Menu? Who needs one? Not Annie Smithers. She rustles up the day’s spread with picked-that-day ingredients from her massive kitchen garden. Everything else – Suffolk lamb, duck, fish, Sher wagyu – comes from local suppliers who breed free-range and ethical meats. Do book if you want to secure a seat at one of the rustic tables in the welcoming restaurant. If it’s summer, you may score a zucchini salad with cherry tomatoes, rocket and pan-seared blue eye. Courses arrive on one plate, ready to be dished up family style: medium-rare wagyu with a rich jus perhaps, on a bed of purple cabbage with buttery baked spuds and crunchy radish. “We’ve got a bottle of nebbiolio open,” the switched-on waiters may inform you. Good idea. Follow that with a perfect shortcrust pastry fruit pie and double cream. It’s cooking with heart – dishes that appear ‘simple’ but are hard to get right. Want more? Pick up a copy of her latest cookbook on your way out.
Gourmet Traveller’s star-ratings, which range from zero to three stars, reflect reviewers’ first-hand experiences. The best-rated restaurants form our national Top 100. Our wine ratings, from zero to three stars, are made by wine editor Max Allen on the strength of the quality of the restaurant’s wine list. View our rating key here.
