Lunch at the Pump Street Bakery

A couple of weeks back we were both craving a day off and some sea air, this also coincided with the
purchase of a new (second hand) car so a trip to the coast felt very much the thing to do. We picked Orford/Aldeburgh as we normally do with plans to figure out what all the buttons do in the car on the way there and then grab some lunch at Pump Street Bakery before heading to the beach.

I've been following Pump Street Bakery on Twitter and marvelling over their breads and pastries, and doughnuts (oh the doughnuts) for some time. They are a small family bakery with a focus on real bread, slow food and lots of fantastic sweets. They specialise in sourdough and pastries and also serve Monmouth Coffee made in their La Marzocco coffee machine (called Percy), loose leaf teas and yummy hot chocolate. Impressively they have also just started producing their own bean to bar chocolate.

The cafe area serves lunch, brunch at weekends and you can also stop in anytime for coffee and something sweet. There is a large communal table in the centre of the room, plus a couple of other nooks by the windows to sit by. It's a nice welcoming space which I think would be lovely and cosy in the Winter.

I went for a big mug of 'Real Hot Chocolate' which was delicious, none of that powdery nonsense that you normally get - proper chocolate with foamy milk. Mr went for a flat white, which was made the proper way in a proper flat white sized cup (I'm becoming a bit of coffee geek) and was of course lovely.

The blackboard lists all the food for the day, it had a pleasing number of vegetarian options alongside the meat and fish dishes - with local meats, fish and cheeses noted where applicable. I went for the roast tomato and feta tart - pleasingly square with lots of tomatoey cheesey filling alongside some super fresh salad leaves.

Mr went for the toasted cheese sourdough with onion marmalade - this was cheesey to the extreme, and awesome for it. I am planning on recreating this, with some homemade sourdough.

I always make room for pudding, and you can't go all the way there and not have a doughnut. Mine was filled with rhubarb jam and Mr's with raspberry. Both delicious, light and airy inside and crispy on the outside, and the jams both tasted like the actual fruit. I wanted another three but I had to constrain myself.

I didn't really want to leave, there is so much to try at the bakery and everyone is so friendly and welcoming. There are lots of holiday cottages in the area, and although Suffolk is very close it would be nice to spend more time there to try all the local delights.

You can find the cafe menu here, and follow them on Twitter here. If you're visiting Snape Maltings they also have a little Citroen van called Cedric - where you can also buy their fresh baked goodies.

Orford is a lovely little village, whilst you are there can pop down to Pinneys of Orford after for some fresh fish or something from their smokery.

Pump Street Bakery
pumpstreetbakery.com

Pin It

Tiffins Tea Emporium, Long Melford

I do love a day in Suffolk, it is a very picturesque area of the country and not too far from us but feels like such a change from normality. We were booked for a morning 'Owl Encounter' at Lavenham Falconry, and this fortuitous turn of events meant we could visit nearby Tiffins, who I'd been following/admiring on Twitter for a while.

Long Melford itself is beautiful and the tea room definitely lives up to its surroundings. A pretty little building with a tower of scones in the window, an array of cakes on stands, tea pots and lovely vintage style furniture.

Tiffins is run by the very cheery Kirstie who made us feel really welcome. We started with savoury - a goats cheese and pepper ciabatta for Mr and the intriguingly named Suffolk Ploughmans for me, cheese scones instead of bread - but toasted so the cheese is all melty and lovely - served with 'cheeky chutney' which was a lovely fresh salsa like chutney made with tomatoes. I had some of the Tiffins Blend loose tea and Mr some Suffolk apple juice.

Of course we had to have some cake too - and it was a tough decision - there is such a great choice of sweets - chocolate, coffee, lemon drizzle, victoria sponges, flapjacks, brownes, tiffin (of course) and fruit scones. Mr had a slice of pleasingly orangey Chocolate Marmalade cake with little white chocolate stars, and I had a coffee cake which was tooth achingly sweet - perfect for me. I had a bit of a sugar high upon leaving and then a crash later on in the afternooon...

We really enjoyed our lunch at Tiffins, it is a beautiful place and very relaxed surroundings. You can find them on Twitter and they have a website too. Do visit if you are in the area - Long Melford has some pretty shops and neighbouring Lavenham is a must see.

Oh and here is a picture of one of the owls we met!

Pin It

The British Larder, Suffolk

The British Larder blog has been one of my favourites for a long time, I love the recipes and the focus on local food, as well as the stunning photography. When I heard they had opened a pub restaurant last year it was on my list of places to go.

It is about an hour and a half from Cambridge, two if you go the scenic route (and your sat nav diverts you through all the horrible bank holiday traffic in Ipswich), so we tied it in with a trip to Orford and Aldeburgh for foodie shopping and a walk on the coastline.

We ate in the bar and had a deli board each, which is a really good way to sample all the different flavours the British Larder has to offer. They are incredibly well thought out and everything is perfectly made, exceptional. And for £12 they are really reasonably priced.

I had the Dingley Dell Pork Tasting Board which featured the most impressive scotch egg I've ever seen and tasted. Shredded slow cooked pork with a perfectly cooked egg and crispy exterior. My platter also had a chicken and pork terrine, puy lentil and ham hock salad, the most beautiful celeriac remoulade (with whole mustard seeds in, something I am going to do next time I make it), a vibrant and sweet pea and ham soup, locally made bread (from the Pump Street Bakery) and a perfect green salad.

The husband had the vegetarian deli board which was also excellent. Aubergine and tomato cavair, pearl barley salad, gorgeous spiced sweetcorn fritters, Suffolk Gold cheddar straws, olives, broad bean and white bean hummus, homemade tomato mayonnaise (I didn't let him call it burger sauce!) more local bread and that lovely green salad again.

The little additions like the mixture of different breads, soft creamy butter and perfectly cooked thinly sliced beetroot were lovely.

Naturally I had to opt for pudding, I always leave room. I picked what was hailed as their 'famous' treacle tart, and it was amazing. It was huge, just the thing for a pudding lover like me. Served with white chocolate ice cream and caramel sauce. The inside of it was lightly spiced, it reminded me of the Indian dessert 'gulab jambu' - which is a pretty impressive thing to achieve in a treacle tart.

We also had coffee and tea which was served with little cocoa dusted meringues.

We will definitely be going back, the Sunday roast looks fantastic, the British Larder hasn't been open long and I think is still getting its name out there, so go and support them, everything is as local as possible and cooked perfectly. I can't wait to go again!


We also visited Orford whilst we were there for bagels and doughnuts from the Pump Street Bakery and scallops from Pinneys of Orford. And then on to Aldeburgh for goodies from Lawsons Deli. A lovely day out! Suffolk has fantastic food.

Pin It

My Birthday!

Yesterday was my 24th birthday and I had a lovely day.

First of all, an Etsy thing...
I managed to get my first Treasury on Etsy yesterday and it features Etsians who share my birthday!

Birthday Treasury

Including this gorgeous butterfly from Ikonic Vintage

I also had a lovely day spent having lunch at the Great House in Lavenham, very nice 3 courses, absolutely stuffed afterwards. The village and the surrounding countryside was also beautiful, and it looked even better because it was such a sunny day! I wish I had taken some pictures now. I did find a picture of their Creme Brulee, which I had!




















I have also discovered a really great tea related gadget, which means I shall be drinking much more loose leaf tea in the future. I am very happy about this find:




You tilt it on its side and pour the tea through the strainer part, and the little metal tray catches the drips when you put it down!
Genius! We bought at at Cafe Clare, in Clare, Suffolk - a very nice little cafe with what looked to be gorgeous cakes - we could't manage another bite though so had to miss tasting them this time!




Finally - happy birthday to all the lovely Etsians in my Treasury!

Pin It