This extraordinary gastro pub with it’s warm and welcoming atmosphere, sophisticated menu and tempting wine list provided Helena Lang with a Friday night supper that ticked all the date-boxes.

Where is it?

On the edge of Bromeswell, a tiny village near Woodbridge on the main Orford Road that leads from the bustling market town of Woodbridge towards the coast and Orford Ness. What’s all the fuss about? Winner of the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list in 2024 the food at The Unruly Pig has had top newspaper restaurant critics in raptures. “This place is why hospitality must be saved”, shrieked the headline in The Telegraph, and I don’t disagree. Owner/proprietor Brendon, a former lawyer, sets the scene in the bar and dining room, greeting and chatting to guests like they are old friends (which many of them are) and creating an atmosphere that’s full of bonhomie.

What’s the place like?

In typical ye olde pub style there are a series of linked rooms with flagstone floors, heavy velvet drapes, beams, exposed brick work, vintage rugs, leather banquettes and wooden furniture that all create the classic old-school pub atmosphere.

What did you eat and drink?

We kicked off with a couple of oysters from Maldon in Essex, one served with pickled and smoked cucumber and caviar, the other with a rich and savoury nduja sauce and chilli. They were sublime and hinted at the treats that were to come. From the selection of starters, I chose a pumpkin and egg yolk raviolo – a perfectly formed, substantial pasta dome on a bed of pine nuts and black garlic. As I cut into it the golden yolk spilt out and formed a glossy sauce…the effect of which still makes my mouth water.

Husband, Simon, enjoyed his Jerusalem artichoke soup scattered with slivers of black truffle, some crispy chicken skin and Tunworth cheese and pronounced it the perfect, light starter to kick off a rich and satisfying meal.

Well-sourced meat plays a strong part in the main course options and Simon couldn’t resist the Iberico pork, with roasted garlic, lardo and pancetta dressing and a side dish of rosemary roast potatoes. I chose the guinea fowl – not a meat I eat often, as it’s hard to find on many menus – this was a beautifully cooked breast, with a braised leg hotpot in a little cast iron dish served on the side and served with salsify and hazelnut. It was absolutely delicious and inspired a mental note to cook guinea fowl more often.

After such filling courses only one of us – me of course! – could manage a dessert and I chose the lightest option on the menu, a lemon syllabub which was a pale-yellow sphere of soft and creamy lemon mousse with a marshmallow like consistency on a sesame seed disk with shards of crisp meringue. All in all, a palate cleansing end to the perfect meal. Throughout we had been helped with our wine choice by the sommelier sipping a glass of Langham Estate Classic Cuvée from Dorset to start and then diving into the huge variety of both reds and whites available by the glass.

Your verdict?

Suffolk locals are very lucky to have such an epic food experience on their doorstep and if you have a staycation in Constable country planned then do book a meal here.

Lasting memory

The oysters, which were the most delicious that I have ever eaten.