The best pub food in Suffolk
Published 19 January 2025

A gem of a village pub, owned and run by Will Orrock and his wife Cassidy Hughes, where there’s more than a passing nod to the Fergus Henderson (St John) school of cookery. Chef Adam Spicer's menu is brisk – beautiful ingredients are left relatively unadorned, and flavours are full. What a vol-au-vent lacks in flighty height it makes up for in crispness and the springtime deliciousness of foraged morels and wild garlic, and how good to see tenderly seared cuttlefish among the starters, alongside a silken ink-black mayonnaise studded with cod's roe – don't forget to save some of the excellent house bread for mayo-scooping purposes.

A terrine of brawn and ‘blood cake’ is as muscular as its name suggests, but alongside the heft is deft culinary balance from the crunchy bite of radishes and some zippy piccalilli. As for seafood, expect a few luxuries. The delicate flavour of lobster is somewhat swamped by its coronation sauce, although a turbot main course is memorably good. Served with fat mussels, the saline pep of monk’s beard and a gently spiced mouclade sauce, it’s a dish to hurry back for. Local produce stars throughout – from vegetables and leaves courtesy of nearby organic Maple Farm to chocolate from Pump Street or the St Jude cow’s curd served alongside a caramel tart. This is ‘proper cooking,’ notes one reporter.

The Greyhound is also a proper boozer, welcoming drinkers for honest sustenance. Do check out the great-value bar snacks – say Welsh rarebit or a ploughman’s including homemade pork pie and house pickles. Perfect with a pint, or a glass from a wine list which is fit for every occasion – be it a classy Burgundy (a 2021 Saint-Aubin 1er cru ‘Clos du Meix’ from family-owned Domaine Hubert Lamy, perhaps), a steely Austrian Riesling from the Arndorfer winery or a simple lunchtime sip from the Languedoc.

You can drop into the Anchor for a pint of Adnams Broadside and a packet of crisps, half a dozen bracingly fresh rock oysters (from Mersea or Orford) and a glass of crisp Muscadet, or go full-throttle on a three-course meal that sings with local and seasonal produce. Either way, the Anchor is firing on all cylinders as a good pub should. 

Expect straightforward, generous food. Evergreen fixtures such as tempura-battered halloumi fries, smoked haddock fishcakes, and voluminous fish and chips sit alongside specials that make the most of allotment vegetables and local meat – perhaps pork belly with sweetheart cabbage and salsa verde. The chocolate fondant has earned its very own fan club over the years, not surprisingly given its dark, molten deliciousness.

Publican Mark Dorber, who has run the place with his chef/wife Sophie since 2004, layers the drinks list with his beer and wine expertise – he’ll happily engage on the subject with interested guests while pouring everything from local ales and complex Belgian Trappist beers to everyday wines and push-the-boat-out vintages such as a Domaine des Comtes Lafon, Mersault Clos de la Barre at £110. If you need to walk all that off, the beach is minutes away; and if you need to sleep it off, there are rooms in the pub or in spacious garden chalets (our recommendation). There’s praise, too, for the ‘lovely warm welcome’ and the ‘superb atmosphere’, especially in the charming fire-warmed bar area.

When it comes to the world of country inns, this handsome 15th-century roadside village hostelry offers the complete package. Whether you’re relaxing by the fire in the beamed bar or taking advantage of alfresco tables in the ‘wonderful suntrap courtyard’, it sets the scene for straightforward seasonal cooking.

Local supply lines run deep here. The kitchen garden at nearby Nedging Hall Estate (which owns the pub) supplies the kitchen with fresh, seasonal produce (as well as local game), which executive chef Greig Young interprets in a refreshingly uncluttered way. From a ham hock and Moletrap mustard terrine to spiced beef rump with creamed corn, curry-pickled Roscoff onion and chips, his retooled pub classics eschew pretension in favour of big flavours.

Good value is at the heart of the menu, with the three-course midweek set lunch proving popular on our visit. True to form, it delivered a wonderfully flavoured tomato, courgette and herb salad, as well as main courses ranging from a succulent pork chop with peppercorn sauce and new potatoes to a perfectly cooked BBQ mackerel fillet with tomatoes, fennel and cucumber. To finish, a rich warm chocolate brownie with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream was perfect for sharing. Service is charming, the bar stocks the estate’s own Mauldons ale, and the wine list offers enterprising possibilities across the board.

Rattlesden is a ‘whole package’ Suffolk village. It’s got pastel-painted thatched cottages, a magnificent church, a little river running through it and, above all, this gem of a pub. Given half a chance (and a summer weekend) you’ll find head chef Matt Avery tending Big Green Egg barbecues in the Brewers' lovely garden, turning a deft hand to Texan smokehouse flavours and the likes of pork ribs, beef short rib, loaded fries and avocado tacos. He’s a chef who likes to take his time, whether barbecuing and ember-cooking, or teasing flavour from ingredients by aging and brining meats, or reducing wine- and port-rich sauces to their essence.

Order a glass of Chalklands fizz from Kentish winemakers, Simpsons, and settle in for snacks that could include ham hock terrine with a crisp little quail’s egg or scampi, but not as you know them – these are crisp, airy puffs containing monkfish and are delicious when swooped through a warm, lightly curried sauce. Follow with a fresh beef tartare – made using the trim from the Sunday roast and topped with the classic orb of egg yolk flecked with sea salt – or prettily plated mackerel pâté with a little pile of sourdough croûtons and pickled cucumber.

Lamb rump gets a patient 48-hour brine before arriving at table, roasted – the preceding hours’ care no doubt playing a part in its tenderness and seasoning. It comes sauceless with a little chard and crisp, butter-laden panisse – these moreish chickpea-flour chips slide onto a plate of beef fillet and short rib on the evening menu too. Date pudding with salted caramel and freshening vanilla ice cream delivers every ‘sticky toffee pud’ vibe, while a chocolate crémeux, sharpened with blackberry, ticks a box silkily.

Monday evening brings a fire pit ‘MeatUp’ between the pub and chef Matt Avery's ‘Smokefire’ brand, while Sunday sees a choice of well-balanced, contemporary roasts ‘with the focus on taste’ (think pork belly with ham hock and apple). The midweek set lunch (with choices) is also a steal. A standard wine list does its job admirably.

The single-track branch line that ran from Wickham Market to Framlingham in late-Victorian times is long gone, but the reconfigured Station Hotel is chugging along nicely as a local asset with gastronomic benefits – but no accommodation these days. Regulars repair to the bar for pints of Aspalls cider and ales from the nearby Earl Soham Brewery, while snacky sustenance appears in the shape of good-looking homemade sausage rolls and Scotch eggs. However, the main culinary business is spelled out on the daily changing blackboard. At lunchtime you can order time-honoured British classics such as bangers and mash as well as chicken pie, lobster and chips and devilled kidneys, plus sandwiches, charcuterie and salads; in the evening, things move up a gear, as the kitchen turns its hand to the likes of slow-roast pork belly with mash and greens or roast cod on spinach and pea risotto with lobster bisque. For afters, don’t miss the superlative chocolate sticky toffee pudding with ice cream or one of the artisan cheeses from noted supplier Hamish Johnston. The Station also does a good line in wood-fired pizzas (Thursday to Saturday), which can also be ordered to takeaway. A creditable wine list completes the picture.

A roadside pub where superlative cooking, sharp service and stylish plates of food meet a dose of easy irreverence. The name’s a giveaway, as is the art that fills the walls, starting with a bronze pig’s derrière behind the bar, a new piece that’s part of a smart post-lockdown refurbishment. Have fun here, and eat seriously well too.

Come for the velvetiest of veloutés, perhaps leek and potato with the salty pep of smoked haddock and a garlicky crostino, or the pub’s ever-popular white onion soup accompanied by a savoury bonbon (perhaps ham hock or blue cheese). Snack on crisp arancini filled with gentle Taleggio and ‘nduja that’s fiery with Calabrian chillies. Pasta is made with silky finesse and, this being a broadly ‘Britalian’ kitchen, it’s given good billing: strands of tonnarelli might come with crab and freshening chilli, lime and spring onion; a raviolo could be packed with rabbit and a flavour-balancing gremolata; tubular paccheri could be served with a rich venison ragù.

Steak and chips – this is a pub after all – often gets the Italian treatment, so well-rested sirloin might be ‘tagliata’, served sliced across the grain. The accompanying Parmesan chips are criminally pinchable, the bone-marrow sauce deeply savoury. To finish, vanilla panna cotta fits the Italian bill, but go British with a rhubarb crumble, or choose a magnificent chocolate délice with a sweetness-tempering espresso sorbet. Sunday roasts are delivered with a touch of elegance and sophistication as well as a keen eye for provenance, while Europe leads the way when it comes to the notable wine list. Tapping into the expertise of the well-led front-of-house team yields delicious rewards, with monthly changing 125ml pours, in particular, enabling exploration.