Gardeners Arms in Babergh

Rudest landlord I’ve ever met. Needs to learn some manners and not be so arrogant.

Hadn't been here for a long time. We had a brilliant meal and very reasonably priced. Definitely will be back soon!! Thanks for making us so welcome!

Wonderful food. Lovely steak pie and Gammon. Lemon crunch ice cream for dessert. Quirky surroundings, lots to look at.

Kevin and Elaine are great. Lovely country pub and well worth a visit with great walks to the river nearby. 😀

We visit this place regularly and take guests along on accasions. Neither ourselves or our guests have been disappointed. It is exceptional good value for money. Meals are always freshly cooked. The vistors are friendly.

Large than it looks from the road. Friendly landlord and table staff. Quirky decor

Quirky, welcoming. Yummy vegetarian Sunday lunch.

It is a lovely pub with great food, especially if you like Daleks!

Lovely country pub to go to if your in the area. Went yesterday (2/08) and again another enjoyable time. Was quite busy today but not problem for the staff

Great place to stop and relax with a welcoming team and homemade food, thanks!

Amazing all was good. Love the gardens ... Great decorations. Staff are amazing and food was top top quality and cooked great

Great food all cooked from fresh plenty of real home made foods . Priced really well. Top class service ..Great selection of drink. Well worth a visit and we will be going back soon... Also check out the tropical garden with fish pond.

What a lovely village pub. The food is excellent, good choice and reasonably priced. The staff are very friendly and efficient. The garden is a lovely place to sit on a warm evening and inside is fascinating with the different bits and pieces they have on display.

Amazing, great service, lovely atmosphere, great pub food

We cycled here, locked our bikes on the gate outside and had a nice dinner and reasonably priced drinks in this quirkily decorated pub. We loved the atmosphere and would come here again!

Quirky pub.... Very friendly, welcoming staff... Great menu choice including for vegetarians/vegans... Very generous portions....

Not often you stumble upon a pub... a propa pub that makes you smile to yourself! Regulars having a laugh and banter with a landlord straight talking leaving customers giggling! I will deffo be back here for some food with the family

This is a great pub. Had a couple of meals here. Good choice of well cooked pub classics and reasonably priced. I'm strictly gluten free but still had a good choice guided by our friendly landlord. We need more pubs like this.

Banging omelettes for main course and huge great ice cream sundae for dessert. Friendly locals and happy staff in a lovely family run pub. Look forward to our next visit. Cheers

Went for a Christmas set dinner fabulous food all hot and home cooked. We go here regularly and always enjoy the food we get such a warm welcome when we arrive it's such a lovely intersring place. Will keep.going back nothing is too much trouble you are made to feel very welcome

Excellent lovely food and staff

Great food after revisiting after a year, have revisited 4 times in the past 2 months and so relaxing, coeliac is not a problem, they are very helpful, food is always piping hot, plenty of it and good quality, I highly recommend this place and have never had a bad meal, even during busy times, nice to have a pub that you can go back to and don’t have to worry. Looking forward to a winter visit when the fire if roaring.

A warm ,easy and relaxed atmosphere. The food is good, excellent value, service friendly and fast. The owner is a great character nothing is too much trouble. A very nice place to be, will definitely come again.

My wife and I were on a long walk with our dog, and we popped in around 2pm on Thursday for a beer and packet of crisps. Not much to ask from a country pub. As I walked in the chap behind the bar said "what do you want" in an aggressive way. Then he saw my wife following on with the dog and said "No dogs". I said we'll go in the garden. He said no dogs anywhere. We said that we've been before with the dog. He said " no you haven't ". I assured him we had, as indeed we had several times over the years. He said he'd been there 10 years and basically called me a liar. A very unpleasant man. We won't darken his doorstep again. You'll note that I almost never post a negative review but this man is unbelievably rude Totally unnecessary. Next time we do the walk, we'll try the Kings Head. Hopefully we'll get a pleasant welcome. How this place is still in business with this nasty piece of work front of house is beyond me. My wife and I were shocked by his rudeness.

Another enjoyable evening in The Gardeners. Warm welcome and great food. Liver and bacon always good and served with an impressive variety of fresh veg.

Dropped in for a Friday drink. Landlord looked angry. Asked if we had booked. Thought that was odd as it’s a pub and we were in the bar. I said we were in for a drink and the fool of a landlord said “you’ll be lucky”. I said why. He shouted COVID…. No standing at the bar. No one was wearing a mask at the bar and a couple were actually sitting at the bar. Not wasting my time in this rude pub ever again.

Have read some of the other reviews and I have to say we have found the Landlord extremely pleasant and helpful. The food is very good quality, well presented, pub food. We have visited three times now and each time we were very pleased with the food. The atmosphere is very good and the decor of the pub very cosy and pleasant. I fully understand his comments about dogs and children, I would'nt have them in a pub either. Perhaps that's why I don't have a pub.

Excellent service and excellent meal can’t fault it. Landlord very friendly and chatty , even gave my hubby a free drink for his cheek! Will be going again

Came here with my mum and stepdad and it was amazing food, very friendly. Looking forward to coming back! Steak pie is the best!

Staying just up the road from here, googled somewhere close to eat and this came up. Well what a surprise. Excellent food, warm and cosy atmosphere, friendly staff and the landlord chatty and helpful. We are going to put this in the visitors book of the cottage we are staying in, it is definitely a place to visit.

The Landlord is the rudest, most hostile person I have ever had the misfortune to know. Unfortunate because his wife cooks some very good food and is very pleasant. Do not go there if you believe the customer comes first.

I ave been using the Gardeners Arms for years, and have never had a complaint. My friend and I went last Sunday for a roast and thoroughly enjoyed a delicious meal, with my gluten and dairy intolerances taken into account. The landlord is extremely friendly, will make conversation when you chat to him, but is unobtrusive when you are eating. Most of the staff are family members and add to the warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Great food excellent service and friendly staff will definitely be going back

We live in Felixstowe and several times a year meet friends from Colchester here. Turned up tonight around 8.00 pm just for a drink and were told by the landlord that he was too busy to serve us and we should wait outside until he was ready. We expressed surprise at his attitude and were told to leave. We believe this man is the son in law of the owner, who was friendly and welcoming. A great pity, because we will never be back.

Called in after a morning cycling. The landlord made us welcome straight away and found us a table looking into the garden. The pub became quite busy but the staff handled it well and were friendly throughout. The menu was traditional pub style and both...

Stopped in on the off chance after a trip to Alton Water. Landlord was really pleasant, he had no problem with us ordering something from the children's menu for one of us and took the time to tell us about some different beers. Food was plentiful and good value, sundaes were SPOT ON. Loved the decor inside, James Bond and Steptoe and Son posters in the toilet :) great stuff!

I've been to this pub on many occasions over the years; the interior is beautiful and really unique with some amazing antiques hanging on the walls, and the drinks / food is perfectly fine pub grub. Unfortunately, and I take no pleasure in saying this,...

A lovely lunch in a warm cosy covid secure pub, the owners go out of their way to make you feel welcome, would definitely recommend this to friends

My friend and myself both in our late 60s decided to stop off here for a nice relaxing half on our way home from a lovely day fishing. There are notices everywhere about no dogs of which we never had one with us. We waited...

Great little pub. Delicious "home cooked" pub food with a really friendly staff. Highly reccomend. Not sure if the website attached to the Google maps directions is actually this pub (address on the website is for somewhere in Ipswich and the photos don't really match up)

Nice food and very hospitable hosts.

I would definitely recommend this pub to all friends and family. After a long walk with 2 children the staff could not have been more welcoming. Even with a few others eating in they still had time to check we were all ok and answer...

I visited the Gardeners Arms in Stutton with family for Christmas Day ( 2019 ) dinner. Our entire experience from booking to settling the bill was excellent. The Landlord Kevin is a great host and the waitering team are superb, very polite, attentive and eager to please. The Quality of the Service and the Food was amazing, every course piping hot and full of flavour. We were NOT at all rushed unlike other venues and the entire group enjoyed a great experience, truly no disappointment with our Christmas Day Visit. Thanks also to your wonderful Chief. A very lovely Christmas day had by all, thanks to all who were working on that day to make our day special. A complete recommendation for anyone who is considering Christmas dinner out this year!

The food is good the sellection great for vegan.vegy meat eater alike splendid reception staff alike well worthy of a visit.

The eclectic decor is amusing/unusual and the menu was surprisingly decent for a vegan. However, I would avoid if you are eating with young children, even at lunchtime. The landlord was just short of hostile, issuing frosty reprimands from behind the bar. We were made...

Only visited once, but cosy & good beer. Didnt try the food

Very disappointed to find that dogs accompanying walkers are no longer welcome at this place. Have visited many times over the years at a mid-point of a circular walk and have always sat outside with our dog and enjoyed a drink and some food. Were...

We all had a lovely meal which was a roast plenty of vegetables and well cooked. Reasonable priced and a good atmosphere I would recommend it. I would also advise to book a table.

What a great pub.. the family run quirky pub has lots to see whether its a circus clown or indian god made of wood or old signs from the war to even a coffin as decor you surely would not be disappointed when it comes to entertaining your eyes and mind... the food mmm was delicious iv had sunday roast liver and bacon lasagne and plenty for the kids too. The beer garden ia a delight too with a lovely koi fish pond and flowers. Delightful country pub well worth a visit!!

Popped in for Sunday lunch , never booked just turned up and sat down!!! Service very good , food very good , nice touch with the extra gravy boats , waited awhile , which was odd as the pub was half empty however dishes turned...

Best little pub to visit, lovely food, lovely surroundings and especially lovely staff.

Great pub. Great food. Fantastic decor..

The meals we had were great value, straight up dishes. Trifles to die for, which all three of us chose.

Excellent value great food and fun surroundings. Relaxed atmosphere. good selection of Gin. Staff very very good. Great beer too.

Had a lovely vegan chickpea curry, the portions were very generous. Lots of interesting artefacts on the walls. Would visit again.

Recommended.by our daughter so we were first time visitors. Was surprised that on a Thursday it was so busy, we were shown to a table by the owner and found him to be very friendly. There was a good menu choice and some good specials...

Been to this pub, lot of times in the pass & have always had good service & good food. The old landlord has retired and his son in law now runs the pub. Well when I say runs the pub, It seems to me that...

I was taken here for a birthday lunch. The food was fabulous. Freshly cooked and a plate full. The staff were very friendly. I can't wait to go back.

Found the man on the bar rude and made for an uncomfortable visit. Did not stay long and will not go back

The beef pie new potatoes and vegetables was lovely the service, very good, it is a beautiful family run pub

A wide range of food and drink available with a standard menu, one for older people and a large selecion to choose from as listed on the wall boards.

Had senior lunch with friends today and good food, good , friendly service and all freshly cooked so worth the wait. Great value from the senior’s menu and sat in the garden in the sunshine. Barking dogs a bit of a distraction but not a...

We ate at the Gardeners Arms last night. Every thing about our visit was excellent, from welcome, to service, food and pricing. Good menu, plenty of choice available. This is now my third visit to Gardeners Arms and in my view the pub has improved time on time. Nice Maincourse and Desserts enjoyed. Thank you Gardeners Arms, I'm sure we'll be back again!

My family and I often visit the gardeners arms, and will continue coming back due to the wide range of foods offered on the menu, the interesting finds around the pub and beautiful garden!

What a delightful lunch at the Gardeners Arms! My group enjoyed Sunday lunch here. Our entire experience from booking to dining was superb! A lovely unique pub with lots of interest items decorated around the pub, old items from around the world, what an atmosphere! We were greeted by the landlord and shown to our reserved table. A Excellent choice of Sunday and General Menu available, good service, food served promptly and all very tasty. I felt the beer / larger selection was a little limited but I found something to fit my taste buds! A good meal had by all - we enjoyed mains and desserts! Well done Gardeners Arms!

Visited here on Good Friday - very comprehensive menu as well as a special Good Friday menu - so plenty of choice!

We have been here a few times for Sunday Lunch, it's a lovely cosy feeling traditional pub, but with a few 'twist's', the décor is really interesting, with memorabilia, much of it from London's East End (which is interesting as that is where I came from), and the array of sign's, statues, posters etc shouldn't work together...but somehow it just does.

Our first visit to this pub in Stutton, they were most accommodating with us changing meal times at short notice, the meals were all of a high standard and staff very helpful, with a good attitude. We loved the quirkey theme which was unusual and interesting, we had a disabled (Grandma) with us in a wheelchair which was no issue being placed in the restaurant easily via the rear entrance/garden, it was my sons 27th birthday so there was 7 of us, nothing was a problem to the staff. So full marks, will be visiting again - especially as we have just moved to this area.

Quirky little pub full of fascinating artefacts. Went in there on the Friday evening before Christmas and not only was it empty but landlord was a bit rude.

My family and I love this pkace and are looked after very well each at each visit.

Another lovely meal & a relaxing time at our favourite nearest country pub. We always make a bee line for this place when the batteries need recharging. Great staff always friendly, never had a bad experience.

My family and I visited recently for lunch. The pub was not busy at all. We ordered our food and then waited over an hour for our food.

Had lunch with 3 friends. Excellent beers, prompt and friendly service, superb but unpretentious pub grub. Portions very generous, so only had just enough room for a pudding.

This pub is something different so enjoy the surprise! Real Ale on tap. Friendly landlord and staff. Varied menu with specials on the board. Good home cooked food with several different vegetables, something often hard to find. Senior Citizen deal during the week. Think we will becoming a regular.

Very friendly atmosphere - very good freshly cooked food - polite service - plenty of different brick a brac to see and smile at. Nice garden area and, a bonus, large car park. I have visiting here over a number of years always excellent service.

Good selection of tasty food good portion sizes at a reasonable price. kids meals good size and my fussy little...

Great food. Lovely atmosphere lots to look at. Very hospitable landlord.

A menudo pasado por este pub como parece pequeño y yo nunca había oído hablar mucho de él. Sólo cayó en el otro pub como iba a estaba cerrado. Así que me alegro. La comida era deliciosa y el ambiente es muy relajado. Volveré muy...

called in with friends for a lunch time meal I have never been here before but what a great pub this is ,very different to many pubs the food is excellent we had the roast beef with veg all very well cooked and 6 veg brill topped of with a caramel waffle for dessert. this pub has a great atmosphere and you are made very welcome I certainly will be returning.

Was received by a friendly welcome at the bar by presumably the owner which was a lovely start to our visit. Lovely range of beers and ciders here. We chose to eat in the bar area although there is a separate restaurant area. Lots of little knick-knacks on display made the atmostphere cosy and interesting. There is a little beer garden too with a few tables.The food was outstanding. I had stilton/mushroom strudel with chips and salad and the portion was huge. It was delicious. Only wish I could have fit in a dessert. Really reasonable prices too.Really handy for the nearby Alton Waters and will definitely return.

I have visited many pubs in my time. This one takes the prize. It is an excellent, welcoming, atmospheric house that truly caters for traditional British cuisine and a high quality of customer care. A lovely homely location that makes one feel right at the home. If you are looking for a traditional English country pub to enjoy a pleasant evening with friends and family or a quiet evening in enjoying the excellent food and beer you would struggle to find anywhere better.

Although we're local, we had never used this pub as we are lucky to have so many to choose from around here - what a mistake! The surroundings are quirky with interesting ornaments and decorations all around the pub. There was a good choice of food and specials, the service was friendly and efficient and the meals were excellent. It's not often that you get so much meat you can't really get through it all, but that was the case here. Thoroughly recommended and we'll be going back whenever we can. The address should be Manningtree Road, Stutton - it's a few miles from Ipswich.

The food here is truly excellent. Really pleasant country pub run by a family. Pretty much the perfect place for a pint and some superb food. Unpretentious, clean and good wholesome food. An easy five stars.

Visited as a family in March 2017.We booked a table ahead and this was ready for us on arrival. Initially, service was slow and drinks order was taken a little late. However once the main meals were ordered, things got up to speed. (this was peak time on a Sunday and the restaurant was nearly full) We ordered a few kids meals and 4 roast dinners- all of which were delicious, well cooked and featured lots of veg. No desert ordered on this occasion as birthday cake was already on the cards, but those on other tables ordering desert looked very nice. Overall, a quaint family run pub!

A wonderful country pub, unspoiled with great atmosphere. Food very good, friendly staff a perfect cosy setting for a relaxing meal.

The food is excellent quality pub grub. The staff are very friendly and the pub is clean. Lots of interesting statues, masks and instruments adorn the walls. The garden is pleasant with Benches for the summer.

We took my mother here for Sunday lunch, and had a very warm welcome, a great family run pub, nice menu, lots of well cooked veg and fantastic roast potatoes and we all had a great Sunday lunch, we will be back

The atmosphere is unique, service excellent and very professional yet friendly. Food is excellent and we are frequent customers. Best local pub for miles.

A very friendly pub that has good food at reasonable and affordable prices. A great choice on the 'seniors' menu during the week.Love the somewhat quirky decor,have also found lots of birthday cards and bits and pieces to buy.A good old fashioned pubwith excellent food,says it all.

Great old fashioned pub with log burner and very quirky with cards and bit and pieces to buy, substantial old fashioned pub food, coeliac meals available (even chips are gluten free!), staff want to please and are super friendly, really nice little pub and would recommend for families with children or couples.

Lovely atmosphere. Good food at a reasonable price, good choice and it is a friendly pub. Also a bit interesting, the decor has a quirky feel about it. It seems a popular place too. Would recommend.

My partner and I were on our way to another local eatery when we bumped into a friend of mine who recommended the Gardeners and I'm glad he did :). We got to the pub which was very busy late on a Sunday lunchtime. Most of the tables had been reserved which is always a good sign but despite the fact that we had no reservation, we were offered a very cosy table for two as the table in question hadn't been booked for another couple of hours and from the, it has to be said, quite extensive menu for a pub of its size. We both ordered steak pie with chips and peas and we were both left extremely satisfied. The shortcrust pastry pie was lovely and the filling delicious, the chips crisp and hot and the peas perfectly cooked and hot, not overcooked as so often is the case. My partner suggests that maybe the pie is served with gravy and my ale was served too cold, closer to a lager than an ale temperature. Otherwise, I would have been leaving a five.

This is a real gem. A somewhat quirky pub with lots of stuff on walls and ceilings to look at. Lunch menu is exceptional value, especially the liver and bacon that I had. Mine came with swede, carrot, cabbage, green beans, cauliflower, three large boiled potatoes and plenty of liver and bacon. Desert was hazelnut roulade with raspberries and ice cream. And all for under £10! Much better than the usual pub grub fare. Good beers too especially Adnams and a lovely mild. Will be back soon.

visited on the 30/09/016 at lunchtime found a nice comfortable country pub in the heart of the beautiful south Suffolk countryside, it has a good variety of food with senior citizens menu at lunchtime,We chose two courses from this menu and the servings were generous and very well prepared.There were two real ales on tap Adams Southwold, and a draught stout both in excellent condition, the pub has a nice enclosed outside seating area which on summer days must be a lovely sun trap in which to while away an afternoon,a little gem well worth seeking out

Just had a lovely lunch in the GARDENERS ARMS lovely food loads of choice good attentive service and the price is right will make this a regular haunt see you there

Second visit to the Gardeners Arms, I'm sure the owner won't mind me calling the place quirky. Beautiful home made food and excellent service. Will definitely be back when we're this way again. Highly recommended

Spontaneous Sunday lunch in a lovely old style tradition pub with a quirky edge! Lovely food and friendly staff with lots of interesting things to look at! Will defiantly return again!

Called in with some friends for a spontaneous Sunday roast, and it was gorgeous. Lovely little pub with good food and beer all served with a smile. Definitely worth a try.

Firstly let me say, they serve a real pie! Not a stew with puff pastry on the top, an actual pie with pastry top bottom and sides. That's something of rarity for a start. A good selection of classic pub meals, Mixed grill, Liver and Bacon, Steak Pie, Lasagne Fish n Chips etc. The Landlord was nice as was the owner. The food was very nice, well cooked chips plenty of veg, though cooked to be soft not modern hard edged style. Made a nice change from many of the pseudo cuisine pubs. Loved it!

We booked for 8 of us, id personally had never been here! But i was really looking forward to a lovely meal and i was not let down! We all had starters and mains! Service was really good and we was served our starters in good time from ordering. I had camenbert which was a meal itself! Served with fresh hot bread and then followed by lamb shank which was a lovely meal! Will deffinatley recommend And will be returning in the future Thankyou