Local Reviews
In June 2013, Rustyfinkle said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
Popped in for lunch with my mother, service was friendly and unobtrusive, food was (or appeared) simple but was delicious. I had Brushetta with grilled veg, feta and parsley pesto on a bed of leaves, mother had croque Monsieur. With one cookie, one (organic) lemonade and two coffees the bill was just over £22, however I think the quaint (but not chintzy) cottage setting and civilised, calm atmosphere was worth the extra. The service has been commented on previously as a problem, we found it not too bad, they took our order at just the right time, the food wasn't too long, slightly too long to come back to take coffee order and we didn't wait for the bill but just went to desk andpaid. We'll be going back.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In July 2013, davida354 said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
Had dinner last week what a lovely place, unpretentious with very good local produce, high quality try it for lunch or dinner don't be put off by the Tea room sign believe me it's a smashing restaurant
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In July 2013, MSK085 said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
This is a firm family favourite and we can see why. We ate here twice during our stay in Suffolk. First visit: for a large family lunch get together/celebration [14] on a Saturday. We were so well looked after at what must have been a very busy time/day for the owners. Food was delicious. Not sure how the chef managed to cook so many fillets of fish all at the same time and all perfectly cooked but he did!!
Second visit: during the week we returned for lunch. It was busy and well patronised. The wait staff were very friendly and welcoming and were happy to adapt the dish to gluten free where possible. Lunch started off with a delicious charcuterie, Mains: Haddock, green beans, potatoes– cooked in a French way and delicious, (this description sounds boring but it wasn’t!) Desert: Crème caramel with orange blossom syrup, raspberry meringue cake, which was sublime! Took home GF lemon cake – also deliciousClose your eyes and for an hour you will be back in a French bistro!
Second visit: during the week we returned for lunch. It was busy and well patronised. The wait staff were very friendly and welcoming and were happy to adapt the dish to gluten free where possible. Lunch started off with a delicious charcuterie, Mains: Haddock, green beans, potatoes– cooked in a French way and delicious, (this description sounds boring but it wasn’t!) Desert: Crème caramel with orange blossom syrup, raspberry meringue cake, which was sublime! Took home GF lemon cake – also deliciousClose your eyes and for an hour you will be back in a French bistro!
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In August 2013, The_Barnsider said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
A really charming tea rooms with a relaxing 'touch of France' atmosphere, fine food from the menu or daily specials, an extensive range of teas and friendly staff. Plus you can get French lessons, try a wine tasting or learn to draw. We'll definitely be going back.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In September 2013, Paul E said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
The Secret Garden has become a bit of an institution in Sudbury - very much the "go to" place for lunch. The atmosphere and food quality are always excellent, with the added bonus of a touch of France in the middle of Suffolk. Also excellent for an evening meal on Fridays and Saturdays - not cheap, but always excellent food quality and again, a good atmosphere.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In September 2013, Harthacanute said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
We come here about once every couple of months. The food really is excellent - by far the best place in Sudbury.
We quite often go for the specials on the board (there's a fixed price for two or three courses) or we opt for one of the salads. The crayfish and avocado is fantastic - I want to know the recipe for the mango dressing.
If you're looking for an evening meal, you can reserve a table on either Saturday or Sunday. We did so last year (our son was finally old enough to stay with his grandmother) and it was a wonderful meal. We'll be doing that again...
I really can't recommend this place enough. We eat out quite a bit, but tire of gastro-pub food. The Secret Garden is definitely the place to go.
We quite often go for the specials on the board (there's a fixed price for two or three courses) or we opt for one of the salads. The crayfish and avocado is fantastic - I want to know the recipe for the mango dressing.
If you're looking for an evening meal, you can reserve a table on either Saturday or Sunday. We did so last year (our son was finally old enough to stay with his grandmother) and it was a wonderful meal. We'll be doing that again...
I really can't recommend this place enough. We eat out quite a bit, but tire of gastro-pub food. The Secret Garden is definitely the place to go.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In December 2013, Deborah T said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
A very expensive tea room with limited menu, I don't get the cult of The Secret Garden. Frequented whenever I have been there by ladies from the local tennis club, dripping venom. Bad genius loci.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In January 2014, Bedbubbles said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
Open very Friday and Saturday evening for dinner. Fixed price 3-course menu with option on the board. Excellent food and wind list, give it a try highly recommended and very friendly owner and staff.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In January 2014, 200911 said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
I had been looking forward to dining at the Secret Garden for some time, the establishment is a coffee/lunch venue most of the week and then on Friday and Saturday evenings they offer dinner from a set menu made up of three or so starters, mains and desserts plus a few specials on the board. The restaurant is in a very old building, white washed walls and wooden flooring, or is it stone, can’t quite remember? There is an eclectic mix of old tables and chairs of various shapes and sizes which works very well. The lighting was however very poor, the main lighting comes from directional spot lights on the low ceiling which means that you can find yourself sitting in a very bright pool of direct light which is not conducive to a relaxed dinner and I longed for a more subtle light from lamps or dimmed wall lights. Our food was probably best described as competent French home cooking style, in the main ok but not as good as some here would have you believe. Our meals contained a couple of notable fault; one of the pastry dishes ordered turned out to be uncooked in the middle, literally raw uncooked pastry and my dish was heavily over salted, none of the dishes we had were particularly notable and its difficult to see what the fuss on these pages is all about. In summary then a disappointing evening at the Secret Garden, I found the place lacked warmth or much ambience at all on the evening we were there however on the plus side, service is efficient, the Wine list though modest is good and the bread is really very good indeed.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk
In January 2014, James B said about The Secret Garden Cafe, Wine Bar & Restaurant
We recently visited for lunch. I can heartily recommend the Croque Monsieur. Plus the fruit cake and chocolate brownies are to die for. Very friendly and attentive service too. We'll definitely be back to try dinner.
Source: tripadvisor.co.uk