April’s Five Foodie Must Haves

This is April’s five foodie must-haves, brought to you by Velvet magazine

Shop It

The Swoop Retail Taproom

Cranes, the Cambridgeshire drinks brand famed for its fruity ciders, has toasted its 10th birthday by opening The Swoop, a new-concept retail taproom on the city’s Green Street.

Championing local brands, it stocks solely products made within a 50-mile radius of Cambridge and sells freshly poured pints to drink in and take out as well as bottled, canned and retail-packed drinks.

Follow on Insta The Swoop Taproom

Dine It

Rustico

Rustico, an independent restaurant serving authentic dishes from across Italy, has opened in Bury St Edmunds. Breathing new life into a timbered 18th century building on Risbygate Street, which has undergone a 12-month restoration, it’s a collaboration between business partners Silene Ziglioli, Michele Pagliuca and Marian Grosoiu, Michele and Marian having previously worked together at both Carluccio’s and Wagamama in the town.

Book a table Rustico

Do It

The Tivoli

Cambridge’s iconic Art Deco pub The Tivoli, gutted by fire in 2015, is poised to reopen next month as a one-of-a-kind food, drink, games and events destination over four floors. Bought by City Pub in 2019, development was paused by the pandemic but is now nearing completion, with a shuffleboard club planned for the basement, a ground floor food and drink space (with Steak & Honour burgers on the menu), two nine-hole mini golf courses on the first floor and a terrace and events space on the roof.

Opening soon The Tivoli

Treat It

The Waffle Hut – Newmarket

The Waffle Hut, street food sister to The Bakery in Newmarket’s Palace House yard, is getting its own bricks-and-mortar site this spring. Moving into what was The Gallops tearoom, opposite the town’s Waitrose store and The Severals, it’s the latest addition to Stellar Catering’s ever-expanding enterprise, founded by chef Ben Cockhill part-way through the pandemic after his former restaurant job was made redundant.

Find out more The Waffle Hut

Drink It

Vino Gusto

It started as an online venture in May 2020 and Vino Gusto, the wine business founded by the team behind The One Bull in Bury, has proved such a success, it’s moved into a standalone store on the town’s Hatter Street. As well as buying by the bottle, customers can load credit onto Vino Gusto cards and serve themselves from a selection of available wines. Wine courses are also on offer, led by Master of Wine Nick Adams.

Find out more Vino Gusto

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