The Dove Street Inn

Ipswich’s best real ale pub. Full stop. Maybe, if you don't think of The Fat Cat.

On St Helens Street, The Dove Street Inn doesn’t just serve beer—it celebrates it. Eight guest ales on tap, a world of bottled beers, and gins that’ll make you rethink your usual order. The Dove Street Brewery’s latest creations get their debut here, and the regulars are the kind of people who’ll happily talk you through the menu. Dogs, kids, and ale lovers all find a home here. The garden’s perfect for sunny afternoons, the board games turn quiet evenings into competitions, and the beer festivals are the stuff of local legend.

This isn’t one of those pubs that tries to be all things to all people. It knows what it is—a proper, award-winning, CAMRA-loved boozer where the beer is the star.

Don’t leave without: Trying whatever’s fresh from the brewery. It’s probably the best pint you’ll have in Ipswich.