turner's. But we blame Michelin for misleading us into believing that we were in for a special treat. The next night we went to Nando's across the street: it was predictably cheap and cheerful. And the starters did come with uncooked noodles.
We visited here for an evening meal. The food was great, pigeon breast, curried parsnip soup, plaice and fish and chips. However, I found the lounge type seats uncomfortable as I prefer to sit more upright when eating a meal. Pre-dinner drinks were slow to arrive and when I asked the waitress where they were she told me they were short-staffed (they weren't - there were two serving staff on and very few customers) and that they had to "travel" a long way to the bar. A simple acknowledgment and apology that we had been waiting would have been better. The drinks arrived shortly after, followed by the food just a minute later. Whilst courteous, both servers had an annoying habit of asking "have we decided on our starters", "have we finished out meals", "have we chosen our dessert". I would recommend the food but I won't be eating here again because of the above issues.
We had a reservation in the main restaurant but when we saw their was only one table occupied we decided to have the meal in the bar instead which was marginally busier. I had Scallops to begin with which were cooked perfectly, however, the accompanying Bombay potato was a bit bland to my taste. My main of lamb rump was cooked well although I thought quite a small piece of meat for the price. The sour cream mash was OK but nothing special and the char grilled courgette really didn't have any snoky charred flavour at all. The guy who served the wine just put the wine on the table and didn't even remove the screw top, let alone ask me to try it! Probably deserved 3 and a half stars but you can't give that on here!
Not impressed