Bellota — Restaurant in West Suffolk

Bellota—Bury St Edmunds Early Dinner Menu | Second Visit

Bellota may have only swung open its doors a few weeks ago, but Chef Ruben and his brigade are already cooking with the assurance of a long-established favourite. This was my second trip—lunch on opening week, an early dinner this time—and the kitchen hasn’t missed a beat.

The Meal Homemade sourdough & cultured butter A textbook opener: warm, gently chewy crumb with a crackling crust, the butter salted just enough to make you reach for a second slice.

Snacks

Beetroot–sherry vinegar tartlet: a one-bite burst of earthy sweetness and acidity; the pastry snapped like the first break in a crème brûlée.

Yaya Bel’s Iberian ham croqueta: the Platonic ideal of a croquette—silky béchamel, punchy jamón, and a shell so crisp it practically rang at the table.

Ravioli of grilled escalivada vegetables, Manchego & tomato crumble The only (very minor) wobble of the night. The filling was gorgeous—smoky peppers, mellow cheese, savoury crumble—but the pasta itself was just a touch thick and fractionally under on the bite. A few seconds more in the water and it would join the hall-of-fame category with the rest of the dishes.

Wild bass, romesco, asparagus & wild-garlic Parmenter Stellar produce treated with total respect. The skin audibly crisp, flesh pearlescent; the romesco nutty and fiery enough to wake up spring asparagus. The garlicky potato purée could be served in a mug and called dinner.

Iberian secreto pork, roasted salsify, anchovy & guindilla garum The dish that made the table go quiet. Secreto at its juiciest, with a funky, saline depth from the anchovy-pepper garum that had me chasing every last smear.

Pre-dessert: gin foam with citrus sorbet A palate-cleansing firework—sharp, aromatic, and gone in two spoons, exactly as a pre-dessert should be.

Passion-fruit brûlée, chocolate cream & Arbequina mousse Sweet, sharp, creamy, crunchy; a sunny vacation in layered form. I’d happily end every meal this way.

Petit fours: black-olive bonbon & kaffir-lime macaron Proof that the pastry section has as much flair as the savoury. The olive-chocolate combo was daring and delicious; the macaron tasted like biting into lime zest.

Verdict Apart from that slightly thick raviolo, every plate hit the “couldn’t-be-better” mark. Service is warm without wobbling into fussy, and sitting at the chef’s table lets you watch the brigade glide through service like a well-rehearsed ballet.

Bellota already feels like a destination, and with the whole team firing at this level, I’m confident visit number three will be on the books soon. If you’re anywhere near Bury St Edmunds, grab a seat before the rest of the...

We had high expectations for our lunch and we left feeling slightly flat. The overall experience was marred by the seemingly unhappy staff. Perhaps they are knackered and it showed. We were not greeted at all, never mind greeted with a smile. The service through the meal was well paced but without any positive energy or enthusiasm from the staff - the passion they surely must have was lacking. Some of the dishes were not warm enough when served and often the flavours were faint (I borrow this apt word from another review). I looked around for the GBP which one shouldn’t have to do. We all enjoyed the no choice menu and the portion sizes were perfect. We enjoyed the concept of kitchen direct to table, cutting out waiting staff. However, there were no smells to whet one’s appetite despite being so close to the kitchen. My other niggle was the lack of help with the wine menu - we felt a little lost, and also hurried, when trying to choose but because the member of staff who gave us the wine list seemed so grumpy and humourless we didn’t like to ask him for advice and he did not ask us when he saw us deliberating. I almost want to be anonymous writing this review as so many people have given their meal 5 stars but we simply cannot rate our experience that highly. Would we recommend it? Probably not actually because Bury St Edmunds has a lot of excellent restaurants with happy smiling staff and...

What an incredible addition to the already vibrant busy bury food scene, me and my husband booked in the evening for a tasing menu (alemroz), I believe it was called the menu names where a little confusing on website my husband thought when booking, we didn’t have much idea of what bellota was, we arrived 8pm sharp and was greated by one of the chefs a lovely young lad that we got talking to through the evening, Ruben and gabi then came over the owners I believe and greeted us with such passion and kindness talking us through wines and how the evening will work we figured out that there were no waiters, it is all done by the 4 chefs! That where fully in view at all time it was such an amazing sight too see and really a talking point throughout the whole evening, each dish was served with beautiful presentation and a explanation from the chefs we had mainly the young lad with the tattoos, (sorry we didn’t catch a name) serving us all evening, he was amazing answering any questions, making jokes and sharing the amazing story of how they have all worked together before!, the highlight dishes for me where the beetroot, bass and pudding, the team seem so happy and glued together with laser focus but having fun and enjoying the night with customers I can’t wait to come back for the amazing food, incredible service and...