Best fish & chips in a very long time!The fish was light & flakey, batter was crispy & tasty. Hot plates, thick crispy chips too ?.A nice touch was the small pots of warm curry sauce. We all really enjoyed our meal, the host was friendly & attentive & our 2 dogs were made welcome.Highly recommended ?.
Adam Pescod
The Sole Bay Inn has always been one of my favourite Suffolk pubs. I recently had lunch at the pub with my uncle, and having just discovered I have a gluten intolerance, I was pleased to find out it has a gluten free menu and Adnams Ease Up IPA (also GF) on tap. I resisted the gluten-free fish and chips and went for the seafood salad. It was nice but could have done with a little more seasoning and salad ‘components’ beyond a few leaves. Some of the fish was also on the chewy side. It’s nice to know I can still eat at the pub though.
Danny Frost
Matt and the team are the best. So welcoming and knowledgeable of the local food and drinks. My family didn’t want to eat, but I would travel the globe for the Scampi and Chips at this establishment. Matt suggested he did me a takeaway box so I wouldn’t be disappointed. Now that is going the extra mile. Thank you to all at the Sole Bay in. Highly recommended. 5 star service. Looking forward to seeing you all again soon.
ChrisBartram
Great beer, nice atmosphere, but food is only OK and not cheap. My scampi and chips was OK but not brilliant (chips were ace, scampi a little overcooked), my wife's seafood salad was very uninspiring. It's a nice pub and the staff were great, but given the prices the food isn't all that.
Ant Johnson
Great pub in Southwold next to lighthouse.Great food and specials available.No bookings, just walk in. Great range of beers most brewed 50 meters away! Our children, 13, 11 and 9 loved the food too. Looking forward to returning, just myself and wife one day
Pete Thomas
Had a pint of stout nice pub didn't try the food
Amy W
Such a lovely little pub right next to the lighthouse. The food was absolutely delicious and we couldn't fault the service - definitely the best beef burger I've tasted in a long time!
Lee M
The staff were very friendly but the food was disappointing. The chips were not cooked enough. The smoked mackerel pate didnt taste very nice and was poorly presented as a lump on the plate. Poor value for money when I saw and tasted what I got.
hdnyght
Arrived just after food service had stopped, we weren’t aware that in Southwold lots of restaurants close between 2-5:30 (ish) and we were starving and couldn’t find a place to do food! Matt and his team were very kind and allowed us to have a cheeky portion of chips to keep us going until dinner and we massively appreciated it!
BandTB
The Sole Bay Inn has been a favourite of ours for many years, but our last visit was a disappointment. We had planned for a modest lunch but discovered that the menu no longer offers sandwiches and the like - the smallest meal on offer was effectively fish and chips at £18 or so. We've had this in the past, and know it's delicious, but if you don't want a full meal...? I suppose we could have opted for a starter each but that's not what we had in mind. We found a superb snack round the corner (on the pier), and will know where to go in future. This is still a great little pub, but be prepared to spend £25+ for lunch...
What a pub! Best selection of tasty beers in Southwold (I think), staff amazing and it's in a great spot next to the Lighthouse. We went back for an evening drink without the kids and they had good taste in music too. Highly recommended.
Jens Hamann
Great pub, with great food and beer. Fair prices, very friendly service. Was quite busy at lunchtime, so go there early. Loved everything about 5he visit. Can highly recommend a visit.
Carolyn B
Best choice of different Adnams ales from all the pubs in Southwold, especially the summer collaboration beers/ales. Food was spot on and quick for 6 of us including 2 kiddies. Staff are great and really friendly and good to have a laugh with!! Dont miss this place on your travels, you won’t be disappointed!!
Jon Coe
The food blew us away! Our party had four different dishes between us, and we were all very happy. Wide range of Adnams beers (obviously). The staff were friendly.
Clive W
We ate here on a Thursday. Food ordering starts at 6 p.m. and a significant number of people were waiting to order. It was very busy and there were few free tables. It was noisy with people talking. There was awful background music, sounding like a 5 minute play length on a perpetual loop. No cash was taken so this reduces my star rating as I use cash whenever possible as I do not support a cashless society. It is a pub, so orders are taken at the bar and food is brought to the table. Customers get their own drinks at the bar. The menu is limited. I had the king prawn linguine with a ginger and chilli sauce with tomatoes and courgettes. It was delicious. My wife had scampi and chips. The chips were large and the scampi were hard rather than crisp. She went to put her fork in a scampi and as it was so hard it shot off the plate onto the floor. She then modified her method of getting the scampi on the fork. We would not eat here again.
Best fish & chips in a very long time!The fish was light & flakey, batter was crispy & tasty. Hot plates, thick crispy chips too ?.A nice touch was the small pots of warm curry sauce. We all really enjoyed our meal, the host was friendly & attentive & our 2 dogs were made welcome.Highly recommended ?.
The Sole Bay Inn has always been one of my favourite Suffolk pubs. I recently had lunch at the pub with my uncle, and having just discovered I have a gluten intolerance, I was pleased to find out it has a gluten free menu and Adnams Ease Up IPA (also GF) on tap. I resisted the gluten-free fish and chips and went for the seafood salad. It was nice but could have done with a little more seasoning and salad ‘components’ beyond a few leaves. Some of the fish was also on the chewy side. It’s nice to know I can still eat at the pub though.
Matt and the team are the best. So welcoming and knowledgeable of the local food and drinks. My family didn’t want to eat, but I would travel the globe for the Scampi and Chips at this establishment. Matt suggested he did me a takeaway box so I wouldn’t be disappointed. Now that is going the extra mile. Thank you to all at the Sole Bay in. Highly recommended. 5 star service. Looking forward to seeing you all again soon.
Great beer, nice atmosphere, but food is only OK and not cheap. My scampi and chips was OK but not brilliant (chips were ace, scampi a little overcooked), my wife's seafood salad was very uninspiring. It's a nice pub and the staff were great, but given the prices the food isn't all that.
Great pub in Southwold next to lighthouse.Great food and specials available.No bookings, just walk in. Great range of beers most brewed 50 meters away! Our children, 13, 11 and 9 loved the food too. Looking forward to returning, just myself and wife one day
Had a pint of stout nice pub didn't try the food
Such a lovely little pub right next to the lighthouse. The food was absolutely delicious and we couldn't fault the service - definitely the best beef burger I've tasted in a long time!
The staff were very friendly but the food was disappointing. The chips were not cooked enough. The smoked mackerel pate didnt taste very nice and was poorly presented as a lump on the plate. Poor value for money when I saw and tasted what I got.
Arrived just after food service had stopped, we weren’t aware that in Southwold lots of restaurants close between 2-5:30 (ish) and we were starving and couldn’t find a place to do food! Matt and his team were very kind and allowed us to have a cheeky portion of chips to keep us going until dinner and we massively appreciated it!
The Sole Bay Inn has been a favourite of ours for many years, but our last visit was a disappointment. We had planned for a modest lunch but discovered that the menu no longer offers sandwiches and the like - the smallest meal on offer was effectively fish and chips at £18 or so. We've had this in the past, and know it's delicious, but if you don't want a full meal...? I suppose we could have opted for a starter each but that's not what we had in mind. We found a superb snack round the corner (on the pier), and will know where to go in future. This is still a great little pub, but be prepared to spend £25+ for lunch...
Restaurantji Recommends
What a pub! Best selection of tasty beers in Southwold (I think), staff amazing and it's in a great spot next to the Lighthouse. We went back for an evening drink without the kids and they had good taste in music too. Highly recommended.
Great pub, with great food and beer. Fair prices, very friendly service. Was quite busy at lunchtime, so go there early. Loved everything about 5he visit. Can highly recommend a visit.
Best choice of different Adnams ales from all the pubs in Southwold, especially the summer collaboration beers/ales. Food was spot on and quick for 6 of us including 2 kiddies. Staff are great and really friendly and good to have a laugh with!! Dont miss this place on your travels, you won’t be disappointed!!
The food blew us away! Our party had four different dishes between us, and we were all very happy. Wide range of Adnams beers (obviously). The staff were friendly.
We ate here on a Thursday. Food ordering starts at 6 p.m. and a significant number of people were waiting to order. It was very busy and there were few free tables. It was noisy with people talking. There was awful background music, sounding like a 5 minute play length on a perpetual loop. No cash was taken so this reduces my star rating as I use cash whenever possible as I do not support a cashless society. It is a pub, so orders are taken at the bar and food is brought to the table. Customers get their own drinks at the bar. The menu is limited. I had the king prawn linguine with a ginger and chilli sauce with tomatoes and courgettes. It was delicious. My wife had scampi and chips. The chips were large and the scampi were hard rather than crisp. She went to put her fork in a scampi and as it was so hard it shot off the plate onto the floor. She then modified her method of getting the scampi on the fork. We would not eat here again.