King’s Lynn – Lattice House

It’s a few years now since JD Wetherspoon sold off the Lattice House in King’s Lynn, which I thought was just a little unfortunate as it was one of my favourite JDW pubs. It made sense though since they have the large Globe Hotel just around the corner and probably didn’t need two pubs so close together.

But then something potentially rather impressive happened after a short spell under a different pub operator, the building was rebranded as the Bishops Dining Rooms and the whole concept seemed very much in keeping with the historic building. The south end of the building had been in use as an inn since at least 1714, so it can claim some considerable heritage.

And then they did something quite bizarre. They decided to ban young people. Not children to create a slightly quieter and relaxed dining environment, but they banned people in their early 20s. Somehow, and perhaps this could only happen in Britain, it was thought that people in their early 20s couldn’t enjoy a decent dining experience.

And, the rest is of course history. As soon as that decision was made, it was perhaps inevitable that the ill feeling caused would lead to the restaurant being considerably less busy than it might otherwise have been. Particularly irritating when the restaurant actually seemed to have been pitched so well in terms of price, decoration and menu choice.

Anyway, that’s not really relevant, what is relevant is that the Lattice House name is now coming back and the restaurant is being restored into being a pub once again. The new owners have confirmed they don’t have a problem with younger people, so the age limits have been dropped. So I’ll make an effort to visit in the next few weeks……