The Hawkley Inn

We stayed at this fabulous place for two nights for a wedding nearby. From arrival to departure we were treated with such welcoming friendliness. And the bits in between involved delicious food and much jollity in the bar with attentive and kind service. The bedrooms were heaven and the bathrooms too. And the breakfasts... If we didn't live in Norfolk we would be there every night... Thank you.

Having first visited the Hawkley Inn nine years ago, we were keen to stay here again on our recent cycling trip to the Isle of Wight. Note to cyclists: there is no escaping a sharp uphill stretch, whichever way you approach Hawkley! Like most places, they've found it hard to retain staff here over the past couple of years due to external pressures, so it was inspiring to see the extent to which the family running the Inn are pulling out all the stops to make things work. A great dinner of Thai pork curry with a couple of bottles of NZ Sauvignon and a perfect breakfast the following morning. Many thanks - we won't leave it nine years until our next visit.

Stayed for a night to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The hotel is lovely. We stayed in the Cowdrey room. The room was spacious with lovely views and an amply stocked tea tray with added biscuits and a chocolate. Nice touch.! The food was so lovely that my husband remarked that this was the best food he’d had in ages. Obviously, I gave him ‘the look’ to which he clarified that he meant when eating out! To be fair, it WAS the best food we’d had in ages. If I could cook like that I wouldn’t be an accountant! We had dinner and breakfast and both were equally lovely. Friendly staff to top it off. A lovely weekend.

A delightful pub, serving excellent food and ales in a quintessential English village. The large back garden is perfect for whiling away a few hours over a laid back lunch. Alternatively there is cosy seating inside or you can sit at one of the benches out the front and engage in a spot of people watching.

Very friendly service, great food (very generous portions) and beer, extremely comfortable room. We stayed one night whilst walking the Hangers Way (Hawkley is half way). Will certainly return for a longer visit. Cannot fault any aspect of this excellent pub.

We popped in for a pint after a long walk in the local area. Friendly staff and nice buzz on a Sunday afternoon. They had stopped serving lunch but the menu looks great, we’re going to plan a trip back another time. Lucky locals! There’s also a beautiful church round the corner if you’re in to that kind of history 👍🏻

Arrived at 13:40 and asked if the kitchen was still serving food. We were told they were too busy and it it was too late despite us offering to sit outside and only interested in a simple meal so as not to tax the kitchen. Basically this used to offer good food and (more importantly) a friendly welcome - but not any longer it seems. There are plenty of pubs in the surrounding area that do offer a welcome so a pity but not the end of the world...a shame.

We had a delicious lunch there the other day as a walking group of friends. We had to pre-order our food as we were pressed for time with the early sunsets. The pre-order menu was very limited with zero vegan options, so I ended up eating cheese which is unpleasant for a vegan like me. I left five messages on the phone over about a period of ten days in advance. I finally spoke to someone who claimed they emailed me when had in fact not. When it came time for the bill, I was last to pay and ended up paying double what I owed as there was a discrepancy, they said we still owed "so much" but could not itemise and say what had not been paid for, so we could not know who had not paid for everything they had ordered, which may or may not have been true... I left feeling a little sad to pay double for the (cheese) sandwich I ate, as a vegan with no other choices.. The head staff was really not very friendly.. Not unfriendly, jut barely holding it together it seemed, nothing extra, no smiles, probably very stressed.