Coast to Coast – Birthday Brunch

Just a quick hello today (compared to my last essay of a blog post!) to tell you about one of the best brunches I have ever eaten. An unexpected delight, unexpected tasty food is even more delicious!

It’s a friend of mine, Charlene’s, 30th birthday this week, today in fact. As one of her multiple celebrations (why have one when you can have many?!) she invited me and the girls to brunch at Coast to Coast Norwich Riverside last Sunday.

I very rarely go to Riverside anymore, since my underage clubbing days! The area used to be known for its nightclubs and bars to revel in cocktails and ‘squashed frog’ shots, I would be there most Saturday nights. But now all those bars have closed and turned into chain restaurants. Don’t get me wrong I’m no snob, well not much of one anyway! But I think it’s a little sad that all the cities you go to are becoming the same, and Riverside Norwich is a prime example. There’s Bella Italia, Nando’s, Pizza Hut, TGI, the list goes on. Same food, same decor, different city. I’m not saying it’s all bad food, it’s just not exciting or enticing.

So when I got an invite for brunch at Coast to Coast I was excited as I love brunch and enjoy meeting up with the girls, but I have to say my expectations weren’t high. I was wrong. I should never judge. My brunch was amazing and delicious.

I ordered the Big Veggie Breakfast. I’m not vegetarian, however I’m not a huge meat eater, and the sweet potato fritters drew me in! Oh wow the sweet potato fritters, I could eat those everyday! It was, I have to say one of the best brunches I’ve ever eaten. Cooked perfectly, it was also different to your bog standard vegetarian brunch, not just veggie alternatives, they’d put some thought into it.

What also made mine and the rest of the groups meal all the more enjoyable was the friendly staff, in particular our waitress Jemma! (Great name, almost!). Members of our party all arrived at different times ordering different beverages, and this was dealt with perfectly and everything arrived smoothly. Jemma was friendly and chatty, yet not overbearing or intruding. Having chats about the recent changes in weather and Christmas approaching, checking our food was good and that there wasn’t anything else we needed.
I’m a slow eater and felt I could take my time, once we had all finished the plates were quickly cleared away. We didn’t feel rushed when we had eaten, staying to catch up on gossip, have a laugh, and exchange Birthday and Christmas gifts (exciting!).

This is the only Coast to Coast I have visited, my guess is that the layout of them all is fairly similar. This restaurant was very spacious, plenty of room around the tables for me to navigate. The table itself was also great for me, a good height for my chair and just one central table leg, so I could get close enough to eat.

Drinking too much tea enabled me to check out the accessible toilet, which was adequate for my needs. I’ve described it in more detail here.

Overall I had a lovely day celebrating Charlene’s 30th (Happy Birthday Charlene!), with delicious food and perfect company. I would highly recommend brunch at Coast to Coast, and would also urge you never to judge a book by its cover (or a restaurant by your presumptions), I certainly won’t be!

Ok, so maybe this wasn’t the short blog I was intending it to be! I do babble on. But I’m glad I’ve introduced you to brunch at Coast to Coast. I’m always looking for eatery recommendations so please let me know of any. Comments are welcome here and on my Facebook Page.