Pandora's Kitchen - Norwich

(Now closed)

67 London Street

Norwich

NR2 1HL

Breakfast served 

Monday to Friday - 8.00am till 2.30pm

Saturday - 9am till 2.30pm

Nearest car park - St Andrews

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As soon as I realised Pandora's kitchen served a cooked breakfast I was keen to visit.

The upstairs dining room was beautifully decorated and a nice calm place to enjoy breakfast.

The breakfast menu is served until 11am.

The drinks menu concealed inside a book was a nice touch.

Salt & pepper is on each table and sauces are available upon request.

A fantastic filter coffee and sugar lumps.

 The tea was served in a pot with this quaint cup and saucer.

I usually eat my toast with the cooked breakfast but I couldn't resist a couple of slices with some of the quality jam on before it arrived.

 Everything on the plate was piping hot and tasted amazing but where was the black pudding.

 Delicious chunks of mushroom and an excellent fried egg.

 The beans stayed nice and hot in the bowl and the slow roasted tomatoes were packed full of flavour.

Quality lightly smoked bacon and Norfolk recipe sausages with a great texture and delicious flavour.

The delicious chocolate brownie was kindly given to us as the black pudding had been forgotten.

For a few months I noticed a refurbishment taking place at 67 London Street as I passed it on my way into the city, finally it was completed and it had been transformed into Pandora's Kitchen. Somebody contacted me saying they were serving a cooked breakfast so I went along with my wife to investigate..

Upon entering - There is a counter as you enter offering a delicious selection of home made cakes. Head upstairs where there are dining areas on the first and second floors, both are decorated in a quirky and traditional way that blends together beautifully. We sat in the first floor dining area which was a perfect environment feeling peaceful and relaxing making it really easy to sit and have a conversation. Spotted table cloths, freshly cut flowers on each table and drinks menus concealed inside books all contributed to this well designed city centre haven. This is somewhere that feels very special and you will want to return to again and again. Once you have chosen where to sit a menu is brought to your table and your order is taken. Salt and pepper is already on each table, quality branded ketchup and brown sauces are available upon request. Food and drinks are brought to your table along with cutlery, at the end simply pay at the till downstairs on your way out. 10/10

Service - The service here is excellent although when the food arrived a couple of errors had been made. Firstly my wife had ordered a vegetarian breakfast (she is not vegetarian but liked the sound of the mushroom rarebit) however a traditional breakfast arrived instead. The lady bringing the food over was very apologetic though offering to change it for her but as we wanted to eat our food together my wife decided to eat it anyway and thoroughly enjoyed it. As a result of this our drinks were taken off the bill which was a nice gesture. The second thing we noticed was that the black pudding was missing despite being mentioned on the menu. When we enquired about this we were told it was cooked but they had forgotten to put it on the plate, as a result of this we were given a free cake as we left which again was a nice gesture. I was thinking at the time how I would have happily eaten the black pudding after the breakfast or even taken it away in a bag as I was really keen to try it. The chef also apologized as we were leaving assuring me it was a great black pudding. So although not the most straight forward of breakfast experiences the staff here were very happy to ensure we left happy and made up for any inconvenience which is always a good thing. 9/10

Contents - 2 sausages, 2 bacon, 1 slice of black pudding*, 1 fried egg, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, 2 slices of toast served with butter and jam.  8/10
(*usually served)

Presentation - As you can see from the photos everything is beautifully presented. The neatly stacked toast arrived first accompanied by a serving of real butter and quality jam. The cooked breakfast arrived with everything looking great and placed nicely around the pot of beans in the centre of the plate. 8/10

The food - The plate arrived warmed and everything was piping hot. The Norfolk recipe sausages were incredibly nice with a subtle hint of garlic, very high meat content and great texture. The lightly smoked bacon was also excellent and tasted delicious. The fried egg was looking a tad runny on top but once I cut into it I discovered it was cooked nicely. The chunky cut mushrooms were perfect in that they were not too greasy but also not too dry. The slow roasted tomatoes were packed full of flavour and cooked to perfection, the beans were piping hot with a lovely thick sauce. I can't comment on the black pudding other than I am told it was from Hazels of Sprowston so it must be good. The toasted granary bread served with real butter was delicious with the jam and also accompanied the egg nicely. A hugely enjoyable breakfast and the quality of the ingredients shone through, nothing that can be improved on here (except remembering the black pudding!) so.. 10/10

Value for money - The traditional breakfast which includes toast costs £7.95 and a filter coffee costs £1.95. Eating a breakfast this good in such a lovely environment seems like a great way to spend just under £10. 8/10

Veggie option - Yes, 2 Welsh rarebit topped flat mushrooms, 1 fried egg, slow roasted tomatoes, baked beans and toast. £5.95

Overall - A great combination of lovely environment, friendly service and excellent food make this place one of my favourites so far. I will definitely be returning again as I need to try that black pudding! 9/10

- Update, May 2013 -

With a trip to New York a few weeks away I decided to get in to the New York spirit by visiting Pandora's Kitchen for a pastrami sandwich. I had never tried pastrami before and really enjoyed it, the texture and taste was incredibly nice. The gherkins, emmental cheese and mustard mayonnaise went perfectly with the pastrami.

- Update, June 2013 -

 My wife took me to Pandora's Kitchen for a birthday breakfast and I finally got to taste the black pudding. Excellent quality with nice texture and lovely flavour, as before everything on the plate was cooked to perfection and piping hot.

 My wife chose the vegetarian breakfast, I tried some of the Welsh rarebit topped flat mushrooms, really flavoursome and delicious!

- Update July 2014 -

A new summer menu has been launched containing 'The Fry Up Inspector' breakfast!

Find out more about this amazing breakfast here.

- Update October 2015 -

I was spending much of October revisiting places in the recommended section and couldn't wait to return to Pandora's Kitchen! The Coffee here is incredibly good, this was one of the nicest cappuccino's I'd had in a long time.

No trip to Pandora's Kitchen is complete without trying the "Fry Up Inspector" breakfast. This one was an easy 10/10, it looked and tasted amazing! As always the service was excellent, really friendly and welcoming, a top job Pandora's Kitchen!!