Silver Darlings Cafe - Great Yarmouth

16 Blackfriars Road

Great Yarmouth 

Norfolk

NR30 3BX

Breakfast served all day

Open daily from 10am till 4pm

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Silver Darlings Cafe is right next door to Time and Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth.

 

As it was the weekend of Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival it meant admission to Time and Tide Museum was free all weekend. We couldn't resist having a good look around the museum after eating our breakfast. It's well worth visiting and it even smells of herrings! 

The cafe is open daily and serves all day breakfasts, salads, quiches etc. If the smell of herrings in Time and Tide has given you a craving fear not, they serve kippers here!

There's a large seating area inside Silver Darlings Cafe and a few tables outside in the courtyard.

 

Some nice table presentation to be found here.

 

Place your order and pay at the counter.

 

The menu is beautifully presented.

 

Prices are reasonable and although not listed on the menu it is possible to order a vegetarian or vegan breakfast. 

 

There's a good selection of hot drinks available.

 

The coffee here is excellent, it's served with a small and delicious chunk of carrot cake. 

 

The small chunk of carrot cake served with coffee was a really nice touch and so was this, fresh bread, garlic butter and olives. 

It reminded me of dining abroad and although a slightly odd choice before a full English I wasn't complaining, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  

 

Sauces were offered and a squeezy bottle of Heinz arrived.

 

The traditional large English breakfast cost £6.50, it contained the basic items found on a full English and was served with toast. The meats were quality and everything was piping hot, you're given the option of beans or tomatoes.

The pork sausages were good quality, plump and delicious.

 

A perfect choice of sausage for a full English breakfast. 

The bacon was also impressive, it was very browned in places but tasted superb.

 

The eggs were slightly frilly along the edge but I don't mind this.

 

 The important thing was that the yolks were intact and runny.

A delicious trio of mushrooms.

 

The beans were served in a pot and the toast was very small and pale.

 

These potatoes didn't come with the full English, my wife gave me some from her vegan breakfast and very nice they were too.

 

My wife's vegan breakfast cost £6.50 and there was something else on its way.

 

A selection of vegetables arrived at the table slightly late.

Having visited Cromer last weekend we decided to head to the coast again once more, this time our destination was Great Yarmouth. With the Maritime Festival in full swing we decided to visit Yarmouth for the day and stop for breakfast somewhere first. Silver Darlings Cafe had been recommended to us so after walking along the seafront we made our way towards the South Quay area. With Silver Darlings Cafe being next door to Time and Tide Museum we just followed the signs to the Museum and found it quite easily...

Upon entering -  Silver Darlings Cafe is housed inside a lovely building with cobblestone flooring and wooden beams, it's fairly dark inside so sit by the window if you prefer natural light. Outside is a courtyard where you can sit and enjoy the sunshine if you prefer. The tables inside are neatly laid with place mats, condiments and a beautifully presented wooden fronted menu offering all day breakfasts, salads, sandwiches and hot meals. There's a counter beside the entrance where you place your order and pay, once seated everything is brought over to the table including cutlery, sauces are offered when the food arrives. Initially we loved the environment of the cafe, it was peaceful and really relaxing. Sadly this didn't last for long though, suddenly there was loud banging noise which was pretty unbearable. In the far corner is a small play area for children, at first glance a lovely idea but the large wooden castle featured something that could be banged on top of it and it certainly made a deafening racket. As the loud banging finally ended a loud xylophone started to be played on the side of the castle. The child playing can't be blamed as it's only natural to play with a toy when you come across one. It just seemed like a strange choice of toy to have in a dining area where people are relaxing over a bite to eat. So potentially a relaxing environment but on this occasion it did get very noisy. 5/10

Service - We found the staff here to be very friendly and incredibly accommodating. My wife wanted a vegan breakfast and there was no mention of this on the menu. She was offered a vegetarian breakfast without eggs but with potatoes and vegetables added for the price of a standard breakfast, this seemed reasonable enough. Whilst placing our order we were offered a small chunk of carrot cake with our coffees, a very nice touch indeed! We were going to sit outside but the wind was a bit chilly so we headed inside instead. It was quite dark inside though and I wanted some natural light to take photos. One table by the window had the perfect light but it was reserved, not for another hour though we were told and we were offered to sit there which was perfect. Shortly after sitting down some bread, garlic butter and olives were brought to the table, we were liking this place and it reminded us of the cafe culture abroad. The drinks arrived with carrot cake nestled on the edge and cutlery came with serviettes. When the food arrived we were offered sauces which are quality brands served in the bottle, always the best way in my opinion. My wife noticed there were no veg on her plate so she enquired at the desk, within a few minutes it arrived in a separate bowl. Most certainly great service and incredibly efficient, we were made to feel very welcome here. 9/10

Contents - 2 sausages, 2 bacon, 2 fried eggs, 3 mushrooms, beans or tomatoes and 2 small slices of toast. An extra point added for the bread, garlic butter and olives given to customers ordering food here. 6/10

Presentation - The meats weren't cooked particularly evenly but the eggs had intact yolks and everything was placed onto the plate with care. 7/10

The food - I loved the sausages and bacon served on this breakfast, nice plump and juicy pork sausages and thick slices of bacon. Both had plenty of flavour and were clearly good quality meats. The eggs were in reasonable shape, a bit frilly on the edge but the yolks were intact and runny. The mushrooms were delicious and the beans fairly standard, piping hot but in quite a lot of juice. The toast was far too small, I looked across at my wife's breakfast which was served with proper sized slices of toast and felt quite envious. Although not served usually with the English breakfast I'll also mention the potatoes served on my wife's breakfast as she let me try some, they weren't crispy but did taste really nice. As a full English breakfast goes I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly the meats which were excellent. 8/10

Value for money - The large full English breakfast cost £6.50 and an Americano coffee cost £1.90. The prices here seemed really reasonable considering the little extras like the carrot cake chunk served with coffee and bread, garlic butter and olives served before the food arrives. The quality of the food was good and l was full up for a long time after I left. 8/10

Vegetarian option - Not listed on the menu but do ask as they seem happy enough to provide a vegetarian and vegan breakfast if you request it.

Overall - With so many breakfast establishments in Great Yarmouth offering gut buster breakfasts stacked with cheap economy sausages it was nice to find somewhere focusing on quality over quantity. The breakfast at Silver Darlings Cafe offers only the basic items usually found on a full English breakfast so if you're looking for black pudding or hash browns then it may not be for you. If however you're happy with the key items all cooked to order using quality ingredients then this place is well worth a look. Beans and tomatoes would have been better than choosing between the two but it wasn't a big deal. Things got really noisy halfway through our meal but despite this we were still glad we'd checked this place out. Certainly the best breakfast I've had in Great Yarmouth so far and definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. 7/10

Breakers - Cromer

28 Garden Street

Cromer

Norfolk

NR27 9HN

Breakfast served

Daily from 8.30am

Closing times depends on season

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A spontaneous trip to Cromer seemed like an ideal opportunity to stop for breakfast somewhere.

A few people on my facebook page had recommended Breakers in the past so we decided to try it for ourselves.

The cakes were quite tempting but it was the full English I was here for.

Breakers has a fairly large seating area as well as tables outside.

Seaside themed artwork covers the walls.

The breakfast menu is served all day and offers many options from the traditional breakfast to the breakfast pie. I wanted to try as many items as possible so ordered the belly breaker breakfast.

The vegetarian breakfast menu offers a varied choice too. The standard vegetarian breakfast is ideal for vegans as it doesn't come with an egg, my wife ordered that.

Once you've ordered and paid at the counter remember to help yourself to condiments, napkins and cutlery. These can be found on some shelves next to the cold drinks fridge.

A can of drink cost £1.10 and sauces come in sachets.

You are given the option of toast, fried bread or bread and butter. I chose fried bread which arrived before the breakfast on a side plate. It was a pretty good fried bread but a bit too oily for my liking.

This is how the belly breaker breakfast arrived, it costs £10.50. 

I rearranged a few items and added the fried bread to the plate to show what the breakfast consists of.

One sausage on such a huge breakfast seemed odd.

It was a pretty decent banger, although definitely deep fried. 

The black pudding was a nice enough slice and the bacon was reasonable.

Although you only get one sausage on this breakfast it does include 2 huge slabs of sausage meat burger.

The well hidden eggs were pretty poor.

Yolk disappointment soon set in.

The deep fried mushrooms were so greasy!

A pair of average hash browns, deep fried.

I was delighted when I spotted tinned tomatoes, I love them.

Underneath everything else was a layer of beans and grease.

I managed to finish it and struggled to walk afterwards!

 The vegetarian breakfast cost £4.85, you can add an egg for 80p and a Quorn sausage for £1 if you like. 

With summer coming to an end my wife and I decided to head to the coast whilst the weather was still warm enough. We wanted to stop at Holt on the way so Cromer seemed like the best option as it was close by. We hadn't decided where to go for breakfast but I recalled a few recommendations people had mentioned on my facebook page. With this in mind we decided to see what we could find when we got there. Breakers was one of the first places we came across, it was close to the seafront and offered a vegan option for my wife so we headed inside...

Upon entering - Breakers is clearly popular as it was incredibly busy when we arrived. There's a large dining area inside and a couple of tables outside, the counter is located on the left as you walk in. The cafe is light and airy with nicely spaced out tables covered in red spotty table cloths, on the walls are displayed an assortment of seaside themed paintings. The ordering process here slightly confused me and may also confuse other first time customers. I didn't know whether to sit down and wait for somebody to take my order or head straight to the counter to place my order as it wasn't made obvious. First find a table and remember the table number, you may want a friend to sit at the table to avoid somebody else taking it whilst you're at the counter. Place your order and pay at the counter, collect drinks, cutlery and condiments from the counter area and return back to your table. The food is brought over when it's ready and you can make a hasty exit when you're ready to leave as you've already paid. Sauces, salt and pepper are served in sachets and if you order a cold drink you help yourself from the fridge. A typical seaside cafe and a reasonable enough place to enjoy a spot of breakfast but if you're visiting Breakers on your own I imagine securing a table being quite tricky. 5/10

Service - We placed our order and paid at the counter, my wife's drinks were given to her and I was told to help myself to a can from the fridge. Nobody mentioned cutlery or sauces, I sussed that out and helped myself. The food arrived at slightly different times but close enough to ensure we could eat together. Nobody asked if everything was ok but the young staff team seemed fairly efficient at taking orders and getting them to the tables. 5/10

Contents - 1 sausage, 2 sausage meat, 3 bacon, 1 black pudding, 2 fried eggs, 2 hash browns, mushrooms, beans, tinned tomatoes and 2 slices of fried bread. 8/10

Presentation - With so much on the plate it was difficult to see everything at once so I rearranged everything to capture it in a photo. The fried bread was served on a side plate and the meats covered much of everything else. With many items being deep fried it resulted in quite a lot of excess oil on the plate. The eggs were over cooked with solid yolks and everything else was average looking at best. 5/10

The food - The single sausage appeared to be of reasonable quality but having been deep fried it ended up being a bit dry, a shame as it seemed like it had some potential had it been pan fried. The black pudding was nice enough and the bacon was reasonable but really greasy, the sausage meat burgers were surprisingly tasty though. The fried eggs were over cooked with solid yolks, I ate them over the fried bread which was deep fried and crispy but holding far too much oil. The tinned tomatoes were rather nice, the mushrooms were really greasy and the hash browns and beans fairly standard. I managed to finish everything but can't say it was a particularly enjoyable experience, grease is the word here! 4/10

Value for money - There's no denying that the belly breaker breakfast consists of a lot of food, it will certainly fill you up for a long time and it's quite a challenge to finish it. When I spend £10.50 on a breakfast though I'd much prefer to see quality over quantity. 6/10

Veggie option - Yes, a varied vegetarian breakfast menu available.

Overall - A seaside cafe offering a vast breakfast menu but with many items being deep fried here it's quite a greasy affair. 5.5/10