As the weather heats up once again, now is the perfect time to head out with your friends and catch up over some good food.

If you find yourself stumped on where to go, look no further than K Bar and Grill, as Eden’s Bakery has just opened up within this town centre bar – and will be offering customers a selection of freshly-baked pizzas and sharing platters.

Madi Drane and Elliott Drewell are the masterminds behind the popular bakery and patisserie which was launched during lockdown. Originally running from Paddy & Scott’s, the two recently made the move into the St Nicholas Street venue – and haven’t looked back.

Ipswich Star: Elliott and Madi outside of K Bar and Grill. They will be offering customers sharing platters and freshly-made pizzas - and hope to offer steaks and burgers soonElliott and Madi outside of K Bar and Grill. They will be offering customers sharing platters and freshly-made pizzas - and hope to offer steaks and burgers soon (Image: Archant)

“Both Elliott and I were working from home with our previous jobs last year. And then around May time, our work situations were affected due to lockdown so we started up a bakery as a way to bring some money in,” explains Madi.

The duo originally started off as a bread delivery service before approaching Paddy & Scott’s on the waterfront when they were looking to expand their offering.

“We ended up going into their kitchen for a while and producing their food menu.”

It was during that time that the two gained a cult following for their artisan croissants, brownies and bread.

“That then gave us the idea of wanting to grow even more, and that’s how we ended up in K Bar.

Ipswich Star: Elliott in the kitchenElliott in the kitchen (Image: Archant)

“We knew the owners and they asked us to come down back in April this year and here we are, now offering a full menu and running the restaurant side of things for them.”

So, what’s on the menu?

Customers who head down to K Bar and Grill can expect to find a selection of freshly-made pizzas, alongside indulgent sharing platters including charcuterie boards, and their steak board which is comprised of sirloin steak, hoisin wings, Cumberland sausages, and fries with aioli.

“Everything we do is made from scratch, including the pizza dough, and all of our ingredients such as the vegetables, seafood and meat are locally-sourced.”

Ipswich Star: Sharing platters made from locally-sourced fresh ingredients will be on the menuSharing platters made from locally-sourced fresh ingredients will be on the menu (Image: Archant)

Setting up a new business during the pandemic no doubt proved challenging, but Madi and Elliott certainly rolled with the punches – and have big plans for the future.

“We left our previous place in January, and between February and March, we were quite stagnant but we were fortunate to be able to come here and get everything ready for when we officially opened in May. Lockdowns, and the pandemic in general, have made things difficult at times, but I’d say it’s given us breathing space when we’ve needed it.

“Everything is picking up for us, and people have been really receptive. We love it here, and we’re really pleased with how everything is going.”

Currently, Eden’s Bakery is run by just Madi and Elliott – but the two are looking to expand their culinary offering as well as their team.

“We’re hopefully going to start working with people to help us with the menu in the next couple of weeks, as we’re at that stage where we’re working out what else we want to do. It all depends on when we can get extra staff.

“We’ll definitely continue the pizzas, as they’ve worked so well for us. We certainly want to start doing burgers and steaks though. Elliott is always coming up with ideas, so who knows what you’ll find on our menu in the near future.”