The Bull Freehouse

By all means, go full tilt at the Bull's classical-leaning menu: from a crisp little Reuben's croustade brimming with beefy-pickly-cheesiness to a superlative soufflé. But, above all, the Bull is still a rural village freehouse (think lit fires, comfy old furniture, board games, quiz nights) where you can chat with the genial young owners, Sam Darling and Ben Davenport, who are invariably pouring drinks and running food to tables. 

Simpler dishes lean deliciously into that identity. Drop in for a cheese ploughman’s sandwich and a pint of the Bull’s own Rascality beer. An excellent pork pie has the fullest of fillings inside robust hot-crust pastry and comes with zippy homemade piccalilli purée. Mussels that teeter and steam in a heaped bowl are perfect partnered with bouncy garlic milk bread. 

The wine list suits the scope of the food. There are plenty of by-the-glass options below £10, but a ‘Push the Boat Out’ page tempts with three-figure bottles from classic domaines such as a St Estèphe Bordeaux (Les Pagodes de Cos, Cos d’Estournel 2012) – a fine choice with a shared côte de boeuf. There are also beautiful rooms in the pub's neighbouring guesthouse, the Pear Tree Inn, should staying over be the plan. But whatever your mood, occasion or budget, the Bull is a pub to have firmly on your Suffolk radar.