This special Easter dish at Bury St Edmunds restaurant Gastrono-me blew me away

Easter food usually leaves me somewhat under-whelmed.

Roast lamb, chocolate eggs in every shape you can imagine, Simnel cake...well, it's not quite Christmas, is it?

So when one Suffolk eaterie put an Easter special on their menu, I wasn't expecting much in the shape of taste or excitement.

How wrong I was.

I like a Hot Cross Bun as much as the next chap. They have to be moist, lashed with (proper) butter and toasted if they've gone over a bit. You can keep your 'flavoured' varieties. I'll stick with the original.

So when Bury St Edmunds town centre restaurant Gastrono-me touted a Hot Cross Bun Pain Perdu, I booked my table online within the hour.

The restaurant's regular pain perdu is a firm family favourite. At £11.95, the fruity, nutty bread dipped in 'custardy heaven' and served alongside berries, crispy bacon and clotted cream is a winner all year round. What's not to love?

My only problem is settling for something else on their menu and then regretting not plumping (literally) for the dish of dishes.

So this Easter variant intrigued me, drew me in and has left me wanting more, more, more.

It's not cheap. It's £13.75. But in its defence, it kept me going all day and it needed to while I worked off the calories. But boy, oh boy, it was worth all that effort and then some.

Gastrono-me has dumped not one but two hot cross buns in its custardy heaven, fried them until golden and then added clotted cream, berries, edible flowers and mini eggs.

If the mini eggs sound a little left-field, stay with it. They were actually delicious alongside the buns.

The whole dish is then drizzled with some delicious sauces to bring the whole thing together in a plate of perfection.

If I had to vote for my favourite Easter dish, this would win hands down.

Don't worry if sweet isn't your ideal meal - the restaurant still has all its regulars on the menu including a savoury pain perdu (£12.95) and the very tasty avocado tartine (£12.95).

The other 'special' for Easter 2023 is Chocolatini (£9.75) - as the chefs say, you can never have too much chocolate at Easter. This is a mix of Baileys, chocolate liquer, creme de banane, served with a golden Creme Egg.

Gastrono-me unveiled plans to extend their offering in Bury St Edmunds only last week. Whatever they do, if they continue to bring out dishes of this tastiness, I'll be one happy (Easter) bunny.

Do you have a better Easter dish to recommend than this one from Barry Peters? Let us know in the comments.