We review The Feathers restaurant with rooms in Holt

A friend and I decided it was the perfect time for a mini break featuring good food, good walking - and maybe making an early start on our Christmas shopping.  

About an hour’s drive from Norwich, and a stone’s throw from the north Norfolk coast, Holt ticked all the boxes. 

With its pretty Georgian façades, you feel like you’re stepping back in time in the best way. And it’s at twinkly best at this time of year. 

Our base for our two-night stay was The Feathers. 

Right in the heart of everything in Market Place, it is part of the Chestnut collection of East Anglian restaurants and inns with rooms.  

In Norfolk they also have The Globe at Wells and the Wiveton Bell. Their Suffolk properties include The Ship at Dunwich and The Crown at Stoke By Nayland, and there are others in Essex and Cambridgeshire. 

Recently refurbished, The Feathers has 14 rooms in the main pub building and there are another 10 a short walk down the road at The Lawns, which are ideally suited to larger family groups. 

Its traditional charm has been very much preserved.  

Downstairs in the bars, there are nooks for cosying and warming up in after a bracing autumn beach walk. It’s a dog-friendly establishment, with four-legged friends more than welcome.  

The huge dining room has a glass ceiling, which gives it a bit of wow factor. 

And the rooms are gorgeous – ours was on the first floor, overlooking the high street. The décor is sympathetic to the building’s period features. I loved the calming colour palette of warm earthy tones – I could feel my shoulders start to relax as soon as I walked through the door. 

The sash windows were framed with curtains by Upstairs/Downstairs and there were homely touches such as throws from Heritage House and stylish detailing like the lunar pendant lighting and shelves by Tom Raffield, chairs from Taylors Classics – and even bespoke tea trays from Dorothea Hamilton.

There was an Illy coffee machine and a generous selection of teas and biscuits too. 

And our bathroom had a huge walk-in shower and was fully stocked with gorgeous-smelling Bramley products. 

Arriving mid-afternoon, we had time after our 3pm check-in to have a little wander around the town to get our bearings – and found our way to the Folly Tearoom.  

Over scones and huge wedges of carrot cake, sat out in their beautiful garden tucked away in Hoppers Yard we planned a rough itinerary for the next day: breakfast, shopping, coffee, shopping, lunch, shopping, coffee, shopping...  

Holt is a real foodie destination – Meadowsweet was awarded a Michelin star earlier this year, there’s fantastic coffee at The Black Apollo Coffee House, retro fun at Eric’s Fish and Chips, Two Magpies bakery, Il Calabrese Italian - then you’ve got the near-legendary Byfords and Bakers and Larners food hall, of course.  

On our first night we had a great time at the Cheese and Wine Lounge at Star Plain Stores, enjoying exactly that – a brilliantly curated cheeseboard, plus charcuterie, olives, and more epicurean delights in laidback surroundings.  

The deli was opened in a former pub by Tom Brady, and this summer he started opening on Friday and Saturday evenings too. 

Waking up well rested the next morning, we headed down to the restaurant for breakfast, which is served between eight and a civilised 10am.    

There are some dishes that you order off the menu, such as eggs Benedict and royale, and buttermilk pancakes, which come loaded with either Swannington cured bacon and maple of banana, cinnamon, candied pecans and maple syrup. 

Or you can head to the East Anglian Breakfast Table, which is fully laden with Glebe Farm cereals, seasonal fruit compote, yoghurts, pastries and bread and crumpets for toasting. 

And there’s a hot buffet too – bacon, sausage, and all the trimmings - where everything wasn’t just perfectly cooked, but it was at the ideal temperature too, which is not an easy trick to perform. 

Set up for a day’s shopping, we headed out to explore. And there is so much to discover, tucked away in Holt's quaint yards – art galleries, antiques and vintage shops, fashion boutiques and more with just a few national chains among the many independents. 

My friend got off to a good start, ticking a couple of presents off her to-buy list at the very well-stocked Holt Bookshop – a bookworm’s dream it even has a section dedicated to what’s trending on TikTok.  

I loved having a chat with the team at Chapelyard Organics, a new wellness emporium, which creates its own Dr Sally’s Botanicals range of herbal teas and tonics, with a focus on supporting sleep, women’s health and gut health. 

And I was smitten with Norwich-based printmaker Jo Stafford’s colourful pop lyric prints (yes, I now have one on my wall at home) at Make Holt. The store supports makers from Norfolk and the surrounding areas – including ceramicists Sarah Horlock, Tamlin Lundberg and Humbleyard – and they regularly have makers in store. 

I could have happily spent the whole day crate digging in Holt Vinyl Vault, in the former post office and found a couple of gems to add to my record collection.  

A browse around Norfolk Natural Living and their fragrance library was an olfactory delight. 

And we popped back to Star Plain Stores where we had a chat with owner Tom and picked up a few treats to take home. 

It isn’t really a trip to Holt if you don’t call into Byfords, even if it’s just to pick up a few bits from the deli. We managed to get a table for lunch and enjoyed steaming bowls of nourishing tomato and lentil soup, garnished with crunchy, herby croutons. 

There was more Christmas shopping success in the food hall at Bakers and Larners, which was already stocked with brightly wrapped marzipan fruits, stollen and more in anticipation of the festive season. 

And if you’re trying to incorporate more pre-loved fashion into your wardrobe, Holt’s charity shops are highly recommended – I spotted lots of designer and high-end high street pieces. 

On our second night, we dined in at The Feathers. Here, local and seasonal produce is the star. On Sundays they do a host your roast featuring Swannington beef, chicken and pork and from September to April, Tuesday night is mussels night. They also champion local cheeses such as Norfolk Dapple, Binham Blue and their ice cream comes from Dann’s near Dereham. 

My friend started with the smoked mackerel nicoise salad, new potatoes, hen’s egg, heirloom tomatoes, olives and green beans (£12), which was also available in a main sized portion. 

For mains I went for the sweet potato gnocchi, with spinach, charred leek, punchy capers, broccoli and crunchy pumpkin seeds (£16) - a hearty bowlful. 

And my friend can never resist a fish pie if it’s on a menu, so I knew that was what she would go for – at The Feathers it’s accompanied by buttered greens (£18). 

Did we have room for dessert? Not really, but we finished the meal with a very indulgent sticky toffee pudding with black treacle butterscotch and vanilla ice cream (£8) for me and my friend went for their intriguing deconstructed Milky Bar (£8), with elements including salted caramel, pistachio and coffee ice cream. 

From the food to the room to the smiley service, everything about our stay at The Feathers had been spot on – I was sorry when the time came to check out.   

We finished our trip with a drive to the coast for some vitamin sea at Cley.

Sat at the Barn at Artemis in brilliant sunshine, with coffees overlooking the marshes - it really doesn't get better than that.

The perfect end to the weekend. 

Double bedrooms at The Feathers are available from £117 on a bed and breakfast basis. To book, visit thefeathersholt.com or call 01263 712318.