We went for a pizza which was delicious, but the Espresso Martini's at The LP in Bury St Edmunds are magnificient.

• Sophisticated, stimulating and strong. The perfect Espresso Martini.
• The Elton John (mozzarella, anchovies, capers, artichoke hearts and olives)
• Goats cheese and pancetta salad with a Stevie Wonder (Piri-piri chicken,chorizo, mixed peppers and Mozzarella}a
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Looking for a perfect Christmas party venue and activity, or hunting for that extra special Christmas present? The Stillery in Bury St Edmunds is planning to help you have a very merry gin-mas. From private hire to after work drinks or cocktail classes, The Stillery has something to offer every festive celebration. The Stillery’s gin and cocktail classes are suitable for any size party and budget. Try a one-hour gin tasting or a festive “Make a Christmas classic” as a pre or post-dinner activity. Here at SuffolkFoodie we like the sound of “Rumbunctious” – a course dedicated to all things rum – but there's also “Ginspiration”, where you’ll craft your very own unique bottle of gin.   As well as a venue and cocktail bar, The Stillery produce their own premium gin, which can be purchased as a gift this Christmas. The Stillery London Dry Gin is distilled on site, in the bar itself, using the traditional “One Shot” method, producing a modern, yet classic, juniper-led gin with playful spice and citrus flavours. Bottles can be purchased online or from the cocktail bar, but also keep an eye out for The Stillery at local Christmas events – including Blackthorpe Barn’s craft fayre and the Bury St Edmunds Christmas fayre in November. Bookings for courses and purchases of vouchers and bottles can be made online at www.stillery.co.uk. For private hire, contact the team directly by calling 01284 700577 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  The Stillery is open Fridays and Saturdays, 6pm to midnight. The Stillery, 3 Short Brackland, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 1EL.

It was so tempting to have a lick of the plate and the juices left in the bottom of the bowl, once I had polished off the Isle of Wight tomato salad at The Northgate last week. The delicious hibiscus and sherry vinaigrette dressed tomatoes, topped with light, whipped cobnut cream and nasturtium pesto reminded me of a Spanish Gazpacho. And sitting outside on the lavender edged terrace, on what must be Bury's only central, outdoor, dining space added to the relaxed and laid back dining experience at this striking Victorian townhouse. I was invited to try the new menu and to tour the newly refurbed restaurant, cocktail bar and lounge ... all are quite stunning. There's a private dining room seating 14 (complete with giant framed cockatoos looking on). A brilliant and boldly decorated cocktail bar and a Chef's table where you can dine and watch the brigade at work. Head Chef Greig Young uses the best produce he can find, with the Taste of East Anglia menu (£45 a head) offering a selection of seasonal small plates, inspired by the local area and it's producers. And no I didn't only eat a salad, I ate bread made with Pakenham Mill flour, then a crisp and light Norfolk Dapple gougere, next came hand cut beef tartare with pickled mustard, broad beans and red endive, followed by a spiced East Anglian bhaji using local potatoes, and the finale of the savoury plates; fillet of plaice in a seaweed crust with a crisp lobster 'scampi' on a light hollandaise, lifted by slices of pickled cucumber.  Greig chose to serve a whipped dark Tosier chocolate, creme de cacao ice cream on a saucy kombucha, caramel espresso as a pre-dessert and then for the main dessert - like I really needed two, roast white chocolate with hibiscus (think Caramac, but better) with roasted red fruit, raspberries and milk ice cream. As well as the superb food at The Northgate staff are also delightful, providing a professional, discreet yet friendly service under the expert guidance of Manager Michael Box.

• the homemade bread
• Norfolk Dapple gougeres
• Isle of Wight tomatoes, juicy with the hibiscus vinaigrette and you'd never believe that with the cobnut cream this is a vegan dish
• Hand cut beef tartare, pickled mustard, broad beans
• Bhajis made with local spud, crips and moreish, vegan too
• A huge lobster 'scampi' aloft the plaice fillet with pickled cucumber hollandaise
• Whipped Tosier chocolate with the slightly sour Kombucha espresso caramel and creme de cacao ice cream
• Caramac! Big shards on milk ice cream and roasted red fruits
• Affordable and interesting lunch menu, perfect for al fresco dining
• The cocktails are excellent too
• Smile! Head Chef Greig Young and Manager Michael Box
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Still warm and crunchy from the fryer, you can't beat an Edis of Ely scotch egg for lunch.

Bury Wholefoods is a Bury St Edmunds-based organic food shop, established in 2018 by owner and health food fanatic Dawn Carrington. Bury Wholefoods has a regular market stall on Bury St Edmunds market on the 1st Saturday of every month. You'll find a range of organic wholefoods and also be encouraged to adopt a 'zero waste lifestyle' by taking your containers to refill. As well as wholefoods there's a zero waste product range and the opportunity to go plastic-free and help the fight for a sustainable environment. They sell a number of wholefoods that feature in our recipes here on SuffolkFoodie including buckwheat for our yummy chocolate, hazelnut and buckwheat brownies and quinoa for our tabbouleh salad. If you can't make it to the market or want to order online they have a very good website.

Half a pound of herring roes for £3.50 from Mummery's stall on Bury St Eds market today. I'm having them on toast for my tea.

Apparently there's a Golden Ticket hidden in one of the Mother's Day cards handed out to all Mums this Sunday at Giggling Squid branches across the country. (The Golden Ticket will be a £50 voucher to be used on a future visit). Tables still available for late lunch and supper in our Bury St Edmunds branch.

Popped into Folk at Fornham Business Court for breakfast on Monday and ordered a coffee and bacon sarnie from the all day breakfast menu (no egg though as they can't cook these after 10.30 am). This new cafe seems to have taken off as it was heaving with customers, all tables fully occupied and only a bar stool left for me to sit on. It's great to see a new, upcoming and young business doing well and serving high quality food and drink. Their website sensibly says 'we're on our way' and so opening times are limited at the moment to Monday to Friday 8am to 4pm. Just need to sort out that extra pan to cook the all day brekkie egg!

• great coffee
• tasty bacon sarnie
• pretty vintage tractor for the children to play on
• good all day menu
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Never has so much fun been had at a staff Christmas party. Cooking our own steaks at Cheers. Bury St Edmunds. 10 out of 10 for customer service and putting up with us. All you can eat and drink for £27.50 per person. Merry Christmas!

• thinly sliced and tender rump steak, as much as you can eat
• bread and olives arrive first... save room for steak
• no frills, jugs of wine and sangria from this Portuguese owned restaurant
• red hot stone replaced as required
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The food is always very good at The Giggling Squid and it's a particular favourite of Mr SuffolkFoodie who loves a massaman curry. An invitation to try the new summer cocktails and menu last week took no hesitation to accept, so we headed off for supper. Our local branch of the Thai restaurant is Bury St Edmunds, which always seems quite lively and buzzy in the evenings, in fact we both sat by the window and reminded ourselves of how charming the town is on an early summer evening. Cocktails are made with Fever Tree mixers, so high quality and great tasting for a start. I tried a 'Thai Coconut' made with gin and coconut flavoured rum, mixed with ginger ale and fresh lime. Sunshine in a glass! Mr SF enjoyed the strawberry, mint and lime 'Strawberry Cooler,' no alcohol in this one and gets a big tick in the drinks for drivers box. Only gripe is the plastic straws. Food lived up to expectation especially my refreshing starter of Lime and Chilli beef, which was thinly sliced rare, roast beef with a zingy and powerful chilli lime dressing. I'm going to try making this one at home. Thai chicken wings seemed a bit of a safe bet for Mr SF, but actually they were far superior than many and very well seasoned with lots of garlic and fresh coriander. Keang Pa was my choice for main course. The prawn tropical jungle curry was refeshing and again, very spicy with a clear and light broth, rather than the usual coconut milk associated with Thai curries. It was very fragrant with a strong punch of aniseed from the Thai basil and rather tasty pickled peppercorns, which took me by surprise. Beef appealed to Mr SF and an enormous bowl of Beef Rib with Coconut Sauce and a generous quantity of oyster mushrooms arrived for his main course, just a little too creamy for me though.  A side of noodles and coconut rice were shared. We also shared a dessert of Caramelised Mango Cake, which although light lacked any real mango flavour and in hindsight we should have remembered that the ice creams and sorbets are always better here. The wine I ordered by the glass was new to the list. Le Secret, Saint Pierre Cotes de Provence Rose, which whilst having a lovely peachy and slightly spicy, strawberry fruit flavour maintained a decent amount of acidity going very well with my curry. Pranee Laurillard, the co-founder of the Giggling Squid is shortlisted for Restaurateur of the Year Award at the 2018 Cateys, one of the most prestigious awards in UK hospitality. Suffolk Foodie wishes her the best of luck!

• Lime and Chilli Beef
• Thai chicken wings
• Keang Pa, Beef Rib and Coconut Sauce, Noodles and Coconut Rice
• Caramelised mango cake
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