Family Friendly Places to Eat Out Around Colchester, Bury & Sudbury
We love eating out, so I thought I would share some tried and tested (by a family of four with sometimes noisy children!) family friendly places we’ve found locally, around Suffolk and North Essex. As our children have got bigger, our choice of restaurants has also opened up, so I have come back into this guide recently, to add some more family friendly pubs and restaurants we’ve found around Colchester, Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, Suffolk while also adding some more info for those of you still in the trenches with toddlers or little fussy eating and fidgety (if they are anything like mine used to be) younger kids too.
Places To Eat out with Children in Sudbury, Suffolk
Huffers Cafe, Sudbury
Keeping it nice and simple to begin with, Huffers, in Sudbury town centre is a lovely family run café, you can always rely on for a quick and nice family lunch out in town. We’ve been going there for years – the food is consistently good, there’s a huge choice and the staff are really friendly. I would say this is a perfect spot if you have wriggly little ones, who struggle to sit still for too long. The food always comes quick, the menu is full of classics and you simply go up and pay at the end, meaning you can be in and out quicky, if needed.
Prado Lounge, Sudbury
Sudbury has lots of great places to eat out as a family. One of our favourites is The Prado Lounge. Right in the middle of town on Market Hill, It’s a bar/restaurant that has a nice relaxed atmosphere to take children, yet still feels like going somewhere nice for dinner. The menu is great, good pub staples, plus a tapas menu and my favourite – the cocktails! I love the interiors – vintage luxe with industrial pops of colour, full of comfy seating and large tables for when you are meeting up with friends.
The kids menu has all the usual’s you’d expect and comes with a carton of juice and hummus pot. The only thing to keep in mind is that the portion size’s for the kids meals are on the small side, so I would say more suited to very little ones.
If you do opt to get your child an adult meal (and if your children are fussy like mine) and prefer their meals without sauces etc. then make sure you make this clear when ordering as we’ve had a few times where even if we say we want a burger plain, it still comes out with sauce. (They are always happy to then bring out another one though, so its not a problem)
The White Horse, Sudbury
We have found a good pub for a family roast is the White Horse Sudbury. Right in the centre of town, we went at one of the busiest times of year, in December and the food was great – really good quality and friendly service too.
Burger Amour, Sudbury, Suffolk
When my children were little, burgers and nuggets were king and to be quite frank, when they were younger they thought there was nowhere better to go out for dinner than McDonald’s. So, having a restaurant open up that specialises in burgers, but that also looks nice to spend time in, definitely sparked my interest, for family meals out.
The restaurants have a contemporary rustic feel with pallet furniture and bold signage and I enjoyed a meal out there with my son. It was simple to order using the app and most importantly the burgers were heaven! You could taste it was good quality and the homemade sauces and extras added that little something to easily elevate it from basic to gastro – American style.
The sides are also impressive and to finish (although we really didn’t have room) The hot donut desserts were a lovely light and sweet finish. In fact, I’d say they would make a good treat of their own, so I’ve already thought I might treat my kids to a donuts one afternoon in the next school holidays at our local Sudbury one. Its not the cheapest but the side portions are big, so if you’re not looking to spend too much, I would say you could def spilt a few of these between a family.
As well as the restaurant, we’ve also sampled the delivery service at home. The only thing I would say is that its not overly easy to make changes to what’s on the menu. (Again this is to accommodate my fussy kids dread of sauce!) As although there are options to add items to burgers on both their own website and the Uber Eats app, we couldn’t work out how take them off, so ended up ringing separately to do this. It all worked out though, and my son was very happy with his (sauceless) burger.
Family Friendly Pubs In Long Melford
The Hare Inn, Long Melford
Just outside Sudbury in the village of Long Melford, another great pub for a laid back family meal is The Hare Inn, Long Melford. Again they have a good menu, pub classics done well, but the real selling point for us, is the climbing frame in the garden. Perfect for sunny afternoons or evening meals out with friends, so you can relax with a drink while the kids can go off and play where you can still see them.
The Swan Long Melford
Another nice pub we’ve visited a few times as a family in Long Melford, is The Swan in Long Melford. It’s been beautifully done out, with elegant interiors and has more of a nice restaurant feel than a noisy pub. It’s more the type of place, I’d only take my children now they are old enough to sit easily through a meal though, without too much fuss. Not that it doesn’t feel family friendly, I can imagine they would be very accommodating to families with little ones, but personally, somewhere that feels nice like this, used to make me feel a bit on edge when eating out with a stampeding toddler and baby. The food is really good, there’s some great sharing options and my kids love their pizzas.
The Lindsey Rose, Suffolk
A little bit further out from Sudbury, nearer Hadleigh, is the Lindsey Rose, a pub that is definitely worth a mention. Its a lovely traditional country affair that has such a warm and inviting atmosphere as soon as you walk through the door. In fact it’s one of the country’s oldest pubs, with the building dating back to the 15th century. We were invited to have a meal there (You can find the reel all about our visit to the Lindsey Rose over on my Instagram) and we were very impressed.
Its traditional pub food done well with excellent service and warm and friendly service, There’s also a table with games to play which was fun and they often run family events you can go along too. Its worth a visit, just for the home baked cheese cake!
Family Friendly Places to Eat Out in Bury St Edmunds
Giggling Squid, Bury St Edmunds
With it’s pretty aesthetic interiors, amazing Thai food and friendly staff – we love the Giggling Squid in Bury St Edmunds. Now this isn’t one we tried until our children were a little bit older, and more adventurous in trying new foods, but because of the fab menu and fun atmosphere it has quickly become a favourite in our family. It’s right in the middle of town too, just up the hill from Abbey Gardens park so a nice one to break up an afternoon of shopping, or after a morning playing in Abbey gardens..
Everyman Cinema, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Although obviously not a restaurant or pub, the food at this plush cinema is very good and we’ve enjoyed a few meals out here recently, while watching a film together as a family. If you have little ones too, a weekend trip to the cinema can then also feel a treat for you too if it’s accompanied by their great coffee or one of their meals (that you might just get to enjoy uninterrupted, for once! As you are served right at your seat. Meaning you can eat while the film is playing, so your child is hopefully occupied with the movie) If its just treats you are after, my daughter and I especially love their cookie dough and they also serve great mocktails. The underground bar has an art deco feel, with cosy velvet sofas and stools that elevates the whole experience. My only tip would be, is that although its table service, if you haven’t been seen, its worth popping up to the bar to ask them to come over when they are free, as in our experience, the bar staff are laid back to the point of slow sometimes, although they are also sometimes not impressed with being interrupted at the bar either, so if you can, I would bypass all this, by ordering at your seat using the QR code.
Children’s Afternoon Tea at the Angel Hotel, Bury St Edmunds
Now this is a recommendation for when you are looking for somewhere special to take the whole family to celebrate a special occasion. The iconic Angel Hotel is a popular landmark in Bury and perfectly positioned near the beautiful Abbey Gardens and town shops. It is obviously a more formal offering than the rest on this list, but for families, I would highly recommend their Children’s afternoon tea. Its in the lounge that although feels fancy, also has lots of space and cosy sofas to relax and enjoy a meal.
Juice Bros, Bury St Edmunds Arc Shopping Centre
Right in the centre of Bury St Edmunds Juice Bros is always busy with families when we walk past. It seems kids like the smoothies and adults the açai bowls and lunches. Our fav spot to sit at when I go with my daughter, is the stools and bar in the window, so we can people watch as we eat and drink. Children also like watching the drinks being made in the giant juicers and blenders on the counter.
Places to Eat out With Kids in Colchester
Our family favourite in Colchester is The North Hill Noodle bar and this has been since before even having children. Before moving back to Suffolk, we used to go to this restaurant as a couple a lot. In fact, I remember going there for a meal heavily pregnant and we wrote my birth plan (Not that we used any of it, does anyone!?) at the table while having a meal.
So onto why its so great – the food is amazing. I don’t know how they do it, as it comes out so quickly, but it always tastes so fresh and delicious every single time. There’s lots of different little plates you can try, which is great for sharing with kids and getting them to try new foods. It is very popular though – all the time, so its worth booking a table in advance through their website. Although they have recently expanded by taking over the building next door, there’s not a lot of room and steep stairs, so not ideal for very little ones.
Love Thy Burger, Colchester Highstreet
Now for another burger bar – this one we discovered by accident, as we were walking up to town from taking the kids to play at Castle Park in Colchester. It’s on the eastern side of town, at the park end of the high-street. It’s been quiet each time we’ve visited and I wonder if that’s because its slightly out of the way of all the other central restaurants and cafes in the city, so people don’t know about it. As it’s certainly not because of the food or prices – I was so impressed when I went in with the kids.
There’s choice, they are happy to make changes (taking out sauces etc.) and they run lots of deals so the meals end up very reasonable. It’s also not just burgers with nice chicken and halloumi wraps on offer too. They sometimes even do a kids eat free deal. It’s got a funky interior and the food came quickly- perfect for a pit stop after working up an appetite at the park.
Chiquitos, Colchester Tolgate
Just on the outskirts of Colchester, I think Chiquitos at Tolgate, is also good one for families. if you’re out shopping or even on the way to the Zoo, its a Mexican chain with lots of space and again a buzzy atmosphere. We used to live nearby when my children were very little and its a nice lively restaurant to take tots and little ones. They have lots of space, are good with preschoolers and mine always used to love the Sombreros you could wear, with their brightly coloured mocktails still going down well even now.
Now, when it comes to more smaller business recommendations, I have to confess, we haven’t been as great at sampling independent places in Colchester since we’ve had kids. We mostly go there at peak busy times, when we are on a schedule, so tend to stick with what we know for speed and ease. Other than Nandos, (obvs doesn’t need any explaining) we always have a good meal out together in Bills. Its right on the high-street and the staff are really friendly, I love their industrial boho interiors and its a great one for brunch that we all enjoy. Its always quite bustling and busy, so noisy kids don’t stick out either.
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