Ipswich Star pub of the week is The Crafty Fox bar and cafe

This week we are smack-dab in the middle of Ipswich town centre at a venue that has only opened up in the last year.

The Crafty Fox, a French-themed café and bar, welcomed its first customers last December. It's very much hidden away down The Walk, but on my visit - a warm Thursday lunchtime - it seemed quite busy with people of all ages.

First impressions of the venue might suggest The Crafty Fox is just a cafe, and therefore probably ineligible for our pub of the week feature. However, there's an extensive beer menu and it was visited by Dale Harvey from the Great British Pub Crawl earlier this summer, so we're counting it!

The Crafty Fox can be found down The Walk in Ipswich (Image: Newsquest)

I wasn't exactly there to get a little tipsy, however, so I thought I would sample something from the lunch menu.

The Crafty Fox, which is the brainchild of owner Lisa White, is a Parisian-style spot so you can expect food options with a French twist on offer.

The lunch menu was dominated by baguettes, so I thought one of those would have to be what I ordered.

The Not-so-French sandwich - a Philly cheesesteak in a baguette (Image: Newsquest)

I'm going to disappoint you now though, readers: I opted for the Not-so-French sandwich. Before anyone accuses me of being a Francophobe, it was purely because I love a Philly cheesesteak - which is how the dish was described.

The baguette came fresh from the kitchen and was pretty sizeable. It cost £13, which may be on the pricier side for a lunch, but I feel it was worth it. It came with chunks of beef and a mixture of peppers for a delicious flavour.

If baguettes are not your sort of thing, fear not - there are loads of brunch options and French classics such as tartines also available.

Matthew Earth on his visit to The Crafty Fox (Image: Newsquest)

As I said, the café was pretty busy on my visit and there were only a handful of staff on duty. But I could see they were working hard to ensure everyone was catered for.

This is a 'pub' of the week feature, so I suppose I better talk about some beer. Fine...

There are plenty of drinks on tap, with Kronenbourg 1664 being the only brand I would consider to be a pub stable. The rest of the beers were all from smaller breweries, including options from East Anglian firms Burnt Mill Brewery and Woodforde's.

Some of the beers on tap at the bar (Image: Newsquest)

When I asked Lisa if she would pose for a picture by the taps, she was very keen to point out that the Crafty Fox has its own branded pilsner. Not sure many other places in Ipswich can boast that!

The Crafty Fox is open until 10pm from Monday to Thursday and as late as 11.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays, much like a pub would be. I'd be interested to see what it's like on a weekend - I imagine this would be a place to stop by on a night out to try a new beer or two.