There is a reason all those dating profiles speak of cosy country pubs. It is because they are love-at-first-sight wonderful.
Norfolk is blessed with a profusion of charming pubs, tucked away in pretty villages and the thatched Goat Inn at Skeyton, near Aylsham, is not only one of them – it also serves deliciously hearty food.
We arrived one wintry foggy evening and even in the dark the 16th century building is lovely, with twinkling lights glowing a warm welcome. Once inside, the welcome was even warmer with a pleasant buzz of conversation at the bar, smiley staff and plenty of space in the restaurant.
It turned out that The Goat Inn, Skeyton, is a place of plenty. The menu was packed with delicious-sounding dishes, tempting us to a starter as well as the main event.
Flagged as starters/lighter bites they were properly lavish – baked camembert with rosemary, honey and focaccia; salt and pepper squid; creamy garlic mushrooms with focaccia and stilton...
I chose the vegetarian mezze of hummus, garlic aioli dip, olives and grilled focaccia and it was wonderful – and would definitely make a lunch on its own or even a sharing platter.
My husband had pulled pork nachos, a richly inventive concoction of pulled pork in bourbon barbecue sauce with rustic homemade nachos and tomato and red onion salsa.
We both scoffed every morsel.
Next was a venison hotpot for me and lambs liver and bacon in a thick gravy with mash, veg and crispy onions for him. It felt like a night for proper winter stews and it was not just the slow-cooked venison pieces with root vegetables which had won me over. It came with sauteed potatoes – and a heftily sized, but fluffy-light textured, cranberry suet dumpling.
The menu was also packed with burgers, pies, steak, fish, veggie options, salads and wraps for lighter meals which might have given the desserts a chance. There is a home-made crumble of the day, a home-made cheesecake of the day, home-made and locally sourced sponge puddings, blondies, brownies, waffles, tarts and more.
All we could manage was a blood-orange sorbet between us, before rolling out of the door with firm intentions to return for more.
