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A frequent (and deserving) entry on "best fish-and-chips in Britain" lists, Aldeburgh's most celebrated eatery always has a long line of eager customers come frying time. The fish is fresh and local, the batter melts in your mouth, and the chips (from locally grown potatoes) are satisfyingly chunky. Upstairs you can bring your own wine or beer and sit at tables, but for the full experience, join the line and take out the paper-wrapped version. The nearby Golden Galleon, run by the same people, is a good alternative if this place is too crowded.
226 High St., Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5DJ, England
Known For
- One of the most famous fish-and-chips shops in Britain
- BYO wine or beer if you sit upstairs
- Long lines
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What started as a little café that sold oysters and cups of tea is now a bustling restaurant, with a nationwide reputation. It has no pretenses of grandeur but serves some of the best smoked fish you're likely to taste anywhere. The fish pie is legendary in these parts, and the traditional English desserts are exceptional. The actual smoking (of fish, cheese, and much else) takes place in the adjacent smokehouse, and products are for sale in a shop around the corner.
Market Hill, Orford, Suffolk, IP12 2LH, England
Known For
- Legendary fish pie
- Traditional, local flavors
- Great, simple seafood
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun.–Tues. in Apr.–July, Sept., and Oct. No dinner Sun.–Thurs. in Nov.–Mar.
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This excellent "restaurant with rooms" on the medieval Market Square takes deeply traditional flavors of the British countryside and updates them with a slight French twist. Served in an elegant, whitewashed dining room, the five-course, fixed-price dinner menus use a reassuring amount of local and regional ingredients. The selection might include breast of pigeon with caramelized endive or halibut with ginger foam and parsley sauce. The five spacious guest rooms have sloping floors, beamed ceilings, well-appointed bathrooms, and antique furnishings.
Market Pl., Lavenham, Suffolk, CO10 9QZ, England
Known For
- Elegant, refined menus
- Local ingredients
- A French touch
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Jan. No dinner Sun. No lunch Tues., Reservations essential
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This intimate restaurant is one of Lincoln's oldest buildings, a rare survivor of 12th-century Norman domestic architecture and worth a visit even if the cosmopolitan menu wasn't so outstanding. Typical main dishes include roasted rack of lamb with rosemary confit carrots or wild turbot with caviar hollandaise. For dessert, you might be offered pistachio sponge with mixed berries. The restaurant is a much more sedate place than its colorful and sometimes dark history suggests (the name is medieval—check out the story while you're here).
15 The Strait, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 1JD, England
Known For
- Extremely historic building
- Long-standing favorite with locals
- Great, contemporary cooking
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Wed.
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This stylish French restaurant, with the same owners as the Great House in nearby Lavenham, specializes in locally caught seafood. Typical choices include king scallops with squid ink and saddle of lamb with parsley and mushroom stuffing. Leave room for dessert, such as the indulgent Opera gateau, a rich chocolate and almond pudding. The three-course £39.95 lunch offers good value.
31 Churchgate St., Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 1RG, England
Known For
- Elegant French cooking
- Special-occasion dining
- Great seafood
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon., Reservations essential
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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In a town ready to burst with cream teas, it's a bit of a surprise to find an Indian restaurant, let alone such an exceptional one. Among the classics one would expect from a curry house—from mild kormas to spicy madrases and jalfrezies (traditional curries made with chili and tomato)—are some finely executed specialties, including Nizami chicken (a fiery dish prepared with yogurt and fresh ginger) and tiger prawn bhuna (with ginger, garlic, and spring onion). The menu also contains regional specialties from Goa and Hyderabad.
2 Church St., Lavenham, Suffolk, CO10 9QT, England
Known For
- Top-notch Indian food
- Diverse choices
- Lively atmosphere
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Beside the River Cam on the edge of Midsummer Common, this gray-brick 19th-century villa holds a two–Michelin star restaurant set in a comfortable conservatory. Fixed-price menus for lunch and dinner (with five to eight courses) present innovative dishes that place a focus on seasonal, often local, ingredients. Choices might include freshwater prawn with gazpacho mousse or sauteed duck liver and conte cheese. Service is both informal and informative. If you don't want to pay the eye-watering cost of dinner here, come for lunch, which is around half the price at £150 per person.
Midsummer Common, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB4 1HA, England
Known For
- Great river views
- Beautiful historic setting
- Special-occasion dining
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.–Tues.
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Scrubbed pine tables fill the main dining room of this converted fire station near Ely Cathedral; another room, used when there's a crowd, has an open fireplace and a polished wood floor, and also serves as an art gallery. The menu could include fenland recipes like sea bass with shrimp and dill sauce, as well as more familiar English fare, such as steak and kidney pie. Desserts might include treacle pudding (a sticky, steamed cake) or housemade ice cream.
25 St. Mary's St., Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB7 4ER, England
Known For
- Seasonal produce
- Regularly changing menus
- Afternoon tea
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
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This sophisticated restaurant serving excellent seasonal British fare is set in a Tudor house beside the idyllic River Stour. Outside, there are lighted terraces where food and drinks are served on warm evenings; inside, original beams, leaded-glass windows, and a brick fireplace add to the sense of history. The menu at lunch and dinner may include thyme-roasted partridge with salsify and grapes, or John Dory with razor clam chowder. For dessert, try the fresh fruit pavlova. In summer, evening barbecues are occasionally held on the terrace.
Gun Hill, Dedham, Essex, CO7 6HP, England
Known For
- Superb British-French cooking
- Excellent service
- Beautiful waterside location
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun. mid-Sept.–early June, Reservations essential
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Reputedly one of Norwich's oldest pubs, and one of the oldest in the country as a whole, this place dates back to at least 1249. From noon until 7, the kitchen serves such hearty pub staples as fresh, hot pies. Theakston and Adnams beer are available on tap, as is Aspall cider (the very alcoholic, British kind). Food is served until 6:45 pm.
17 Bishopsgate, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 1RZ, England
Known For
- Extremely old pub
- Good comfort food
- Bit of a Norwich institution
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A converted pub, this cozy, thatched café and restaurant has famously good homemade cakes as roasts and afternoon tea. The building, which dates from 1347, has low ceilings, a garden that's open in summer, and a crackling fire in winter.
9 Elm Hill, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 1HN, England
Known For
- Another impossibly old pub
- Cozy atmosphere
- Amazing cakes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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More than you might imagine from the modest name, Brown's Pie Shop serves the best of old-school British food. Enjoy succulent beef, great desserts, and some very good, freshly made savory pies. There are also fish specials, steaks, and a small selection of vegetarian dishes. This restaurant, close to the cathedral, serves an inexpensive early-evening menu.
33 Steep Hill, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 1LU, England
Known For
- Old-school pies
- Cheap and cheerful eats
- Hearty meals
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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The villages of England are awash with cream tea cafés, but none are as quaint and cute as the Lavenham Blue Vintage Tea Rooms. Having converted the ground floor of the 15th-century timber-framed cottage into a café, the proprietor set about making a name for the place with the best cream teas and door-stop sandwiches this side of the Broads. And if you can't manage another cream tea then indulge in a classic ploughman's lunch, a quintessential country lunch of cheeses, cold meats, pickles, and bread.
Market Pl., Lavenham, Suffolk, CO10 9QZ, England
Known For
- Cream teas
- Historic setting
- Impressive sandwiches
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Part of a Scottish chain that harvests its own oysters, this airy, casual place across from the Fitzwilliam Museum is deservedly popular. The seafood is fresh and well prepared, served in a traditional setting with a modern charm. The menu changes seasonally, but the occasionally offered Bradan Rost smoked salmon is a real treat; served cold, it's flavored with Scotch whiskey, giving it a uniquely malty, rich taste. The restaurant is also open for breakfast.
37 Trumpington St., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 1QY, England
Known For
- Gluten-free menu
- Scottish oysters
- Great Scotch whiskey menu
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This 600-year-old inn is home to one of the city's oldest pubs, making it a good stop for an afternoon pint of real ale and bowl of doorstop-sized potato wedges. Watch for the low beams.
30 Magdalene St., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB3 0AF, England
Known For
- Traditional pub atmosphere
- Excellent steak pie
- Classsic English pints
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Having made the arduous walk up the aptly named Steep Hill, you'll be pleased to find the excellent Pimento waiting for you. A highly regarded vegan and vegetarian restaurant, you can expect to find a mix of classic English tearoom fare, from filled jacket potatoes and scones with jam to salads and sandwiches (all vegetarian or vegan, of course).
27 Steep Hill, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, LN2 1LU, England
Known For
- All vegetarian and vegan menu
- Classic English dishes
- Focus on fresh produce
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A prime location looking out over the town square adds an extra incentive to dine in this charming, independent café and coffeehouse. Sandwiches, artisan coffee, cakes, and pancakes are the order here, and you can't go wrong with a classic cream tea, which is, ahem, really rather good.
31A Abbeygate St., Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, IP33 1LW, England
Known For
- Delicious cream teas
- Great location
- Warm service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Pretty stained-glass windows separate this sophisticated little restaurant from bustling Chesterton Road. The setting, in a terrace of houses, is low-key, but the food is creative and eye-catching. The fixed-price menu changes monthly and includes dishes like Australian winter truffle with Parmesan and Nidderdale lamb with smoked aubergine. For dessert, try the coconut parfait with chili sauce if it's available.
22 Chesterton Rd., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB4 3AX, England
Known For
- Low-key setting
- Creative approach to classics
- Delicious desserts
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.–Tues.
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Across the river from Magdalene College, this popular waterfront bar and grill serves delicious steak, burgers, and pies, plus specialties such as lobster mac and cheese or salmon steak with molasses and spices. There's an extensive cocktail menu as well. Try a Frisky Vixen (rum with pineapple juice, lychee, and passion fruit) or head up to the roof terrace for a glass of champagne. When dining, perhaps leave room for a classic sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
3 Thompsons La., Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB5 8AQ, England
Known For
- Classic British mains
- Rooftop terrace dining
- Huge cocktail menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations essential
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Excellent value, this low-key brasserie with tightly packed wooden tables relies exclusively on local produce for its Modern British dishes, all imaginatively prepared. The menu focuses on seafood, including oysters and Cromer crabs. Desserts are particularly good.
77 High St., Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5AU, England
Known For
- Fantastic fresh seafood
- Buzzy atmosphere
- Great wine and beer selection
