A group foodie weekend at The Firs: cooking on fire and the best local tables

If your group's idea of a perfect weekend revolves around food, The Firs is the countryside retreat to book — half home-cooked feasting, half exploring some of the best tables in Suffolk. Take the whole site, cook together by day, and dine out by night. At 2 hours from London and 45 minutes from Norwich, it's an easy gathering point for a UK group of food lovers.

Cook on site. The outdoor kitchen in the Cartlodge is the heart of a foodie weekend: fire the pizza oven, get everyone building their own, and spend an evening cooking on fire around the giant firepit. Slow breakfasts, vegetables from the kitchen garden, long table dinners that run late and loud. The horsebox bar keeps the glasses full.

Dine out near the coast. When you want someone else to do the cooking, the area delivers. Up the lanes, The Fox & Goose at Fressingfield is a 1509 former Guildhall with two AA rosettes — destination dining, ten minutes from the lodges. In Aldeburgh, The Lighthouse and Regatta are local institutions for North Sea seafood, and Aldeburgh Fish and Chips is among the best in the country. In Southwold, The Swan does smart Adnams dining and Sole Bay Fish Company serves the catch straight off the harbour.

The rest of the weekend. Between meals: garden games, the sauna and plunge bucket, and long soaks in the wood-fired hot tubs to recover between feasts.

For foodie UK stays that mix private cooking with proper local dining, this countryside stay is a quiet gem among Suffolk hideaways.

Planning a foodie weekend? Check availability and enquire here.