Restaurant in Ingham, United Kingdom
Destination Norfolk dining at a fair price.
A 14th-century thatched pub in rural Norfolk holding a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, The Ingham Swan delivers ingredient-led modern cooking at £££ pricing in a genuinely atmospheric space. With a 4.7 Google rating from over 670 reviews and coach house accommodation on-site, it's the most credible case for a food-focused Norfolk short break in its price tier.
If you're choosing between a drive to Norwich for a mid-range city restaurant and a short detour into the Norfolk Broads to eat at a 14th-century thatched pub with a Michelin Plate, the decision should be direct: book The Ingham Swan. It earns its Michelin recognition (held in both 2024 and 2025) without the formality or price pressure of a starred room, and it does so in a building that gives you something no modern restaurant conversion can manufacture — genuinely old bones. That combination of serious cooking in an approachable space, at £££ pricing, is rare enough in rural Norfolk to be worth planning around.
The physical experience here matters and should shape how you approach your visit. The dining room sits inside a structure that dates to the 14th century, and the low beams and stone walls are original, not decorative. The room is intimate by nature — the proportions of a medieval building are not those of a modern restaurant, which means sightlines are close, acoustics are warm, and the atmosphere arrives without any artificial staging. For a couple or a small group of food-focused travellers, that intimacy is an asset. For larger parties expecting a spacious private-dining setup, it can feel snug. If you're visiting in winter, the stone-walled interior reads as genuinely cosy rather than manufactured. In summer, it can run warm. The converted coach house bedrooms mean you can stay over, which changes the calculus significantly: a full evening without a return drive is the most sensible way to experience what the kitchen is doing.
The Michelin Plate designation signals consistent, ingredient-led cooking that respects classical foundations while showing genuine creative range. The Michelin description is specific: cooking that moves from classics to dishes showing "more imagination and flair." That dual register , reliable and adventurous , is actually the reason to return more than once, and it shapes how you should plan across visits.
On a first visit, prioritise the dishes that anchor the menu in Norfolk's own larder. The county's produce credentials are well-documented: Norfolk Black turkey, crab from Cromer, samphire, heritage grain from local farms. A kitchen holding a Michelin Plate in this location should be sourcing from that supply chain, and a first visit is the right moment to test how well the menu expresses the county.
A second visit is where the "imagination and flair" end of the spectrum becomes the focus. Return visitors at this price point and recognition level often find that a kitchen's more experimental or seasonal dishes rotate in ways that reward repeat custom. Ask when you book what's currently running on the more adventurous side of the menu , that question alone will tell you how actively the kitchen is developing.
A third visit, if you're staying overnight in the coach house accommodation, opens up the full experience: an unhurried dinner, breakfast the following morning, and the surrounding Norfolk countryside. At that point you're testing The Ingham Swan not just as a restaurant but as a short-break destination, and the 4.7 Google rating across 672 reviews suggests it holds up at that level of scrutiny.
The Ingham Swan holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025 , the guide's signal for good cooking that doesn't yet reach starred level. Google reviewers rate it 4.7 from 672 reviews, which is a meaningful sample size for a rural Norfolk venue and indicates consistently positive experiences rather than a small pool of enthusiastic regulars. At £££ pricing, this positions the restaurant as a genuine value proposition within Michelin-recognised cooking in the East of England.
Booking difficulty is moderate. This is not a room with a six-month waitlist, but it is a small space in a destination-dining location, which means weekends and peak holiday periods in Norfolk (summer and the Christmas-to-New Year window) require forward planning. Book three to four weeks out for a Saturday evening to be safe; midweek bookings are easier and likely to be available on shorter notice. If you're planning to combine dinner with a stay in the coach house accommodation, book the room and the restaurant together, and do it earlier than you think necessary , accommodation availability will often be the binding constraint, not the restaurant itself. The absence of published online booking details means contacting the venue directly is the route to a reservation.
For context on what Michelin Plate cooking looks like across rural England, it's useful to look at the peer group. [Hand and Flowers in Marlow](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hand-and-flowers-marlow-restaurant) is the benchmark for the format , a pub exterior housing starred cooking , and shows what's possible when the ambition scales up. [hide and fox in Saltwood](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hide-and-fox-saltwood-restaurant) and [Midsummer House in Cambridge](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/midsummer-house-cambridge-restaurant) represent the broader East of England fine-dining conversation. Further afield, [Gidleigh Park in Chagford](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/gidleigh-park-chagford-restaurant) and [Moor Hall in Aughton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/moor-hall-aughton-restaurant) show what destination-dining in a country-house setting can become at full ambition. The Ingham Swan sits below those in formality and price, which is precisely the point: it offers a credible, Michelin-endorsed dining experience without demanding that you treat it as a once-a-year occasion. That accessibility is its argument. If you're building a Norfolk food itinerary, it also pairs logically with exploring what else the county offers , see [our full Ingham restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/ingham), [hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/ingham), and [bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/ingham) for the wider picture.
For travellers who pursue this category seriously , Michelin-recognised country cooking in characterful historic buildings , comparable experiences in other regions include [L'Enclume in Cartmel](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lenclume-cartmel-restaurant), [Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/restaurant-andrew-fairlie-auchterarder-restaurant), and [Ynyshir Hall in Machynlleth](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/ynyshir-hall-machynlleth-restaurant), though all three operate at higher price points and greater formal intensity than The Ingham Swan. Internationally, [Maison Lameloise in Chagny](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/maison-lameloise-chagny-restaurant) and [Frantzén in Stockholm](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/frantzn-stockholm-restaurant) represent the ceiling of what this genre can achieve. The Ingham Swan is not in that conversation , but for a Norfolk weekend, it doesn't need to be.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Ingham Swan | This 14C thatched pub now houses a contemporary restaurant, although its low beams and stone walls remain. Service is friendly, and cooking uses the best of the county’s ingredients in a range of dishes, from the classics to those showing more imagination and flair. Smart bedrooms are available in the converted coach house and a nearby cottage.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | £££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
A quick look at how The Ingham Swan measures up.
Solo diners can eat well here, though the setting — a 14th-century thatched pub with low beams and a convivial atmosphere — lends itself more naturally to pairs or small groups. The friendly service noted in Michelin's own write-up works in solo diners' favour, and the £££ price range means a single-course lunch visit is manageable without committing to a full spread. Call ahead to confirm table availability for one.
The Michelin Plate recognition specifically highlights cooking that moves between classics and dishes showing more imagination — so lean toward the latter when choosing. The kitchen draws on Norfolk's county ingredients, so anything showcasing local produce is where the cooking is most purposeful. Avoid defaulting to safe options; the creative end of the menu is where the £££ pricing finds its justification.
No tasting menu is confirmed in the venue record, so this cannot be verified. What Michelin documents is a range of dishes spanning classics to more imaginative cooking at £££ pricing — which suggests the menu is à la carte or table d'hôte in format rather than a fixed progression. Check directly with the restaurant before building an itinerary around a tasting format.
Ingham itself is a small village, so meaningful alternatives require a short drive. Norwich city centre offers mid-range modern British options, but none currently hold Michelin Plate status in the same rural-destination format. If you're benchmarking by Michelin recognition across rural Norfolk, The Ingham Swan is the reference point in its immediate area — which is part of why the detour makes sense.
Bar dining is not confirmed in the venue record. The Michelin description frames this as a contemporary restaurant operating inside a historic pub structure, which typically means seated table service rather than informal bar eating. Contact the venue to confirm before arriving expecting a casual counter option.
Yes, with the right expectations. The combination of a 14th-century setting, Michelin Plate cooking for 2024 and 2025, and smart bedrooms in the converted coach house and nearby cottage makes it a workable overnight occasion destination. It reads better as an intimate dinner for two than a large celebratory group, given the nature of small rural restaurant spaces. The £££ pricing is appropriate for a special occasion without tipping into prohibitive territory.
At £££, yes — particularly for the combination of setting, ingredient quality, and two consecutive Michelin Plate years (2024 and 2025). You are paying for a destination experience: a historic thatched building, county-sourced cooking with genuine creative range, and the kind of service Michelin specifically describes as friendly rather than formal. Compared to a comparable spend in Norwich city centre, the Ingham Swan offers more distinctiveness for the same money.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
