The 12 Best Family-Friendly Pubs on the Suffolk Coast

The Suffolk coastal area is fantastic for family holidays. The unspoiled Suffolk beaches are located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and with the many family-friendly pubs on the Suffolk coast, it’s a great place to spend your summer holidays.

We’re a foodie family and Suffolk has been dubbed the foodie county so it’s a win-win situation for us, especially as there are so many beautiful places to visit in Suffolk and lots of fun things to do in Suffolk with kids

If the Suffolk weather is being kind to you, all of these gastropubs in Suffolk have great pub beer gardens which are perfect for families as they offer a more relaxed dining experience.

As a side note, the weather in Suffolk is lovely in the summer as the coastal breeze tends to move clouds away. It seems to have its own little micro-climate.

Having visited quite a few family-friendly Suffolk pubs over the years, we decided to pull together a list of the best Suffolk pubs for some casual dining so that you’ll be sure of a great meal or two during your stay in Suffolk.

Here are our top 10 recommendations for the best pubs in Suffolk for families.

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Before visiting Suffolk, you might want to grab a copy of the Rough Guide to Suffolk & Norfolk  which is the most comprehensive and up to date guide out there. We also love this Suffolk pub walks guide.

1. The White Hart in Blythburgh

The White Hart may be on a busy main road (A12), but once you turn off into the car park, you would never know.

For years we used to drive past this pub and didn’t give it much thought as it looked a little run-down but it has had a relatively recent makeover and I am so glad we popped in one day to check it out.

The food is delicious which is a bonus because we would come here just for the beer and the beer garden! The menu is very inviting, including a large selection of lovely tapas dishes that come served on a long board.

You can choose 2,4,6 or 8 – or however many you can handle. They also have the usual gastropub food options on the menu and a pretty extensive kids menu, including kids’ cocktails.

The White Hart in Blythburgh Suffolk

It’s very cosy inside and serves a range of Adnams ales. There is a large fireplace stacked up with toys to keep little ones entertained if you happen to visit on a rainy day but if it is sunny, they have possibly the best beer garden I have ever seen!

There is loads of outdoor seating and the outdoor space is enormous, including a mini football pitch with goals at the very bottom. Just remember to bring a football with you because they don’t supply footballs.

It also has ride-on tractors which are fun to free-wheel down the slope and there are small animals in various enclosures.

The garden backs directly onto the picturesque Blyth Estuary so you can have a walk along the footpath to walk off some of the delicious food after lunch.

This is possibly one of our favourite restaurants in the Suffolk Coastal area. It also has rooms but we have not stayed here as we have our own accommodation nearby.

The Football pitch at the Blythburgh White Hart in Suffolk

2. The Ship in Dunwich

Dunwich is an interesting place because in the 11th Century is was one of the largest towns in England. During the 13th and 14th Centuries, storms destroyed the coastline and the town fell into the sea.

Today it is a quaint but tiny village with a church, a pub, a maritime museum, a fish & chip restaurant and a handful of houses.

Coming here, you really feel like you’ve reached the end of the road. At certain times of the year, it can get really busy.

Check out the dates for the Dunwich Dynamo because you’ll be competing with hundreds of hungry cyclists who’ve cycled over 100 miles from London to Dunwich and end up here.

The Ship Inn in Dunwich Suffolk

The Ship is a great little pub, serving Adnams ales like most of the Suffolk pubs. The food is excellent and they have a pretty good kids menu but the big draw for us is their beer garden.

They also have some lovely accommodation.

If you are feeling energetic, we recommend checking out one of these fabulous Dunwich walks which will really let you explore the area.

The beer garden at the Ship Inn in Dunwich

3. The Westleton Crown in Westleton

The Westleton Crown is not far from the coast near Dunwich and is famous for having the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stay there after attending a friend’s wedding in Suffolk.

They stayed in the Swan Room in case there are any royal fans out there!

The food is consistently great with a good kids menu. They usually run a competition for kids to colour in a crown and when you hand it in, you get a token for a free kids meal when buying an adult meal on your return.

In the summer they open up the large bi-fold doors at the back which makes the dining area lovely and light.

The garden is a sun trap and can get very warm on a hot summer’s day, although there’s plenty of shade if you need it.

The Westleton Crown in Westleton Suffolk

4. The Dolphin Inn in Thorpeness

If you have been boating in Thorpeness (which we highly recommend), then you should definitely check the Dolphin Inn out for lunch.

They are set just a little back from the beach and serve high quality, modern British food. In the summer months, they also have a BBQ menu. They have a good kids menu too, including a burger almost the same size as the adult burgers but half the price!

The beer garden is a huge draw. There is lots of space, although it does get very busy in the summer holidays so come early to get a table.

They also have a boules court which kept the kids entertained for a while (watching). They have accommodation too.

Thorpeness is just along the coast from the more famous Aldeburgh if you are looking for more things to do in the area.

The Dolphin Inn in Thorpeness in Suffolk

5. The White Horse in Badingham

The White Horse is a picture-perfect pub both inside and out. There is a little snug drinking area inside when the weather is not so great and a lovely outdoor seating area out front with a large beer garden round the back overlooking the local bowling green.

The food is pretty standard pub food and they have a pizza oven outside serving pizzas through the summer which is what our boys go for.

This is actually where I grew up and was probably the first pub I ever set foot in. Many happy memories here.

The White Horse in Badingham Suffolk

6. The Jolly Sailor in Orford

We love the Jolly Sailor  It offers relatively simple pub food but not your average pub food. It is done very well and they source local produce where possible.

As with most old Suffolk pubs, the ceilings are quite low, but this just adds to the cosiness.

Out the back, there is a large patio area which leads onto a huge grassed area with a sandpit for the little ones.

Orford is famous for being a foodie town so we should also mention that the Crown & Castle and the Pump Street Bakery and the very popular Butley Orford Oysterage.

The Jolly Sailor in Orford Suffolk

7. The Ramsholt Arms in Ramsholt

If you’re searching for Riverside Pubs Suffolk, the Ramsholt Arms is a must. It’s one of our favourite pubs in Suffolk to enjoy a meal or a drink on a warm summer’s day while watching boats sailing by.

It is a little out of the way of anywhere but it is definitely worth the trip down narrow country lanes.

Having said that, it is not too far from Sutton Hoo, the Anglo Saxon burial site, so you could pop here for lunch after your visit to Sutton Hoo.

The food is delicious, especially the fresh seafood and the BBQ menu in the summer months. The kids’ menu is a little light although it has the main favourites and they are extremely good quality.

The real selling point is the view and the fact the kids can potter around on the shore’s edge with a bucket and spade while you finish your meal in peace.

If you come in the evening, you might be lucky enough to encounter a beautiful south facing sunset for sundowners.

The Ramsholt Arms in Ramsholt

8. The Crown Inn in Great Glemham

The Crown Inn has a very traditional feel to it and offers a very warm welcome. We especially love their kids’ menu and their large and pretty beer garden at the back.

It’s located far enough off the A12 to be lovely and peaceful, but a convenient location if you need somewhere to stop off from the A12 on the way to the coast.

The Crown in Great Glemham Suffolk

9. The White Horse in Easton

The White Horse is a little inland from the coast but it is on here because they serve really delicious food and they are just around the corner from Easton Farm Park which you should visit if you are visiting Suffolk with kids.

The pub itself is a lovely 16th-century building and so cosy inside in the winter.

They cater for everyone and do pub food really well. They have a standard but tasty and reasonably priced kids menu.

In the summer the beer garden is perfect for the kids as it is enclosed and has a great climbing frame.

The White Horse in Easton Suffolk

10. The Unruly Pig in Bromeswell

The Unruly Pig has recently been named Dining Pub of the Year by the The Good Pub Guide so you know you are going to be in for a treat.

It really is gastro pub dining at its best and the thing that we loved about it (apart from the food) was that the kids were made to feel important too with their own (simple) menu to browse.

They were instantly taken by the fruit spritzers which arrived in posh glasses and loved that they could enjoy their starters with us.

The pub is also just a few minutes from one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the country, Sutton Hoo. If you are planning a visit there, then a lunch at the Unruly Pig afterwards is a must.

The Unruly Pig in Suffolk

11. The Anchor in Walberswick

The Anchor has been owned and run by the people who used to run the White Horse in Parson’s Green (aka the Sloney Poney) since 2004.

There is an excellent menu with locally sourced ingredients (including vegetables from their allotment) as well as some of the best ingredients from around the country.

There is a fabulous wine list as you would expect when the owner is a trained sommelier.

They have an enormous beer garden at the back which backs onto a coastal path leading to Walberswick beach and to the Walberswick Nature Reserve.

Our kids absolutely loved the food here so it gets a big thumbs up from us. Walberswick is also one of our favourite places to visit in Suffolk.

Make sure to read our complete guide to Walberswick for ideas on what to do there.

The Anchor at Walberswick

12. The Station Hotel in Framlingham

There used to be a railway in Framlingham but it closed to passengers in 1952 and the station building was converted to a pub.

Although it doesn’t have a great beer garden for the kids to run around in (just a pretty floral courtyard area out the back), I’m putting this in here because you will probably (you should) check out the town of Framlingham while you are in Suffolk (including Framlingham Castle).

It is a lovely pub with great food. The kids were very impressed with their choices (Suffolk sausages and homemade ragu tagliatelle) and wanted to take a picture of it! I was very impressed with my delicious open sandwich with bacon and brie.

If you are an Ed Sheeran fan, you may be interested to know that this is his local pub when he goes home and if you are lucky, you may get to see him.

If he’s not there in person, try and spot him in the picture up on the wall by the bar.

The Station Hotel in Framlingham in Suffolk

Want to try a local Suffolk beer?

With the Adnams Brewery based in Southwold in Suffolk, many of the pubs serve a variety of their world-class beers, mostly notably Adnams Ghost Ship.

If you’re not into beer, they also do a range of wines and spirits. Their shop in Southwold also stocks some lovely gifts if you’re looking for a souvenir of your Suffolk holidays.

The Adnams Brewery in Southwold Suffolk

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