The Freston Boot in Babergh

Amazing food xx staff lovely xx

I never write reviews. But I’m so grateful to the team at the Boot with all the care they took with my daughter’s allergies - nuts, dairy and eggs. It’s so rare to eat anywhere that is as thoughtful with their menus when it comes to dietary restrictions, but to also produce really delicious food too is such a rare thing. It’s so special to be able to eat out with my daughter who has severe food allergies, and be able to order from so much of the menus and be at (relative) ease that the kitchen are taking it seriously. Such a lovely vibe, great food and staff.

Fantastic village pub. Great ales, service and food.

The food was delicious and everyone at the table recommended it! However the service was poor. We had to wait quite a long while after seating to be asked for drinks. We ordered food at the same time. Our drinks arrived after the food. We ordered second drinks after main, they arrived after the desert. Both times the drinks order was wrong. One side order was never brought.

Great food, good atmosphere, recommended

This place has a lot of potential but it lets itself down massively. I attended yesterday, it wasn’t even busy yet the service was awful and so slow. The barman was extremely miserable and took his time. You were left hanging around the bar waiting for your drinks, to then be told “we will bring them to your table” after 10 minutes of waiting there. How long does it take to pour one draft beer and a hot drink? Food is also extremely overpriced, £24.50 for a vegetarian curry? If you charge that then you expect the service to be out of this world, well, it wasn’t. However, the new girl that done the quiz was lovely and did a really good job. The owner seemed quite pleasant as well. My advice would be, replace your barman.

Family meal celebrations for my Dads birthday, the food was amazing, as was the service from all the staff. We have one family member who is strictly GF. The staff were very understanding and were very reassuring. We will definitely return!! GOLD ⭐️

I had the pleasure of visiting this restaurant for Sunday breakfast, and it was truly a wonderful experience. The food was absolutely delicious, and I was especially impressed with their new dish, 'Fleminco Eggs'. Not only was it beautifully presented, but the flavors were a real treat—highly recommend giving it a try! The location is lovely, making for a relaxing and pleasant atmosphere to enjoy a meal. The staff were equally wonderful—friendly, attentive, and welcoming. A special shoutout to Katie, who made our visit even better with her kind and polite service. She went above and beyond to ensure we had a great time. Highly recommend this spot for anyone looking for great food and excellent service.

Supporting local independent businesses is really important and when you get an experience as pleasant as last night at The Boot it is all worthwhile The owner and staff made that happen on this visit with their professional and attentive service Food was fresh tasty and flavoursome

Having visited a close friends memorial bench at Alton water ( quite a walk) we thought we would pop into the Freston Boot for a drink on the way home ( after deliberating whether to go to the But & Oyster is it was the other direction). There was a large group at the bar which of course can’t be helped. A chap who we assumed was the owner came across and said “they worn keep you long” ( with a a smile, “ what can I get you” would have been better) and then wandered off. There was a gentleman waiting before us who received one of those- what can I get you- nods and a mumble. No smile or pleasantry. We then got a “ Alright” and a similar nod from the young man who eventually wandered over to serve us. Having ordered a pint and a half of whatever it was and had it placed in the bar we smiled ( more than we got) and handed over coin of the realm ( a £20.00 note). What followed made us feel as though we had just shot the family Labrador! “ we don’t take cash” not.. I’m so sorry or anything similar. Having explained “ that’s all we have” as well as “it would have been nice if you told us before we waited for 5 minutes” the (we assume) owner was called over and we went through the hole “ you haven’t “ got a card” thing again. After there was a discussion among the three people behind the bar we were gasping so told them to keep the beer and went to the Arbor House in Ipswich who were happy ( we could tell they were happy because they smiled when they talked to us) and we finally got our beer.

Busy and confused staff (nice though, just a bit overloaded). Food average.

The owner works very hard and offers the perfect dining environment. There is a vegetable garden at the rear and if I'm not mistaken, some of these end up on the plates. The food is very good. The chef is Jamaican, so can't go wrong there. I must try his jerk chicken next time. Despite a technical mistake in our orders which caused a short delay, we were absolutely fine with that. The owner offered the dishes for free, but we refused such a drama. He did throw in our drinks for free though. Altogether, a wonderful place and experience. We'll be coming back. Good luck for the Boot. I hope it gains much success. By the way, they have a mini kino. Cinema. An extraordinary and lovely thing.

Lovely staff and delicious food

So there was a few hand pumped ales and they do say that they do cask ales well not one was on. So we had to have a craft beer and over £13 for two pints we only had the two!!!! We were going to have another and book in for a meal in the future but couldn’t afford it. Plus the cooking staff looked like they had a falling out. And they were not putting any passion in their work. They seemed to not even speak to each other. I can see why the pub was not that busy. On a plus not there was a new member of staff his first day. I hope they do not knock his cheerfulness out him.

Had a negative experience last month, sent 2 emails but still awaiting a response. Won't be returning.

Best pub grub I've ever had. Straight up, top quality food and service. Loved it.

Fantastic food and great staff. Table for x5. Great welcome, good menu, great service.

Food was nice and staff friendly, but we did have to wait 1.5 hours before food we ordered our food. Then another 1 hour for the food. But the super food bowl was delicious.

A warm familial atmosphere pervades the Boot in Freston. We visited on a Friday evening. Even though it was busy and building up to be busier still, the Boot’s front of house team were delightful. Despite the pressures of what looked like an influx of families from events at the local schools they preserved an air of attentive and kindly service. Unsurprisingly, there was much evidence of repeat business. Ours was a post business meeting meal, and between us we covered much of the dietary diversity of the 21st Century. There looked to be something for everyone. I enjoyed the Pan Fried Sea Bass (GF) with Sauce Vierge, and Mediterranean crushed potatoes. The more popular choice with the The Freston Boot Stack, 2x 4oz beef steak patties, streaky bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, onion rings, relish mayo, lettuce, rosemary fries & house slaw. This defeated all those who took on the challenge, though they all seemed happy with the journey to their capitulations. We also enjoyed the Olives and Feta by way of amuse bouche to keep the pangs away whilst we awaited our mains. I will certainly return if I find myself in the area again, not least with the ambition of seeing the Freston Kino in action.

Sadly, very slow service, sticky table, not a great menu selection, small portions and very expensive for what we got. Will not be returning - such a shame as it is a lovely venue.

Great friendly staff and the food was exceptional could not fault anything at all plus a great selection of drinks and children well catered for would highly recommend

How the once mighty have fallen. Known this place since in was revamped and reopened as the first cashless pub/restaurant in UK. It used to be amazing. Sadly, no longer.

What has happened to The Boot? Slow inattentive service, very average food - all quite expensive. Staff need to be trained, when we had dessert menus thrown at our table we decided to leave. .. such a shame as it’s been so lovely in the past.

The location is quite nice and the food is OK. The service is very poor table left uncleared after first course. Asked to see pudding menu which never appeared. Table remaining uncleared and no one came back. We decided to pay the bill and leave. Poorly trained inattentive staff spoilt the occasion.

Food was okay. Nothing special. A little disappointed

Excellent food and the staff were very observant and looked after us

Only reason for 3* service is they were understaffed on a busy bank holiday!

Been here today for our anniversary lunch. The food was amazing and the staff were really friendly and welcoming. We will definitely be going back, a great find, highly recommended.

The staff were so helpful in helping me arrange my friend's 'hen do' lunch and the actual event was really lovely. Thank you to all at the Feston Boot.

Great pub with seriously good food. One of the best in Suffolk.

Excellent. Charming service. Top quality food and lovely surroundings and atmosphere.

Visited last week with a group of family for my dad's birthday. The staff were very welcoming and also very patient, my family can be noisy. The food was great as was the beer selection. Several of us had the haddock and chips, which was fantastic. Beautiful pub, very well designed inside. And the prices were more than fair. Thanks

Excellent food, great service, great waitress. Will definitely go again

Sunday lunch was disappointing, it isn't cheap and basics like stuffing, gravy, cauliflower are all extra. I expect much better for this price. Roast beef chewy, roast potatoes, poor quality tasteless potato and poorly cooked. Service was okay, although on this occasion we weren't checked on for things like more drinks, and the water for the dogs never arrived. We'd had excellent service and food a couple of days previous, hence booking the Sunday lunch, but it didn't translate.

Reasonable food, reasonable service, poor selection of beers, not worth the money. Probably won't go back.

Very friendly service from the staff, lovely range of local beers including Big Drop Paridiso 0%. Vegan platter and rosemary fries went down a treat. Will definitely be back when the sun is shining.

We visited for lunch spare of the moment and were looked after well. We chose the vegan sharing platter opting for feta, not vegan feta, it was delicious. A large glass of wine (bit pricey not so much that I didn’t have one!) and a pint on non alcoholic local beer went down very well with the platter. We will certainly return to try the menu further.

Nice place - lovely location and setup however our experience hasn’t been great overall. Enquired twice via the website on the wedding hire which they promote - and even after popping into the pub to express interest, we never heard back from anyone which is rather disappointing and off-putting.

Overall I can’t complain about the food. We had Sunday lunch on Mother’s Day and the roast was really good. Unfortunately our experience was spoiled somewhat as soon as we arrived by being told that we had the table for an hour and fifteen minutes! I asked if this was normal and was told by the manager/owner that ‘ it is a really busy day, you know’. We felt that we had to order our food immediately to give us any chance of finishing within the given time frame. The hour and fifteen minutes approached, having only just received our desserts and I worried that we would have to leave the table mid dessert! Nothing happened. We finally left the table having been there for an hour and forty five minutes. As had other diners, some of whom were also concerned about over running! It seemed there had been no real reason to tell us about the very short time limit. The staff wouldn’t have been able to serve our two course meal and coffee in that limited time anyway. But I’m afraid to say, it did spoil our Mother’s Day.

Nice old pub , very nice staff but the food was a disappointment. We both had fish and chips, the batter was extremely hard and the chips were the same.

First visit but little disappointed with choice and cost of food. Service was very good, warm and welcoming

Expensive. Card only. No cash. They said it saves them a lot of money in not needing security or precautions in taking moneys to banks. No cash in the tills to steal in a robbery. Easier,safer and more efficient transactions. So why are their prices for a beer(£6.60) so high?

Not great for vegans. Even had real cream put in a black coffee. Multiple items missing from dishes without prior explanation.

Really friendly pub/restaurant. Excellent service,the dogs received treats and water whilst we scanned the menu. They even have a menu for dogs. I chose fish and chips, which were superb; crisp batter outside and perfectly cooked fish within, very hard to find that sort of perfection,lerge portion size too. Very good selection of drinks. Nice setting, outside seating for the summer. Eclectic collection of structures outside, including amongst others, a teepee, yurt, etc. Good size car park. We didn't have to reserve a table at that time, but I believe it would be well patronised at more popular times. A thoroughly enjoyable time was had and we would wholeheartedly recommend The Boot.

A lovely pub with decent beers and excellent food. The service was really good too. We were there with dogs and kids and the staff did everything they could to make things work for us. Will definitely go back.

Congratulations to the kitchen in providing the best Christmas dinner ever! Who knew Turkey with all the trimmings could be that tasty🥳

Nice food. Expensive venue. Cold restaurant area .

The Food, as always was amazing and value for money when you take the quality into account. The service was friendly and helpful- back again next weekend 😀

Excellent lunch only spoiled by the bowl it was served in, a plate is more convenient for a knife and fork

Amazing food. Nice and cozy place to dine in to.

We decided to meet up with friends here as it was close to our final destination. It is an old pub, and so wasn’t very warm. We found the staff to be friendly.. We ordered drinks at the bar & was offered seating. We ordered fish & chips. The food came out lovely & hot. The chips didn’t look the best .. the fish was very nice as was the mushy peas. Once others in our party arrived also ordering fish & chips the quality of the food seem to improve.. big fat home cooked chips and a nice size portion. Not like what we had been given earlier.. We went to the bar to pay & found you can only pay by card only ! Overall the food was nice. But in seeing how much nicer our friends food had been I felt we had been given the bottom of the pan !

We visited the pub with a friend on Sunday, November 12. The Sunday roast was fantastic - one of the best we’ve had in Suffolk. Unfortunately service was very disappointing. We waited 20 minutes to be served on arrival and then almost 30 minutes for our drinks to arrive. My wine was forgotten and my friend had to get it from the bar. The waiting staff tried to blame it on how “busy” they were, but it wasn’t really an excuse. The food just about made up for it. Hopefully a rare off day for what is generally an excellent pub.

Nice enough but cold as was the food we ate. Won't be visiting again!

Great place for us to eat and drink locally, never had a bad meal , staff great especially Sonia , she’s a bottle of bubbles 😊

The curry goat was fantastic. Try the English whiskey very smooth.

First visit to this venue, predominantly a restaurant with lots of outdoor seating (which wasn’t helpful on a cold blustery day) with a very small welcoming bar area, two stalls and one chair. First impressions were, understaffed chaos, lots of empty glasses on the bar, and generally very untidy. However I am pleased to report that there was a good selection of beers, even though very pricey drafts were £6.80 a pint ! Decent Malbec for £25 a bottle. The food was pretty good without being exceptional, the cauliflower cheese added as a extra to accompany the Sunday Roast was very disappointing, staff were helpful, a solid 4 out of 5, very busy and obviously popular.

Olde wordle style without getting silly with it. Good food and cheerful staff.

Food was pricey but worth the money - empty plates all round. Felt quite crammed in but it was a busy Saturday lunchtime. Service was okay, not the quickest but again it was a Saturday lunchtime so understandable. Menu is quite limited but definitely worth the trip if you like the look of the menu.

A lovely old pub. Nice quirky furnishings. The food was great and the staff attentive. Highly recommended.

Populär pub på landet. Vi åt söndagslunch och blev mycket nöjda. De hade en ovanligt god prosecco, som vi inledde med. De verkar över huvud taget vara bra på vin. Vi åt olika typer av roasts med tillbehör. En åt vegetarisk curry.

Really delicious burger, the Boot's signature dish. Highly recommended! Full to the brim with a huge burger, cheese, bacon and more. Lovely chips & coleslaw too.

Family holiday nearby, phoned pub on a Sunday and requested 5 roast dinners to take away..Food was delicious and piping hot when got back to lodge. Great family atmosphere with all staff and highly recommend this place.

Staff friendly. Food great. Good service

Very good lunch with Yacht Club friends after a Club visit to a boatyard in Ipswich. We had a private room and enjoyed excellent food served very quickly, accompanied by well kept local beers. I’d definitely go there again.

It was a nice meal and we enjoyed our lunch and pudding. A little pricey but there were cheaper options as well.

Really beautiful pub, loved the outside space. Staff were friendly if not a bit disorganised, however it was a busy Sunday. Food was mediocre and overpriced in my opinion. The Sunday menu was all the same price, despite being different meat. Same for the starters £7.00 for squid makes sense, £7.00 for a bread basket does not.

We turned up for an evening meal out on a showery evening and the staff served us in one of the Hobbitty outdoor shelters. More work for them, but fun for us. We were also impressed that an armchair was spontaneously offered ad specially brought out for the disabled member of our party; a genuine help. As for the food, it was great to find ssomewhere that had a real range of veggie and vegan options. Altogether thoroughly recommended.

Delicious lunches. Wonderful garden and friendly staff.

lOVELY spot, just outside Ipswich town, lots of space and dogs are welcome1 fOOD WAS DELICIOUS especially my Chickpea curry, fish n chips came with huge portions of fish and thick cunky crispy outside sofe in middle chips! for small eaters ask for smaller portions , nothing was too much trouble, my grandsons birthday, I had made cakes they were happy to light candles and bring to the table, for us to serve ourselves, staff were delightful, nothing was too much bother, when it came to the bill dividing it between the payers was easily done on their computers, all in all a lovely place to dine, I shall certainly go there again. Thank them all

Stopped for a drink on a circular walk, we ordered a large white wine and a pint of fox beer and were shocked by the bill £18, wow, can't comment on the food but looked inviting and patronage was healthy, still reeling from the drinks charge we decided to site in the garden, disappointed really, not being picky but unkempt and full of weeds, looked scruffy and uncared for.

Always nice and relaxed here. Ideal place to take the puppy too.

Great meal lovely evening thank you we will be back

No English wine at all which is a pity. Plenty of NZ wine which has vast air miles and really no better.

This is one of those little gems in the middle of nowhere. Good food, child friendly and has a lovely pub garden

Food was good, and I really enjoyed the quiz night that was hosted after the meal. Make sure you go on Wednesdays! I think I ordered the wrong thing, my wife's carribean chicken was A++

Such a lovely cosy vibe, food was beautiful service was amazing highly recommended thank you xx

What has happened to this once fantastic pub?! Was such a treat when the Freston Boot was lovingly restored. It was an exciting place, forward thinking decor, local craft beers, delicious food..most made of produce from the garden, beautiful surroundings, events, a cinema, well looked after animals, I could go on… Really is so sad to see this place gone down hill. The garden is in such a bad way, broken steps, dead flowers, nothing being grown, animals living in poor conditions, the garden looks like it’s being used as a dumping ground for the pub. The entrance to the kitchen door is greasy and very off putting. The menu lacks flare and the drinks are very overpriced. Today we popped in for a portion of chips and a couple of drinks, however we were told by the manager that the staff had been sent home! Seems nobody cares at the Freston boot anymore, such a shame! I miss what it was a couple years back. Maybe a shake up in management is what’s needed.

Fantastic Food. Goat Curry with plantain ,rice and peas Carribbean Chicken

Had visited after Covid and very pleasantly surprised at their professional operation Today sadly very disappointing food and very expensive My curry was a tin of chickpeas in a curry sauce with some rice , dried up naan and small amount of chutney Very unappetising to look at and similar when eating We had taken a friend so made no fuss The chips on my husbands meal were dreadful, to large overcooked and tasteless Our friend had Caribbean chicken and pushed it around the plate and said nothing All in all we would not go again unless they improve the food to match the money charged

Came here as a pit-stop from a hike along the River Orwell with friends. Had a quick tea here. Lovely atmosphere and great service, need to come back for food!

Good burger, good drinks, quaint old atmosphere, and an interesting back yard. Also, the burger is big enough for two people and they did not complain about us splitting it.

Could not even cook a sea bass fillet and two steaks. The fish was completely dried out and the steaks looked like they had been cooked in the oven. The steaks had no colour to them and had not seen any real heat to give them any flavour. The desserts were offered for free which we accepted but £28 steaks not properly cooked was very disappointing.

Best southern fried chicken burger I’ve ever eaten! Service was great and they were really helpful with dietary requirements. We had such a lovely dinner on the first night of our holiday that we came back for brunch on our way home.

The Freston Boot is amazing. They pride themselves on locally grown and sourced food and they do it so well. Their menu is small but perfectly formed. Something for everyone. Eggs from their chickens. Herbs from their gardens. Great for lunch or dinner and Sunday lunch.

Pleasant pub where six of us had roasts, including two the vegetarian option. I felt mine was under seasoned but salt and pepper on the table solved that. Several of us felt that everything could have been hotter. The passion fruit sorbet for dessert was fresh and delicious. Service was good.

Brought my family here as a present, sadly over a 20 min wait for drinks order when there was only 1 other table in. Food was average, not much flavour, service was OK when we managed to grab someone coming past, the cheese board was the highlight- large portion (black bomber is my favourite) a 530 sitting and we didn't manage to leave until nearly 8pm , sadly it was extremely over priced for the flavours and experience. Shame to say we will not be returning.

Great food, very welcoming and accommodating staff, particularly as we had two dogs. Would highly recommend.

Unfortunately I would not recommend. We booked for Father's Day, and all had a roast dinner. The potatoes were too chewy, the cabbage not cooked enough, the chicken was too dry and had been cooked too long and there was not enough gravy. We were absolutely gutted as I had heard great things, this wasn't the case when we visited. The service at times was slow, and they were not attentive and we often had to asked to be served. I would not recommend this pub to friends and family and I would not return. Such a shame.

Country pub with large garden and seating area. Menu a bit limited. My wife and granddaughter food good large portion. My ribs came out cold, no sign of waiting staff so had to take back to kitchen myself. Chef very sorry and offered free desert. Food warmed up ok. Discretionary service charge which I always find annoying added to bill.

A hidden gem with and excellent Sunday roast in a beautiful location

The limited food menu is excellent and full marks to the chiefs. The wine list and specialist beer prices though, will spoil your day. A couple or so wines below £30. Plenty at £50 or so. Beers? Try £10. Ridiculous wine mark-up and beer at unimaginable prices. We won't be back.

Outstanding...the food and service were fu@king awesome. Sonia was incredibly attentive and tended to all our needs. Polite and friendly. Well done guys had an amazing dinning experience. Keep up the Outstanding work. "Mike drop"

My husband took us here for our wedding anniversary, the food was delicious, the setting is very nice and the staff are so attentive and friendly. Sonia couldn't have done anymore for us as a family. It made our whole evening really enjoyable. Will definitely...

Visited here yesterday afternoon for a drink, been before & it has been a pleasant experience but boy oh boy, not this time. We ordered a pint of draught beer, & after some deliberation on whether they could serve it by the glass or not...

After 10 days in England, from Windsor to Arundel to Richmond to Ipswich we FINALLY FOUND an EXCELLENT Pub Restaurant! Delicious cuisine served by caring staff. We will be going back for the rest of our stay!

Just popped in for a pint. Nice location, good selection of beer, served by pleasant staff.

Glorious pub garden! If you venture down the end you can find the kitchen garden with goats (who were "on holiday" when we went and ducks). Great outside space with a little quirky roundhouse if you needed a bit of cover. The staff were really...

El servicio realmente lento a pesar de estar a media ocupacion

Food is a bit pricey but well worth it, an extremely delicious burger that is UNRIVALLED. Staff very friend and clean pub. Would recommend.

Lovely food, excellent friendly staff. Food was a little pricey, but very tasty