Where to eat
The Suffolk Coast boasts a wide range of excellent pubs, cafés and restaurants. Details of those who have chosen to advertise with us can be found at the back of our seasonal brochures, or click on the link above to view the list.
Food and drink is available at Snape Maltings Concert Hall from the Oyster Bar and Restaurant. We have recently appointed new caterers, Metfield at Aldeburgh Music. This marks the start of a very exciting partnership with the much acclaimed Metfield Bakery, who have a rapidly growing reputation for delicious food and drink.
Owned and run by Stuart Oetzmann, an East Anglian chef trained by the Roux Brothers, Sally Clarke and Antony Worrall Thompson, Metfield have a genuine passion for local produce and English recipes. Rearing livestock from his family’s Norfolk smallholding, Stuart is able to control much of his produce 'from plough to plate'.
For events at Snape Maltings Concert Hall during the Spring season, Metfield will be providing hot and cold food in the informal Oyster Bar. There is no need to book but arrive early for the best chance of a window seat.
The Concert Hall Restaurant will be open for the performance by the Britten–Pears Orchestra (4 April). Please pre-book for this traditional table-service restaurant through the Aldeburgh Music Box Office, telephone 01728 687110.
For the performances by English Touring Opera (6-8 May), a special Dine-and-Concert offer is available. The offer includes a top price opera ticket, canapés, interval drinks, and a three-course dinner, pre-concert (from 5.30pm) or post-concert for £65.
There is a fully stocked bar for events in the Hoffmann Building (Britten Studio and Jerwood Kiln Studio), open one hour before performances. For formal dining arrangements, we recommend a visit to the Metfield Café in the Snape Maltings House and Garden shop. The Metfield Café is also open every day for lunch, as well as Friday and Saturday evenings pre-concert. To make a reservation please call 01728 688303.
We regret that picnics are not allowed anywhere on the site at Snape.
Snape and Aldeburgh
‘Snape Maltings is one of those rare artistic places where the buildings, the people who visit and work there, the magical setting, come together and enable you to do something out of the ordinary.’ – Alfred Brendel
'A unique selling point about Aldeburgh is that it is a wonderful place to be, no matter if the weather is fair or foul. If the sun is shining, the wide sea vista gleams with a brilliance few places can rival. If the east coast does its worst, the scudding black clouds and biting winds conjure a Peter Grimes atmosphere that is what this town, forever associated with Benjamin Britten, is all about.'
– Richard Fairman, Financial Times, June 2008
