Beccles Restaurant Guide

“Fish is the speciality at this historic house hotel” – “we love the food here and we’re always made to feel very welcome” by proprietors Andy & Kinga Rudd, who have run it for 16 years. The building itself is one of the oldest in Southwold, dating from 1455.

In a Georgian building on the high street of this famous seaside town – where the brewery of this tavern’s owners Adnams is a key landmark – this well-known destination is “kept alive by the many tourists visiting the area” and has yet to regain its mojo of a couple of decades ago when the likes of Fay Maschler would declare it an out-of-town favourite. Nowadays, its dining room “is pleasant, but still needs to up their game in a number of areas”. Fans, though, do say “it’s on the up again, if for no better reason than the fact that it’s benefitting from the disastrous refurbishment of its sibling, the Swan!”

This 16th-century hotel on the market place and a short hop from the sea was acquired by Ernest and George Adnams back in 1872, the same year they founded their famous brewery. Still part of the family, the ancient venue does tend to split opinion these days, with fans claiming it “continues to improve”, and cynics – reciting a perennial gripe – that it’s “still struggling after the refurb” that fancified it in 2017. In any event, the bar (aka Tap Room) still offers “reasonable” prices though arguably “the best offering here is morning coffee or afternoon tea in their comfy lounge”.

2023 Review: This attractive Arts & Crafts pub-with-rooms and an acre of land is a “good place to stay on the Suffolk coast”, with “friendly service” and “good pub grub” which puts an emphasis on local seafood and produce – including beers from champion local brewer Adnams. Mark & Sophie Dorber (formerly of the White Horse in Parsons Green, aka the Sloaney Pony) have owned and run it for 19 years.

“Slightly smarter since reopening” in November 2024 following a fire that gutted the premises a year and a half earlier, this much-loved local fishmonger and take-away (there’s a chippie sibling in the town centre) is otherwise unchanged: namely it “still offers lovely sharing seafood platters” and “the best fish ’n’ chips” in these parts. It’s “not cheap”, but nonetheless “well worth a trip to the harbour”, where “you feel very close to the catch”.

This “brilliant and deservedly popular” pub – a former guildhall dating from circa 1500 – serves an “interesting menu” from chef-patron Paul Yaxley that is “exceptional value for the quality and service provided (lunch is an absolute steal)”, along with its own beer, ‘Goose Juice’. “The front-of-house has become considerably slicker since the last review”. Top Menu Tip – “duck rillettes with pickled mushrooms, peanut and tamarind flapjack”.

“There’s a buzz about this place” – an old smugglers’ inn on the Suffolk coast that’s “very popular” with locals but also “convenient when holidaying in the Dunwich area and a bonus for a last dinner before the homeward journey”. Now part of East Anglia’s Chestnut Group, it turns out “super” locally sourced food, combining trad pub classics with more foodie-oriented options (plus the “child menu offers proper food”). In addition to the characterful bar there’s a small dining room, airy conservatory and – of more recent ilk – a “promising” new garden service.

“An excellent gastropub” on the edge of Norwich run for 10 years by chef-patron Daniel Smith, who also owns the Ingham Swan (the memorable name is left over from its 1990s incarnation as an African-themed pub). A couple of long-term fans had their best meals of the year here, but ratings were held in the middle ground by one or two double-edged reports (“well cooked and presented, but more bucks than bang for what is essentially gastropub fare…”; “excellent Sunday lunch, but it says something about this fine city that it was the highlight!”).

“A new chef has come to town – Harvey Thompson, late of Tuddenham Mill – and his food’s great” – so say promising early reports of this new rural bistro which opened towards the end of 2024. Too little feedback for a rating, but such as we have says the food is “excllent”: you can choose from a conventional menu and there’s also a selection of small plates. Top Menu Tip – “Venison and Bone Marrow Pie for two is stunning”.

“Everything is absolutely delicious, from savoury to sweet” at this “highly recommended” bakery that has grown to 10 branches across Norfolk and Suffolk in just 12 years since launching in Southwold (now with a central bakery and cookery school in Darsham). “They clearly source good-quality ingredients and know what to do with them”, serving up “excellent cooked breakfasts”, “generous pastries, tasty stuffed croissants and good coffee”, supplemented by “changing specials” and “gluten-free options too”.

“Exceptional food and service with chefs coming out to announce the dishes and even serve wine sometimes” again helps inspire very high levels of satisfaction with this ex-Alimentum chef’s “attentive and charming” dining room in a country house hotel near Norwich (which carried off a Michelin star from the tyre co’s 2025 awards). There’s an eight-course tasting menu for £95 per person, and at lunch a six-course version for £75 per person. Top Menu Tip – “Loved the homemade bread so much that they gave me a loaf to take home with me!”