No pub can be the best pub in Britain – pubs are an incredibly subjective topic, after all – but the Unruly Pig in Suffolk has won numerous accolades to suggest that it’s a real contender. This watering hole is number one on Estrella Damm’s gastropub list, it’s Michelin Guide-listed and it has nabbed various other gongs. Still, whenever I write about an allegedly “good” pub that serves the likes of poussin terrine and halibut in vermouth, there’s a backlash from men (and it’s always men; not one woman – not ever) harrumphing that this is not a “real pub”, because it doesn’t serve Warton’s Old Scratchy and it has fitted carpets rather than, say, straw.
In the Unruly Pig’s defence, however, while it may indeed be a bit fancy or, rather, artily boho, owner Brendan Padfield has grasped tightly on to its innate pubbiness. This is a 16th-century inn with Regency period add-ons, and although these days there may be some quirky Lego conceptual art in reception and modern prints and propaganda art on every wall, it is nevertheless still a rather dark, snug pub, with crooked ceilings, exposed beams, log burners and a loo up olde worlde winding stairs. The Unruly Pig feels very much like a building that has lived a proper life, not least when it almost burned down 10 years ago. Padfield, crestfallen but undeterred, rebuilt the place, only bigger and brighter.
All that said, it is head chef Dave Wall’s menu where any notions of the place being an everyday boozer run dry. There is no buttermilk chicken burger or pulled pork in a bap here. Wall doesn’t do traditional crowdpleasers – unless it’s for a crowd of seasoned foodies who want white onion velouté with Ibérico ham and taleggio crostini or smoked cod’s roe tartlets topped with avruga caviar. The Unruly Pig even offers a tasting menu where, for £79, you’ll be whipped through seven courses including venison loin with caramelised salsify and a passion fruit, pineapple and rum panna cotta. There is a separate vegetarian alternative that also pulls no punches at all.
Wall is an imaginative, slightly maverick chef who’ll take a wobbly octopus tentacle, grill it so the wispy end is blackened and the thicker flesh still soft, then serve it with ’nduja and anchovy emulsion and pickled onions. His food is go-hard or go-home eating. A less, well, unruly chef might use parmesan in a delica pumpkin risotto, but here the mustard-coloured rice is laced with whiffy cashel blue, dressed with crisp sage leaves and comes in a perfect circle with an equally perfect outer ring of black garlic sauce. Similar immaculate circles appear on other mains and desserts, and my nosey questioning revealed that there’s a “turntable” in the kitchen to make the plate styling just so.
Highlights of our lunch included hand-dived Orkney scallop crudo with slivers of caperberry, a thick, delicious black-olive tapenade and a judicious suggestion of Gentleman’s Relish. A generous slab of beautifully cooked steamed halibut came on a sea-green mussel, potato and seaweed ragu with capers and raisins, and was both completely unusual and utterly marvellous.
Then, delighting my sweet tooth, a chocolate and hazelnut tart, which turned out to be more a big slab of ganache topped with glossy chunks of blood orange marmalade and served in a Frangelico sauce. Ah, Frangelico, in all its herby, nutty majesty – it’s no longer just a duty-free classic, bought to please tricky Aunty June who doesn’t really drink at family occasions; now it also sits pretty on gastropub menus.
So, yes, you could argue that the Unruly Pig isn’t the greatest gastropub in the United Kingdom, because any such claim would be silly. Perhaps you’d just like a decent fancy £20 beef burger and sticky toffee pudding with custard, and such needs and wants are totally valid. This is a pub for the adventurous diner who is happy to enjoy the culinary ride. On a cold January day, we ate well and, more than that, memorably, then drove down to nearby Shingle Street beach for a blustery walk in the precious afternoon daylight. However you feel about pubs, pub food and restaurant awards, for a wintry Saturday, this was about as good as life gets.
• The Unruly Pig Orford Road, Bromeswell, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 01394 460310. Open all week, lunch noon-2.30pm (2.45 Sat, 4pm Sun), dinner 6-9pm (5-9.15pm Sat, 6-8pm Sun). About £60 a head à la carte; set lunch £35 for three courses; tasting menu £79 for seven courses, all plus drinks and service
