Boutique hotels
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Tuddenham Mill
- Style
- Streamlined gourmet getaway
- Setting
- Brink of the Brecks
Suffolk Eating, drinking and dancing
We've tracked down the best beach cafés, the freshest seafood, the most accomplished restaurants and the nicest pubs in Suffolk. All you have to do is pick your favourite…
Restaurants
(+44 (0)1394 450277)
Butley Orford Oysterage
A wonderful, relaxed fish restaurant with its own smokehouse, the Oysterage even sends out its own boats to guarantee the freshness of its produce (www.butleyorfordoysterage.co.uk).
Market Hill, Orford, Suffolk IP12 2LH
(+44 (0)1284 760623)
Maison Bleue
So upscale that its menu includes a ‘plâteau de fruits de mer’ requiring 48-hours’ notice, this West Suffolk establishment offers fine dining at reasonable prices. The emphasis is on seafood, and the influence is unmistakably French (www.maisonbleue.co.uk).
31 Churchgate Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
(+44 (0)1502 722275)
The Crown
Just up the high street from the Swan, the Crown – also owned by the local Adnams brewery – offers another fine-dining experience by the coast. Its brasserie-style menus are changed daily in both the main restaurant and its dark, atmospheric bar.
The Crown Hotel, 90 High Street, Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6DP
(+44 (0)1787 247431)
The Great House
Sister establishment of Maison Bleue, this intimate country-hotel restaurant brings a little bit of France to the Ipswich environs. Lots of local pork and fish, all served with a Gallic twist – and at reasonable prices (www.lavenham.co.uk/greathouse).
Market Place, Lavenham, Suffolk CO10 9QZ
(+44 (0)1728 453377)
The Lighthouse
An unpretentious restaurant inhabiting what looks like an old-fashioned grocers’ shop. The reasonably priced bistro-style dishes appeal to weekending urbanites who flock to Aldeburgh year round (www.lighthouserestaurant.co.uk).
77 High Street, Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5AU
(+44 (0)1502 722186)
The Swan
It may be a little formal for a seaside town, but the Swan hotel is the place to eat in chi-chi Southwold. Its excellent menu – featuring lots of fresh local fish – is complemented by what is probably Suffolk’s best wine list.
The Swan Hotel, Market Place, Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6EG
(+44 (0)1638 713552)
Tuddenham Mill
Gordon McNeill’s tantalising Modern European fare, made with fresh local produce and tinged with a hint of his native Scotland, is served up against a backdrop of sleek Italian tables and oak beams at this restored millhouse hotel in Tuddenham. Don’t miss the awesome assiette of puddings.
High Street, Tuddenham, near Newmarket, Suffolk IP28 6SQ
Bars
(+44 (0)1728 452720)
The White Lion
An eye-catching fixture on the seafront since the 16th century, Aldeburgh’s most auspiciously positioned hotel is a lordly place for a drink. The oak-panelled bar offers views out to sea and, in the winter, the chance to dry out in front of a log fire after a beach walk.
Market Cross Place, Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5BJ
Cafés
(+44 (0)1728 454152)
Café 152
Thanks to its proximity to Aldeburgh beach, where local fishermen lay out their still-flipping wares each day, this is simply one of the best places on the coast to pick up a fish knife (www.152aldeburgh.co.uk).
152 High Street, Aldeburgh, Suffolk IP15 5AQ
(+44 (0)1728 621232)
Off the Square
This lovely spot in picturesque Framlingham offers a simple and fresh menu in the comforting surroundings of a former greengrocers’ shop. It’s also very handy for the nearby castle (www.otsframltd.co.uk).
3 Church Street, Framlingham, Suffolk IP13 9BG
(+44 (0)1502 722105)
The Clockhouse
A brasserie-style café on Southwold’s pier that offers locally caught moules marinières, baskets of organic bread, and blonde abbey beer Leffe on draught – as well as far-as-the-eye-can-see views of the coast (www.southwoldpier.co.uk).
Southwold Pier, North Parade, Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6BN
(+44 (0)1284 765481)
Vinch Finch
It may look like a wine bar from the outside, but its wide selection of local meats and cheeses, as well as treats from around the world, make this deli-café the ideal place to stop for an epicurean lunch (www.vinchfinch.co.uk).
43–45 Churchgate Street, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP33 1RG
