nourish team 
at The Clubhouse, Fritton
Review by Kate Morfoot
Fritton Lake, part of the Somerleyton Estate, is on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk. It’s an exclusive holiday and members’ club that celebrates nature and eco-restoration, food and hospitality, sport and recreation. It is privately owned by Hugh and Lara Somerleyton who are celebrating the arrival of their new chef, Chris Bartlett at the Fritton Arms, known as The Clubhouse.
The Clubhouse offers incredible dining at very reasonable prices – in fact, very affordable, when you find out Chris has just come from The Fat Duck in Bray.
Sunday lunchtime it was busy with groups of friends and families. There were children fresh from the heated swimming pool, people celebrating birthdays, and those on holiday there in one of the luxury cabins, having been exploring. It certainly felt like it had a ‘club’ atmosphere.
The fires were all lit and there were lots of places to sink into sofas to read the papers or have a drink at the bar. Private dining areas are available as well as a room to play games and pool, and the all areas are dog-friendly.
We were there to enjoy Sunday lunch and as the menu changes weekly, it had a nice autumnal emphasis to it with most of the ingredients sourced from the local Clinks Care Farm or Somerleyton Estate.
From the Small Plates menu, we enjoyed celeriac soup with lovage oil (£7). It was a thick smooth soup, deliciously creamy with a good amount of pepper seasoning served with chucky white chargrilled warm bread. We also ordered the grilled vegetables with romesco and a traditional Spanish red pepper sauce, (£7.40). The red pepper sauce was more of a dip thickness, so that went well with the bread that accompanies the soup.
The cured meat board looked interesting featuring fennel salami and salsicca secca, (£15), together with the late season tomato escabeche with a green fennel seed marinade, (£7) and falafels with hummus with grilled picked onions and Clinks Farm leaves, (£10.90).
The Large Plates offered six choices, all family-friendly style food, perfect for a Sunday lunch; mac n’ cheese, using Norfolk Dapple and pepper sauce, (£12.50); wild mushroom risotto, with mushrooms foraged from around the lake, (£12.80); Somerleyton beef burger, from six- week aged Somerleyton beef, (£15.50); Somerleyton beef and Guinness pie, (£17.30); and line-caught Ikejime sea bass, (£21.30).
We chose the traditional Somerleyton roast beef, topside with roasted vegetables, pumpkin puree and buttery potato mash and a huge Yorkshire pudding, (£20.50). The beef was so tender and the vegetables were cooked to perfection, all rounded off with delicious shiny gravy.
The pudding menu had a nice mixture of traditional with the unusual. We enjoyed the spiced oat crumble, apple and vanilla custard, (£5) and burnt butter cake with fig ice cream (£7.60).
Other puddings to choose from included, dark chocolate ganache with olive, sea salt and hazelnut, (£5.30) and sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream, (£6.70).
To celebrate the head chef’s new appointment, Fritton Lake is offering a £50 annual Clubhouse membership enabling non-club members to dine at the restaurant and bring their friends.
Guests are welcome to book their first table to trial the experience before signing up by emailing clubsecretary@frittonlake.co.uk
Things to know
Clubhouse membership at £50 per annum, offers access only to the Clubhouse bar, restaurant and sun terrace. Clubhouse members also receive invites to curated F&B events.
Full membership at £595 per annum includes use of the facilities and all it has to offer including tennis (hard and grass courts), the heated swimming pool, floating sauna, walks, and access to the lake for wild swimming and paddle boarding.
- For membership enquiries please contact clubsecretary@frittonlake.co.uk.
- Fritton Lake, Beccles Rd, Fritton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, NR31 9HA
- Tel: 01493 484008
- www.frittonlake.co.uk
Follow Kate on Instagram @Love2Eat2Travel
