About Us
The Glaven Bistro opened in December 2023 as the food & drink venue on The Bayfield Estate in Glandford near Holt showcasing the very best of local produce from Norfolk
Our Story
We are Carron and James, the owners and directors of The Glaven Bistro.
Following our success of running a busy beach cafe in North Wales we have decided to open our new passion project The Glaven Bistro here in the beautiful rural village of Glandford, North Norfolk
For the last 8 years we have been living in and running a hugely successful business
The Little Tea Rooms in the beautiful North Wales. Back in 2015 we moved as a couple from our home in London to undertake a new life adventure together in the wilds of Snowdonia and the Llyn Peninsula.
Once there we started our first business The Little Tea Rooms. This was a food and drink initiative to endorse and promote as much fantastic Welsh produce as we could by showcasing products across our menus and bring more top quality food and drink to the market, (something at the time there was very little of in North Wales)
We began by making handmade pies of Salt Marsh Lamb and homemade cakes from our kitchen in Porthmadog before eventually converting a horsebox into a mobile tea room, We sold great locally roasted coffee and a small menu of lovely local produce at events and beach/harbourside locations.
In 2020 the opportunity came to take on an established Beach Café near the village of Abersoch. Prior to the global pandemic but shortly after the arrival of our first born Monti, we aimed high and signed the lease. The next 4 years turned out to be our most formative and successful yet despite the initial stumbling block of Covid, converting an old boat shed and shipping container into one of the most successful destination Beach Cafés in North Wales. With over 100,000 visitors a season we had created a unique platform from which to promote all of the fantastic brands and producers we had discovered on our adventure. It was quite a thing!
With the arrival of our son however, our sights had been set on eventually making our way back towards family and given Monti's imminent start of School we made the decision to leave Wales and move closer to our family here in North Norfolk.
During the year of our relocation a newly refurbished premises on the previous site of the Arts Café in Glandford, part of The Bayfield Estate had become available. We arranged a viewing with the Landlord Roger Coombe and immediately fell in love with the venue. A traditional North Norfolk Carrot Barn complete with flint facing and stunning beamed interior. This was a blank canvas for us to turn into a project of passion, creating a stunning modern bistro with a dynamic menu of seasonal food and drink... but this time using the fabulous produce of North Norfolk.
We have been very fortunate to discover so much great food and drink here already and have aimed to take on the very best whilst always keeping our eyes and tastebuds open to all that is available.
Incredible smoked fish from Staithe Smokehouse, high quality meats from the H.V Graves Butchers, the very best locally grown fruits and vegetables from Fresh Approach to name but a few of our suppliers. We have also discovered Norfolk wines from the award winning Burn Valley Vineyard and beautiful English Sparkling Wines from Chet Valley Vineyards.
As we begin our next chapter here in North Norfolk we hope that you will enjoy what we have created and join us at The Glaven Bistro
James & Carron