A cosy corner in one of the many dining rooms at The Unruly Pig
So this is a chart-topping pub then?
It's fair to say this Suffolk pub is no stranger to accolades. It's topped the Top 50 Gastropubs list twice, first in 2022 and most recently in 2024 and it also bagged the award for Best Pub at the GQ Magazine Food and Drink Awards in 2023. In addition to that it's creeping up the National Restaurant Awards charts (currently at No 54 at the time of writing).
Who's behind it?
Owner Brendan Padfield gave up a job in the law to fulfil a lifelong dream of running a restaurant. But he didn't do things by halves, showing that this was a serious endeavour by teaming up with Chef Patron Dave Wall (ex-Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's) and head chef Karl Green (ex-Midsummer House).
Where is it?
You'll find the 16th-century pub on the road to Orford out of Woodbridge in Suffolk. It is possible to get here by public transport (take the train from Liverpool Street to Ipswich and change to Melton where it's a 15-minute walk to the pub) but it's far easier by car.
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Where should we stay if we want to make a night of it?
We got put up in the lovely The Old Rectory in nearby Woodbridge. It's an elegant B&B that does a lot of work with the Unruly Pig so they're used to helping organise taxis to and from the pub. There are three ensuite bedrooms and a cottage in the grounds to choose from and rates start at £130 per room per night.
The Old Rectory is a handy place to stay if you're up here for dinner.
Set the scene for us...
The pub may be old, but months after Brendan re-launched it, the pub suffered a catastrophic fire. As part of the work in restoring it the team were able to modernise certain sections, so it's a pleasing mix of modern design in an old frame. And as you might imagine from a pub that's so old, there are a warren of rooms to choose from. We were there on a Thursday night and the place was packed, but we there was plenty of room between the tables. If you're here with a large group there's also a private dining room upstairs - the Wild Boar room.
What kind of food do they serve up?
They describe their offering as local seasonal, British food with an Italian influence. Happily for anyone who's over the whole small plates, sharing concept thing this is firmly a starter, main and pudding kind of place. But as you'll see from the dishes we tried, it's anything but standard pub fare.
Here's what we had:
Left to right: Fried Mersea oysters with n25 umai heritage caviar & dill and smoked cucumber (£5.50 each) and smoked cod’s roe tartlet avruga caviar (£4 each). Pretty much everyone seems to order the oysters and because they're from just down the coast they couldn't be any fresher.
Rabbit terrine liver parfait, crispy prosciutto, muscat grape, brown butter brioche (£14.50) - we hate a fridge-cold terrine so this one was served at the perfect temperature. And just look at it - it's a thing of beauty.
Venison raw haunch Battuta and braised shin crostini with cavolo rapa and lovage (£17)
Shellfish risotto made with wild red prawns, Mersea crab, mussel, chilli and pickled fennel (£26) - once again a dish that makes the most of the pub's location, so close to the coast.
40-day aged sirloin steak tagliata served with Parmesan chips, burnt onion and a bone marrow sauce so good you could drink it on its own (£38)
Room for dessert?
You've come all this way so you're definitely going for all three courses, particularly when the dessert menu is so enticing (although there's also a very nice English and Irish cheeseboard to tempt you too).
Semifreddo lemon sorbet, meringue, sesame (£11) -
Earl grey panna cotta with figs and olive oil (£10) - this not only passed our 'is it wibbly?' test but was memorably delicious with that delicate tea flavour.
What about the wine list?
If you're driving, or are wanting to order by the glass you couldn't do better than the list here, where across 50+ wines almost everything is available by the glass. We started strong with a very good fizz that introduced us to Dorset vineyard Langham Estate's classic Non-Vintage Cuvee and the staff jump at the chance to guide you through the list.
Overall thoughts:
Hopefully our photos do some justice to the level of cooking here. We'd say it's not completely, accurate to call The Unruly Pig a gastropub at all, it's a restaurant that happens to be located in a pub. The 'gastropubby' elements here are probably the informal cosy feeling of the place and the friendliness of all the staff. But be under no illusion, there's some seriously good cooking going on in the kitchen and it's definitely worth a trip out of town for any Londoner.
More about The Unruly Pig
Where is it? Orford Rd, Bromeswell, Woodbridge IP12 2PU
How to book: book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @unrulypig
Hot Dinners dined as guests of The Unruly Pig. Prices correct at time of publication.
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