The owner of a new high street restaurant has said it’s almost “unbelievable” how busy the business has been since opening.
Chef Simon Edwards and wife Anita are being run off their feet by diners, who are booking in their droves as word spreads about the simple, no-nonsense menu of home-cooked food they offer.
Bistro @47a on Woodbridge’s Thoroughfare, replaces what was a vegan restaurant and café.
The experience, Simon says, harks back to “another time”. Main courses all come with a dish of potatoes and vegetables on the table. And there are plenty of old favourites, with a steer towards classic European cooking, on the menu. “Who doesn’t like steak Diane,” he smiles.
Simon and Anita are best known for operating pubs and restaurants in Essex. Prior to Bistro @ 47a they ran a gastropub in Great Dunmow for over a decade, and before that, The Duck Inn near Chelmsford, again, for more than 10 years.
The couple’s move to Suffolk was...retirement. But things didn’t go to plan.
“We’ve actually had a house in Woodbridge for about five years,” says Simon. “It was our bolthole when running our pub, to use on our days off. Somewhere to escape to. In February we sold the pub to retire here full time. I did that - and I realised I can’t retire – and I can’t work for other people!”
When the premises on Thoroughfare came up, it was too irresistible an opportunity to pass up. Though Simon jokes they didn’t realise how popular the bistro would become in such a short space of time.
“It's going unexpectedly brilliantly. We never, to be honest, expected it to kick off this quickly. When we started out, because it’s literally just the two of us, we thought we’d have five or six tables in and take it slow. But my wife can’t say no when people book or come in!”
The interior of the restaurant is “completely and utterly different”, decked out with chequered tablecloths and curtains, low lighting and candles to create a continental vibe.
Menu-wise, Simon is sticking to dishes he knows (from over 40 years kitchens) customers love, with menus changing daily. Sometimes twice a day.
“It’s, I’d say, old school. It's what people want. The food isn’t fancy. It doesn’t look fancy. But it’s big on flavour. People really like the veg on the side that we do – you can’t get that many places these days.”
Steak Diane is one of the most popular plates so far. For those who’ve not tried it, the dish sees steak served up with a piquant sauce usually made with pan juices, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cream and brandy.
“I like the menu to be flexible. It’s what’s good on the day. What I want to cook on the day.”
Simon is working with local producers including Scaled Up for fish, Cleveleys Foods for meat, and the town’s greengrocer for fresh fruit and veg.
It’s hard, because of the changing nature of the menu to pin down what you will definitely be able to eat if you visit (apart from steak), but Simon gives a flavour of a few bits and pieces he’s put on recently.
“For starters I’ve made lobster bisque finished with brandy and cream, baked goats’ cheese and pesto on an olive oil crostini, and a mushroom pithivier filled with mushrooms, onions, herbs and spinach.
“Main course-wise there’s been monkfish, salmon and scallops with turmeric rice with dill sauce, fillet of halibut with tomato and crab mousse, sauteed spinach and tarragon sauce, fillet of brill with samphire and lobster sauce, and duck marinated in honey, roasted off with sauteed Savoy cabbage and a honey and soy sauce.”
Puddings have included panna cotta, lemon tart, treacle and pecan tart and a rich dark chocolate delice with raspberry coulis.
What Simon’s most excited about though, perhaps, is the enormous cheeseboard the restaurant offers as a savoury dessert option.
“I’ve been known to like a cheeseboard or two,” he laughs. “But they’re my bugbear. You go out for dinner and they want £15 for three little bits of cheese. I think ours are one of the biggest around. We don’t hold back. For £9.95 you’ll get a minimum of eight cheeses. It’s the wow factor.”
Cheeses (changing all the time, but including the likes of Epoisses, Comte, classic Cheddar and Reblochon) come simply dressed with chutney and crackers. Simon finds other elements distracting.
Bistro @47a is open for lunch (12noon to 2pm) Wednesday to Saturday, and from 5.30pm to last orders in the evenings with bookings essential.
A set menu is available at lunchtimes, priced at £13 for one course, £15 for two or £17.50 for three, with a choice of three options per course.
And food is complemented by a list of wines sourced from renowned local supplier Peter Watts in Coggeshall.
Find out more and book at bistro47a.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here