Restaurant review, Wiveton hall Café, Holt, Norfolk.

Nowhere in Britain divides opinion quite like Norfolk. Most counties come with a ready-made, dinner-party-safe prevailing view. Berkshire? Bucolic, unaffordable. Derbyshire? Lovely hills. Cornwall? Too long a drive, but worth it when you get there. Norfolk? Ask the person on your left and they’ll say it’s flat, featureless and totally without merit. Ask the person on your right and they’ll say that its luscious flora and coastal heritage are the envy of England. Ask either of them when they’ve had too much to drink and they’ll give you the opposite view, except stronger.

On at least three Norfolk-related matters, however, most people now seem to agree. First, Delia Smith’s still got it. Second, Stephen Fry (a native) is  a genius. And third, Wiveton Hall’s café is one of the best restaurants in Britain. Curiously, the first two points are true, the third is false, yet the reason people hold the third to be true is that Delia herself made the claim.

Yes, barely a year ago Delia was asked what she made of the march of Michelin restaurants in Britain. “On the whole,  I am not a great fan. I like the 1970s the best, really,” she said. “There is one person left doing that at the Wiveton Hall café and if I could go to her restaurant  I would go that extra mile because it’s... well, I just think everything else has got very overdone.”

So your correspondent has come the extra mile, and on first appearances, this is a gorgeous place to eat. Five years old, it sits in a converted barn behind a vast stately home bought long ago bought by Desmond MacCarthy, the literary critic and journalist, back when literary critics and journalists could afford such things. It is just along the road from the lovely village of Cley. At the end of a long drive, you can see a vast fruit farm, pigs, chickens and a sunset to nourish the soul.

Inside, pastel pinks, yellows and blues combine with children’s art to create the impression of a giant nursery, and the kids running joyfully around seem to agree. Mostly, however, the clientele is of an age when they might well appreciate the large fonts on the menu containing weekday breakfast, weekend cooked breakfast, children’s menu, afternoon tea and a reminder that the lunch menu is on the big board in front of you.

It’s commendably short, with just  a few starters, mains, and in-betweeners (desserts are separate). And here, I am afraid, we search in vain for the wow factor. It’s reasonably priced – you can  get a decent bottle of Sauvignon for £12.50 – but not spectacular.

Read more at http://www.independent.co.uk