The Moon and Mushroom – Swilland

The Moon and Mushroom is a great little ‘proper’ pub serving good, hearty, wholesome food. They’ve even won awards!

The Moon and Mushroom is a 16th Century free house, which means they have a great selection of local ales from breweries such as Woodfordes, Wolf, Nethergate and Buffys (The beers aren’t from the 16th Century!).

Wandering in one cold evening to meet a mate for a beer I was greeted by a very nice barmaid who asked a question I haven’t heard for years: “Would you like a straight glass or a tankard?” So shocked was I that I went for a straight glass, and when my mate arrived, he opted for the tankard. As the other chap at the bar also had a tankard they ganged up on me and my beer was swiftly and cheerily decanted into a tankard. It’s tough out here in the country but that’s the sort of circles I move in and the decisions I have to make.

Anyway, my pint of Dapper Dog was lovely.

When we got chatting to the landlady Nikki, we were soon persuaded to eat there as well.

We both had a fantastic local beef stew cooked in another local beer, the Nethergate Nog. It would have been rude not to follow it up with a shared cheeseboard of course. All their food is ‘homemade’ using local suppliers, farmers, gamekeepers so you get a true sense of a proper country pub.

The Moon and Mushroom is a great, straightforward Suffolk pub with charm, atmosphere, a nice selection of beers and wines, with great, home-cooked food, blazing fire and friendly service. They even gave me some 5% discount vouchers to hand out to my guests and as the pub is only 10 minutes away (7 miles) I’m sure they will all be used.

For more details and menus etc, just go to their website.