Harden's survey result
Summary
A “beautiful” 400-year-old barn conversion creates a “lovely relaxed atmosphere” for the “interesting food and own-produced wines” served on Wyken Estate, whose vineyard was planted in 1988. The café at the other end of the barn reopened after a four-year closure in September 2024, serving more relaxed lunches, and there’s also an open-air pizzeria knocking out wood-fired sourdough pizzas on Saturdays.
Summary
“A beautiful high-ceilinged 400-year-old old barn in the middle of a vineyard” makes an “amazing setting” for the “great food” served at this restaurant, now in its third decade. “Wines made on site and in the local area” are a special feature, and you can “walk through woodland to view the vines” before or after eating. Post-lockdown there’s also the outdoor Moonshine pizza café.
Summary
“Surrounded by the Wyken vineyards and the Suffolk countryside”, this “bright and airy converted barn is warmed by a wood-burning stove that makes it cosy on colder days”. A “wonderful” wood-framed building, with a soaring ceiling, it serves “surprisingly excellent cooking” – say, “beetroot soup and freshly baked focaccia, feta cheese salad with maple and blood orange salad” – “washed down by Moonshine, their vineyard’s sparkling wine”. A fixture for more than 25 years, its latest addition is an outdoor pizza oven in an outdoor setting heated by fire chimneys.
Summary
A “beautiful setting – a very tastefully decorated barn à la Martha Stewart” (and one of four centuries’ standing) adds to the ambience at this Wyken estate staple. As for the food, it's “consistently good, maybe not terribly exciting, but what they do, they do very well” – i.e. European dishes with thoughtful sourcing. Stop Press: having launched a sourdough pizzeria in an old farm workshop during lockdown, it's now a permanent fixture called The Moonshine Cafe.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Leaping Hare Vineyard?
Wyken Vineyards, Stanton, IP31 2DW
Restaurant details
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £26.00 | £30.00 |  |
|
|
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Pudding |
|---|---|---|
| £11.50 | £25.50 | £8.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.00 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
Wyken Vineyards, Stanton, IP31 2DW
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 10 am‑5 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am‑5 pm |
| Friday | 10 am‑5 pm, 6:30 pm‑8:30 pm |
| Saturday | 9 am‑5 pm, 6:30 pm‑8:30 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am‑5 pm |
Best British, Modern restaurants nearby
Mediterranean restaurant in Bury St Edmunds
British, Modern restaurant in Bury St Edmunds
British, Modern restaurant in Bury St Edmunds
Best similarly priced restaurants nearby
French restaurant in Bury St Edmunds
Italian restaurant in Framlingham
Italian restaurant in Norwich
