The Unruly Pig: We Tried The UK’s Top Gastropub
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3 months ago
This unassuming inn has scooped up numerous awards
Daniella Laxton took a trip to Suffolk to try esteemed foodie hotspot The Unruly Pig
Restaurant Review: The Unruly Pig, Suffolk
It’s not often that I’ll travel over 100 miles for a meal, but after Suffolk pub The Unruly Pig hit the top spot on the Estrella Damm UK Top 50 Gastropubs Awards for 2024 (after already winning in 2022), I was curious to see what it was all about.
After checking into a local B&B, (we stayed at The Old Rectory, a charming, family-run property just a 10-minute drive from The Unruly Pig), we made our way into Woodbridge. Upon arrival, the award-winning eatery looked like a conventional pub. No fuss, no frills – a winsome red-brick building and a sign that confirmed we were in the right place.
Inside, the eccentric decor immediately establishes the pub’s unique and ‘unruly’ spirit, featuring quirky artworks (you’ll spot a David Bowie portrait on the wall), bright walls, and colourful stained glass windows.
Demonstrating warm hospitality from the get-go, we were promptly welcomed and whisked towards our candle-lit table, where it was time to get into the menu. In a bid to sample some of the restaurant’s most raved-about dishes, my husband and I opted for the ‘Be Unruly’ tasting menu (the vegetarian version for myself).
Priced at £75 per person, the seven-course menu offers a real flavour of what this 16th-century inn is all about: delicious, innovative, seasonal dishes. ‘Unfussy Britalian food’, as the restaurant calls it, where emphasis is on the ingredients. In fact, 70 percent of its local produce is sourced from within 39 miles of the pub.
Both a rural and seaside destination, The Unruly Pig’s Suffolk location facilitates the freshest of produce from both land and sea. This is represented in the tasting menu where guests can delight in a ‘surf and turf’ style of dining, featuring trout and Orford lobster, followed by 40-day dry aged beef, cooked to perfection. From a smoked cod’s roe tartlet to a tasty duo of fried mersea oysters, every course is as ingenious as the next.
On the vegetarian menu, highlights include a creamy burrata dish finished with chilli, orange and grapefruit, a flavourful ricotta gnocchi, and a refreshing tomato ‘in brodo’ dish served with basil sorbet and black olives (a perfect palate cleanser). This is certainly no ordinary pub grub.
As with the food, the drinks menu is carefully curated, with waiters on hand to guide you to the right bottle. Meanwhile, desserts are a must – with two sweet courses included within the tasting menus. First, a lighter semifreddo with a strawberry sorbet, followed by a more indulgent chocolate, cherry and amaretto dish.
Despite filling our boots across seven dishes, it felt only natural to close the meal with a signature ‘unruly’ cocktail. For a final taste of dolce vita, I opted for a limone negroni, whilst my husband chose the After Eight, a surprisingly light concoction of vodka, crème de menthe and chocolate. Then, it was back to the B&B will full bellies and smiles all-round.
THE FINAL WORD
With impeccable service, outstanding food, and a pinch of eccentricity, it’s easy to see how The Unruly Pig has become a multi award-winning establishment. Would I travel over 100 miles to eat there again? Yes, I certainly would.
