Coldham Hall is back

MEET the new landlady and landlord of Coldham Hall, flush from a busy first few days at their reopened, refurbished and revitalised Surlingam pub. The doors opened on Sunday – a gloriously manic first day which saw Natalie and George Linder serve 120 meals with another 50-odd people coming in for a drink. “We thought we’d be able to walk round, have a chat, get to know people” said George. “In reality we were pinned down behind the bar from 11am till 10pm there were so many people. We had a few teething troubles. The extractor fan broke down, taking the gas supply with it for a while and the fire alarms kept going off too. But the great thing was that people were very understanding, they knew it was day one.” Things were quieter tonight of course, but I was impressed. This was very much a reccie. What did the food look like? Could I bring the missus here? Have they torn the heart out of it? Very good, yes and no. So who are they aiming at? Well George knows his river and knows his boats. (Yachtmaster badge, Brooms of Brundall, year in the Caribbean, enough said.) But it’s the locals he wants to woo …the 12 month a year people that he clearly thinks will make the difference between success and failure. “Too many pubs rely on the summer trade from the river and that makes them lazy. We’ve got quite strong views on how we want it to work. We want locally sourced food for example. We’ve been to so many pubs on the river where you wouldn’t want to return.” Well this one’s well worth a second visit. Here’s a toast (with a pint of Humpty Dumpty’s finest Reedcutter) to a reborn Coldham Hall.

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Back to business for Coldham Hall

CONGRATULATIONS to the new team at Coldham Hall. This beautiful riverside pub in Surlingham will re-open next week. March 2009 saw the bailiffs knocking on the door. March 2010 marks the start of the renaissance under new owners. "It is with great pleasure that I can finally announce that Sunday 7th March will see the long awaited opening," writes managing director Natalie Linder in her latest newsletter. There follows lots of stuff about how great the restaurant will be....Norfolk reared meat, local veg etc. But what really impressed me, was how they're planning on looking after waterborne customers this summer. It doesn't feature in the letter, but this picture tells the story. Extensive new decking and moorings are already being put into place. As I've said before, these guys mean business.

A warm February welcome at Coldham Hall

THE COLDHAM Hall pub on the Yare at Surlingham will reopen in February after an extensive refit. Already this beautiful thatched building has been re-wired and re-plumbed. Peer inside the freshly-cleaned windows and you can see they've now moved on to the fixtures and furnishings. The pub's own website talks of a new kitchen, a complete makeover and "improvements made to the bar to accommodate a range of ales poured directly from the cask". Well doesn't that sound promising? The gardens have been tidied up and an A4 laminated notice flaps in the wind advertising a planning application to improve the quay headings. Clearly these guys mean business. The website also quotes manager Natalie Linder: "Our vision has always been to return Coldham Hall to its glory days when it was one of the most visited and popular pubs on the Norfolk Broads..... We hope that Coldham Hall will break the trend of many seasonal riverside pubs, and become an all year round attraction through our excellent food and drink and comfortable and inviting bar and restaurant areas benefiting from the riverside views." Here's to all that becoming a reality in 2010.
* See one of several Coldham Hall posts here, or use the search box in the top left corner.