Suffolk, Mediterranean Restaurant Guide

“Bury St Edmunds is quite a gastronomical wonder town” and near the top of the pile is this “small beauty” – an “unpretentious” sort of place set up by chef Justin Sharp and FOH wife Jurga in 2009, and which has retained the tyre men’s acclaim since 2021. The “fabulous” and “scrummy” food is a mash-up of the Mediterranean and the Middle East that “never fails to delight”, while there’s “always something exciting, interesting or unexpected” on the wine list (particularly if you like organic and natural wines). Top Tip – the “off-pitch location” (a residential square) “means parking nearby at lunchtime is impossible”, but on the plus side it’s only a ten-minute walk from the train station.

“Locally sourced food cooked to perfection” and a “charming welcome” reward visitors to Constable Country who are lured by the distinctive yellow facade of this 15th-century coaching inn, owned and operated for 22 years by Piers Baker. The “great menu”, which takes most of its cues from Italian cuisine, makes this “a place to while away the afternoon” over a long lunch.

This attractive hotel in Constable Country is “a very pleasant place to eat”, owing to its terraced gardens and “good basic bistro food” (“plus it’s always open”, which doesn’t hurt). Service is not always a highpoint though, and can be “slow”.