The Bildeston Crown in the Press

Times Online – June 24th 2009 Mark Frary reviews The Bildeston Crown summarised as “romantic Suffolk foodie inn”

The Crown, Bildeston, Suffolk

A Norfolk boy grudgingly admits that Suffolk is quite pleasant and that its hotels are rather good

Mark Frary reviews The Bildeston Crown summarised as “romantic Suffolk foodie inn”.  For full review visit Times Online Travel: www.timesonline.co.uk/travel

The Observer – 13th July 2008

20 Great Gourmet Inns

For a new series of guidebooks, David Hancock and his team of inspectors visited hundreds of country pubs across England and Wales, searching out the finest food, best beer and most stylish bedrooms. In the Observer on the 13th July his pick of the best was showcased in an article entitled: 20 Great Gourmet Inns.

We are pleased to say that the Bildeston Crown made the shortlist with the following review:

The Bildeston Crown, Bildeston, Suffolk

“Seven hundred years on from its construction, the Bildeston Crown is attracting more than its fair share of the county’s gastronomic acclaim, thanks to its new custodians. Revealing its history at every twist and turn, the charming building now revels in opulence and warmth, no expense having been spared in complementing the original period features. Chef and patron Chris Lee is cooking at the top of his game, with masterpieces such as the indulgent Pork Head to Toe. Consisting of eight cuts of pork, from cheeks and ears to trotters, each cut is cooked separately and individually garnished, down to the perfectly crisp, salty crackling presented in an extraordinary 10-inch strip.”

Delicious Magazine – April 2008

Crown Affair

Helen Renshaw visits The Bildeston Crown

Memo to anyone making the decision to dine at The Bildeston Crown: take a good map. Buried deep in rural Suffolk, this 15th century coaching inn can be tricky to find. But it’s definitely worth the effort.

As you step through the door, the exposed beams, ancient brickwork, oak floors and open fires place you firmly in a classic country inn setting. But there’s also a surprising whiff of sophistication in the air, which is confirmed by a menu that’s a million miles from ‘pub grub’.

In fact, Chris Lee – an ambitious self-taught chef whose wife Hayley runs front of house – has created a menu that would look more at home in London’s swankier restaurants, yet the prices are a fraction of what you’d expect to pay for such food in the Big Smoke. Chris specialises in modern British cuisine with quirky flavour combinations. Dishes such as seared scallops and lobster with chutney, and confit of duck with Earl Grey tea jellies sum up Chris’s vision – and the sheer yumminess of the food quickly banishes fears of pretension.

We especially loved the ‘pork head to toe’ with its eight different cuts of ‘piggy delight’, starting with crispy cigarillos from the ear and ending with a parcel of trotters topped off with a whisker of brittle crackling. So enlist the help of an Ordnance Survey map and get yourself there. Oh, and leave space for dessert – the peanut butter parfait will haunt your dreams for weeks.

Download the full article

The Times – 19th April 2008

Times reviewer Giles Coren “finds a place (The Bildeston Crown) so good, he recommends it without even eating there”.

Apparently he stumbled upon “the best little progressive kitchen in Suffolk” on his way home from another Suffolk hotel that would have been the subject of his main review if he hadn’t happened upon Bildeston. Sadly Giles claims that “To review it properly, I’d have to come again, but I won’t have a chance to get out this way for ages” but we do hope that he continues to salivate over the promise of “eight-piece symphonies called “Head to Toe of Nedging Pork” “and to recall the “awesome” apple crumble served in a shooter glas and that we do see him again very soon.

The Evening Standard – 19th March 2008

Valentine Low came for the “weekend away” with children Kitty and Orlando in tow.

Summarised as a “This Suffolk pub takes its locally sourced food seriously”, this foodie family appreciated the “attentive staff”, note the “winning mixture of old and new” décor and applaud the “plain and fancy” (Classics and Select) contrasts of the menu. Clearly delighted with the choice of venue, the last word of the review was left to Kitty aged 10, who pinches her father’s notebook to write the conclusion: “Kitty likes hotel A LOT”.

Suffolk Magazine – 2008

Our local Suffolk magazine continues to praise The Bildeston Crown by including us in their Valentine’s feature (February) and along with our sister pub The Lindsey Rose in the Food and Drink feature on “The Gastro Corner”, the writer gives the South Suffolk area around the Naylands, Hadleigh and Bildeston. “A class act” was the last word on this review.