The Castle Inn in Suffolk Coastal

Visited this lovely, cosy, friendly pub on a Thursday night and was lucky to find it was quiz night ! Brilliant fun, the landlord Mark has just started running these every Thursday, well worth going. Very friendly landlord and staff especially Lorraine. Beautiful St Bernard dog Zeus who loves everyone. Good beer and good choice, believe Mark is hoping to start food in next couple of weeks. If you are in the area definitely worth a visit.

Shockingly bad service. The staff are horrific. This pub is in a prime location - why is it allowed to operate in such a bad way. It’s filthy, staff are horrid and so is the food. The council needs to close this down and it needs to be run by someone who knows how to run a good pub. Sort it out - it’s an embarrassment for the town.

A great place for a drink and food

I came here because of the Detectorists. Lovely pub on a sunny afternoon. Staff very pleasant. Discovered the inside was filmed elsewhere. Andy and Lance wasn't there, guessing they were out detecting

The bar maid made racist comments. The food was inedible and the pub was dirty. The staff were disinterested and foul mouthed. This establishment should be closed down.

We went for lunch today at the Castle Inn, and ordered a prawn and Marie Rose sauce sandwich, a sausage and mustard sandwich and some cheesy chilli chips. Pretty basic, we thought. What we received was a cold sausage (suspect) and runny mustard sandwich, a warm prawn (dangerous) and Marie Rose sandwich and some cold cheese and chilli chips. Sadly to say, none of it was edible. After waiting a few minutes for any member of staff to appear to make a complaint (which they did not) we left, hungry and nearly £30.00 down. I would highly suggest if you are thinking of eating here and value your health, please go elsewhere.

We went for lunch today at the Castle Inn, and ordered a prawn and Marie Rose sauce sandwich, a sausage and mustard sandwich and some cheesy chilli chips. Pretty basic, we thought. What we received was a cold sausage (suspect) and runny mustard sandwich, a warm prawn (dangerous) and Marie Rose sandwich and some cold cheese and chilli chips. Sadly to say, none of it was edible. After waiting a few minutes for any member of staff to appear to make a complaint (which they did not) we left, hungry and nearly £30.00 down. I would highly suggest if you are thinking of eating here and value your health, please go elsewhere.

This pub is disgusting. The landlord and staff walk around swearing and slagging off the customers. There seems to be a crèche in the pub of teenage mums with their screaming babies. The food is cheap and badly cooked and the pub is really dirty inside and out ( the toilet doesn’t even have a seat). Been once and will never return.

Hadn't been here for a while and remembered how nice the outside seating was, but to my disappointment most of the seating out front was replaced by a noisy ugly food truck. All tables were full so went into the courtyard, what a shock it looked like a dumping ground for old and broken equipment, rubbish everywhere (couldn't have been cleaned for ever) weeds 2 feet high. Garden furniture was neglected, tables and chairs warped and rough (not maintained) . Decided to sit inside, what a contrast! Lovely pub, great interior, nice atmosphere.

So many snowflakes leaving reviews, get a life, this place is awesome, is the landlord going to do anything about all the pathetic reviews saying otherwise?

Very disappointed , staff aren’t interested in customer service at all , asked for a menu and 20 minutes later we walked out . It’s not clean and sad to see a potential great pub being run so poorly, it’s days are numbered if someone doesn’t get a grip and start running it as a business instead of a meeting place for the local mothers and toddlers group .

Lovely pub. Super friendly staff and great atmosphere. Will definitely visit again for a meal as the food looked lovely!

When we arrived, we were told they had sold out of a lot of the menu items. However, what we did order took a long time to arrive and when it did, the food was very poor. I had a pizza with last weeks sausages.

Awful. Horrible staff and horrible food. My advice is stay well away from here. I’ve been here a few times over the years and it has been getting progressively worse. Our last visit was so bad will not be returning. The lady behind the bar is unfriendly and uninterested.

Nice pub, but £10.70 for a Coke and a lager shandy, when there's only tax to blame on the (less than) half a pint of beer?

We stopped for a drink , was very friendly

Grotty pub with rude, unfriendly staff and bad food.

Terrible service. Waited one hour for them to bring our food, and they got my child's order wrong. I told the manager at the bar who told me she'd sort it, I then had to remind another member of staff who came to ask us how our meal was, then had to remind the manager again Seems more like a pub to go for a drink than to have a meal . Wouldn't go again.

Blt sandwich and cheesey chips for £10.50 no complaints the salad dressing was rly tasty not like other places where u just get abit of lettuce Drinks are fairly prices too The staff are all rly friendly sometimes it can get busy here but all the locals are lovely Never had an issues here although would be nice for them to clean the Ash trays outside more regularly

Very poor quality food. I had gammon, and I sent it back twice, and on the second occasion, the "chef" came out, and he was rather rude. The outside area had seen a better time. The tables are messy and filthy.

Very friendly, good proper pub.

After visiting Framlingham Castle, we decided to have some lunch at the Castle Inn. Such a lovely experience, the bar lady was so kind and helpful, made us feel very welcome. She even sorted out our dog with water and treats! The food and drinks were spot on. I highly recommend this pub to everyone.

A really nice pub and the food is very nice. The workers are nice and the service is good.

A no nonsense pub. No frills but excellent beer and delicious food at very reasonable prices. The manager/barman is friendly and thoughtful.

We stopped in here on a blustery autumnal Friday following a walk with dogs around the grounds of the adjacent castle. We received a walm welcome and we're seated quickly with menus offered and specials/exceptions explained. Prices are very reasonable and service is swift. We had a hot meal which was exactly what was needed. The only downside - soup of the day was clearly cup-a-soup, whilst warm and tasty, it did leave something to be desired. Otherwise food ordered was excellent. Possibly best to visit during more popular times than an off season Friday lunch.

Didn't eat here but was a nice little pub, would defo go back for another visit

A small pub next to the castle, very beautiful inside and out. Good range of beer and the beef roast was excellent. Staff behind the bar were very friendly and there was a feeling of joviality, possible due to it nearly being Christmas at time of visit.

Very disappointing meal, 4 adults, 3 children. Only one of the meals was enjoyable, pizza's under cooked, jacket potato sent back as it was Luke warm, prawns in Marie sauce was in a pot as requested but they were warm 🤢 a very long hair found in the minced beef and a in a portion of chips. We were told no one has that colour hair in the kitchen! The lady behind the bar was lovely and very apologetic. I'm a cook in a pub kitchen, so I know how food should be presented, we won't be back for a meal sadly!!

Good proper pub with often interesting normal people from around the town. Good atmosphere . Hopefully the pub will be able to keep it real in the face of ever more village gentrification we see UK wide.. nice staff. Some good events there too . Although tbh I use it as a pub 👍

Nice pub for an afternoon meal. Good had generous portions and was decent. The salad was fresh as was the bread for my sandwich. Loads of bacon in the blt. Onion rings could have been a bit crispier and the salad needed a bit less dressing but overall it was a great meal. The out door seating is lovely with nice views of the castle.

I am not sure how to respond to this establishment. The food is not good and dies not make it up with the atmosphere.

Lovely drunk people. Definitely reccomend

Excellent food plenty of , staff all friendly . A lovely country pub .

Bit of a dump serving "pop & ping" food. Not the cleanest & the staff were quite rude, more interested in chatting than serving.

Great location very near the Castle,good outdoor seating. Food very good and reasonably priced.staff friendly and helpful.

Had a great meal. Fish and chips were particularly nice. The pub had a good selection of beers and seem to be kept well. The staff were friendly and efficient. Also dog friendly

Whilst visiting Framlingham Castle we popped in here for lunch. The food us plentiful and amazing, the whole atmosphere is welcoming and the staff are attentive without being overpowering. Can't recommend this place enough if you're in the area.

Once was great and now a shadow of its former self. Really needs a clean, both inside and out. Toilets grimy, courtyard covered in cigarette ends and dog poo under one of the tables - which we had to clean from cigarette butts before eating, despite there being No Smoking signs by the booths. Real shame. Love coming here and returned for first time since 2015 only to be severely disappointed. Staff still nice, they’re just fighting a losing battle at the moment.

We came here for lunch today as a family. We ordered jacket potatoes and sandwiches. Portion size and quality was very good for both. The salad on side of the plate was more substantial than in many places and dressed well. Would recommend the Castle Inn at Framlingham. It’s next door to the English Heritage site.

Wished I’d have known before ordering food that vaping is allowed inside. Not what you want when eating. I ordered jacket potato with tuna, you really need good eyesight and a good sent of taste to pick out the tuna as it was mainly mayonnaise. It came with a lovely side salad or so I thought until it was swimming in dressing with a white hair on top. Needless to say my meal wasn’t eaten. I told the waitress about the hair, she said it wasn’t hers but did ask me if I wanted anything else on the menu on the house. I refused as I was put off by this time. Not framlinghams usual standard I must say. Doubt I’ll be going back anytime soon. Dogs were allowed inside, plenty of water outside but not inside. I rang and spoke to a manager, I explained all of the above he did apologise but was keen to say that no one worked there with white hair. Never again!

Called today with a coach party who were going to visit the Castle. Landlord could not have been more helpful, reserved a space for my coach and directed me in. Very friendly staff and atmosphere and great food too! Many thanks

Went on the off chance to show an Au pair some local sights and it ended up being just as a Friday night open mic night had begun, must have been up to 10 performances mostly singers playing thier own instruments at a high standard. Nice place very large seating area in the beer garden. The pub is next door to Framingham Castle and long walks abundant if you go to eat a meal nice place to walk it off and stretch your legs after.

Nice warm welcome by staff, very friendly and helpful. We ordered 4 meals and they were lovely, large portions so couldn’t eat it all. The reason I’ve put 4 not 5 is the amount of flies flying inside while you’re trying to eat and also the gents toilet is not nice, two urinals, one was full up of urine and the other had a leaking pipe with urine all over the floor.

Reasonable quality food with moderate prices but meals took quite a time to arrive. The outside courtyard dining is quiet with some covered cubicles around the edges. Very close to the Castle.

Great spot with very friendly staff. We’ve had many meals here. The fish and chips are one of the best I’ve ever had. Great Sunday roast as well

I have read the reviews and I thought this would be a great place to stop by whilst visiting the castle. I was first met by a bar member who told me no food was ready but come back later. people of the pub seemed unwashed and not fit to be serving drinks or food. Then I think the cleaner carried or possibly a parrot, dog through the pub whilst I was eating . I have no idea how they pass hygiene standards. After speaking to other pubs in the area like Watson & Walpole and the crown I think they are below standard. My advice to this beautiful area stay clear of this establishment as you will be disappointed.

I think this place could do so well under the right team of staff and front of house. It brings down what framlingham needs and they rely on the tourist passing by and being dissatisfied with the food but they won’t come again. Left with bad food and another terrible establishment. I give it one year but if yiu are reading this the food is not good abs I feel embarrassed if you think this is what Suffolk has to offer.

Really friendly and attentive staff. Good food. Catered well for a large group of us dropping in

Very friendly staff, good food. Highly recommend

Absolutely amazing pub. Food is lovely. Staff are wonderful and caring. Dog friendly. Best place in fram!!

We had a really lovely lunch here just after having seen the castle in Framlingham (it's right next door beside the castle car park). I had the prawns in Marie rose sauce on a jacket potato and my sister had the soup. My JP was excellent! Very friendly staff and great vfm.

Friendly staff, and nice food. Is handy if visiting the castle for a better lunch alternative. Good variety of food and yummy desserts. Plenty of outside seating. Dogs welcome.

Small inside needs a serious update.the presence of a local person being disruptive all evening only added visitors, not wanting to return

Absolutely thrilled to have discovered this inn. Lovely and warm and friendly. Great ales and superb tasty food. We will definitely return when we are next in the area. Highly recommended.

Three of us had lunch today excellent highly recommend.

Don't drink here unless you live in Framlingham and are known to the staff. 10% non - local fee added to the price of two pints without asking or informing us. No local beers on offer and had to pull the doombar twice to make it vaguely drinkable. Landlord bragging about charging 10% more to visitors because "the locals feel special that they get a discount compared". A bad advert for a lovely town.

Just had fabulous fish and chips at the castle, would highly recommend, the landlords and staff are really nice and friendly, especially the younger one.

6 of us visited a couple of weeks ago. I chose the Sweet and Sour pork off the Specials menu. Well, everyone else's meals arrived but not mine. Apologies and assurance it would be a few minutes. After a few more minutes, it arrived with apologies and a blame on the ordering system. What arrived was sad. It was cubes of freshly cut, but old, cold pork quickly dumped into a commercial sauce, heated up and served in a rush. Cold pork takes on a definite taste when left for a while or even days and this pork had this taste. Everyone else's meals looked fine so why pick on me?. I think this was a way of using up leftover pork, maybe even from the previous weekend's Sunday roast. I didn't complain because someone else had picked up the bill. I would have welcomed an admission that the S&S pork was not available and I would have been very happy with ham egg & chips. My advice to customers and owners alike...Just stick to more usual pub food. .

We were happy to find a table by the fireplace in this cute looking pub which is very close to Framlingham Castle. The fire was dead food was average and service was poor. Got a bit embarrassed in front of my partner because the place was much better with previous owners and I promised a nice experience to her based on my previous experience. Hope they will improve.

Popped in for lunch, looked like a dog care home. Very crowded noisy and you have to watch your steps to avoid dogs. Food was average. Was hoping to enjoy the fireplace but the fire was dead. We have asked the hosts 3 times to add some logs to the fire. They have happily accepted to help us but nothing happened while we were there. Editing to answer the host's response: Our aim was to enjoy the fireplace so we had a look first if a table by the fireplace was available, it was not. Then, we had a stroll around and came back and luckily found a table by the fireplace. I cannot remember myself demanding a table or thinking/saying silly things like we are above all other people. There was no intention of being abrupt or rude. This is just your personal perception and I cannot do anything about it, we are coming from different backgrounds. Also please remember there was a person with an average sized dog blocked the entrance for about half an hour also moved around the hall a lot. Even you had to ask them to vacate an idle table since they were not using it. There is a difference between being a dog friendly pub and allowing people with dogs being a nuisance to other people. Your comment about scampi is weird, is it not allowed to rate scampi? If you know another cafe/pub with fireplace in Framlingham feel free to recommend it, I'd appreciate that.

Lovely little pub with very friendly, attentive and kind staff who were especially great with my 4 year old daughter. The roast was huge, very good value and lovely. Thank you so much to Michael for providing us with such a wonderful experience.

Had lunch in The Castle Inn and it was a very enjoyable experience. The food was very good quality and we were welcomed with hearty bonhomie by the landlord. You can watch the footy if you like or sit by the fire. Cracking pub.

Had a fantastic meal this evening! Food was cooked beautifully, lots of choice on the menu (even the kids menu). Will definitely be returning soon! Thanks to all the staff, friendly and accommodating!

Under new ownership and I highly recommend it. Very warm and cosy pub. The food is excellent. Large choice of drinks. Landlords are really lovely people

Could not get into any other places in Fram, and I am a local, so thought I would try out the Castle as I knew there were new owners. They were really welcoming, had decorated for Christmas really tastefully and had sandwiches and coffee but all very fresh and tasty. Do give it a try and help a local business

We ended up here after being given the elbow from The Crown Hotel. Inviting and welcoming, no mildly concealed snobbery, good food, friendly staff. If your not a local, and have traveled to Fram to see the Castle, this is the place to go for a spot of lunch afterwards.

Friendly and good service although limited choice of cask ale. Tables were rather sticky.

My partner and I went to the Castle for a Sunday roast and we were not disappointed .. the meat was cooked to perfection .. the roast potatoes were lovely and fluffy on the inside .. the portions are very generous.. food came out hot and prompt .. The staff are friendly and efficient.. I would most definitely recommend the Castle Inn.. Keep up the good work...

We have just had a great Sunday roast here six different vegetables plus roast and boiled potatoes all perfectly cooked and fresh not frozen.They also cooked our grandson some fresh chicken nuggets as they had run out of frozen which he said were the best. Would recommend this pub and a good selection of beers

Friendly service with good food and fair prices. If you are near and want a bite to eat I recommend you stop in.

We called in for lunch after a rainy walk with two dogs which was no problem as sign outside showed we would be welcome, it was quite quiet in the bar which was basic but clean and tidy, I wouldn’t say the barman was the...

Was recommended by Hammonds Cars & English Heritage staff. Was very disappointed it was fairly quiet but had to wait at the bar to be served. On drinking our drinks 40 mins later & no food to be seen- it was only a sandwich &...

Really nice food. Exactly what I was expecting plus better. Will definitely eat there again for sure. Can't complain at all.

Booked a table for roast dinner The choice Roast turkey Roast beef Roast pork Roast gammon Nut roast all £12.95 We had roast pork lots off diffrent vegetables tasted delicious highly recommended 😋 we will definitely be coming back thank you .

Good food at very reasonable prices

Lovely pub in a lovely village. The new people running the pub are very friendly and certainly know what they are doing. We look forward to going back.

Three of us visited last week at lunch time on a busy Friday, The friendly staff quickly served our drinks and took our light-bite food ordes which included garlic musrooms and fishcake. All our food proved to be hot and tasty and just what we...

Lovely small pub. The food and drinks taste great and the layout outside is perfect on a nice sunny day

Lovely atmosphere, very friendly. Great food, reasonably priced. Attentive staff. Definitely worth a visit.

Very close to the castle, great meals at decent prices. Friendly staff to have a chat to. Well worth a visit.

Visited this pub with my adult children. Youngest of whom is 20. Barman allowed us to order and pay for alcohol and then decided to challenge us for ID with an embarrassing and unskilled approach. Subsequently we didn’t order any food and left . Surly...

Nice little pub right by the castle grounds. Back garden with seating area and bar menu.

if i could give it no stars i would, expected it all to be top notch considering it’s right next to a tourist attraction! food was stone cold, burger and bacon were burnt and dry, it all came out suspiciously quick (probably because it was just reheated or microwaved!). the staff seemed nice enough but was an overall very disappointing experience.

Nice pub. Meal was well prepared and presented with lots of flavour. Menu was varied and price was very good. Also has a pool table and lots of outdoor seating which is good for busy times.

Not bad but a bit expensive to go inside I thought Which was a shame

Very well kept real ale and food was excellent, I had the castle burger which was lovely cooked just right ,

Friendly staff. A nice set of booths in the yard, where you can relax and cool off when it's hot.

Horrible food, the most disgusting pub burger I've ever seen, burnt on the outside pink on the inside. Staff didnt seem to know what they were doing even with basic stuff, all very slack. We were made to feel really uncomfortable by kitchen staff who...

Very unwelcoming atmosphere. Stood at the bar for about 5min before I was even acknowledged. Behind the bar didn’t look particularly clean. I was nothing but courteous and polite to the staff and made no complaints but they were completely disinterested in welcoming us or...

We live locally and pop in quite often! Great location, always a warm welcome and plenty going on. Welcoming to families, children and dogs. Haven’t eaten here recently but the in-laws often go on a Saturday lunchtime and are always happy with their lunch. Amanda...

Nice place to have a drink, nice staff and ambience. We didn't eat here on this occasion but the food looked good

Popped in for lunch whilst visiting the castle. Nice little pub that allows children and dogs. We had the mega all day breakfast and sausage and mash. Arrived guickly and very hot. 3 sausages mash, peas and gravy. Tasty pub food. Breakfast was satisfying and tasty. Nice little pub even just for a beer.

It's been a long time since we were here and it's a vast improvement on the previous owners, better service happy polite and helpful.

Sorry to say the service or quality of food didn't really hit the mark

Very nice food tasted delicious highly recommend and staff loverly aswell x

food was fine surprised kitchen closed at 6pm so didn't get desert

Sadly, we were disappointed by our visit. So much potential but not what we expected from the pub with a Castle almost in its garden. Food was fine and really what you expect from a pub but the service wasn't great and by the time we asked for a menu for dessert and were told the kitchen was closed, we decided we definitely won't be coming back. Dog friendly though !

A great pub, very friendly with lovely,helpful staff and nothing is too much trouble. Food is excellent,great prices. Super surroundings...

Disgusting food Chios cooked in old oil, gravy tasted as salt pit been tipped in it , mash potato lumps terrible food would nor recommend to anyone

Great Pub! Will definitely be back again! Me and my wife decided to have lunch here rather than the café in the castle. Great decision! It was a fantastic lunch! We both had a lovely baguette lunch, which came out in a reasonable time. It came with a nice side salad and chucky chips. Good selection of ales and lagers. Looking forward to our next trip to Framingham.