The Norfolk Arms Hotel Arundel Review
Arundel is a town fit for romance. Not romance of an everyday nature, but fully-fledged blockbuster movie fairy tale romance of epic proportions. The entire hillside cathedral town is built like an artist’s impression of ‘happily ever after’ with Arundel Castle, its fantasy fortress, standing tall and inviting at the top.
The town is breath-taking from the onset. Arundel’s gothic Cathedral and the picture-book turrets of the castle create it’s stunning silhouette, and on as you get closer, you cannot help but be charmed by the hickeldy pickeldy winding streets lined with Georgian, Victorian and Tudor properties, appearing almost like a chapter list of the town’s social history.
It all began once upon a Roman time when Sussex was invaded in AD 43. According to local discoveries Arundel, which was then known as ‘Tarrant’ was used as a military outpost, with grand Roman villas built to house the families. Fast forward a good few years and the next recorded mention of the town as ‘Arundel’ is seen in the Domesday Book of 1085, when it began life as a flourishing port and market town. The castle itself has been owned and lived in by the Duke of Norfolk and his family for the past 850 years, and remains the official residence even now.
Aptly named after the man himself, The Norfolk Arms Hotel sits proudly on the enchanting road that leads up to the castle and is a 34-bedroom, three-star hotel steeped in history, but with a foot firmly in the up and coming!
A charming former Georgian coaching inn located opposite Arundel Castle, The Norfolk Arms Hotel prides itself on great customer service, recognised by the recent Guest Review Award by popular online hotel booking website, Booking.com and a 2018 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor, based on the consistently great reviews earned on the world’s most popular review website. The hotel has successfully achieved the four out of five average rating required with more than 71% of users classing their hotel experience as excellent or very good in the process. Currently, the Norfolk Arms Hotel is listed third best hotel in Arundel, and 8th best value of 560 places to stay in West Sussex, which is a massive improvement to where the hotel ranked 12 months ago.
With the hotel clearly on the up and up, who is pioneering this change? Mark Monkton has recently been appointed General Manager. With 20 years’ experience in the hotel and restaurant industry, Mark brings a wealth of knowledge to the role having worked with Wildwood, Harris + Hoole, The Shoreline Hotel and most recently The Ship Inn, Itchenor.
In his new role, he is responsible for the 37 bedrooms at the hotel, along with two function rooms, the Castle Restaurant and the recently launched Norfolk Tap, a craft beer bar and coffee shop.
On his appointment, Mark said: “It’s a great pleasure to be taking this role at such a historic and iconic establishment and I look forward to enhancing its great tradition. People in Arundel are very proud of the town and rightly so and I want the Norfolk Arms to epitomise that. I’ve lived in and around Arundel for many years so I know first-hand how people perceive the hotel and where we can improve. I’m looking forward to putting the Norfolk Arms back on the map in Arundel.”
Having started his working life in a pub, the majority of Mark’s career has been in hotels and restaurants with a strong food and beverage focus. Following the recent opening of the Norfolk Tap, serving the beers and ales from Arundel Brewery along with Teas and Coffees from Arundel-based Edgcumbes, Mark’s appointment also coincides with the relaunch of the Castle Restaurant situated within the hotel. A complete rebrand has taken place, with a new menu now available, and Absolute were lucky enough to be invited to see (and taste!) the transformations for ourselves.
Welcoming both residents and visitors alike, The Norfolk Tap is pioneering the growing trend of craft beer drinkers within the UK in Arundel. The atmosphere is relaxed, welcoming and lively and the selection of craft beers, both local and from further afield is both extensive and intriguing. Stunned by the sheer wealth of options, the knowledgable team let us taste test a selection, whilst giving us the lowdown on the wherefores and whys of each. It is so refreshing to talk to barmen who are clearly experts in their filed, taking pride in their work and their products. The Norfolk Tap features a six-tap wall, a superb list of wines by the glass (including Chablis – which seems to be increasingly rare!), plus a digitally-displayed menu, a top-of-the-range coffee machine and a selection of art from the local Zimmer Stewart Gallery. Although we opted for a pint of the trendy Beavertown’s Gamma Ray and a Chablis, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the offerings from Arundel Brewery.
Arundel Brewery was started in 1992 and restarted a tradition of brewing in and around Arundel which has a brewing history going back hundreds of years to when Arundel was a major trading port. The brewery now brews both traditional and modern craft beers which are as popular now as they were back in the day. On the traditional side Sussex Gold is a best seller, a light golden ale and on the modern side, Uptown is an IPA which is currently the highest rated beer in Sussex
Owned by the Walker family since 2015, the focus is on using local ingredients as much possible to ensure the freshest, tastiest beers are always available at the best outlets in the area such as the Norfolk Tap.
Although we only stopped by for a tipple, we were made aware that a full bar menu is available and the ‘The Tap’ is also playing host to a regular quiz night, plus there are plans afoot which will see the launch of many a special event including retro movie and gaming nights.
Our next stop was across the courtyard to the historic Castle Restaurant. Once again open to hotel guests and local diners, the hotel’s main restaurant has been completely relaunched and now boasts a fresh new look and an all new menu. Mark explained that following the success of the bar’s new opening, which has seen local residents head back in as well as attracting craft beer drinkers from further afield, he now hopes the relaunch will have a similar effect.
“Obviously being a hotel, accommodation is a focus for us, but I want to bring a sense of community to the Norfolk Arms and that really needs to come in our food and beverage offering.
There’s many great restaurants in the town and therefore the competition is high, but we want to be competing with these and that starts with this rebrand. The Castle Restaurant offers locally-sourced produce and serves good, traditional English food that caters for the local people of Arundel. Our head chef, Ben Miller, has worked hard on the new menu which is far more extensive, and we’re sure it will be a hit with diners from both within the hotel and the local community.”
Well, it was most certainly a hit with us. The décor gives a breathtaking sense of occasion, with impressive high ceilings, intricate coving detail, panelled pale hue walls, adding a calmness to the setting and fine chandeliers hang proudly. Diners are quite literally surrounded by history, with stories Arundel’s past documented on the walls. In the evenings, this is clearly a destination for refined celebrations and romantic date nights, but on the flip side, the daytime sees the space become light, fresh and airy, welcoming those after a light bite and an elegant but casual vibe.
The menu is modern yet traditional and features starters such as Breaded Sussex brie, served with roasted garlic and rosemary focaccia, Bacon jam and sage and classic mains such as Roasted rump of lamb and 18 oz Ribeye steak. The dishes are expertly and elegantly crafted, using local products wherever possible and the freshest of ingredients. The portions are generous but not overwhelming, but what really is apparent is that the chef allows the ingredients to really do the talking. The dishes aren’t overly fussy and this approach keeps these dishes singing uninterrupted with the bold flavours of the high quality meats and produce used.
The service is exceptional, with the waiting staff clearly proud of their transformed new destination venue and menu. Time has been taken to ensure all the team are well versed on the dishes they are serving, allowing them to confidently advise their guests where appropriate. Both ourselves and the diners around us were all given time to make our choices and dine in an unhurried manner, allowing us to fully relax and take in both the flavours and the atmosphere of this historic setting.
With our every whim catered for, our evening was a truly special one in this enchanting and exciting venue. We look forward to seeing the Norfolk Arms team continue to allow their beloved hotel to march proudly into the future and with such passion evident in their approach, it’s without a doubt they will do so triumphantly.
For more information please visit www.norfolkarmsarundel.com