Gastrono-me

Had a fabulous early evening meal here with my wife while staying in the area last week. The food looked great and was really tasty. The staff were very attentive and service was efficient. If we lived locally we would definitely visit again. Recommended.

Whew! Such good food. The staff were all super friendly and polite. The food came out quick, looking amazing, and tasted great. Portion sizes are rather hefty as well. This is a great little spot to stop for some food!

Have patroned this place a few times. Food is always generous in portions and delicious!

This visit I got a custom espresso milkshake and the Savory pain perdu. Basically, two uber thick slices of french toast with pulled pork and a sunny side up egg.

Atmosphere is relaxed. Basic cafe tables and fun decor. They do karaoke rooms for rent in the lower level.

Only drawback is they have always seemed busier than they're staffed for. They have the option to scan a code and pay your bill at your table, but if you need anything aside from that, you'll have to wait for service. My waitress was amazing, but she was essentially serving the 7 tables I could see solo.

Still recommend it. Everything I've ever had there is yummy. Just be patient and enjoy your time.

Fantastic experience at Gastronome. I have been coming here for many years whenever I visit Bury St Edmunds. The staff are always friendly and attentive. The food doesn't take long to arrive once ordered and the selection of drinks is amazing! Definitely would recommend to anyone visiting Bury!

Really good atmosphere. A slow start on service as it took a little while to get their attention but they 100% made up for it when they took our order and it was spot on after that. Really lovely & friendly team and even our dog was welcome.
Great menu, spoilt for choice and they gave out a good kids pack to keep my 4 year old happy!
Food was delicious and very well presented. We will definitely be back and Really really enjoyed our family lunch. Make sure you book as they were super busy, Thanks so much. See you again soon x

Burger was very good. Chips pretty standard. Cocktails nice. It was just very expensive. No deals on the cocktails so you really we're spending £9-£11 per one. Didn't say beers were only 330ml which was disappointing (when £5). Food was very expensive too considering.

Staff not very attentive. Slow service and not very friendly (apart from one guy who was good).

It was okay. Probably won't go back though.

We enjoyed our vegan meal here. Particularly the lemon trifle! Would like to see more specifically vegan options in the starters and mains. Removing an egg to make it vegan isn’t really up to it these days! The restaurant is beautiful and the staff were all lovely.

It was just okay. But I wouldn’t recommend it.

TLDR: The environment was nice enough, the staff were friendly, the menu looks nice and full, and it was easy to make a reservation through Google. But the food was disappointing, it isn’t really accommodating for vegetarians (unless you’re OK with eliminations instead of substitutions), and it’s expensive for what you get.

Here’s the long version:

• "Veg option available" is misleading. We ordered a “Hangover Stack” (pancakes, bacon, fried egg, maple syrup) for one person in our party and asked to make it vegetarian. But instead of substituting the bacon for something vegetarian, they just left it out of the dish while still charging the full £10.95. If they could’ve added grilled mushrooms or halloumi or something (which is on another part of their menu), it wouldn’t have cost them much and would have been a better customer experience.

• Just don’t get the pancakes. Mine were presented nicely but were disappointingly dense and hard. Seriously, the entire top pancake and the edges of each of the others were hard enough that I literally crunched through them. It felt as if they were made with whole wheat and had been sitting out (and yet it didn’t arrive as soon as I ordered it?). I asked for additional maple syrup since what it came with got soaked up by the pancakes, and they charged me £0.95 for it. (Not great considering the previous bullet point.)

• The portions are small but pricey. The only reason why this is a negative thing for me is because so many people online and offline have raved about this place having big portions that cater to Americans (because of the nearby Air Force base). Go somewhere else without a fancy name and you’ll get much better quality and value for money.

• Coffee/tea was not refillable. OK, I admit this one is just a preference for me: I like American brunch places that have boring ol’ drip coffee in a big mug that gets refilled by waiters when ever they see it empty. That would have made for a more brunch-y experience rather than an expensive café experience.

All in all, if you’re looking for a place that (a) serves really tasty brunches, (b) with large portions (c) that are good value for money, and (c) offers free coffee refills when ever you want… you’d be better off going to Frankie & Benny’s. They’re formulaic but at least you don’t leave still a little hungry and dissatisfied with the food.