Last weekend we visited Needham Lake in Needham Market, Suffolk, for the first time. The boy wanted to check out the brand new playground there – as well as to feed the ducks. While the cafe there looked decent it wasn’t really what we were after for lunch. Instead, we drove a few miles down the road to Alder Carr Farm Shop in Creeting St Mary.
The award-winning farm shop is well worth a visit. There’s plenty of local produce, a great cheese counter and ice cream and sausages both made on the farm. There’s some kids’ play equipment, a couple of animals to see and a woodland walk (closed when we visited).
Walk out the back door of the farm shop and you’ll find a few additional businesses dotted around a small courtyard – including their Courtyard Cafe.
You’ll find the Alder Carr Courtyard Cafe inside a gorgeous oak-framed barn – it’s a truly beautiful place to eat.
We were a little on the late side for lunch so the place was quite quiet, but we were just in time to take advantage of the extensive lunch menu. It’s a pretty varied menu, too. There are toasties, sandwiches and burgers, as well as classics like ham, egg and chips. With additional dishes like BBQ beef short rib served on macaroni cheese, and beetroot borani with crispy halloumi and a poached egg, there’s something for everyone.
Of course, despite the varied menu the small child just wanted ice cream. The Alder Carr cafe had very few flavours available that day, but luckily chocolate – his favourite – was one of those flavours.
Priced at £3 for one scoop, we weren’t expecting this presentation! The large plate featured not only the scoop of deliciously rich ice cream, but also biscuit crumbs and two varieties of fruit coulis.
As tempting as the ice cream looked, both adults fancied something savoury. Across the table it was the beef brisket toastie (£13.50). Served on local granary bread (with white as an alternative option), the sandwich was packed with tender pulled BBQ beef brisket. There was also smoked Cheddar from Lambton & Jackson in Maldon and homemade pickles. Skin-on fries and a ramekin of coleslaw completed an absolutely stunning dish.
My choice was similar in some ways – I went for the open salt beef sandwich (£13). A thick slice of toasted local Wooster’s Bakery sourdough came smothered with a mound of melt-in-the-mouth salt beef. There was a thick layer of that melted Lambton & Jackson smoked Cheddar and a ton of tangy homemade Alder Carr pickles. There was a generous slathering of zingy mustard mayonnaise, and a herbed dressing around the edge of the plate. It was beautiful.
After our incredible lunch, we headed back through to the farm shop where we spent a small fortune on cheese. If you’re in the area, I definitely recommend checking the place out – and don’t leave without a tub or two of their delicious ice cream…