After giving a middling review last summer we decided to give the Leaping Hare another go. And I’m pleased to report it is back on top form! Food was excellent. Service was efficient and friendly. Also the ‘Vintners Menu’ offers really good value for money....Two courses for £26 and three courses for £30. Unfortunately we couldn’t find room for dessert! All in all - a great experience.More

Hands down, this has to be one of the best lunches I have eaten in a long time! All our group had a starter and main course and each one was absolutely delicious, beautifully presented and full of flavor. Lovely venue too!

Not cheap but excellent food in a lovely rural setting. Friendly efficient staff. Would certainly go again. Helpfully found space for my wife's mobility scooter.

We were told to sit outside & someone would come & take our order - after 10 minutes we had to ask for the order to be taken - 10 minutes later we were asked to just confirm what we had ordered - 10 minutes...later the drinks arrived - asked about the scones- was told ' no idea not my department!' - 5 minutes later the very ordinary - quite small & very dry cheese scones arrived -very over priced at £5.45 each!!More

It was a beautiful warm summer’s evening and my wife and I and a friend were celebrating our friend’s 70 th birthday. We were warmly greeted by the staff and shown to an outside table for pre-dinner drinks. We were given menus and were told...that the waitress will be back to get a drinks order. 15 minutes passed and nobody came to ask what we wanted. I went in search for a waitress and was met on my way. We placed an order for one bottle of house Champagne (which was delicious by the way). Again we waited and we waited and 15 minutes later I went in search for our missing bottle . I was told by an employee “it went missing behind the bar” To me, to wait a half hour to get our pre dinner drinks is not acceptable, This delay meant that very shortly we were called to our table inside the restaurant giving us very little time to enjoy our Champagne. This was not the only annoyance whenever we asked a question about the food or a wine suggestion to the waiting staff, they had to respond back by asking a senior colleague. At two hundred pounds for the three of us at this pricing level one should not have to go chasing the staff to order or to query why our order has not arrived. To make matters worse there was an automatic service charge added to the bill for something we did not receive. Having eaten many times at the Leaping Hare over the past eight years, it saddens us that the level of service is no longer as good as it was. The food thankfully has remained as good as ever.More

17th June- we were celebrating our first wedding anniversary, so a very special evening for the both of us. We booked here upon recommendation & felt rather flat when we left. When we booked your restaurant we mentioned on the comments it was our first...anniversary & were disappointed there was no mention of this whatsoever. We weren’t expecting much, but just a small detail to make it more personal would of made our evening so special, even just a “happy anniversary” from the staff would of been appreciated. For the price you are asking, not only are you paying for the food but also the service. The food was lovely, we cannot fault but this was a special treat for us to dine with you and we are left feeling very disappointed. When presented with our bill we didn’t feel we wanted to leave the service charges automatically applied to our bill, so asked to take this off. When leaving we felt the staff were quite sarcastic with saying goodbye and were then made to feel most unwelcome as we didn’t tip them. For future reference, a little acknowledgment of special occasions would go a long way, especially something that means so much to us, this time last year we were celebrating our big day & the same time this year we chose to spend with you and unfortunately, your establishment has let us down.More

We visited last Saturday for shopping and lunch. The setting is stunning, in the heart of the Suffolk countryside. The farmers market is delightful and the shop wonderful. Lunch was excellent. Beautiful freshly made local produce. Good wine their own vineyard. Great service Highly recommended!

We were welcomed and shown to our table , very pleasant waitress. Soup for us both delicious , but expensive for a simple bowl of soup ! Our main courses were again delicious but what a tiny portion of hake, so little on my plate...for such a high price , two very small pieces of leek….. So yes still a good place to come and enjoy a meal but your prices are very high….certainly the restaurant was not as full as it used to be…maybe folk do realise it is overpriced….pity.More

I’ve debated about writing this review because the food was lovely however having experienced being a vegan at other restaurants I reflect on how awful our experience was here. We wrote on our booking form that one diner was vegan, reminded the waitress we had...a vegan diner on arrival, was handed a menu with pencil ticks against what could be vegan (hardly screams professional or accommodating different dietary choices) the vegan diner was then acknowledged as ‘yes I’ve noted you’re vegan’ when ordering our main meal (when clearly saying NO Parmesan cheese on what was ordered) however even after three reminders about the vegan diner and a request for NO Parmesan we get a vegan meal with Parmesan cheese on it. They were very apologetic when we raised it but it was such an awful experience and we left feeling like they didn’t care, didn’t listen and would rather not bother with dietary variances/choices - if someone had a serious allergy I highly doubt they’d disregard it as much as they did our vegan requirements Our non verbal apology was a reduction of the ‘optional’ service charge which is odd and I wonder if that was sarcasm really. They say they are vegetarian friendly which might be the case but I absolutely cannot recommend for vegans diners after our dreadful utterly inexcusable experience.More

You don’t go to the Leaping Hare for superb food - well, we don’t- but for the whole comfortable experience. On Saturday morning there is a bustling Farmers’ Market and at all times (when open) delicious shopping in the extensive house and home shop where...fluffy rugs and local ceramics jostle with a terrific book selection, cards, home-produced wines and gardening stuff. You can also walk round the grounds, admiring the planting, or just stand and wonder at the silly-looking llamas. The restaurant is housed in a converted barn with a lofty ceiling, stoves and good artworks. It is warm and welcoming with well-spaced paper-clad tables, and nice cloth napkins. Service is always kind and efficient but can be a bit slow and the younger (part-time?) staff a little inept. The menu is very much about using local produce especially from the estate itself so there’s lots of game and venison in season. The food is always ok but dishes are very much meat and two-veg in trad British style. Prices are a little steep for mains £25-30 but reasonable for starters, e.g. mussels £9.95 and smoked trout salad £10.95. (We do understand how difficult it must be running a restaurant these days.) We like the Leaping Hare very much but don’t expect unusual ingredients or great inspiration. To coin an awful phrase, it is what it is.More

We visited the leaping hare in January for a family birthday and as always had an amazing night. The food was prepared to such a high standard in terms of both flavour and presentation - we were all very impressed at how high end the...menu came across. All staff were incredibly welcoming, warm and professional throughout the night, wanted to say a big thank you. We very much appreciated the advice with pairing wines with certain courses - I'm already missing the Wyken Pink! Leaping hare is a great place that balances high end cuisine with an environment that's incredible warm and relaxing. The log burners make a wonderful touch. Will definitely be coming back!More

I first visited this restaurant 25 years ago and loved it.I have visited many times since with family and business associates. One of my favourites. Today I can say that I was distinctly underwhelmed for several reasons but primarily the staff. There is a very...good range of locally sourced ingredients in a range of dishes which all sounded attractive. We enjoyed our food although the portion sizes were too large for our liking, not the fault of the restaurant. The eating area used to be divided into a restaurant area and a cafeteria. The restaurant menu is now served throughout. We sat at a very small table where our knees were pressed onto the structure of the table. So if you book for a restaurant meal it would be a good idea to ask to be seated in the original restaurant zone, where they have tables and chairs of restaurant standard. My main gripe was the clearly over staffed restaurant. There were two people carrying the service and then a bunch of five who did serve but were very keen to have a chat and spent some time looking at a mobile phone. They were still in the eating area often by the coffee machine but sometimes by the till at the garden exit. Their conversations were clearly audible not work orientated and quite loud. Some of this group also called out to one another when distanced. This behaviour is not really appropriate for a Michelin recommended restaurant. The attitude would possibly be tolerated in KFC or Mc Donalds but then I do not think they would have so many superfluous staff. I doubt that I will return to this establishment. When people are paying for a restaurant meal the standard of food is very important but so is front of house. People want to be looked after and feel included in the dining experience. The cafe end of the restaurant staff are poor and need instruction.More