Here’s one you may not have heard of, but it really is a gem!
The Leaping Hare restaurant is located in the 400 year old barn at the Wyken Vineyards near Stanton.
The vineyards themselves are renowned for their award winning ‘Bacchus’ wine, winner of the ‘English Wine of the Year’ and in 2009 ‘East Anglian Wine of the Year’.
The restaurant itself is not one that you can just walk into. That in itself speaks volumes for the quality of the food and will be ideal for those of you who, like my wife, ‘ wouldn’t eat in a restaurant where we can get a table’!
There is a limited number of tables in the barn, which is warm and very tastefully decorated, and the staff (when we were there at the weekend) were a model of courtesy!
You’re not rushed through your meal and yet service is at just the right pace. To be fair, the Leaping Hare perhaps isn’t the cheapest place you’ll have dinner this year, but we felt it was worth every penny, with the bill for 2 coming in at around £80, including a very fine bottle of wine.
As for the food – well the demand for tables speaks for itself and the quality of our meal cannot be questioned. Well flavoured, perfectly cooked steaks and perfect lamb for the main courses, along with excellent appetisers and the most wonderfully flavoured ice creams! Honey and Basil and Salty Caramel to name but two.
We really can recommend the Leaping Hare and will be returning very shortly – as long as I remember to book a table a couple of weeks in advance!
Please post your opinions here and let us all know what you think.
The Leaping Hare, Wyken Vineyards, Wyken Road, Stanton, Suffolk IP31 2DW
Tel 01359 250287
Having driven past The Cadogan Arms several times, we eventually called in on Sunday to try the place out.
I’m sure you’ve been in a similar situation, after 2.00 o’clock at the weekend and everywhere seems to be closed for food. Well The Cadogan had been a personal recommendation and as we were in the area we thought we’d see if, on the off chance, they were still serving food at 2.30 on a Sunday.
The status of a place can sometimes be gauged by the car park, so the Bentley and Aston Martin parked there (2 seperate dining parties I might add) got out inital impressions off to a good start.
Better that that, we were told that they served food all day on a Sunday!
We picked our table and selected our food and wine, which both arrived with reasonable haste.
The food was excellent. There is no other way to put it. We had relatively simple dishes, but The Cadogan prides itself in being able to list their suppliers (in public), many of them local, and the quality of the food was beyond reproach.
Value for money is always important, and again The Cadogan scores very highly here. We had 2 courses each and a bottle of very pleasant wine, for under £60.
A short drive out of Bury St Edmunds on the A134 towards Thetford, The Cadogan Arms has an AA 4-star rating, with accommodation, bar snacks, ‘a ‘grazing board’, breakfast, dinner and lunch menus and all at very good prices. Add a hog-roast on summer Sunday afternoons and The Cadogan really has so much going for it.
We will, without doubt, be returning to The Cadogan, frequently!
For more details try The Cadogan Arms website.
On walking past The Angel Hotel last night, we noticed a board outside offering 2 courses fro £12.50, from 12 noon to 6pm!
As it was just 4pm and having checked the menu outside and decided it was very good value, we ventured into the hotel restaurant, only to find the place empty..
We were then approached by a waitress and when we asked if they were serving dinner, were told that they’d ‘run out of food’!
We were then told that they stopped serving at 3pm on a Sunday, even though the board outside clearly said 12-6pm! To be honest she was quite curt and didn’t really offer much of an explaination and made us feel like a right pair of idiots.
On leaving we decided to check the board and menu again. The board still said 12-6pm (on both sides!) but in very small print at the bottom of the menu, customers were informed that it was 12-6pm on weekdays, 12-5pm on Saturday and 12-3pm on Sunday.
So if you’re thinking of taking advantage of what appears to be a very good offer, check the time and the day on the menu! Oh, and if anyone from The Angel is reading this, please don’t misrepresent your offers with misleading notice boards…
The Bildeston Crown was a very nice introduction to dining in Suffolk when we first arrived.
With an excellent menu and very reasonable prices, The Crown has seen us on several occasions since our first outing.
Not only is The Crown an extremely good restaurant, but also a very nice hotel, although we have found them to be very inflexible when it came to booking a a late stay. I mean, you expect some sort of reduction when they still have a room left a 6pm on a Saturday evening!
Having said that, the food makes The Crown well worth another try, and afternoon tea in their courtyard is great on any summer afternoon.
104 High Street, Bildeston, Suffolk, IP7 7EB
01449 740 510