By Appointment - Norwich

(Now closed)

25-29 St Georges Street

Norwich

 Norfolk

NR3 1AB

Website

By Appointment has been on St Georges Street for 25 years. It will sadly be closing at the end of July 2012, click here for a recent article in the Eastern Daily Press.

The entrance is located around the back, through an archway off Colegate.

You are made very welcome as soon as you arrive and the dining room is presented beautifully.

The blackboard reads "Good morning, I hope that you have slept well"

Freshly squeezed orange juice awaits us at the crisp white linen covered tables.

Fresh flowers, Norfolk honey, a selection of jams and sugars sit neatly on the table.

The tea is served in a silver teapot and there is no need to hold onto the tea strainer.

Freshly ground Columbian coffee is served in a cafetiere.

A selection of warm croissants and toast arrive at the table.

The light level inside the dinning room is quite low so it was difficult to photograph the food, this was one special breakfast though!

The excellent fried egg lay on top of a deliciously crispy slice of fried bread, next to that sat the best scrambled egg I have ever had the pleasure of eating!

It was nice to see black pudding on the plate and the mushrooms were sensational.

A pair of high quality and delicious tasting sausages lay neatly next to the flavoursome tomatoes.

A friend of mine recently posted a photo onto my facebook page of a breakfast he had recently eaten at By Appointment. It looked delicious and I showed the photo to my girlfriend as we had both eaten there a few years back at a friends wedding. My birthday was coming up and little did I realise my girlfriend upon seeing the photo was contacting them to book a table straight away. The night before we had a few birthday drinks in the city and ended up feeling a tad hungover in the morning. We found ourselves rushing to get ready in time for our 9.30am booking and due to that didn't really get dressed up for the occasion like we had planned. We headed to the back door where you enter By Appointment wondering what our breakfast experience would be like...

Upon entering - The dining room was incredible and like nothing else I had experienced so far on my breakfast journey. Each table was beautifully laid out with white linen table cloth and napkins, fresh flowers, silver wear and a fine array of jams and homemade Norfolk honey. The sunlight through the windows and a number of lamps gently light the dining room giving it a calming atmosphere, in the background music is played which really adds to the ambience. We arrived at the latest booking time of 9.30am and there was just one other couple eating breakfast, once they had left we had the whole dining room to ourselves. 9/10 

Service - We were greeted by owner Robert who looked after us and I must say the service was flawless from beginning to the end of our visit, he is a true professional and really nice chap. He greeted us when we arrived, showing us to our table and taking our coats. Once seated he asked us if we would like tea or coffee and returned with a silver teapot of tea and a large cafetiere of Columbian coffee. Soon after that he bought us a selection of toast and warm croissants to the table and then the cooked breakfast arrived. At the end we asked for the bill, he bought it over asking if we would like any more tea, coffee or toast. He chatted with us before we left and helped us on with our coats which he had kindly ensured were dry after a downpour on route. We were made to feel special and were not judged on our appearance which is a very rare occurrence these days. The best service I have ever encountered, professional, friendly and genuine. 10/10

Contents - 2 sausages, 2 bacon, black pudding, fried egg, scrambled egg, mushrooms, tomatoes, toast & butter, warm croissants, jam, marmalade, Norfolk honey, freshly squeezed orange juice, tea and coffee. 9/10

Presentation - Everything arrived beautifully presented on the plate and the layout of the food was amazing with a superb mix of colours. The silver wear and fresh flowers on the table made it feel really special. 9/10

The food - Beautifully cooked high quality local sausages and crispy back bacon. The fried egg tasted amazing with a lovely coloured yolk and slightly crispy around the edges, it lay on top of a crisp and golden slice of fried bread. I didn't realise scrambled egg could taste this good, by far the best I have ever had the pleasure of eating! A nice chunky slice of black pudding sat next to a trio of fantastic tasting mushrooms and the tomatoes were excellent and full of flavour. I was too full up to try any toast but did enjoy a delicious warm croissant with butter and jam. 10/10

Value for money - The Full English breakfast at By Appointment costs £15 and includes  tea, coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice, croissants and toast. The service is second to none and the food is just amazing, you will not leave feeling hungry. A great experience that is worth every penny! 9/10

Veggie option - Not a specific veggie Full English listed on the menu found here but it looks like they have other alternatives and do seem very keen to please so worth asking.

Overall - A truly incredible breakfast experience that is not to be missed! Excellent service, food, presentation and environment. A real treat and an absolute gem of a place that I can't recommend enough. Be quick though as it is closing soon at the end of July 2012 and remember, don't just turn up because you will need to book in advance. I am so happy to have had the pleasure to eat here before it closes its doors for the last time! 9.5/10