The Gunton Arms

Ivor Braka has indulged his passion for art at his pub-with-rooms set in a deer park near the north Norfolk coast. Arriving on a blustery day, our inspectors were blown away by Sol LeWitt’s white breeze-block pyramid sculpture, which is ‘beautiful to gaze at’, or to graze at if you are a deer. They received a warm welcome and a guided tour. Fires blazed in ‘two large, comfortable lounges’. Works on display ranged from Tracey Emin neons and Paula Rego prints to tasteful oil portraits in keeping with the antique furniture. Bedrooms (including one once used by Lillie Langtry, with a slipper bath) have been individually designed. ‘Ours was large, with views over the park from three front windows, antique Anglepoise lamps, blankets, no duvet.’ Braka’s partners, Simone and Stuart Tattersall, are front-of-house and (Mark Hix-trained) chef respectively. In three dining rooms, the menu uses locally sourced produce in such dishes as crab pasta and venison sausages. In the Elk Room, adorned with massive elk antlers, steaks are cooked over fire. It’s mighty, meaty, raunchy, rock and roll, and ‘unique and fascinating’.