In his monthly food column for October, Mark Heath takes a trip to Portion in Woodbridge to try some chicken, enjoys a return to a rural Suffolk estate and waxes lyrical about the food in Puglia.
Good gravy
Writing a column like this, I get loads of recommendations for places to try, and I absolutely love it. If I get the same establishment hailed twice or more, it goes on The Big List. These are places I promise myself I'll get to, even if it takes weeks or months.
Portion, in Woodbridge, is one such eatery. For a good few weeks I've had folks telling me about it, lauding the chicken and their Italian-inspired sandwiches. Indeed, I was promised 'the ultimate chicken sandwich' by one evangelist.
Thus I finally made the poultry-based pilgrimage on my day off last week - yes friends, my day off, I'm just that committed - making the 70-mile round trip from Heath Towers in mid-Suffolk to this champion of chicken.
And I'd do it all again - but not for the reasons I expected.
A few details first. Portion opened a few months ago in a great Woodbridge location - Quay Street, right opposite the train station, and thus plenty of parking.
It's an ode to Italian sandwich culture - they ruddy love their sarnies over there, btw - and offers rotisserie chicken in their own schiacciata bread. They'll also serve you up a whole chicken if you want, or varying degrees of bird, with roast potatoes, sides and dips.
Which brings me back to my trip. I parked up and wandered across the road, entering just behind a young couple, with one promising to the other 'they do amazing chicken in here.' A good omen.
First impressions are strong. Portion is bright, modern and airy, with plenty of seating. I asked which were their most popular sandwiches (all £8.50) and was told the Caesar or the Red Pesto. I plumped for the latter.
But I hadn't made this trip just for a sarnie, I was here to do some serious chicken chowing. Thus, I also ordered up a 1/4 of rotisserie chicken (£12), chose gravy as my side - maybe my best decision of 2026 so far - and spicy Korean as my dip.
I paired that with a San Pellegrino lemon over ice (£2.50) and took a seat while the order was prepared.
Perhaps five minutes later I was carrying my spoils back to my table. I opened the rotisserie chicken first, and lordy, what a sight.
Juicy, plump chicken, resting on a goodly number of small-cut roast potatoes. The accompanying gravy pot was the Holy Grail, though.
As soon as I popped the lid off, I knew I was in the presence of proper gravy. I'm talking dark, thick, rich, steaming hot, grab-you-by-the-nose gravy. None of that watery KFC nonsense. Halleluiah!
I went caveman style with the chicken, tearing hunks of it off with my fingers and dipping it in that gravy. Potatoes too, in they went. Life-enhancing stuff. I'll be honest, I'd drink that gravy on its own.
My sandwich was tasty too, if not quite as memorable. The bread was sensational, but I wanted a bit more flavour from the pesto. Still good eating though.
All in all, I was very impressed. There aren’t many things I’d drive 70 miles to eat, but I do it all over again for that gravy, chicken and potatoes.
Putting down Roots
I headed back to the Roots Cafe, on the Rougham Estate, for the first time in a while last month, having had mixed experiences there previously.
Given I've written about those before, it's only fair to report that my most recent visit - with my parents, for coffee and scones/toast - was excellent.
They've got a lovely new outside seating area overlooking a pretty landscaped garden, and our coffees/food were good - cheese scone for me, fruit scone for my old man and gluten free toast for mum.
The service was great too, very friendly and patient, as dad reeled off a lengthy series of questions about coffee sizes, jam and toast.
Indeed, we were so taken with the thick-cut Seville marmalade that mum had with her toast that we bought a jar on the way out.
Perfect Puglia
I also popped over to Puglia last month for a welcome Italian break. We stayed in Poligano a Mare, a nice little coastal spot with an iconic beach and beautiful old town.
Given this is a food column though, just a few notes which you may find of interest on the local cuisine.
Highlights were a grilled octopus sandwich, with tomato, pesto and cheese, plus Spaghetti all'assassina - literally 'Assassin's Spaghetti' - which is a spicy dish in which the spaghetti is cooked in that lively tomato sauce, and deliberately charred in the process.
Orecchiette is the Puglian pasta of choice, and I had a great dish combining that with pesto - they absolutely love pistachio pesto out there- and red mullet fillet.
If you find yourself in the region, I'd also recommend the sandwiches from Gustavo.
Get in touch
As ever, if you fancy shooting me a few thoughts of your own on anything food and drink-related - recommendations especially welcome - or would like to feature in this column, drop me a line at mark.heath@newsquest.co.uk.
You can also follow my epicurean adventures on Instagram at @great_eats_and_retreats
Share