Greyhound Inn

Second edit: so good we went back, and it was even better. This time two things had changed and one had stayed the same. The same; the food was excellent. I had Partridge which was tasty and succulent. When I've cooked partridge it's always been dry and mean, but the chef at the Greyhound knows his stuff and this was a plump sweet little bird in a strong sauce with some lovely peas and crispy potatoes. My wife & daughter had the belly pork with white beans and loved it. I had what they left of that and also loved it. The beans were wonderfully tender and flavoured with sage and the pork was as piggy as you like. Comfort food to remember. My only quibble is that maybe a steak knife would be useful for people eating the partridge because I wanted to pick lots of little bits off that I couldn't with my table knife. Wonderful pump street chocolate mousse for pud, wife had a ginger crumble with vanilla set cream which was reported as exceptional. The wine list is still brilliant, and yet again almost everything on the menu could be had gluten free. I think that there were only three changes (one of which was the ginger crumble so I didn't get to actually try that, not that wifey was for sharing in any case). What changed? This time the service (which was good last time but a bit confused) was perfect, not a foot wrong. Still friendly and fun, but absolutely on it as well. Second, last night the fire was lit which changed the vibe in the pub a lot. It was like a scene from one of those novels about English villages in the winter which feature a main character based on a younger Bridget Jones with more florid mental health issues, and an author really keen on royalties and a film deal. Anyway, it was great. We loved it, you will too, go go go. Here's my first review if you are still reading: The foods the thing here. It's a typical village pub, situated in a very quiet spot next to the church. The owners pack in as many diners as practical, but book in advance because it won't take much of a rush to mean you won't get a table. Service did get a little bit confused, but everyone is really friendly and clearly trying to make sure we all have a good time. We went at "back to uni" time, so maybe the staff were in change over mode. Anyway, needing to ask twice isn't a sin, bringing the wrong thing would be a sin - but the staff swallowed their embarrassment and came and checked so all was well. I had the Suffolk Coppa (not sure of the spelling) - anyway, it was slices of ham and as good as anything you can get in Spain. Then deviled kidneys which were rich, tasty and tender in an unctuous and silky sauce followed by strong tasting and crispy hogget chops. The hogget came with sweet sqashes, sweetbreads (maybe from the same sheep) and goats cheese. It was brillliant. My wife had the crab bisque and then some wonderful mushrooms. The chef catered for my gluten intolerance allowing me a very good choice of dishes - just a few things were out of bounds due to relying on toast and other unavoidables. We finished with a raspberry sorbet. I tried one of the strange liqueurs from the menu as well but didn't like it much - I think it tasted like cough medicine. On the brighter side the cocktails are carefully mixed with ingredients chosen as carefully as those on the food menu and the wine list is to win the lottery for. There are reasonable and good options by the glass for folks that might not be in Richard Bransons class when it comes to splashing the cash. Food is served on eclectic plates, I think that symbolizes the approach, which is a focus on the things that matter, the customers, and the food, and the wine, rather than the table or the uniforms or the fonts on the menu. In terms of price, this is expensive, for Suffolk, but reasonable for London.My goodness though, it's worth it, and we will be coming back. This is heartfelt cooking and a careful curation of all the aspects of a beautiful meal. You would have to travel a very, very, long way to find better.