ICE Café in Rougham opens today and is definitely different.
Neon signs, graffiti and cocktails are not what you might expect to tumble upon in a Suffolk industrial estate, but the owners of a brand new café, opened near Bury St Edmunds today (April 15), say they wanted to ‘push the envelope’ and ‘be daring’.
John Jackaman, who owns ICE Cookery School and Infusions4chefs with wife Lou, has wanted his own restaurant for over three decades. While the cookery school has a very successful lunch bar, where chefs cook several live in front of guests, the Ice Café has been in the pipeline for the last two years.
“This restaurant has been so long in the planning stages that I don’t think it has sunk in yet that we are now actually open,” John says. “There’s a genuine buzz about the place, and Lou and I are so proud of what we have created. Our vision was for somewhere you could come and enjoy good food and awesome drinks whilst being well looked after. And I’m confident that is what we have delivered. I’m very proud of our amazing ICE team, headed up by Lee, and it’s a genuine pleasure to be working alongside them all.”
Ice Café is found at Unit 1, Lundy Court, Rougham, and while it may be on an industrial estate, inside it’s both a visual and edible feast.
“We’ve got a strange and quirky environment,” says spokeswoman Sarah Stamp, “so we wanted to embrace that. The décor is really quirky and fun, based around an industrial theme, using metal and woods and with a strong ethos of using recycled materials. The bar top is 80% recycled and made from 400-year-old Victorian railway sleepers, and some of the tables are made from old Victorian doors. But the centrepiece is our stage, where at the back there’s a massive mural painted by specialist graffiti artists from London. It features Aretha Franklin, Freddie Mercury and Slash!”
When it comes to the menu, expect a little bit of ICE magic. For those not in the know, ICE is one of the best-equipped kitchens in the country, and sister business Infusions4chefs supplies hard-to-find ingredients and gadgets to restaurants all over the UK and beyond. You know…the kinds of things you’ll see on Masterchef.
“Everything’s being done slightly differently,” Sarah adds. “The fish in the fish and chips is coated in trisol batter which gives a crispier finish that lasts longer. And on the dessert menu we’ve got our signature lemon tart with crème fraiche and liquid nitrogen frozen raspberries.
“We have our awesome breakfasts, which we’re quite well known for anyway, and then a special called the Rougham Tower Burger. That’s a burger, Applewood smoked bacon, salt beef, and pulled pork with smoked cheese, lettuce, gherkins, red onion rings and a nice burger sauce. It’s huge. It really is a monster! Plus we’ve got our own hot dog, developed by our head chef Lee with a local butcher – it’s not a sausage or a frankfurter but somewhere between the two.
“Really we’re offering a mixture of everything. People say you shouldn’t try to be all things to all people and we say why not?”
Ice Café seats 60, and has a private dining space (The Blue Room) available to book too. There’s a fully licensed bar with a cocktail menu, and evening dining is available soon. The café also caters for vegan and gluten-free diners.
What’s on the menu?
Breakfast:
The Ice Sourdough Special – toasted fresh sourdough with scrambled eggs, crushed hash browns and smoked salmon, Applewood smoked bacon or sliced avocado
Homemade giant waffle
Ice Breakfast Baguette – with Applewood smoked bacon, Suffolk sausages, egg and Marmite mushroom
From the Ice Bakery:
Banana and walnut bread
Freshly baked cookies
Ice sausage roll
World Famous Ice brownie
Little Plates:
Korean steamed pulled pork bun
Wild mushroom arancini balls
Salt cod croquettes
Ice Salads:
Superfood Salad – roasted seeds, lentils, beans, sunflower sprouts, toasted almonds, spinach, dates, avocado and citrus vinaigrette
Chilli Beef Salad with kimchi and toasted cashews
Big Plates:
Seabass, orzo and gremolata
Herdwick lamb rump with goats’ cheese, mash and ratatouille
Gnocchi with spring peas and new season asparagus
Burgers:
Ice buttermilk chicken burger with sriracha mayo, ICEslaw and jalapenos
Ice halloumi burger with red onion marmalade, hummus, red peppers, rocket, gherkins, sunblushed tomato and mayo
Ice bacon flatbread with crispy Applewood smoked bacon, cream cheese, chives, mango chutney and coriander
Desserts
Classic brownie with milk chocolate gelato and white chocolate sauce
Giant ‘candy shop’ waffles with your favourite sweeties, gelato, whipped cream and chocolate sauce
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