Forage Kitchen — Restaurant in West Suffolk

We had a fabulous experience at Forage Kitchen. After hearing a lot of good things about the establishment from friends, we decided to make the trip from London to see what all the fuss was about for a morning of foraging and evening meal. It was well worth the journey.

The morning was spent with a gentle stroll foraging in the scenic Suffolk woodlands. The excursion was hosted by Mel, the charismatic owner, who did a fine job of captivating everyones attention and keeping us entertained with his sharp wit and fountain of interesting foraging facts. I never realised mushrooms could be so interesting and learnt a lot.

The evening foraging feast was the highlight of our visit. We had a multi course tasting menu with wine pairing. The food was divine - innovative and imaginative, beautifully presented dishes with original ingredients that captured the foraging blueprint. Stand out dishes were the Goats yoghurt foam and Mexican marigold granita, and cured hake with seaweed, mushroom and dashi (both pictured).

The wine pairing had been meticulously sourced by Mel the proprietor who once again impressed with his encyclopaedic knowledge of wine. We were treated to some rare fine vintages sourced from lesser known origins that complemented the distinctive flavours in each dish perfectly. Having had a foraging lesson earlier in the day, our meal was also an enlightening and eye-opening educational journey courtesy of the knowledge imported to us with each course by Mel and chef Connor , our two genial, earnest hosts.

Big thank you to the whole team for a truly memorable and enjoyable experience that stimulated all our senses and brains, and was the gastronomic highlight...

Awful. I was bought vouchers as a birthday present by family to be able to spend time with my brothers. We booked a session and it was cancelled on us , which is fine, expect the post cancellation experience has been dreadful.

Firstly, I had to chase and chase and chase to get them to provide info and an update after the cancellation. I nearly bailed on them then, but finally got a response and a new voucher code.

I've since gone online to try and book another session, but the website isn't working and it's not possible to rebook. I've tried to contact them, but they don't answer emails or get back to you on voice mails. I'm now going to have to go to the small claims court to get money back, but that doesn't compensate for the shameful service. "Happy birthday" to me - "thanks" for nothing.

EDIT following contact with Mel Evans, the owner: I won't go into the details, but a truly horrible experience having to deal with the owner who is continuing to make this an absolutely awful situation. The excuses were weak and the responses uncaring and cold. Really,...

My daughter and I had a wonderful day yesterday on the beginners foraging course. Mark, our foraging guide, was brilliant, he was so informative and delivered his vast knowledge in such a friendly, relaxed way it made the 3 hours we spent in the beautiful Rougham Estate fly past. We gained so much from him and I for one can't wait to get out into the countryside and start foraging. After our tour, we sampled some of the mushrooms we had seen in the woods. We were then treated to a 3 course meal with wine cooked by the creative chefs there who use as much foraged foods as possible in their delicious dishes. For those who enjoy gourmet food, visiting The Forage Kitchen is a must and I will definitely be returning to sample the taster menu! I highly recommend this experience. Thank you to all the staff, we truly had...