Carl Stairs, who owns the White Horse in East Runton with wife Katie, wrote a lengthy Facebook post explaining the costs involved in running an independent hospitality venue, which was published on the pub's social media account on Sunday.

The White Horse in East Runton, near Cromer (Image: The White Horse)

In the post, which was more than 650 words long, broke down what happens to a typical £100 food and drink bill.

It pointed out that £16.67 immediately goes to the government as VAT, before taking into account the cost of ingredients, staff wages, energy bills, business rates and any other overheads.

"The post was not intended as an attack on the person who left the review, and it was not written to ask for sympathy," Mr Stairs said.

"Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and we accept that eating out is expensive for many families.

"However, a customer normally sees the final price on the menu.

"They do not necessarily see the team of people, taxes, ingredients, utilities, equipment and compliance costs behind that price."

Carl Stairs owns the White Horse in East Runton, near Cromer, with his wife Katie (Image: Supplied)

He said the response to the Facebook post has been "overwhelmingly positive," being viewed more than 100,000 times and receiving hundreds of likes and comments.

Mr Stairs, who also owns the nearby Harry's Bar in East Runton with his wife Katie, said he regularly compares the pub’s prices with other venues in........

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