Church’s Bistro Bar

Owen Morgan (12 November 2007)

A little hidden but worth finding, Church's was really nicely done out inside with a range of good number of seating options two, four or six around a table or a couple of comfortable leather sofas. The background music was jazz when we arrived and then changed into a good selection of alternative twenty first century music. The staff were very friendly and accommodating and that was one of the main reasons, I decided to eat there with an old friend I was with, neither of us are from Ipswich.

We started with coffee, which was ok. I had a latte and my friend had an Americano, there was no crème left on the Americano and the latte was a little too milky but it beats Starbucks. The lunch menu was quite limited but with something for everyone. The wine list was also varied and good offering a selection of wines by the bottle or the glass and a high-end cellar selection for more discerning wine drinkers.

We started with some tasty olives and a platter of bread and sops. That was the highlight for me, nicely presented, and totally delicious. We both opted for the club sandwich which came with some thin home-made crisps. These were excellent, sweet, crispy and slightly greasy but very nice. The club sandwich was well presented but a little disappointing. The chicken and bacon were a too dry and the sauce was quite bland. The granary bread was fresh and soft and the tomatoes too. If I were visiting again, I would have gone for another of the interesting sounding sandwiches or one of the simple but appetising mains.

After lunch I went for the vanilla cheesecake with rhubarb compote and a cup of tea. The tea was hot and strong, like it should be. The cheesecake was slightly less well presented as the rest of the meal, the idea was there but someone had been a little heavy handed with the icing sugar! The compote was rich and flavoursome while the cheesecake tasted good, but was a little too heavy. Thanks to the staff and the atmosphere, I would definitely visit again but would choose differently to avoid the coffee, that’s something I'm particularly picky about being a master Barista. I reckon that I might have more luck with something else from the menu. Let's hope so.