Beccles Restaurant Guide

“Excellent fish” is the highlight of the “imaginative” menu at this “delightful restaurant”, which is “probably the best place for dinner in Southwold”. The ancient building dates from 1455 and has been run for 15 years (10 as owners) by Kinga & Andy Rudd – the latter “a fun host who really cares about making sure everything goes very well”. Al-fresco dining is available in semi-private outdoor timber ‘pods’.

Back in the day, this characterful, Adnams-owned Georgian tavern in the heart of the town was an easy entry in London-based journos’ round-ups of day-escapes from the capital. For many years now, however, it’s been a less commented-on and less reliable attraction: for the majority, “still a favourite in Southwold after forty-something years” and some would say “back on form”; but there is still the odd disastrous trip reported here.

On the market place, the Adnams brewery’s grand seventeenth century hotel attracted some positive reviews this year for its “good food” and “warm, buzzy atmosphere”, but also critics in equal measure, for whom the food is “OK, nothing special” – contributing to a lingering sense that “it was far better before the botched refurbishment” back in 2017, which added fancier design cred and fancier prices to go with it. Top Tip – for a cheaper meal, head to the Tap Room, not the main dining room.

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.

A fire in May 2023 engulfed this beloved clapboard-shack-style venue with town-centre spin-off, as well as its quayside neighbours, but they were already up and running as a takeaway the following month, with plans to re-open the restaurant (for now there’s limited outdoor seating). Despite the setback, it continues to win raves for “fish ‘n’ chips as good as it gets”, featuring “crispy batter” and “crunchy/soft” chips, “all cooked in umami-packed beef dripping”; add in “a dollop or two of mushy peas as contrasting texture…and who could ask for more?”

“Well worth a detour from the coast” for “delicious food and an interesting menu”: Paul & Sarah Yaxley’s “exceptional” venue – a beamed former guildhall – is “an oasis in the middle of East Anglia”. “I’ve been coming here since I was a teenager 45 years ago, and despite many changes over that time it still never disappoints”.

2021 Review: This comfortable old inn between Southwold and Aldeburgh has generated all-round enthusiasm since joining East Anglia’s Chestnut Group a couple of years ago: the food is well rated and “friendly staff make a meal here a real pleasure”.

Locally born chef Daniel Smith’s “modern British” cuisine at his village pub-restaurant on the edge of Norwich is “always a winner” for its “imaginative flavours” and “excellent service”. “We eat here regularly and it’s first-rate both for the food and the pleasant atmosphere”, while “the set lunch and the tasting menu are both brilliant”. The venue’s name is left over from a previous African-themed incarnation.

This “must be the ultimate transport caff for foodies”, say fans of this artisan bakery on the A12 – part of founder Rebecca Bishop’s nine-strong East Anglian group – which draws more than just passing trade with its “lovely bread and lovely baked stuff”.

Ex-Alimentum chef Mark Poynton opened an eponymous restaurant at this country house hotel ten minutes’ drive from Norwich in March 2023, with Byron Franklin as his head chef. The debut allowed little time for feedback in our annual diners’ poll on their offering which features a five-course menu for £75 per person; or a nine-course menu for £100 per person.