Bay Tree Cafe — Restaurant in West Suffolk

My experience did not match the majority of the reviews on here. First I am on crutches and when I arrived there were no tables downstairs for me to use. As my wife was across the road paying for some shoes I had gone on ahead to find a table so was not too worried about waiting for a table. A lady told me she was just leaving so i could have her table, I thanked her and sat down seeing the sign for table service I waited for service. After 15 min after my wife had arrived a young girl approached me and asked if I wanted to pay my bill. Rather surprised I explained I hadnt even ordered. Once we had a menu we ordered a glass of wine and a cola and two toasties. We were not asked if I wanted ice or if we wanted brown or white bread. After another long wait the girl returned with a glass of cola and a coffee. We explained we had ordered a glass of wine not coffee and could we have ice in my cola she duly returned with the wine and ice in my cola. Another long wait and we recieved our toasties. After we had finished I went and spoke to the manager about our experience, and she explained that they had two large orders upstairs, the girls had been told to explain that there could be a long wait which we hadnt recieved. They also didnt normally serve drinks with ice even though they had some. She also told me that they prepare the sandwiches for toasties in the mornings to save time (not that we saw the saving), but they only prepare white sandwiches. We will not be returning as one the service was totally abominable, and we do not like the idea of...

It being half term, with the streets packed, I decided to have an early lunch at this popular cafe. It was pleasantly busy with a nice atmosphere and a very friendly welcome. It was interesting to see the vast numbers of freshly baked scones coming out of the ovens, no doubt all to be devoured as the day progressed. I opted for the 'slow braised beef hash with kimchi, roasted mushrooms, onion and homemade Gochujang hot sauce'. Hot it most certainly was, but the helpful server did warn me. It was a dish that, had it been prepared fresh, would probably have been wonderful. However, much of the base ingredients appeared to have spent their more recent lives in a microwave rather than a frying pan. (May the chef forgive me if that was not the case). To be frank, the onions and mushrooms were just mush, rendering the diced fried potatoes soggy. (£12.99). Bad choice, but I am sure to return and will make a different selection the next time. A few extra thoughts; the tip jar had a few fivers stuck among the coins. It reminded me of a former Dean at Norwich Cathedral who told me he always left some notes among the coins in the giant collection boxes 'to encourage larger donations'. The stairs upstairs to the loos are somewhat challenging to a 71 year old. Oh and they have really fast WiFi, coming in...

The dark day turned bright.

I am a Trans/Autistic/Woman. My partner and I were staying in a local hotel to visit family for celebrations. But the family wasn't ready, so we're stuck in a strange land with chaotic roads, already our anxiety and stress was topping the charts.

Generally a good Cup of mint tea and a ham and cheese toasite, drops all problems. We set out on our mission to find these vital lifelines. We arrived at a competitor's cafe not far from the Bay Tree Cafe, suffice to say that place broke me.

As I started to spiral and the world started to blur, there it was The Bay Tree Café, the vibe of the shop front calmly whispered, safe place Being drawn in the first thing I managed to stutter out "do you have a quiet warm place to sit?" the staff were so calm and happy, they advised we'd be most comfortable upstairs. They did not lie. The upstairs was exactly what someone going through a panic attack needed AND they had mint tea (excellent) and magical, tasty ham&cheese toasties.

Could there be a better place? I don't believe so, we looked at so many different cafés and none had the homely charm needed, that's missing from the modern world.

Would 100% recommend and just wanted to say thank you Bay Tree Cafe, you made the day better...