Review: The Auberge, Yaxley
Eat the seasons at this restaurant with rooms in mid-Suffolk.
For me, in summer nothing can beat the unbridled joy of walking barefoot into the garden to pick fruit and vegetables I’ve grown myself.
And what a year 2025 has been so far for growers - conditions beating 2024 and its limp greens and woodlouse and slug-addled strawberries by a country mile.
If I were to slip outside now I could lay my hands on (beastie-free) strawberries, ballet slipper-pink currants (Gloire de Sablons, if you’re interested), blush gooseberries, three types of salad leaf, baby beets, the last of the spring radishes, spinach, blueberries…the list goes on.
It’s quite a haul (she says proudly), but pales in comparison to what the team at The Auberge in Yaxley have conjured in their kitchen garden.
I last interviewed co-owner Jake Berridge (who took on the hotel/restaurant in 2022 with partner Katy Winch-Furness) last year. They, alongside exec chef Lee Cooper, burst with enthusiasm at the time, firing off a list of aspirations - most notably to be a garden-led operation. And, you know what? They’ve done it.
On a recent visit, I was so impressed by what they’ve achieved in a relatively short space of time, all while bracing themselves against a barrage of attacks on hospitality by this and the last government.
Jake’s mum is head gardener (a job she takes very seriously), and has ushered and nurtured every part of the outdoor space into an edible landscape where, when he’s not at the stoves, Lee likes to sit, take stock and plot his menus, inspired by what’s bursting through the earth at that moment.
It’s a lot.
Courgettes, beets, beans, greens, lettuces, potatoes and so much more, largely grown from last year’s saved seeds, jostle for position in raised planters. Myriad tomatoes bathe in the warmth of the polytunnel. Flower beds offer rose petals, bronze fennel fronds, nasturtiums and cornflowers for garnishing. Tiny Alpine strawberry flowers blossom with the promise of berries. Hen of the Woods mushrooms grow on a stump under one of the property’s mature, towering trees - walnut, bullace, greengage, cherry, apple - all heavy with young fruit in such quantities Lee and the kitchen team are sure to have their work cut out for them during harvest season.
Nothing is wasted, Lee tells me proudly, listing the multitudinous ways he’ll pickle, ferment, juice and jam absolutely everything.
And he’s right to be proud. The garden is a very special resource indeed - one he relies on daily, supplemented only with the very best ingredients he can source from across the region - all butchered, smoked or filleted in-house.
It’s an ethos that has already gained The Auberge a strong repeat customer base, with the hotel (slap bang in the middle of Suffolk) being an ideal destination for a gastronomic staycation in East Anglia.
Inside the restaurant, Jake and Katy have kept decor simple, letting the 15th Century former coaching inn’s bricks and beams do the talking against a neutral, calming palette of creams and beiges. Petite vases of dried bunny tail grass (the plant!) and wheat give a nod to the rural setting. And a glass display holds memories of the past - trinkets and objects found during the renovation of the property years ago.
Something that stood out, as we settled in for an early dinner, was how suited Jake is to hospitality. He spent many years working in the bright lights of London, and has finely tuned his approach here - his experience so evident throughout the evening.
As a nosy diner (well, I am a pesky journalist) I listened as he passionately went into real depth about the menu to other tables, down to describing the nuances between different types of venison, revealing why Brixham, not Cromer, crab had been chosen for a dish, and working out ways to switch up plates to accommodate intolerances. When a couple asked for day trip suggestions, he even disappeared to write down some ideas.
Five stars Jake! Bravo. A masterclass in service, and kitchen-FOH communication.
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Jake is also behind the really very interesting wine list, drawn from multiple sources, including the cellars of friends working across the restaurant industry - who wouldn’t want to be part of a wine WhatsApp group?
His picks were seriously on point. Calusari Pinot Noir from Romania brought candyfloss and ripe cantaloupe melon on the nose, veering into candied lemon and apple. While a Beaujolais dished out bags of kitsch Black Forest, followed by green notes, violet and sharp forest fruits.
We were both impressed by the selection for non-drinkers too. An entire page of the drinks menu was dedicated to alcohol-free beers, spirits, wines and cocktails.
Now, let’s dive into the food. A menu du jour is available, working out at around £36 per person for three courses, encompassing classics such as catch of the day, beef and mushroom pie, and apple crumble for those who prefer the simpler things in life.
An a la carte (around £55-65 for three courses) takes things up a notch. But I recommend choosing the tasting menu, which is basically where Lee wears his heart on his sleeve. This is £80 per person for seven courses, with an optional additional dessert available for £5.
Our journey began with a ‘stand’ of homemade bread, whipped butter and a pot of sticky balsamic and excellent extra virgin olive oil. Chef’s amuse bouche - his take on a BLT - did its job well, waking up our taste buds with an espuma of cool tomato mousse, rocket oil and bacon crumb - almost like a fancy gazpacho.
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A duo of canapes arrived afterwards - both of them daintily delicate, encased in the thinnest of pastry cases. Creamy Burrata married with sweet, freshly podded peas, marigold petals, mint pickings and first harvest olive oil. While Brixham brown crab melted into a soft panna cotta, topped with sweet white meat, Granny Smith fluid gel, borage flowers and caviar. Oceanic, citrussy and floral, all in one bite.
Our next course was perfectly executed and a brilliant way to celebrate farmer Mark Hayward’s fabulous Dingley Dell pork. Lee brined it to shimmy out its flavours and relax the belly cut, immersed it in a water bath for 48 hours, and brought it to crispness in the oven. It arrived with the last of the season’s poached rhubarb, rhubarb ketchup, a dab of homemade grain mustard for a whack of not-too-ferocious heat, and pork skin Wotsits.
My husband’s dish of the day was the next course. A tender tranche of turbot with pops of saline roe and juicy yuzu pearls, the most melt-in-the-mouth lobster tail, and barbecued cauliflower. My only criticism here would be the lobster bisque emulsion which, although flavoursome, had separated a bit, letting the plate down on presentation.
In a surprise turn of events, the final savoury course was a whopper. I won’t be the only one who sometimes leaves tasting dinners still feeling peckish. Lee, Jake and Katy have addressed this, ensuring no one goes home hungry by serving a more substantial plate in the middle. On this occasion, succulent rolled Sutton Hoo chicken breast, a ballotine of thigh and wing meat, wild garlic puree, roasted gnocchi, pan juices, peas and baby leeks, with sides of roast Jersey Royals and seasoned garden greens.
We, of course, decided to have the optional extra, billed as ‘lunchables’. I was expecting something akin to a couple of Ritz crackers filled with whipped cheese and ham. What arrived was an unexpected single-bite of joy - sourdough cracker with velveteen Baron Bigod, bee pollen and honeycomb. Just yum!
Two puds, neither of them excessively sweet, rounded off dinner nicely - white chocolate creme brulee with blood orange sorbet, and a mille feuille of elderflower creme diplomat with baked/compressed strawberries and strawberry sorbet. If that doesn’t scream summer, I don’t know what else could.
The Auberge (or Bull Auberge as it used to be known) was one of THE places to eat when I was a younger food writer, and this trio are absolutely making all the right moves to put it firmly back on Suffolk’s culinary map.
Service is top notch. The menu is expressive without being over-egged. And there is a clear connection to the seasons and Suffolk and Norfolk’s food and drink heroes.
Find out more and book here. Don’t forget, they’ve got rooms if you want to stay over and get fully stuck into the wine list!
