The Dabbling Duck Pub – Great Massingham

We had a lovely welcome when we arrived. The pub is very dog friendly. One particular member of staff made a real fuss of our dog Pippin. We ordered food which was very good. I can recommend the Roast Cauliflower Soup. They even bought Pippin a starter and a main, chunks of cheese and sausages for his main. If we are ever in the area again, we will definitely call in. Thank you.

I was really looking forward to visiting this pub, its reputation locally is excellent - but I found it extremely disappointing. For £32.50 this is my duck, a wedge of cabbage and two small pieces of duck breast, and a dry overcooked confit of duck. It needs potato dauphinois or fondant, something filling. That’s a lot of money on lunch to still feel hungry afterwards. Its presentation lacked the finesse of similar establishments. Another companion on our table told me her burger was extremely salty and mostly inedible. Did we complain - no sadly we were being treated by our host and didn’t want to make a scene or appear ungrateful. Lunch for 4 was £170 so it was a generous gesture on his part and not worth ruining the day for. The other two meals (fish and chips looked good and were much better value) The dark haired waiter who delivered our food seemed mostly clueless, our food arrived - he looked confused and took it away before reappearing with the same plates. He hadn’t known which table it was for. When he bought dessert they had to be returned as they had been served incorrectly. It wasn’t the slick service we were anticipating. Overall pretty pub, nice atmosphere but food and service disappointing- would we return? No

Had really high expectations as always heard good things. I am sad to say it was very disappointing. We were seated at our table rather quickly and told what the soup of the day was - no mention of other specials. Starters were ordered and a request for the kids meal to come with starters - it arrived 20 mins after starters. The burger that arrived was accompanied by a cold dry bun and a totally over seasoned burger. The chips were covered in salt not ideal for a toddler. The starters were fantastic - really well thought out and really well executed. We then waited nearly an hour for main courses - which was accompanied by a weak apology. The fish and chips was totally over fired - a deep brown. The accompanying peas were cold. The curry was ok - in fact the flavour was great. The jasmine rice was inedible. The other meals were ok - not fantastic. Just got the impression that the kitchen team had recently changed and that they were too busy to cope. Average and not worth the prices.

We stopped by on a whim and were truly impressed by both the food and the service! We ordered a burger, haddock, and sausages, and everything was made with high-quality ingredients and cooked to perfection—no greasy food at all. The portions were generous, and the staff were incredibly kind and helpful. We’ll definitely be back whenever we have the chance and highly recommend this place!

Had an absolutely fantastic experience at The Dabbling Duck last night. The atmosphere and decor is really nice and cosy and the staff were so friendly and welcoming. Despite being absolutely packed, the service was actually really quick. The food was also unreal! We had the duck nuggets and the pumpkin starter, both of which were delicious. We then got the steak of the day and the scampi and they were also both fantastic. The steak was cooked perfectly and had so much flavour. Cannot recommend this place highly enough, and it’s earned a rightful place on our list of best pubs/restaurants in Norfolk!