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Hours
Sun
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tue
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Wed
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Thu
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fri
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sat
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
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CUISINES
Cafe, British
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch
FEATURES
Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available
Is this restaurant good for scenic view?
Details
About
The Lookout, overlooking Holkham National Nature Reserve offers a tempting selection of hot and cold refreshments as well as delicious cakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches, soup and fruit, not forgetting the ‘wrapper free’ ice lolly machine! The Lookout blends perfectly into this sensitive landscape offering spectacular views over the nature reserve.
CUISINES
Cafe, British
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch
FEATURES
Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Highchairs Available
Contribute
4.0
147 reviews
Excellent
52
Very good
50
Average
25
Poor
12
Terrible
9
Delpiero86
Radcliffe74 contributions
Feb 2020 • family
Great food options. Delicious.
Brilliant idea that the packaging is all compostable. Love it.
However.
Coffee is confusing.
I asked if they sold soya milk for a soya latte and was told only oat milk. Even better. Great. I then ordered an oat milk latte and a ‘normal’ latte for my husband. I was served two black coffees. I was confused. The young girl serving said ‘it’s just a black coffee’ I could see that. I wasn’t confused about what the drink was. I was confused about why I’d ordered 2 lattes and been given black coffees.
She then said ‘you add your own milk’
I would definitely tell people that before they order instead of just hoping that a black coffee is acceptable.
All in all a cute little cafe to shelter from the wind. You can make your own bird box outside!
Maybe explain the coffee situation before people order.
Written February 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sophiehZ6080TR
Thank you for your review, we're glad you liked our food and packaging, and we're sorry to read that the transaction was a little confusing. I will pass your feedback onto the team, as confusing our visitors is the last thing we want to do!
For the benefit of our readers, our build your own bird box activity was a part of our February half-term event.
Written February 24, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mplipm
367 contributions
Mar 2020 • couples
The Lookout forms part of the Holkham estate and is at the entrance to the beach overlooking the marshes which appears to be very popular with bird watchers. The building itself is made in a cylinder form v and has architectural merit, with both indoor and outdoor seating forming part of the interior. The coffee choice is black from a jug and if you want milk you add it from the bottle in the side! Whilst there is a lot of pretentiousness around coffee these days it really should be able to offer something better than this at £2.50 a cup, especially having paid an astronomical £9.00 to park the car for the day. The sausage roll I had at £3.00 was very good, if expensive.
Written March 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sophiehZ6080TR
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review, We have passed your comments onto the team and are really glad you like our sausage rolls. We hope you had a lovely day exploring the reserve.
Written March 25, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Christopher T
Great Missenden111 contributions
Mar 2020 • none
Visited in early March before Covid 19 on 2 separate occasions. Nice relaxed atmosphere with very friendly service- good facilities for dogs and ours was warmly welcomed by the staff.
Good quality coffee- and proper tea, accompanied by tasty home made cakes. Its a nice touch that there are binoculars and bird books by the windows so you can keep an eye on nature whilst taking a break
Written July 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JoanneLewis1
Thanks for your review, Christopher. We are glad you managed to visit us just before we closed, it's great to be back open now and welcoming our visitors back.
Written August 3, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
PilatesLady58
Norwich100 contributions
Dec 2020 • family
I know we’re in a time of Covid but I just had a really poor experience at The Lookout. Generally unfriendly staff. Food awful. Selected a smoked salmon and cream cheese roll in what I thought was a dark rye roll which turned out to be a burger type bun which had the colour, taste and consistency of a black sponge, one of the most unpleasant things I’ve ever tried to eat. Whoever is responsible for selecting the food offering here needs to get a grip. Coffee was ok, maybe I should just have had that!
Written December 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emma B
Thank you for taking the time to write your review - we are naturally disappointed to read that you did not enjoy your visit to The Lookout. The labelling for the roll you purchased clearly stated that it was a black roll, not a rye roll, but we never want our customers to go away thinking that our food is the most unpleasant thing they've ever tried to eat and we wish that you had told us of this at the time so that we could have resolved this for you. Our team prides itself on being welcoming and helpful and we are concerned to hear that you found them unfriendly - we'd be grateful if you could please tell us a little more by emailing our catering manager at n.britton@holkham.co.uk
Written December 17, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Paul R
Wellingborough804 contributions
Jul 2021 • none
I'm delighted to be able to revise my previous, entirely negative review of this cafe, set at the edge of the vast and lovely Holkham beach.
Of course, my view of the architecture hasn't changed but, following the careful response from their marketting admininstrator, I must concede that a) beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, more importantly, b) there are very good environmental reasons for the way it's built.
But the main reason my second visit was so much more enjoyable was that there was an incomparably better range and variety of food and drink on offer, all of very good quality. A little pricey but justifiably so, to be honest. My sister rated the sausage roll 'as good as the National Trust sausage roll, if not better.' This, from a connoisseur, is quite an accolade!
Service was quick and efficient and the long queue for the toilets was kept from impinging on the eating area by means of a strategically placed barrier.
An entirely enjoyable lunch experience.
Written July 20, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emma B
Thank you so much for this Paul. We're beyond glad that you enjoyed The Lookout this time around & were able to see the positives, especially in terms of our environmentally-sustainable approach. We also rave about our sausage rolls, so we're extremely pleased your sister agrees! Thanks again, and we look forward to welcoming you back.
Written July 20, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
scottph543
10 contributions
Feb 2023 • none
We've been visiting the Holkham estate for some years, its one of our regular walks.
We've always been a little ambivalent about the Lookout which has the same level of pricing as the main cafe near the Hall, but doesn't match its quality, in either range, standard of fare or the surroundings.
Today we were quite disappointed. The coffee (only filter available, add the milk yourself) was quite mediocre to say the least. The cakes were OK at better than OK prices.
Most disappointing was that we were charged 20p each for small (non reusable plastic) cups of water for our Grandchildren, that we even had to fill ourselves. I was of the understanding that cafes etc had to provide free water but it seems they can charge for the 'service'. We won't get caught by that one again!
Though we've been there many times in the past, I'm not sure we will go again.
Written February 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emma B
Many thanks for taking the time to share your feedback - it is always really helpful to know out our customers' tastes and what they like and don't like.
While the Lookout shares many product lines with the Courtyard Cafe in Holkham Park, it is much smaller and therefore does have a focus on lighter meals and takeaway items. Sustainability is incredibly important to us and since The Lookout opened we have tried to make it as sustainable as possible. This includes serving filter coffee only (less energy, waste and packaging) and having a smaller menu to prevent food waste.
Two of our latest initiatives are around reducing single-use cups. We give a 10% discount on hot drinks to anyone bringing their own reusable cup, and also we charge 20p for any single-use cups requested without a drink. There is a free-to-use water fountain standing in pride of place in the centre of the Lookout for anyone, not just customers, to use. The charge is not for the water, it is for the compostable cup, and is to encourage people to bring their own refillable water bottles.
We hope that this helps to explain why you were charged 20p and we would love to see you at The Lookout again soon.
Written February 26, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MySloeLink
United Kingdom342 contributions
Nov 2021 • none
Great building - sustainable construction and blends in with the surrounding nature reserve area. Full marks for using plant based plastics so that all utensils and packaging are recyclable or compostable. Cafe somewhat underwhelming with very few food options and limited drink range. For example coffee choice is filter coffee only (normal or decaf). Sausage roll with exceptional quality pastry was otherwise bland when I would have expected a locally sourced 'signature' dish to have a stand out taste. So much potential........
Written November 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emma B
Thank you for your feedback, we are really glad to get a big tick for sustainability. It might help to know that we only serve filter coffee for sustainability reasons too - less machinery, less milk and plastic milk bottles, less electricity, fewer deliveries, less waste and also less noise which befits our position in the middle of a national nature reserve.
Usually we get top marks for both our traditional and vegan sausage rolls, so are sad to hear they weren't to your taste. The cafe's menu is deliberately small (we are a small space, with a small team and a small kitchen), but we try to cater for all visitors and feedback such as yours on our offer is always really helpful.
We hope you will give us another try and fingers crossed we'll see you at the Lookout soon.
Written November 21, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Timbo
9 contributions
Jan 2020 • family
After a windy walk on the beach it was a lovely hot chocolate served by very friendly staff at the Look Out which made the trip to Holkham very memorable. Special thanks to the excellent young lady who served us. Thank you
Written January 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sophiehZ6080TR
Thank you, Rob. We're so pleased to hear that our team made your visit to Holkham extra special. Thank you for commenting.
Written January 22, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
HampshireNuthatch
28 contributions
Feb 2023 • couples
We had cake and hot chocolate here and we were pleased to find a range of very good gluten free cakes. The server also said they could make sandwiches GF as well. Service was good as well. Hot chocolate was a touch too sweet but that’s not unusual in my experience. Having packaging and disposables as compostable is a huge bonus. It’s not cheap here but in this area and location it’s what I’d expect.
Written February 13, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emma B
Thank you for your great feedback, we hope to see you again soon.
Written February 26, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sam C
44 contributions
Aug 2020 • couples
Being a regular visitor to Norfolk - this was our first visit to the Lookout. What a gem. Love the ethos and sustainability. Prawn hogie was delicious and really like using local produce. Filter coffee was great quality and for a change - a nice uncomplicated option. Great adherence to social distances and cleaning. Loved it and will go back.
Written August 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LD_HE1
Thank you so much Sam for leaving such a fabulous review and we're delighted you enjoyed your first visit to The Lookout. Our team works hard on the food offering, as well as ensuring everything is clean and COVID-19 Secure. We will share your lovely comments with them and look forward to welcoming you back soon.
Written August 8, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Mike-Vina
19 contributions
Sep 2023 • family
We've been visiting this cafe for several years now, ever since it opened, and we always say the same thing - "they could do so much more". Last week's visit once again saw 1 or 2 of the toilets closed, the ladies in our family all said that theirs were "grotty" and the cafe itself is totally lacking in atmosphere with a very limited menu. They have a captive customer base and are abusing it.
Written September 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Holkham Estate
Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry that you are disappointed with The Lookout, and will ensure your feedback is passed on for consideration.
Written September 25, 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Tanzanitegirl
Stowmarket249 contributions
Dec 2023 • couples
After a lovely windy walk on Holkham beach we dropped in for a hot drink. Nice set up with a large enclosed courtyard plus inside seating with amazing views. Water fountains for people and bowls for dogs.
Coffee, hot chocolate and cakes nice, however such a lot of plastic is used and cakes come in cellophane wrappers. I didn’t see any recycling bins?
The unisex toilets were dirty with overflowing bins, empty toilet roll holders and what appeared to be exposed electrics on broken toilet flush buttons - very poor maintenance. I understand it’s a busy facility used by many people but regular checks should be in place and the toilet with the broken flush panel should have been closed and made out of order🙁
Written December 31, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Niobe Holkham
Thank you for your feedback. We'd like to reassure you that the vast majority of our packaging is Vegware for composting in our dedicated compost bins. We're working on ensuring we package products as sustainably as possible.
Looking at the date of your review, the toilets were hit really hard on this day and suffered! Maintenance is being carried out on the broken toilet, and we'll pass your feedback on regarding the cleanliness to the team.
Written January 3, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Katiematt1
London96 contributions
Sep 2021 • couples
The vegan sausage roll is out of this world… i would love to know the recipe. The fish and chip dog treats are adored by my dogs aswell. I will be returning here later in the week to have another vegan sausage roll before the end of my holiday.
Written September 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marketing
We're glad you're enjoying the vegan sausage rolls just as much as we are! We also sell the Fish & Chip dog bones at our Gift Shop on Holkham Estate which a range of others, so it may be worth taking a walk down there. Enjoy your next sausage roll!
Written September 22, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Heather L
4 contributions
Jun 2024 • family
You would think they’d be able to afford a cleaner for the vile toilets that are on par with Skegness toilets for the extortionate amount of money they charge in the cafe. £4.50 for a slice of cake and no cappuccino on the menu just filter coffee for nearly £3. Not impressed. Had to avoid some kind of muck on the toilet floor with my child for him to have a wee. Not as posh as they think they are!
Written June 26, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Clementine Brown
Thank you for your constructive feedback, our team takes great pride in keeping our facilities clean and we apologise if something went a miss on this occasion.
Written July 2, 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Dipti B
4 contributions
Jul 2024 • family
Extremely overpriced, £5.25 for a sandwich, same extortionate prices for cakes & drinks.
Toilets absolutely filthy, saw a man come out of gents actually gagging!
Would definitely not recommend this place to anyone!
Written July 26, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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