Where to get the best sausage rolls in Beccles 2023

A debate, so fierce it may rival Brexit, has erupted in the sleepy riverside town of Beccles. 

It’s divided friends. Caused uproar on social media. And led to a hilarious, unending barage of memes – surely the best being a pastry superimposed over the famous Bell Tower. Genius. 

Well, I was rather tickled by the whole thing, and as a food editor, and prior judge of sausage roll and pie competitions, felt I was well placed to settle this debate once and for all. 

Yes that’s right. I have tried all the sausage rolls. Well, nearly all. I visited the locations best-known for their bakes. Sadly The Old Dairy and Baileys had both sold out, so you’ll have to make up your own minds on those fronts. 

But here is an unfettered, honest review of everything I tried.  

What makes a decent sausage roll? That, of course, is subjective. How many of you reading this can’t live without your weekly Greggs fix? I’ve judged across the following criteria: Appearance, Overall Taste, Pastry, Filling. And scored 1 for ‘could do better’, 2 for being ‘just right’ and a 3 for ‘excellent’. 

In ascending order of greatness (according to this foodie), the results are as follows...

Bob Knights, 3A Market St 

Price: £1 

Appearance: 1, Overall Flavour: 2, Pastry: 1, Filling: 2 

Score: 6/12 

Ooh, with a little bit of work these could crawl up the list. This butchers has a savouries counter bursting with homemade pies and pastries. The sausage roll looked and felt rather dense and a bit anaemic. The pastry did prove quite solid, but the filling went right to the edges and had an almost bacon-like flavour that went down well. A flakier puff or crumbly shortcrust pastry would elevate these. But again, for £1... 

Relish Café, 2 Market Row 

Price: £4 

Appearance: 3, Overall flavour: 1, Pastry: 2, Filling: 1 

Score: 7/12

These really do look the business. They are enormous, weighty, fill-your-boots sausage rolls. Proper hunky chunky things. They have a gorgeous brown colour to them – the filling bursting and caramelised at the edges. The pastry was well-cooked and a great texture, however we felt the inside promised more than it offered. Mixed with their secret relish and onions, the sausagemeat was rather lost in the fray, and its texture a bit pappy. If you like a softer sausage roll with a dose of sweetness though you would appreciate this one. 

The Galley Coffee shop on the Corner, 37 Smallgate 

Price: £2.50 

Appearance: 1, Overall flavour: 2, Pastry: 2, Filling: 2 

Score: 7/12 

This is a gorgeous coffee shop, opened last November in what was the old Keith Skeel interiors store, from the folk behind the food at what was The Galley Cookshop. This place is filled with curiosities! 

Staff admitted scones are their jam rather than sausage rolls, but they’ve produced a respectable result. They definitely look a bit, er, rustic, but these are sausage rolls, not haute cuisine. The overall flavour was tasty – not too salty – and the pastry had a decent flake. Not bad at all. 

Twyfords Café, Exchange Square 

Price: £1.95 

Appearance: 2, Overall Flavour: 2, Pastry: 2, Filling: 2 

Score: 8/12 

I’ve been a fan of Twyfords for a long time. Their sandwich fillings are spot-on...and as for that cake and chocolate counter. Oh boy! 

All their sausage rolls are made in their own bakery, using Cleveleys sausage meat. They looked very traditional, but a tad dry, and proved so on eating. I’d call these a good ‘middle of the road’ option. There was a bit too much space around the filling – and I’m not sure how I feel about there being a whole sausage inside rather than a big wedge of sausagemeat (no matter how tasty that sausage is). All told, the fennel sausage was nice. And the pastry, if slightly dry, did have a good flavour and nice puff. 

W J Seppings, 9 Hungate 

Price: 75p 

Appearance: 2, Overall Flavour: 2, Pastry: 2, Filling: 2 

Score: 8/12

For 75p, come on, can you really go wrong? Made in-house, these little beauts look like what you might make at home, the pastry is crisp, delicate and light, and their own sausagemeat is tasty. We did feel there was a bit too much air between the meat and pastry though. This is a gem of a butchers, the counters laden with an overwhelming array of produce. Go there! 

Greggs, 12 New Market 

Price: £1.20 

Appearance: 2, Overall flavour: 2, Pastry: 3, Filling: 2 

Score: 9/12

Does it go against every fibre of my being to include this high street chain? Yes, yes it does. But I also like to play fair. The pastry, obviously, is very good. It has that colour, that crunch. The overall eating is pleasant and the filling does have that addictive savoury flavour everyone knows. However, the quality of the filling (less than 20 per cent meat) is poor, and eaten cold these are a little oily.  

Two Magpies, 22 New Market 

Price: £4.15 

Appearance: 3, Overall flavour: 2, Pastry: 2, Filling: 2 

Score: 9/12

The place that sparked this whole debate. It was pretty bold, opening opposite Greggs, but I would say the markets for these two places are completely different. A lot more work goes into the TM offering, and they source prime ingredients for their produce (which I’m not sure be said for their neighbours over the road). My favourite Magpies bakes are the scones (just saying). Now these sausage rolls divide me. They have a perfect colour, and the lamination is beautiful, but I find the pastry a bit tough. You shouldn’t have to ‘rip’ to get into a sausage roll. And the sausagemeat I think is a little on the sweet side from the inclusion of caramelised onions.  

Maisebrooke Farm Shop, Shipmeadow 

Price: £3 

Appearance: 3, Overall Flavour: 2, Pastry: 2, Filling: 3 

Score: 10/12

This is a delightful little farm shop, just outside the town centre. It’s recently been nominated in the Eat Game Awards. And they take a great deal of pride in using their own pork to make the filling for their sausage rolls. 

These ones look fantastic. The pastry flaking and shattering, and the sausagement packed right to the edges. They’re a real mouthful. We felt though that the pastry didn’t have a great deal of flavour. With a really buttery casing, these would be showstopping. 

Fen Lane Deli, 5 Fen Lane 

Price: £2.95 

Appearance: 3, Overall Flavour: 2, Pastry: 3, Filling: 2 

Score: 10/12

Despite being a regular visitor to Beccles I’d never actually come across this place before. It really is a little gem, found at Space at the Quay, where there’s everything from a gym, to a float tank. I definitely would float after all these pastries. 

The counter is stacked with an alluring display of cakes and bakes – and when I arrived a fresh batch of billowing scones had just been pulled from the oven. Mental note to go back and try them! 

Anyway, the café sources its sausage rolls from respected butchers Cleveleys, and they look divine. A deep fill, really really excellent pastry. However we found the filling a bit too herbal in flavour, detracting from the porkiness. But that really is pulling at straws. I would say these are the best traditional sausage roll we tried. 

Wine Vaults, 2A Blyburgate 

Price: £3.50 

Appearance: 3, Overall Flavour: 3, Pastry: 2, Filling: 3 

Score: 11/12

Wine Vaults. What a result. Your sausage rolls are wicked good. Available at the bar, these are big boys that have clearly had a lot of love put into them. Each one is glazed and baked with a layer of seeds to garnish, and the filling goes right into every corner. The kitchen uses Blythburgh pork which is enhanced, but not overpowered, by just the right amount of caramelised onion, spices and herbs, with a bold hand of pepper. They only lost a point because the bottom of the pastry was ever so (and I mean ever so) slightly under.