Butley Orford Oysterage

One of our party had eaten here before and highly recommended it. We arrived after a three hour drive to be told our table was not ready. OK, OK maybe I am out of touch, the prices here seemed extreme. Local lobster salad was £38. The lobster was fine, not my favourite. The salad pretty standard stuff. The dressing straight out of 50 litre catering pack. At this price you'd expect more. The medium mixed grill at £19.50 contained one prawn, one mussel, two sardines (the cheapest fish in the market) and the best thing on the plate a small serving of very good fried small squid and two slices of bread. Incredible price. The dover sole, consisting of two medium (ish) fish, were nice enough cooked, but needed a crust or some browning. They were ok. The taramosalata meh. We had two puddings. The basque cheesecake was no such thing. Very disappointing. The chocolate and almond cake tasted of almond essence, a crime against cake making if you ask me. £10 for each pudding! The room is pretty basic and the school room chairs uncomfortable. I can see what this place is trying to do, but I was unexcited by it and at these prices I would expect more. Still, it was full and as you'll see from other reviews, "what do I know?"

A bunch of us came here for lunch on a Saturday and it was a great experience. The restaurant is quite small with pretty basic decor, but that all adds to the rustic feel. The most important thing is the food, and that was delicious. We shared Oysters and I ordered the crab cakes for a starter and the sea bass for the main. The oysters were excellent quality and the sea bass off the bone was cooked to perfection. It was all washed down with a couple of bottles of crisp white wine that made for a most enjoyable afternoon. The bill came to £64 per person, which was reasonable considering the amount of top quality food we devoured! To see glossy films of some of our trips and experiences, please search for our 'Around The World in 80 Stays YouTube Channel', which should also display the same icon as above. And don’t forget to subscribe to our channel for lots of interesting films, constant updates, and even more hot travel tips!

Absolutely superb meal here with the freshest of seafood. The oysters served from the restaurants own oysterage were especially just fantastic. The restaurant has a quaint charm about it and the service was friendly and attentive. We have a range of starters and mains including white bait, mackerel pate on toast, oysters, grilled muscles. The puddings were brilliant, too. Sticky toffee pudding (not featured in the pictures) and treacle tart

Outstanding and always delivers superior quality dishes and customer service. Been going there for many years and enjoyed it each and every time. Specialising in fish and seafood dishes, the freshness is top and equally is the taste. Make sure to make a booking if you are in the area.

Had a fantastic evening meal on Saturday. Great atmosphere and busy. Service was excellent. The fish was superb. Good wine selection. The chocolate dessert was super tasty.

Simple food well executed. The freshest fish, beautifully cooked. We had a dozen oysters to share, a dressed crab, and a fish pie, followed by a lemon sylabub and coffee...all were understated but excellent

I would thoroughly recommend this lovely little place… We had a dozen local oysters- they were delicious and such a good size… the crab cakes were also very good and a generous portion of salad … friendly welcoming service too

A bad experience: we chose the Oysterage as a great place to have oysters in Suffolk and ordered a dozen. They arrived very dry - no liquor at all - and just didn’t taste great. Not super bad just not fresh. I was very unwell overnight and rang the restaurant in the morning who confirmed that indeed they don’t open the oysters fresh for each customer but they open them ‘the same day’. There were only four tables in use for lunch so not busy at all and we were the only table to order oysters. I felt these had been opened at least a day before as so dry. The manager said on the phone she ‘would never recommend eating raw oysters’ and she ‘never would’ herself. My strong recommendation is to go elsewhere!

Possibly the best and freshest seafood I have ever had. The restaurant in the village square is very unassuming to look at but who needs bullshit with this food. Fresh oysters straight off the local beach. Fish pie, exquisitly made from local produce. And the desserts, unreal. Try one of 2 English treats. Sticky Toffee Pudding or Treacle Tart. Only available in the UK. Wonderful!

Some of the best and freshest seafood you'll ever get and good value and no pretends to boot. This is a lovely village worth visiting anyway but this place is a reason to visit just on its own.

This place is all about the fish - if you love seafood, this is the place for you. On the market square in Orford - worth a visit just to see the village - it is a deliberately pared-down, simple dining experience. The fish is delicious, fresh and perfectly cooked (and I love fish) but I only give it three stars as I feel the simplicity borders on austerity with bare wooden tables, metal chairs and only boiled potatoes as a side dish to accompany the fishy main events. Any request for fries or chips very much seen as heretical: it's boiled new potatoes or nowt. So, for me, it doesn't make for a comfortable dining experience; a bit more choice on the menu would go a long way.

I have never had a bad meal at this place. They serve up fresh, simply cooked seafood in a 1950's caff atmosphere. Once we went here on a very busy day and there was some delay with our order, and without us even complaining they offered us a complimentary plate of smoked salmon while we waited for cooked starters. Lovely stuff!

i would definitely recommend this place. from the outside, it looks very bright, cramped and over bearing but what the atmosphere lacks the food makes up for! the fish pie is possibly the best ive had, not too much potato to fill it out and very scrummy! please do go along to this place if youre in the area, absolute delight.