Ye Olde Bell and Steelyard — Restaurant in East Suffolk

I was unexpectedly in Woodbridge and sought out a historic pub with good food and a good selection of real beer. The hospitality I hoped would also accompany these requirements. I was not disappointed. This pub is at least a three centuries old and was a former steel workshop as denoted by the name. It still has the winch outside, though damaged by a passing tall lorry at the moment. As you would expect there are not right angles here, walls, doors and floor are all on the wonk and part of the reason I love pubs like this. We were greeted warmly and the excellent and helpful hospitality continued to us out of towners. I would therefore say that although every pub needs its locals, any person visiting the town will receive a lovely reception here. Three well kept real ales, the two I tasted were great. From the traditional menu we chose cod (fresh from the mongers that morning) and chips and the steak and kidney suet pudding. Cod was good quality and the batter so crispy, almost tempura, that I wish my local fish and chip shops could equal it. I have not had a steak and kidney pudding for years and remember it as quite stodgy. Not here. The suet pudding is the lightest I have eaten and it's great to see someone still putting kidneys in it. Lovely rich gravy to go with the buttery mash and creamy leeks. With both meals we had chunky chips which tasted twice fried :) - don't quote me on that. Wish I lived closer as I would be in here all the time. Maybe I'll...

Visited this pub a few times over the last few years and when we heard that it was under new management and the team in charge also ran the Blucklesham Shannon we were rather excited, went along for opening night and was very impressed with the job the guys had done and have been back for a quick pint a couple of times since. The pub itself is very old and full of history but it felt like everything was clean and it had all obviously been freshly decorated, bar staff were very friendly and encouraged a very nice atmosphere. Pub is dog and child friendly, wheelchair users and people with other mobility needs are able to enter around the side and through the garden. Good selection of drinks available at reasonable prices as well. No food available as yet but when it becomes available it will be well worth trying if you haven't already had the food at The Shannon. Overall very impressed with the work that has already gone into this place and I am excited to see where it is taken in the future!! 10/10...

Another top notch Woodbridge pub, we really are blessed living here. This is the rugby pub of the town so if you don't want to watch rugby then best to avoid on match days, will tend to fill up with Woodbridge warriors players after home matches on weekend afternoons aswell if this is not your thing. Really nice place for a drink and you can usually expect a minimum of 3 dogs, often more. And if you don't like dogs in the pub, well you're not really the sort of person we want in Woodbridge...