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.
This is another ‘out-of-area’ dining experience that we can definately recommend.
The George Hotel in Stamford is just an hours (fast) drive from Bury St Edmunds. Sitting in THE historic market town of Stamford, access from the A1 couldn’t be easier.
There are 2 principal restaurants in The George, The Garden Room and the Oak Panelled Restaurant. The garden Room is pretty informal and booking usually isn’t required, although if you do have a short wait for a table, there are plenty of comfortable lounges to relax in. The Oak Panelled Restaurant is a much more formal (and expensive) option although the food really is of the highest standard. When we get a nice summer there is also the option of eating in the open air courtyard with a covered section if the weather does turn out to be rather inclement!
Having eaten in both restaurants, we can honestly say that the quality is good in both, with just that little bit extra in the Oak Panelled room.
Our most recent visit was to The Garden room, where 2 glasses of champagne, a bottle of white wine and 2 very good main courses came out to £65. This still makes for good value though and the restaurant manages to be lively and relaxing at the same time.
Private functions can also be catered for with weddings a speciality and there are further menus in the York Bar, with Afternoon Tea available in the lounge or courtyard.
Having returned to The George Hotel time and time again we can thoroughly recommend it and have no doubt that the majority of customers will always hold it as one of their favourite locations. If you are anywhere near Stamford or Peterborough, or even just passing through on the A1, you really should pay them a visit!
More information and menus can be found here: The George Hotel of Stamford
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