A Little Plug- The Farm Cafe at Marlesford

Should you find yourself on the jolly old endless concrete run of boring doom that is the A12, round about Woodbridge, you will find yourself going past the Farm Cafe &  Food Market at Marlesford. And if you do find yourself here on the endless concrete run of boring doom that is the A12 round about Woodbridge, I implore you absolutely not go past the Farm Cafe & Food Market at Marlesford, and go inside.

I found myself here with some friends during the early stages of a few days off in the Suffolk countryside, friends who enjoy a fine meal and a nice cup of tea almost as much as I do. The Farm Cafe was our designated lunch spot following some research by the In Law and most well found it was. The main cafe is a comfortable sprawling space of clean, wooden tables and pleasing views away from the bloody A12. Their standard menu offers a fine array of lunchtime fayre, from baguettes to bangers and mash with some surprising and tempting options- wise man tries out the squashed goat pie. They knock up a fine spicy lentil soup too, served with a lovely mix of artisan breads, all locally supplied. The food is good, our group of five had no complaints on quality or quantity but the atmosphere really is lovely. An over used adjective in my blog, ‘lovely’, but there’s no other word. There is a genuine family feel about the place and it’s easy to linger over your locally sourced grub and a nice pot of darjeeling.

But leave you must, and you will, and if you have any sense you will go straight into the shop next door, where you will find oodles of foodie (and drinkie) treats, many of which are locally sourced and even fresh from the cafe kitchen- wise man purchases a squashed goat pie and takes it home for tea! The prices are reasonable, on par with other establishments of this type and yes you will see the usual suspect produce from delis and foodie joints all over East Anglia but keep looking and the most seasoned epicure will find something new. My new was the ‘Suffolk Mud‘ branch of Stokes Sauces, as local as their name suggests (hurrah!) with top notch presentation and lovely labels. I’m a girl, I’m allowed to like labels. I went away with some of their English mustard and some equally yokelled Garden of Suffolk gooseberry jam which is without doubt the finest thing to grace a slice of toast in my kitchen for some years. So there’s sauce, sweets, oils, wine, pies, beers and even some plants if you don’t want to eat everything you purchase. In short, something for everyone, and as with the cafe it is all served with a smile and minimal pain to your wallet.

So go get on the A12 and pay them a visit.

Lovely.