Briarbank Brewing Company — Restaurant in Ipswich

First the plus points… Lovely venue, close to the waterfront with ample space inside and lots of room outside. Great range of beers all brewed on site (both cask & keg available). Food offering is ok (more about that in a while). The server (Katie) was absolutely fantastic. Helpful, friendly, chatty and really couldn’t do enough for us. Oh, and there’s a pub cat. A PUB CAT!

Now for the not so great… first star lost because the food order was wrong. We asked for a burger with no sauce and got one full of BBQ sauce, which meant half of it got left. Oh, and the bacon that was in it looked like it had never seen a hot pan in it’s life.

Second star lost due to the attitude of the duty manager (who’s name I believe was Chloe). We asked for a refund because the order was wrong and it was clearly too much trouble for her to take time out of her busy evening to come process it. She breezed in full of attitude, didn’t even acknowledge or apologise to us and left. Shocking behaviour.

We would visit again, largely due to Katie who continued to make sure we enjoyed the beers and couldn’t apologise enough for the food.

Would recommend, but maybe...

Popped in after Sunday graduation with my family. Very friendly staff. Warned that they were taking orders in 5 minutes and there would be a jazz band in an hour. Ordered. Had a great rhubarb cider. After 45 minutes was about to ask if the food was ok. It arrived with a warning that my daughter's plate might be really hot. It wasn't. It was barely warm. This was good as her food was safe to eat straight away. However, my chips were lukewarm and the middle of my burger was cold. Disappointing as it looked well cooked, but had been sitting around waiting for some reason. The bar staff refunded immediately with no questions and would have replaced it had we had more time to sit and wait for another to be made. Was told it happens regularly. Such a shame as the location, drinks and jazz...

Had a great time at Briarbank Brewery during their Summer Beer Festival. They had over 40 varieties of beers on tap, including some unique ones like herbal beers and fruity sours. I tried the Fera Goa Mango Gose — refreshing, tangy and tropical, definitely worth it.

What I really liked is that they offer flexible measures (⅓, ½, ⅔ and full pints), so you can taste multiple without overdoing it. Prices are fair, starting from around £2–3.

Food was spot on for sharing — nachos loaded with cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream and jalapeños, plus a side of sriracha chicken. Perfect pairing with the beers.

Great atmosphere, friendly service, and a nice setup for enjoying craft beer in Ipswich. Definitely recommend checking out the festivals here if you’re into...