In December me and my husband ventured out to Suffolk for a quick lunch at Pea Porridge. This is Suffolk’s only Michelin starred restaurant. They received the star in 2021 by serving hearty Moorish inspired cuisine.
One Michelin star means outstanding cooking with top quality ingredients, harmonious flavours, mastery of culinary techniques, the chef’s personality in the food, and most importantly, consistency across the menu and over time.
The restaurant is independently owned by a husband and wife duo. Justin Sharp is the head chef, and Jurga runs front of house.
I booked our table on their website, on this occasion for lunch. They ask for card details, and they have very detailed ‘terms and conditions’. The latter is worth reading to make sure you know what you can expect (for example: no dogs, no children under 10 years of age, and they don’t cater for a vegan diet.)
After booking I politely let them know we didn’t have the whole afternoon to dine, as we had to make it back to the school run. They were helpful and accommodating regarding our tight schedule.
On our visit the weather was awful with strong wind and rain, but the restaurant was warm and welcoming. The tables were close to each other that created an intimate vibe. It was hard to walk into the room without saying hi to the rest of the guests who were already sitting. After spending 20 years in hospitality, I cannot shake off the politeness in me. The other guests were surprised by our greetings, but to our defence, they were staring at us as we sat down…
The menu was surprisingly large with lots of a ‘la carte options and they also offered a 4 course set menu at lunchtime for £55. This is very good value for money at this level, so we both opted for that.
We started our lunch with two glasses of sparkling wine. A lunch date with my husband without our child is considered a luxury. An occasion that is worth celebrating.
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Our first course was ‘Pakenham Mill wholemeal sourdough and pea hummus’
I’m a big fan of homemade bread and this dish was outstanding. The bread was cooked in a charcoal oven; the smokiness added an extra layer to the flavour. We enjoyed the pea hummus with it. The simplicity of this dish was done to perfection.
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The second course was ‘Cured Suffolk herrings, carrot, orange, fennel, finger lime, labneh, fine Greek bottarga’
When I worked at the Hind’s Head restaurant in 2012, we had a cured herring on the menu. Heston Blumenthal loved it, but it was the least popular option amongst the guests. We also kept it on the lunch menu to push it a little bit more. Otherwise, no one would have ordered it. Cured herring is something that you have to grow up on to like, otherwise you will find the flavour too acidy, the fish too hard and generally the whole dish weird. We come from Eastern Europe, so we were generally excited to try it. Our memories of cured herrings consist of a pungent fish smell, lots of acidity with an enormous amount of onion and fresh bread. This was a rather sophisticated version without the pungent smell and as you can see, plated beautifully. The labneh cut through the acidity. Personal preference but it would have been lovely to have a bit more bread with this dish (we did not ask for it though).
Labneh: strained yoghurt popular in the Middle East.
Greek Bottarga: cured grey mullet roe.
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The main course was ‘Suffolk wagyu shin tagine, traditional Moorish garnish’
I mentioned at the beginning that they were doing hearty cooking; now this is the perfect example of it. The tagine and the garnishes were meant to be shared between us. We each received an empty plate that was seasoned; ready to add more flavour when we scooped some rice and tagine over it.
This dish matched the outside weather. I also want to highlight that good cooking doesn’t have to be ‘fine dining French’ to be recognised by Michelin. It was wonderful to try something else.
My husband was driving, but I asked for a glass of red wine to accompany the tagine. It would have been rude not to.
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The dessert was ‘ “Burnt” Basque cheesecake, quince poached in saffron, rose petals, kataifi’
This dessert went down as a treat after the main course. Light, not to sweet, balanced, exciting. It was full of different textures like the jelly like quince, the soft cheesecake, the sauce around it and the crispy vermicelli like pastry. Without a doubt 10/10.
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I would recommend this restaurant to those who are open minded to try something else apart from the classic French fine dining at one Michelin level. As mentioned above, the £55 4 course lunch menu is excellent value for money, but don't expect any extras; you only get what is stated on the menu. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch at Pea Porridge. It would be interesting to return at dinner time to see and taste what they are doing then.
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Date of our visit: 12pm Thursday, 4 December 2025 - 2 people
2 Gls Cavendish £28
1 Orange Clementine £6
2 x 4 course set menu at £55 = £110
1 Gls Mirage £13
Service Charge £19.62
Total £176.62
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I am Eniko Fejer, founder and private chef at Chef to Home. We are one of Norfolk’s leading small event caterers offering private dinners and catering experiences for family or friend’s get-togethers. We have been mentioned on the EDP and on BBC Radio 2, collaborated with other small businesses (check the press page on our website) and we have over 80 very personalised five-star Google reviews. The concept of Chef to Home by Eniko Fejer was born in late 2020. However I started to work full time as a private chef in April 2023. My aim has been to provide a high-end, personalised culinary experience to the guests in their chosen location.
Dining in high-end restaurants is not new to us. I started eating out in Michelin starred restaurants at the age of 23. Before our son was born in 2016, we have been to many one, two and even a few three star restaurants in the UK and across Europe. Lately, our visits have become less frequent, but we have been going as and when we could.
Latest reviews:
- Dinner at the two Michelin starred Midsummer House, Cambridge
- Dinner at Benedicts Restaurant by Richard Bainbridge, Norwich
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