Address: 2, 6 Thorpe Rd, Norwich NR1 1RY, United Kingdom
Phone: +441603699882
Rating: 4.7
based on 194 reviews.
Vegetarian Options
Pros:
"They don't have many options for vegetarians but the food is incredible."
"A lovely vegetarian selection on the menu."
"Great vegetarian options."
"Really nice place, staff very helpful, great vegetarian\vegan choices."
"The starters were really good but the mains were quite overdone and very very salty."
Cons:
"I ordered the chicken combo which set me back £17 for 6 pieces of chicken - a small bowl of rice (which was flavourless) and salad."
"Food is excellent. Smoked aubergine starter with bread as good as I have had anywhere."
"The best chicken shish I have ever had. Huge tasty chunks of tender meat at a reasonable price."
"I just can't fault anything. And that's why I keep returning. Fair pricing, happy attentive staff, quality ingredients, and authenticity."
"Bit disappointed, ordered a take away last night for my birthday and the portion size was very small for the price."
Service
Pros:
"The service was attentive and efficient offering a really friendly dining experience."
"Service was quick, efficient and friendly."
"All the staff are so friendly and attentive, and the overall atmosphere is superb."
"Staff were very friendly, cheerful and caring."
"Absolutely delicious meal! Worth every penny! Welcomed with a smile and all members of staff were friendly and efficient!"
Cons:
"Sat down and ordered drinks and starters, but we had to go and find someone to ask where they were."
"All the staff we encountered were friendly except for our waiter who hardly said a single word to us and clearly hates his job."
"The service was a bit slow and disorganised."
"Lovely food, terrible service."
"The waiter was rude and dismissive, at one point starting to clear our starters before we had finished."
Ambience
Pros:
"The ambience was classy & sophisticated."
"Really classy little place with utterly sublime food!"
"The atmosphere is both elegant and laid back, a neat trick!"
"The atmosphere was great, pretty full so a fantastic buzz which made for a enjoyable evening."
"Beautiful building, outstanding food, good portion sizes! And the service was excellent."
Cons:
"The trip to the toilets was a little off putting, dirty and tired and looked like it needed a very good clean."
"My only complaint about the food would be that my Tabule salad was very very salty."
"This made us rush our food and not have a dessert. My hands were freezing and everyone was complaining about how cold it was."
"Horrendous, food turned up stone cold and soggy with items missing."
"So disappointed I used to love this place but they must have changed chefs and produce it’s just not nearly as good as it used to be won’t be using them again."
Food Quality
Pros:
"The food is fabulously Turkish whilst the decor is contemporary."
"The food was absolutely delicious, amazing portion sizes."
"In my opinion, the BEST restaurant in Norwich. The food here is beyond spectacular."
"The food was out of this world, hot, tasty & very well presented."
"Absolutely fantastic food, the octopus dish is one of the best I’ve had."
Cons:
"The dishes are so expensive considering the amount you get and how small the sides are."
"Food was great, staff were very friendly, but they should have made more of an effort to update us on the wait."
"The moussaka wasn’t as good as we expected though."
"The food was nice but it was so cold that we all ended up wearing our coats while eating."
"The starters were really good but the mains were quite overdone and very very salty."
Value for Money
Pros:
"Worth every penny, HIGHLY recommend."
"The food is excellent and the lamb was so tender."
"Absolutely delicious meal! Worth every penny!"
"First visit and very impressed. Great greeting from manager and staff, really friendly and good service throughout."
"We are having a week's vacation in Norwich and decided to have our last meal at the Gem of Norwich. It was excellent."
Cons:
"I can't help feel that this place is bad value for money overall. The dishes are so expensive considering the amount you get."
"Generally overpriced. Cold mezzes were the highlight of the meal. Mains were over cooked and salty."
"Bit disappointed, ordered a take away last night for my birthday and the portion size was very small for the price."
"When we got here our table had been taken by someone and we had to wait a while to get one. I was starting to get frustrated at waiting."
"Food was fantastic however Gem only gets 4 stars, it should have 5. I star deducted as 2 brats with their parents were allowed to roam around the restaurant and scream and shout spoiling the eating experience."