The Queen’s Head in Eye tops poll of readers' favourite pubs in Suffolk, with The Rampant Horse in Needham Market second and The Shepherd and Dog near Stowmarket third
A Suffolk town’s sole surviving pub took the crown in our poll asking readers for their favourite pub in the county.
Following a social media appeal and after more than 3,000 votes, we can reveal the winner is The Queen’s Head, in Eye.
They were followed by runners-up, The Rampant Horse, in Needham Market, with The Shepherd and Dog, in Onehouse near Stowmarket, securing the third-place spot.
Leigh Gardiner, 47, owner of The Queen’s Head, said: “I’m chuffed to bits, although I thought it was a wind-up at first. Our staff have put in so much work and effort so I’m absolutely delighted to hear this news.
“It’s like a family here, the Queen’s Head family, as no one wants the pub to go so we’re all doing our bit. People haven’t complained at all about little price increases because they want us to stay.
“But we are very happy and we love our little pub. It’s not exactly like fine dining but we work really hard on the three main things: a warm welcome, a great pint and a good plate of food.”
Mr Gardiner, who is also head chef at the pub, began managing The Queen’s Head in 2013 before he then became landlord in May 2019.
During Covid-19, the pub tried some new things having set up a market stall outside, started a delivery service and built an outside bar and grill which has been very well received according to the Eye pub owner.
He said: “The bar and grill was a saviour really, we built it when people were allowed to be outside and it’s been really popular and an absolute favourite ever since.
“Pubs have been struggling massively and it’s shame so many have closed in our area. Shutting our doors was really hard to deal with but we put in the effort to come up with new things and now we have to keep going.
“Everyone helps each other out here and if there’s an issue like something wrong with a chair, one of the locals will come and fix it, or if something needs a lick of paint, someone can help with that.”
Alison Wyartt, 52, is the landlady of The Rampant Horse, in Needham Market, which is co-owned by her brother Kevin Wyartt, 46, and his friend David Bates, 49.
They bought the pub in September 2020 but couldn’t actually open until the following year due to the pandemic so they were delighted to finish second place despite not being open for very long.
Ms Wyartt said: “We’re absolutely chuffed about this, especially as we haven’t even been open for two years so we’ve come a long way in a short time.
“Our pub is very community based, we know a lot of our customers by name and we know their families. We are so grateful for the fantastic support we get here, we’re always slightly overwhelmed by it and we have been really lucky since we’ve opened.
“We’re a very busy thriving pub with a great atmosphere, music nights, and food so what more do you want?”
Despite opening during Covid-19, Ms Wyartt couldn’t believe how many people came and visited and is grateful that they had managed to keep their success going.
She said: “Our first weekend open was hectic, it was like something out of a film. We opened at midday and people kept coming and coming and coming, it was too much honestly.
“Since then, it’s been brilliant post-pandemic and the community have been so good because I’m so surprised that we’re always so busy, every weekend. You think at some point it won’t be as busy as it has been.
“More recently, it’s obviously been much nicer as you can have people in and can properly talk to them. Needham is a growing town, so a lot of people are moving in and are needing a local spot.”
Emma Stevens, 48, and Jenny Davey-Medlycott, 47, were neighbours when they were offered to take over The Shepherd and Dog, in Onehouse, in 2014, where they had previously worked as waitresses.
The duo are enjoying running the pub together which has been been open since the 1780s, with Ms Stevens emphasising how grateful they were to still be open.
She said: “It’s really nice to be voted for, it is a wonderful feeling and we feel really loved in the community.
“We are a very busy pub and we appreciate all of the support we get and we have some really lovely customers and locals too. We also have people who we have never seen before who come back as well which is nice.
“We’ve been really lucky to keep going because through the pandemic we just about ticked along. But we got through it, we’re still here and it’s been absolutely fine since then.”
Ms Stevens said how the The Shepherd and Dog staff try and go above and beyond when interacting with customers and that they pride themselves on the service they give to people.
“If there’s something not on the menu and we can do it, we’ll do it. That’s our motto," she said.
“We even gave a puppy a chair recently, because it had to sit on something which was quite interesting. Honestly we do anything we can, and we hope people leave with a smile and if they don’t we will try and rectify that.
“Obviously, you’re always going to get complaints and you can’t please everybody all of the time, but where we can, we will always try to make it right."
