UNRULY PIG CHEF PATRON DAVE WALL'S INSIDER GUIDE TO WOODBRIDGE AND IPSWICH
THE CHEF PATRON OF WOODBRIDGE'S AWARD-WINNING UNRULY PIG GASTROPUB TAKES US THROUGH THE HOTSPOTS OF WOODBRIDGE, IPSWICH AND (SLIGHTLY) BEYOND
Dave Wall is Head Chef and Chef Patron at The Unruly Pig, a gastropub in the beautiful Suffolk village of Woodbridge.
Serving up fresh, local and seasonal British food with an Italian influence, it’s been showered with awards over the years, from picking up the top spot in the Estrella Damm UK Top 50 Gastropubs Awards 2024 to Best Pub in the GQ Magazine Food and Drinks Award, and even awarded Best Sunday Roast by the Sunday Times.
Tasting Thursdays offer the chance to grab a five course Be Unruly tasting menu for just £49 per head and there’s even a 10% discount for the hospitality sector every Monday - big respect to Dave for helping out his fellow hospitality heroes!
If all that isn’t enough to entice you to Suffolk (boy, you really are hard to please…), then Dave has kindly put together an Insider Guide featuring the finest places in Woodbridge, Ipswich and a little detour into Cambridge, to make a weekend of it.
The Unruly Pig,Orford Road, Bromeswell, Nr Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 2PU
COFFEE
Applaud
There is a glorious boutique coffee shop in Ipswich called Applaud, which has deservedly won many awards and accolades. It’s in the old part of the town and has a lovely, dinky garden for when the weather is fine. The coffee is consistently great and their home-baked cakes are even better. Relaxed and cool, it is a great workspace and has a lovely vibe.
Applaud Coffee, 19 St Peter's St, Ipswich IP1 1XF
BREAKFAST
The Wild Strawberry Cafe
The Wild Strawberry Cafe in Woodbridge. Located in this beautiful medieval town’s market square, it serves a mean sausage sarnie with a fried egg. What’s there not to like about this small but smart cafe as you munch away looking onto the well-known, Dutch-gabled Shire Hall in the very heart of the town?
The Wild Strawberry Cafe, 19a Market Hill, Woodbridge IP12 4LX
LUNCH
Honey & Harvey
Honey & Harvey, Woodbridge has two branches in Woodbridge, the local town to The Unruly Pig as well as a branch in Ipswich. Honey & Harvey are all that you could want from a deli-type coffee shop. They also serve a great breakfast but they really excel at lunch where Ottolenghi-type salads jostle nicely with their freshly baked (and delicious) sausage rolls and a multitude of yummy, freshly made and cooked-to-order dishes.
Honey and Harvey, 56 Thoroughfare, Woodbridge IP12 1AL
DINNER
Restaurant Twenty-Two
Years ago, I could never work out why Head Chef Sam Carter’s lovely restaurant - which is located in a terraced house on the city’s outskirts - never used to have a Michelin star. My mother used to say “Good things come to those who wait” and lo and behold, the much overdue star was awarded in 2023 and has been justly retained in 2024. Sam is a lovely chap and he and his hard-working wife deserve all the plaudits they have received for his small restaurant that deservedly punches well above its weight. This is a solid Michelin-starred restaurant.
Restaurant Twenty-Two, 22 Chesterton Rd, Cambridge CB4 3AX
DRINKS
The Anchor
Anyone getting off the train in Woodbridge should grab a pint in this quaint pub, located just over from the beautiful River Deben estuary. It’s a proper local that always feels so welcoming and friendly. There are warming open fires in the winter and outside tables that let you watch the world go by bang in the centre of town. And the landlord, Vernon Blackmore, serves the best massaman curry. Everyone who knows this hostelry loves it. As do I.
The Anchor, 19 Quay St, Woodbridge IP12 1BX
INSIDER TIP
Ramsholt Church and Ramsholt Arms
Anybody who has seen Ralph Fiennes in the film The Dig, will know the stunning Ramsholt church (which is featured in the film), located just 15 minutes up the road from The Unruly Pig. The views down the Deben estuary are simply stunning. There is a glorious circular walk from the church that ends up at the Ramsholt Arms, which is located right on the river estuary. This is a pub that must surely rank as one of the best pub locations in the whole country. There is little better in life than the view towards Felixstowe coupled with a pint and my guilty pleasure (a packet of crisps).
Ramsholt Church, Woodbridge IP12 3AE
Ramsholt Arms, Dock Rd, Woodbridge IP12 3AB
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