The best restaurants in Lavenham Babergh East of England

We had afternoon tea here as part of our spa day and I have to say we were left disappointed, which summed up the whole day really. In advance we were asked for our dietary requirements, but on the day we still asked several times if we had any dietary requirements even though they were provided in advance and written down on the booking. The service was just so slow, it took so long to even get a hot drink, and by the time the food come out we’d run out so had no tea or coffee to compliment the afternoon tea. The waiter/kitchen had no idea what to substitute the sandwiches with and we had to tell them what to maybe put in them! It was like we had allergies it was just the fact we didn’t eat fish. The attentive of the staff was just shocking, come 3pm everyone seemed to disappear like it was the end of their shift which left 1 waiter running the whole restaurant, and doing the drinks and food. Again it took ages for another refill, which in the end we just gave up and finished our food and just walked out without seeing any staff again! I have been to the Lavenham swan on several occasions before and it just wasn’t up to its usual standards and would probably not return again or recommend it for any special occasion.

What's wrong with a pot of tea with 2 cups? Curtly told to sit, twice, no time to look at cakes. Nice tea. Fresh cakes. Chill

I have been going to Sweetmeats for chocolates for the special occasion for 30 years now and every time has been memorable. Most recently I bought several boxes of chocolates for the staff at the Dialysis Centre and so much were they enjoyed that several staff have since made the journey across from Cambridge just to stock up. The selection is exquisite, the portions gargantuan, the flavours sublime with a wonderful range of colour and texture that is mouth-watering. It takes all my reserves of self-restraint to restrict myself to just the special occasion or by now I would be huge! Thank you for maintaining such a wonderful traditon of the chocolate-makers' art, with produce that so beautifuly matches the heritage and architecture of our surroundings. Sweetmeats is a tremendous asset to Lavenham and long may you flourish Tony

Great afternoon visit to the Swan with the best company. The food was delicious, we were told there’s a new chef. The beef rib was really tasty as was the turkey dinner. If you haven’t been for a while you really must try the Swan again. Service was amazing from Gill.