In late 2019, just before the pandemic hit, one of Suffolk’s most instagrammable food and drink destinations opened.
The Bloom Lounge on Tacket Street in Ipswich set out its stall as a candy cane pink, flower-filled mecca for cocktails, brunch and cake.
The business shut for the entirety of lockdown but re-opened earlier this year, and has some exciting changes ahead, says manager Josh Adams, who joined six months ago.
These include a brand-new bottomless brunch, and a new evening dining menu – which he hopes will put the eatery on the map locally for food, adding that Bloom Lounge isn’t a one-trick-pony. “It’s not all about the cocktails.”
“Our cocktails are great,” says Josh. “The theatre’s just around the corner, so people will come in and enjoy the drinks and the vibe, but in terms of midweek trade and breakfast and brunch, we have such an exciting and impressive menu on offer too."
“We really want to encourage to come out and dine with us during the week, rather than thinking of us just as a place to spend their weekends on a night out.”
Josh credits Bloom Lounge's head chef Jack with putting a stamp on the new menus. “He’s definitely the most skilled chef I’ve ever worked with – and I’ve managed a few bars. He's the mastermind behind this next step and the menus really are incredible. One of our dishes is a fruit platter served over dry ice – it looks divine!”
Bottomless brunch, available Wednesday to Sunday, with last sittings at 2pm, allows diners to pay £25 on top of their choice of brunch dish (typically £7 to £9 each), which will get them two hours of prosecco, Aperol spritz, Bellini, Bloody Mary, Bucks Fizz or Malibu spritz.
“They can have brunch as a stand alone meal too, maybe with coffee, tea or hot chocolate, but we’re finding bottomless brunches are so popular at the moment, especially in the lead up to Christmas, with people wanting to meet up with friends and do something fun.”
Menu includes: char siu pork benedict with yuzu hollandaise, avocado toast with pink hummus, roasted beetroot, sun dried tomato and dukkah, caramelised French toast with whipped crème fraiche, kumquat marmalade, strawberries and shortbread crumble, truffled croque madame, and yellowfin tuna or citrus cured salmon poke bowl.
Josh’s favourite?
“Personally I’m an eggs Benedict guy. But I think the chicken and waffles will be our most popular dishes. It’s sweet from the waffles, then with the savoury from the chicken on top, with bacon, and chef’s sauce. That’s half sriracha, half maple syrup – so you’ve got a bit of spice too.”
Evening meals are available from Wednesday to Saturday. “The new menu is just being finalised,” says Josh. “But there’s a lot of Asian inspiration. Sushi, and bao buns, including a Christmas turkey bao bun. Jack makes all our pizzas from scratch too – we'll have a Deck the Halls version this month. It's great. There’s a lot more choice than there has been.
Afternoon teas (from £25) remain popular for hen parties, girly gatherings and baby showers. “Every single thing is made fresh, from scratch for those – we just start with sugar, butter and a bag of flour.”
And the signature cocktails remain one of the reasons the bar has continued to (sorry for the pun) bloom. “We think we make the best cocktails in town,” Josh says. “That’s our bread and butter. We’ve actually just come up with some new Christmas cocktails, like a Chocolate Orange Espresso Martini, and a Pornstar Martini made with Christmas spices.
“The Pornstar Martini is our most popular drink – our reviews speak for themselves. But my personal favourite is the Candyfloss Royale. You have a Champagne flute filled with candyfloss, and it comes with a shot of Chambord and a glass of prosecco. You pour everything over and it’s a taste sensation. It both looks and tastes good.”
Find out more and book at thebloomlounge.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here