Nest Farmhouse

Planted deep in the hinterlands of North Norfolk (cue your Alan Partridge quotes), Nest Farmhouse is the latest big data point in a trend of big-name London restaurateurs looking to expand out of the capital. With Nest very highly thought of, and St Barts carrying a Michelin star and a Michelin Green star (the only restaurant in London to do so), expectations are high for this rural sibling.

Given the name, it feels suitably remote; you’ll have to take a half hour cab from the nearest station at King’s Lynn to get there. We arrive on a damp, windswept winter evening, but the farmhouse itself is warm and welcoming, with light exploding out from the windows into the dark. Although nearly six months old when we visit, it still has a sheen of newness - the paint job is immaculate, and everything in the large open-plan dining room feels very purposeful and designed. There’s little in the way of rural rusticity here - Nest Farmhouse is much closer to a Farrow & Ball catalogue. Those big open windows are especially lovely, inviting views in all directions over fields and hedgerows.

Head chef Grant Cotton is a local lad, and the cooking here is very good indeed - perhaps not surprisingly so given Nest’s excellent reputation. Cotton keeps things classic, but the execution is spot on, with a certain degree of restraint that fits the setting perfectly. A rich, meaty faggot of Herdwick lamb is nicely cooked through, not dense or claggy, and pairs up beautifully with Jerusalem artichoke and zippy capers. The same can be said for a pot of Norfolk shellfish that we slather over toasted milk bread. The star of the show is a chunky Tamworth pork chop, which carries a good bit of smoke from the grill, and is chopped into thick slices alongside a spiced quince puree.

The only area where Nest Farmhouse struggles on our visit is service, which is willing but still a little green. Opening a restaurant deep in the countryside always makes it tough to get hold of experienced staff, especially when considered in relation to two excellent London restaurants. Still, that wouldn’t deter us from booking another trip, and Nest Farmhouse is only likely to get better, having already set itself a high bar.

Nest Farmhouse is as close to farm-to-table dining as you can possibly get. Occupying a restored cattle shed on a working farm in Docking Norfolk, Nest Farmhouse creates a restful dining experience supplied with produce grown on its doorstep. The thousand-acre Docking Lodge Farm supplies the farmhouse kitchen with carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. 

Co-founders Toby Neill, Johnie Crowe, and Luke Wasserman are no strangers to sustainable practice. Their Smithfield venture, Restaurant St Barts, was awarded both a Michelin star and a Michelin green star for its outstanding commitment to small-scale farming and waste reduction. This philosophy informs every aspect of the group: thoughtfully curated and harmoniously balanced menus offering a supremely gratifying dining experience that highlights premium, seasonal ingredients treated with reverence and flair. 

The trio’s first restaurant, Nest, originally debuted in Hackney in 2018, before making the move to Shoreditch. They have since launched a pop-up restaurant at Burnham Overy Boathouse in 2022 in Norfolk and subsequently gained a second residency there the year after. Now they have put down roots. 

The restaurant is the team’s first permanent project outside of London, and with executive chef Crowe and head chef Grant Cotton at the helm the Nest Farmhouse menu is a brilliantly composed love letter to local and foraged produce from the area’s coastline and conscientiously-reared produce. A Norfolk native, Cotton has made the move back to his home county to welcome guests in true Nest Group fashion: with carefully considered dishes, served in locally made crockery, in an idyllic setting. To highlight the tranquil surroundings the dining room features an open kitchen and floor-to-ceiling glass windows that allow panoramic views of the valley. Just a few minutes walk away is a large pond where guests can enjoy the cocktails and drinks devised by Wasserman in the summer months.