_What is there to eat and drink in Suffolk

What food is famous in Suffolk? We’ve got seafood and shellfish in nutrient-rich sea water all along our 40 miles of coast, wheat and malting barley to make artisanal bread and craft beers, free range pork and chickens, dairy for wonderful cheeses, fruit for jams and ciders and a whole lot more. Suffolk is a great place to Come Hungry.

We’ve highlighted some of the must-try ingredients on restaurant menus, in farm shops and at farmers’ markets across the county. Make sure you ask about the provenance of ingredients – producers and waiting staff will be only too glad to help out.

And the place you mustn’t miss when you visit Suffolk is the national Food Museum at Stowmarket where you can easily spend a hands-on day learning about the heritage, culture and story of food.

Wine

Suffolk is fast gaining a reputation as a Vineyard Destination with a handful of quality makers taking advantage of the county’s warm weather, rich geology and valleys with gently sloping south-facing land – the perfect terroir for grape growing.

There’s even a new Suffolk Wine Trail where you can tour the vineyards, learn more and, of course, have a taste.

Beer

Suffolk produces some of the best malting barley in the country, particularly near the sea where it benefits from salty sea frets. 

St. Peter’s Brewery is one of England’s original craft breweries at moated St. Peter’s Hall, deep in the picturesque Suffolk countryside and with own water that’s filtered through the underlying chalk.

Or try a foaming pint of Adnams’ beer at The Swan in Southwold, Adnams’ flagship hotel. The beer’s brewed just out back… as is their excellent gin.

Seafood and shellfish

All along the coast you’ll find places to buy or eat seafood fished straight from the North Sea and brought ashore primarily at Lowestoft for the fish market.

Orford is renowned for its smoked fish, Aldeburgh for its lobster sold on the shingle beach and at Blackshore Harbour, Southwold you’ll find a good selection of fresh fish from the black-painted shacks.

You’re at the seaside so you’re going to want fresh fish, battered cod or haddock, and chips, liberally doused with vinegar and salt, and we’d recommend Aldeburgh High Street as the place to go before taking your warm package and finding a seat on the prom.

Artisan cheese

Baron Bigod is the finest traditional Brie-de-Meaux style cheese produced in the UK, a serial winner of Cheese of the Year in the Fine Food Awards and one of only a handful of its type in the world to be made by the farmer on the farm. And it’s from Suffolk, made at Fen Farm Dairy near Bungay in the rich pasture fields of the Waveney Valley.

Artisan bread

With so much quality wheat produced in Suffolk, it’s no wonder the county is a magnet for people who want great quality bread. The best is at Pump Street Bakery in Orford, where you can also book into an Understanding Sourdough class. And if craft chocolate is your thing, you’ve come to the right place – Pump House creates some of the best in the country. Book yourself onto a Craft Chocolate workshop.

Pork

The gently-sloping, free-draining sandy soil of the Dunwich Coast and Heath National Landscape mean Suffolk rears some of the best pork in the UK. And the best of those is Blythburgh Free Range Pork, a crossbreed of the Jersey Red Duroc and Yorkshire Large White. The pigs are raised in a natural environment, roaming freely and allowing them to grow at a slower rate, which contributes to their rich marbling and superior flavour.

If you’re looking to take some home, try Emmett’s in Peasenhall, a traditional smokehouse, fine food store and café.  Or settle in and try the best bacon roll you’re ever likely to taste.

Also look out on menus for Sutton Hoo Chicken, reared close to the National Trust property famous for the ship burial site of East Anglia King Raedwald.

Game

This is a specialty of the Brecks in he west of Suffolk where wild animals and birds thrive in the forests and heathland. Look out for venison, pheasants, rabbit and pigeon in the Elveden Estate hostelries The Guinness Arms and Elveden Inn.

Food Festival

As well as farm shops and farmers' markets across the county, the pinnacle of the Suffolk food scene is the annual Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival every September in Snape Maltings.