A juicy burger served in a sweet glazed doughnut bun may sound a bit bizarre but one Ipswich-based business is hoping its new Krispy Kreme-inspired dish will prove a hit in the town.

Bears Bowling Bar and Grill launchedits new sweet and savoury burger, which features a tasty burger made from locally-sourced beef, streaky bacon and maple syrup all sandwiched between a glazed doughnut ring and served with French fries, last week.

It was created by the bar’s owner Charlie Manning (along with his head chefs Danielle Harrison and Jude James) who opened the venue earlier this year after a substantial refurbishment project turned the former warehouse into a funky diner and bowling bar.

The main menu at the restaurant focuses on American-style dining – with big flavours and generous portions. All the food is made on site and the kitchen uses locally sourced produce when possible.

And, this new burger is the just one of the experimental dishes that Charlie is hoping to introduce in the coming months.

“We’ve got a lot of classic American dishes on our menu but we’re always trying to experiment with new and unusual items and we like to throw a curve ball in the mix every so often,” Charlie explained.

“I saw this burger on the TV series Man v Food. They visited a baseball stadium in one American city and Adam Richman tried a burger in a Krispy Kreme doughnut. We thought we could do our own twist on that.

“We posted a picture of the burger on our Facebook page and from the level of interest we’ve had we think it will work really well. Customers who have already tried the burger have described it as a delicious combo of sweet and savoury that reminds them of French toast with syrup and bacon - reminiscent of their childhoods!

“We’re launching it in conjunction with the football and we will offer it throughout the duration of the tournament. If it goes well it could be a regular feature of the menu. We will also be serving country specific specials for the whole tournament - so keep an eye on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for updates.”

Alongside the bacon and maple syrup doughnut burger, Charlie is also hoping to offer a standard doughnut burger (consisting of just a burger in the sweet bun) and an oversized challenge doughnut burger which will be a triple burger with two complete doughnuts and heaps of cheese, bacon and maple syrup. This will sit alongside the other food challenges available to take on at Bears, which include the likes of the belly busting ‘Grizzly Burger’, consisting of four patties on a sour dough bap with piles of cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, jalapenos, onion rings, mac slaw and rustic fries and the hot wing challenge, made with Ghost chilli sauce.

Bears has also just revamped its milkshake menu, which now showcases flavours such as strawberry, banana, bubblegum, pistachio and even alcoholic options.

n Find Bears Bowling Bar and Grill on Star Lane, Ipswich, IP4 1JN.

Tel: 01473 226965

www.bearsbaripswich.co.uk.